The Rock Chick continued

Shania in 1988. The big hair is tied back (Photograph courtesy of Mike Taylor)

"The band clicked musically from day one," says Hartt, "It only happens once in a lifetime that you really get that perfect mix. Everybody gets along, you're all friends...of course you always break up."

To prepare for their first show at JP's Lounge at the end of May 1981 Longshot had to learn 42 songs in three weeks . They quickly became the hottest band in Timmins, such a good draw that the club owner JP Aube had to hire bouncers. Much of Longshot's appeal was because they attracted the girls. "They loved us, we had records that stood for a long time," says Hartt. "It was simple. with a female lead singer, you attract women , men come into a bar, see lots of women, they stay, they buy the women drinks. Bars make a lot of money. We weren't cheap, we demanded a good price"

On stage Eilleen never flaunted it. She hid her figure behind her Tacoma 12 string guitar and played percussion when she was not singing. She dressed down, never too sexy, baggy sweatshirts over spandex tights and wool leggings - The Flashdance look - but no bare flesh on display. As she grew in confidence her clothes became a little tighter, she favoured black satin skin tight pants with a matching top and headband - very Olivia Newton John - or black leather trousers. They all wore black satin tour jackets with the Longshot logo on the back. Although her hair was fine and thin she insisted that hairdresser Paul Cousinneau give her regular perms. She wanted to wear it big , back-combed to Dynasty heights. There was one frizzy perm that was disastrous.

Longshot did not rely on original songs. They only did three Hartt compositions Thanks for the Good Times, Sandy and the duet Take My Hand, which became an unofficial anthem at several local weddings. Eilleen sang over half the material with Hartt taking lead vocals on about 40% leaving the two Mikes to sing three numbers between them. The material was miles from what Eilleen knew. Hartt loathed country and refused to touch anything with a twang. They concentrated on current hits by melodic hard rockers leavened with a sprinkling of classic cuts ("we didn't do Hotel California or Stairway to Heaven, those were taboo songs," says Hartt) and hits by Canadian rockers Loverboy, and Bryan Adams as well as Bob Seger, Styx, REO Speedwagon and Journey whose Don't Stop Believing was a particular crowd stopper, along with Survivor's Eye of the Tiger, Foreigner's Feels Like The First Time (written and produced by one Robert John "Mutt Lange) For ballads Eilleen convinced them to let her sing Linda Ronstadt's quivering version of Poor Poor Pitiful Me and Sheena Easton's When He Shines. Longshot never played any Pat Benatar numbers although they did rehearse a couple.

All the band members knew that Eilleen wrote songs and they wanted to tackle them but she always demurred, insisting they weren't ready. Eilleen soon emerged as one of the most forceful personalities in the band. If they made a mistake she let them know, no holding back. During one show drummer Mike Chabot hit the cymbal wrong and the stand crashed over missing Eilleen by half an inch. She never missed a beat, kept right on singing, until the guitar solo. Then she turned round and yelled at him. Then she turned back and came in note perfect, right on cue. The audience never saw a thing.