I Want to be a Doorman

Lorne Ranger was a Montreal singer, songwriter and performer whose work developed from the city’s late-1970s punk and new wave scene into the more electro-pop, synthesizer-based music of the early 1980s. Although little of his material was commercially released at the time, concert listings, television footage, archival recordings and privately circulated tapes provide a partial record of his career.

Ranger was performing under his own name by March 3, 1979, when he appeared with The Unknowns and The Eighty’s at the Nelson Grill in Montreal. The venue was part of the city’s developing punk and new wave circuit and also presented groups including The Normals, The Chromosomes, The 222’s and Men Without Hats.

One of Ranger’s earliest known recordings, ‘Granola Girl,’ dates from 1979. The song remained unreleased for many years before appearing on the 2026 archival compilation Nome Noma 3: Québec Post-Punk et New Wave 1979–1983. The collection brought together thirteen Quebec punk, post-punk, new wave and electronic recordings, most of which had not previously been issued. A review of the compilation described ‘Granola Girl’ as a direct, Ramones-influenced punk recording.

By the early 1980s, Ranger was working in a more polished style that combined new wave, electronic pop and melodic rock. He performed his composition ‘It Goes On’ on the Montreal television program Musi-Video. The performance featured Yves Frulla, Benoît Charest, John McColgan, Claude Charpentier, Stefan Doroschuk and Colin Doroschuk, with editing by Marc Fontaine.

A one-track 1983 demonstration cassette, labelled ‘Dead Man on Holiday,’ contains Ranger’s composition ‘I Want to Be a Doorman.’ It was accompanied by a promotional sheet for ‘It Goes On,’ featuring the song’s lyrics and Ranger’s Montreal contact information. The recording is now available through the Museum of Canadian Music.

-Robert Williston