Alan Frew of Canada's Glass Tiger still rockin after all these years

By PETRINA GENTILE ZUCCO, TheGlobeandMail.com , Toronto

He has won five Juno awards and sold more than three million records worldwide with the pop group, Glass Tiger.

As the band's lead singer and songwriter, Alan Frew penned numerous Top 10 hits in the 1980s , including Someday, I'm Still Searching and Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone. And like the song, he wants to make sure fans don't forget him any time soon.

Honestly, I did. But Frew still writes and performs with Glass Tiger. A new CD called Rocket is expected to hit shelves in next spring -- it's the band's first all-new recording since 1991. Frew also hits the stage in Ross Petty's musical Snow White and the Group of Seven at Toronto's Elgin Theatre this winter.

But being in the spotlight hasn't gone to his head. He's down to earth and practical, just like his vehicle, a 2004 BMW X3.

"I don't get attached to my cars. It's not like they become my children. It's really just my way of getting from A to B. I'm not a car guy and I'm not a very technical guy when it comes to cars," says the native of Glasgow, Scotland, who moved to Canada at 16, but still speaks with a strong Scottish accent.

"I've been in the limelight with Glass Tiger for all these years. It has given me a high profile, but behind the scenes I'm still a guy who loves to meet his pals at the common pub, have a beer, and a game of darts. I'm still very much a family guy," says Frew, who has a few concert dates on his calendar in the weeks ahead.

Before the Bimmer, Frew drove a Jeep TJ, but he dumped those wheels after his second child came into the picture.

"I was enjoying my old Jeep because I could really beat up on it. It became more like a bumper car. It took me everywhere and got me through the snow. I loved being able not to worry about it. But my wife said, 'Here comes the baby, there goes that Jeep,' " he laughs.

During the height of his career with Glass Tiger, Frew drove a Nissan 350Z sports coupe. "I haven't had a ticket in a long, long time. But I remember, way back, when Glass Tiger was at its peak. I pulled up to a stop sign and I didn't quite stop properly and then I saw the cop.

"He pulled me over and asked for my driver's licence. I could tell right away he knew who I was. He said, 'Hang on a minute,' and goes to his car. He comes back and I'm thinking, oh great, he's a fan.

"And then he hands me the ticket and says, 'Wow, wait till my wife hears I just gave a ticket to the lead singer of Glass Tiger!' "

But that road incident wasn't his most memorable. "I've been told a long time ago, coming from Scotland, when you start driving in Canada have extra jackets and extra candles in the car." That advice came in handy at least once.

"I did a gig and I had a new girlfriend at the time. She was in my car and I thought I'd impress her and take the country way home to make it a more interesting drive. I took a wrong turn and the two of us drove right into a snow bank and couldn't get out. I tried everything; I even tried putting my coat under one of the wheels to see if I could get traction going," he says, the exasperation still evident in his voice. "So we sat there and burned a candle.

"Then when I went to get out, there were about six gigantic German shepherds that trapped us in the car for another couple of hours until the sun came out. Finally, this farmer came, called off the dogs and set us free. He brought his tractor down and pulled us out.

"It wasn't the most impressionable way to begin a relationship with a girl -- almost freezing to death with a candle," says Frew, who is also starring in a new TV pilot called Plucked.

Frew still loves driving those country roads. But he has a few rules behind the wheel, notably, no music, unless it's Glass Tiger, of course.

"I'm so saturated with music. I'm working on music all the time in my recording studio and writing for Glass Tiger and for myself. I don't listen to music in my car. Every station in my car is talk radio.

"But my car has always been a place where many, many Glass Tiger songs were completed. Because I take the music with me on long drives and I write the lyrics as I'm driving.

"I don't worry too much about traffic jams because I use that as my work time. Instead of getting flipped out because it's going to be a three-hour drive, I have three hours to listen, learn and work," he says.

Frew's BMW X3 is filled with upgrades, including sport wheels, a leather interior and a panoramic sunroof. And he admits, his SUV has a big personality, just like a musician. "The lead singer of the band, the front guy, gets all the limelight but still has a very serious job to do. And my car is very much like that."

The X3 suits his lifestyle to a tee. "You're still talking to a musician who likes to put some gear in the back of the vehicle. I do a ton of corporate stuff and the road crew usually depends on me bringing my toys to a gig.

"If I'm driving to a gig, it's like the old days. I got my guitar amp, two or three guitars and some guitar stands in the back of the vehicle, and there's tons of room back there, which is really important to me," says Frew, who has toured with Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, and Fleetwood Mac, to name just a few.

"But my favourite thing is the handling of the car. When I take it out on the highway you feel like you're driving a sports car, but when you really need her to behave like an SUV, it does," says Frew, who lives on the outskirts of Toronto.

Along with the X3, Frew drives a Land Rover Range Rover sport utility. He has owned several in the past, which is a giant leap from his first car: a Chevrolet Corvair. "It cost me $300 and the heating didn't work. And in the winter I had to drive to college with a scraper in my hand and scrape the windshield as I was driving."

Those days are long gone. After 20 years in the Canadian music industry, the father of two is still going strong, with no plans of retiring or trading in his BMW any time soon.