Named after an English lunatic asylum called "Colney Hatch" about 12 km from London, the band was formed in Toronto in 1980 by singer/bassist Andy Curran, Steve Shelski on guitars and drummer Dave Ketchum. By the time guitarist Carl Dixon left the band Firefly to join them in February of '81, Coney Hatch had already became a staple of the southern-Ontario bar circuit.

The band's turning point came later that year when they were seen in a local club by Pye Dubois, who'd made his mark on the Canadian scene as Max Webster's lyricist. Liking what he heard, he introduced them to Kim Mitchell, who in turn helped the group work out a deal with his and Rush's label, Anthem Records.

Their debut came out the next summer and immediately shook the roofs off the FM radio stations. Co-produced by Mitchell and studio-legend Jack Richardson (The Guess Who, White Wolf, Bob Seger, Alice Cooper to name but a few) on a small budget, their self-titled record pulled no punches - a mix of Mitchell's energy and Richardson's expertise. The group's first radio single was a last-minute addition - "Hey Operator" showed Dixon's penchant for writing tight, smooth metal-ballads and was covered the next year by Aldo Nova.

From the frantic fret-work of the second single "Devil's Deck" to the pounding backbeat of their swansong "Monkey Bars" (produced by Mitchell) , a twisted tale of life on the road, the album was a hit. The keyboard-laden "Stand Up" and power ballad "Where I Draw The Line" showed their uncommon versatility for such a blatantly heavy rock act. On its way to gold status, the record helped support the group's tours outside the province and before long most of Canada knew Coney Hatch - then the world, backing up the likes of Judas Priest and Triumph.

They practically went from the airport following the last concert straight to the studios, where they brought in new producer Max Norman, specializing in heavy metal acts (Ozzy and Japan's Loudness among others). OUTA HAND was released in '83. Made from the same ingredients as its predecessor, it served up the healthy dose of blazing guitar riffs and tight harmonies. "First Time For Everything" was the first single and showed Norman's refined approach to metal. From the single came the band's first video, whose airplay got them some added exposure south of the border. The acoustic "To Feel the Feeling Again" is a departure from the all-out rockers like "Don't Say Make Me" and "Too Far Gone".

Norman returned for their third album FRICTION in the summer of '85. Featuring new drummer Barry Connors (ex of Toronto), it was another guitar-driven record but had taken on a more keyboard-friendly feel. From the lead off track "This Ain't Love" to the power-ballad rhythms of "The Girl From Last Night's Dream", the album showed the band closer to their live presence (always a failure according to the critics), but with a sense of maturity. Other tracks included "Fantasy", "He's A Champion" and "Fuel For The Fire".

Unfortunately Anthem couldn't seem to promote them properly and dropped the band after they'd now sold progressively less the last 2 records. They carried on doing the live shows that they'd gained a reputation for for the next year or so but called it quits in 1986. Dixon and Curran both released solo records in 1990, Curran with NO TATTOOS and Dixon with his self-titled debut. Connors went on to play with Lee Aaron for a few years.

The group got back together (sans Dixon) for a series of gigs in '92 to promote the release of the anthology, CONEY HATCH - BEST OF THREE, but then drifted apart to other projects again). The 90's saw also saw Dixon tour as part of April Wine, then join The Guess Who by the end of the decade. Curran meanwhile had kept busy in production work around the Toronto area including hockey game radio jingles with Greg Godovitz & Rik Emmett. But alas, nothing could help the Maple Leafs ... Steve Shelski meanwhile scored the soundtrack to the Omar Sharif film 'Heaven Before I Die', which incidentally featured several Dixon-penned tracks.

Dixon continued as a solo artist while Jim Kale allowed Cummings, Bachman, Peterson, Wallace and MacDougall tour as The Guess Who. Once that had run its course, Kale's Klones was reborn, until the early '00s, when Dixon was seriously injured in an auto accident while in Australia, forcing him to step out away from the stage. Several benefit concerts were held in Toronto until 2010, when he was part of a reunion of the Original Coney Hatch that August, playing at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto.