You’ve seen the video. It’s 1984. A tiny, doll-sized man with scruffy hair and a mischievous grin hops out of a television set, starts dancing on a coffee table, and eventually ends up inside a refrigerator performing with his band. That man is Kim Mitchell, and the song is the immortal Canadian anthem "Go For Soda." But if you look closely at his head, you’ll see the accessory that defined an entire era of Canadian rock: the OPP hat.
Honestly, it’s kinda weird when you think about it. Why was one of the country’s most eccentric, "wild party" rock stars wearing the official headgear of the Ontario Provincial Police? It wasn't a corporate sponsorship. It wasn't a political statement. In fact, the way Mitchell actually got that hat is much more "rock and roll" than any marketing department could have dreamed up.
The Barroom Trade That Built a Brand
The story of the Kim Mitchell OPP hat didn't start in a costume shop. It started in a pub.
As Kim tells it, he was hanging out in a restaurant when his cousin’s kid walked in. The kid was wearing a standard-issue Ontario Provincial Police baseball cap. Mitchell, who was already leaning into a more "everyman" solo image after the high-concept weirdness of his previous band, Max Webster, was immediately struck by it. He told the kid, "I can get you into the show, but you’re going to have to give me that hat."
The kid didn't hesitate. He handed over the cap, Mitchell looked in the mirror, and a trademark was born. Basically, he traded a concert ticket for what would become the most recognizable piece of headwear in Canadian music history.
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Why the Police Didn't Sue Him
You’d think the actual OPP would be annoyed by a rocker using their logo while singing about "going for soda" (a thinly veiled alternative to drinking and driving). But the opposite happened.
The police loved it.
The OPP eventually got on board because the song "Go For Soda" became an unofficial anthem for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) campaigns. Even though the song wasn't technically written as a PSA, the message—"might as well go for soda, nobody hurts and nobody cries"—aligned perfectly with what the police were trying to promote on Ontario's highways.
- Real-world impact: Different OPP detachments started showing up at Mitchell’s gigs.
- The "Handoff": Officers would actually go backstage and present Kim with new hats to replace the sweaty, road-worn ones.
- The Legitimacy: While the original hat wasn't "official" gear in the sense of being issued to him, it became a bridge between the law and the legendary "Mitchell Maniacs."
Breaking the "Max Webster" Shadow
To understand why the OPP hat mattered, you have to understand where Kim Mitchell was in 1984. He had just spent years fronting Max Webster, a band known for progressive rock, bizarre lyrics about "astral projection," and a very "art-school" vibe.
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When Kim went solo with the album Akimbo Alogo, he wanted to simplify. He traded the spandex and glam-prog theatricality for a leather jacket and a baseball cap. The hat was the anchor. It made him look like a guy you’d see at a gas station in Sarnia, not a rock god from another planet.
It worked. Akimbo Alogo and the follow-up, Shakin' Like a Human Being, turned him into a multi-platinum superstar. The hat appeared on the cover of Shakin' Like a Human Being in 1986—an album that went triple platinum in Canada. That was the peak of the "hat era."
The Mystery of the Missing Gear
If you’re looking for the original hat today, you’re out of luck.
Rock history is full of stolen gear, but Kim Mitchell has had some particularly bad luck. Most fans know about his 1963 Gretsch guitar being stolen in Hamilton back in the 70s, but his iconic hats often met similar fates. Fans would try to snatch them off his head during shows. Van break-ins were common.
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By the late 80s, the OPP hat started to fade from his wardrobe. He began experimenting with other looks—like the neon pink baseball cap he wore during the Rockland tour.
The Legacy of a Logo
Today, the OPP hat is a piece of pure Canadiana. It represents a specific window of time when Canadian rock was transitionary—moving from the heavy prog of the 70s to the radio-friendly "patio" rock of the 80s.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're trying to replicate the look or find the history, keep these facts in mind:
- The Style: The original was a navy blue "trucker" style or structured baseball cap with the old-school OPP crest.
- The Era: If you see a photo of Kim in the hat, it’s almost certainly from the Akimbo Alogo (1984) or Shakin' Like a Human Being (1986) era.
- The Music: To get the full vibe, listen to "Go For Soda" or "All We Are." These are the "hat" tracks.
The Kim Mitchell OPP hat wasn't about authority. It was about irony, a lucky trade, and a musician who knew exactly how to connect with the people sitting on their porches on a hot July night.
To dig deeper into this era of music, you can explore the archives of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, where Mitchell was inducted in 2021. You might also look for old episodes of The Kim Mitchell Show on Q107, where he often shared these road stories with fans. Tracking down original 1980s tour merch is the only way to get a "real" version of the look, as modern reproductions rarely capture the specific 80s mesh-back feel of the original.