By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor, Child of the 80s

This weekend, fans of 80s music can dance if they want to, as the iconic synth-pop band Men Without Hats join a lineup of other classic bands for the Totally Tubular Festival on Aug. 8. As an 80s kid, we were thrilled to get an opportunity to speak with the band’s frontman Ivan Doroschuk about the band’s biggest hit, their current tour, and their new album “On the Moon.”

If you grew up in the 80s, it’s extremely likely that “The Safety Dance” was recorded on one of your cassette mix tapes. It was a huge hit worldwide, reaching third in the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. But what you may not know is how the song came into being.

A little backstory first. Ivan grew up in Montreal and he and his brothers are classically trained in music. In fact, his mother was a voice teacher at McGill University. But as a teenager, he traded in Bach for Bowie.

“We grew up with piano lessons and violin lessons and CBC classical radio on the radio every morning when we had breakfast,” said Doroschuk. “I was a teenager, and my parents knew I was not too much into practicing. So they said, as long as you spend time at the piano every day, we don’t care if you play scales or whatever. That’s when I started writing and figuring out cover songs, Beatles songs and David Bowie songs, and writing my own songs. And then, punk rock hit, and everybody and their dog were forming a band, so I got on the wagon.”  

Ivan then looked to new wave music as a way to reach a broader audience.

“At one point I knew that there was a larger audience out there, and since I was, you know, a trained piano player and synthesizers were just starting to become affordable to everybody, I started getting into [them],” explained Doroschuk. “I grew up listening to progressive rock music, a lot of Genesis and Pink Floyd. But I was also front and center in the disco movement in the 70s. For me, new wave music was a combination of progressive rock music and disco. It was synthesizer music you could dance to. And so that’s what I brought to the table. It was like a conscious effort to reach more people to make ‘commercial music.’”

And it was those experiences in the club that inspired Ivan to write Men Without Hats’ most popular song.

“It was the late 70s, and we were hanging out in the clubs. It was the dying days of disco, and every now and then, the DJ would slip in Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” or B-52’s “Rock Lobster,” and we’d get up and start pogo dancing, which was just jumping up and down and bouncing off each other’s chests. It was the precursor to the mosh pit, to slam dancing, but nobody had ever seen it back then,” said Doroschuk. “So, the bouncers thought we were trying to cause trouble and getting into fights and they’d kick us out. I got kicked out a few times. Then I went home and did something about it. I wrote a song that told everybody they could dance if they want to and it’s been safe to dance ever since.”

The band’s latest album, “On the Moon,” features songs like “I Love the 80s,” which hit two million views and streams in the first three months of its release; and “In Glorious Day,” the band’s collaboration with Grammy and Juno Award-winning producer Brian Howes, two songs that you can imagine hearing when people had big hair, neon slap bracelets, and checkerboard Vans. But it also includes songs embracing modern synth wave.

“We’re just doing what we’re, what we’re, uh, what we’re good at. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel with Men Without Hats,” explains Doroschuk. “The idea at the beginning was just to get back on the road and go out and play shows for people. There was a demand; agents and bookers were starting to contact us and wanting us to do shows. And it led to me writing songs. I started getting messages from fans saying, ‘Hey, any new music coming?’ In 2011, we put out ‘Love in the Age of War.’ About 10 years later, again from public demand, we put out ‘Man Without Hats Again, Part One and Two.’ And now we just put out On the Moon.’

“In popular music today, there’s a lot of 80s influences. There’s a lot of synth sounds, there’s a lot of big drum sounds, a lot of robot voices. And the next generation seems to be into 80s music. The 80s crowd kind of imparted their love of 80s music onto their kids. So, we just went with it. We did what we’re good at, and people are still enjoying it, so it’s great.”

Men Without Hats are currently touring as part of the Totally Tubular Festival, joining Thomas Dolby & The Lost Toy People, A Flock of Seagulls, The Producers, Animotion, The Escape Club, and Tommy Tutone. They’ll be performing this Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Estess Arena at Hard Rock Live in Atlantic City.

“We’ve been touring with them a lot now. Flock of Seagulls, we’ve been on the road with them for almost 15 years,” said Doroschuk. “It’s a lot different now. Back in the day, being a young band back in the 80s was kind of like being on a sports team. You tour the country and you’re competing against other bands for chart positions and venues and press. But now, it’s a whole different ball game. Nobody’s competing against each other anymore. It’s a real sort of a big, happy 80s family traveling around the world and touching base with our fans. It’s great.”

Tickets are still available for Saturday’s concert, which starts at 7:00 p.m.

“It’s going to be a fun time. We love Atlantic City, and we can’t wait. People always have a good time when we play there. And don’t forget, you can dance if you want to.”

You can find out more about Men Without Hats, their current music, and upcoming tour dates at SafteyDance.com.