In 1975, Winnipeg bassist Ralph James formed Harlequin upon recruiting vocalist George Belanger, guitarist Glen Willows, keyboardist Gary Golden, and drummer David Budzak. The band began recording demos and travelling to Toronto to perform in the local bars and clubs. It was in one of these small bars in Toronto that Harlequin were discovered by representatives of Jack Douglas, the producer of Aerosmith, John Lennon, and Patti Smith, after they tried to see another band in a larger bar downstairs, but could not gain admittance due to a sell-out crowd. These two individuals later became the producers of the first album, Victim of a Song. They were Lachlan MacFadyen and Kent Dobney.

Harlequin's third album, One False Move (1982), contained two hits, "Superstitious Feeling" and "I Did It for Love".