“Where’s the Fire” by Tim Feehan: Memories of a house party

It was nearing the end of 1986, and I was so excited because I had been invited to another house party. This time it was me and my friend David Perlich driving, in his truck, to Marla Lawlor’s place to celebrate her birthday.

Marla lived out on an acreage on the highway between Coaldale and Lethbridge. David picked me up on the farm and we were approaching the turn off from the highway, but it was dark enough I could not see the road to Marla’s house.

“Go slow,” I thought.

We found the driveway and slowly creeped up until I got my bearings.

Finally, yard lights lit the rest of the way and we parked by the house.

Playing the whole time we negotiated with the dark, was an obscure, Canadian song that will forever remind me of that night.

The song was called “Where’s the Fire”, and the artist was Tim Feehan.

Although obscure now, back then Tim Feehan was on the rise, and I remember him almost as much as that party.

Fostering the hits
Tim Feehan won a songwriting contest sponsored by renowned record producer David Foster in 1986. That led to a recording contract in Los Angeles where he produced his self-titled debut album “Tim Feehan” in 1987.

The album won five Alberta Recording Industry Association awards including “Best Pop Performance” and “Producer of the Year”.

The first single from that album was – “Where’s the Fire”.

It would go on to be chosen as the theme song for the Charlie Sheen movie “The Wraith” as well.

Feehan also won the Juno in 1987 for “Most Promising Male Vocalist”.

With that, Tim Feehan was on his way, achieving success as a producer, songwriter and singer.

Close connection
Tim Feehan was from Edmonton and actually went to the University of Alberta, graduating a decade before I did.

But I do have an odd memory of a connection to him, not from the U of A, as one would could imagine, but Coaldale.

My friend Chris Vining and I were in town one night and ran into our friend Glen, when we stopped in at Corky’s, a restaurant owned and operated by the older brother of another friend of ours.

While we were talking about music, he said a friend of his told him about this musician he knew who was going to be famous one day. Glen couldn’t remember his name, but his friend had written it down for him. Glen rummaged through his wallet, found the old business card and slapped it on the table, as much out of excitement about finding it as anything.

There, on that battered business card was written in blue ink, the name “Tim Feehan”.

“I’ve heard of this guy,” I said. “I’ve heard his song on the radio.”

“Hmm,” Glen responded. “I never heard of him.”

I wonder if he ever did.

Parting thoughts
Every time I hear “Where’s the Fire”, it conjures up memories of that birthday party, and a time in my life where I was beginning to settle in and feel like I belonged.

Tim Feehan and “Where’s the Fire” may have faded into the mists of time, but they will always remind me of a pretty neat night in my journey as a teenager in the 1980s.