"Cuts Like A Knife" (1983), which took just eight months to hit platinum, gave Adams his first stateside Top 10 smash - the anthemic "Straight From The Heart". Before long, the album's thumping title track and the compelling "This Time" likewise climbed onto the chart. With "Reckless" (released in 1984 on Bryan's 25th birthday) he earned his first #1 album as well as a Grammy nomination - appropriate recognition for an album that catapulted several tracks into the Top 10, including the #1 single "Heaven", "Run To You", and "Summer of '69".

With yet another multi-platinum album to his credit - 1987's "Into The Fire" - Adams ended the decade on a high note: in his native Canada, he was named Recording Artist of the Decade for an unprecedented string of successes, including a dozen Juno Awards and a Diamond Sales Award for "Reckless," which went on to become the best-selling Canadian album of all time; he also accepted the Order of Canada for his work with causes both social (he contributed "Tears Are Not Enough" as his home country's contribution to LiveAid) and environmental. His ongoing work with Greenpeace played a major role in establishing a whale sanctuary in the Antarctic.

Then came 1991's "Waking Up The Neighbours" and a lengthy world tour that lasted nearly three years! This LP also included his first foray into film music - "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", from "Prince of Thieves." Abetted by producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange (with whom he co­wrote the aforementioned song) it monopolized the #1 Billboard slot for seven straight weeks and earned Adams a Grammy and an Academy Award nomination. It has become an international standard and placed Bryan's name in (of all places) the Guinness Book Of World Records for the longest stay at number one in England of all time.

"Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?" from the "Don Juan DeMarco" soundtrack (1995), earned Adams yet another #1 hit, (a position where he stayed for five weeks in the US), as well as another Academy Award nomination.

So after selling over 45 million albums what does the guy do? He goes back in and does what he loves the most - more than a year of intensive, if low­key, recording, and returns with "18 'Til I Die," an album Adams characterizes as one of his personal favorites - if only for the enjoyment its creation has given him. "I've definitely had a great time making this record," he says. "It came together easily, with little stress." He takes on the essential power of rock on this release, saying, "I wanted to make an album that would be very representative of how I perform in concert. It has highs and lows, good energy, mid - tempo, and I think the sequence flows as if you were standing in the audience."

That upbeat mood extends throughout "18 'Til I Die," from the playful sexuality that percolates through the harmonica-fuelled juke-jump "Do To You" and the tongue-in-cheek "(I Wanna Be) Your Underwear", to the unabashed romanticism instilled deep in affecting interludes like "Let's Make A Night To Remember."

Then, of course, is the playful, "The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You," and its colorful Matthew Rolston-directed video. Adams assures his anxious fans, "I still have all the old t-shirts! 'The Only Thing' is just a video - a piss-take on the fashion industry. Although I have to say I really enjoyed getting dressed up - I'll probably do it again!"