Dillon is the lead singer for rock band Headstones. Formed in 1987, the band's debut album Picture of Health was released in 1993 and featured the singles "When Something Stands For Nothing", "Cemetery", "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" and "Three Angels". The album was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, being certified platinum in Canada for selling in excess of 100,000 copies. In a recording career that has spanned three decades, the band has released ten studio albums and numerous chart-topping singles.
After the Headstones broke up in 2003, Dillon formed the band Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir, an indie rock band whose style draws from country, pop, punk and new wave influences. Band members were guitarist J.P. Polsoni, Chris Osti on bass, keyboardist Ben Kobayashi, and percussionist Derek Downham.[8] The band released an album, The High Co$t of Low Living, in 2005 through The Tragically Hip guitarist Paul Langlois's Ching Music label.[9][10] Dillon also released a solo album entitled Works Well with Others in 2009 through Ching Music.
After their hiatus, original Headstones members (Dillon, Carr & White) reformed the band in 2011. In 2013, they crowdfunded their album, Love + Fury,[11][12] through PledgeMusic. Love + Fury is the band's first top 10 album, and it garnered the band a No. 1 hit single. The Headstones followed up with another crowdfunded album in 2014, One in the Chamber Music. In 2015, Fuck It became the band's first-ever vinyl release.
Little Army was released on Cadence Music in 2017. The album included the No. 1 hit "Devil's On Fire". In 2019, the Headstones released Peopleskills, which yielded "Leave It All Behind" and "Horses", two No. 3 singles on the US Billboard charts.[13]
Dillon starred as Mike Sweeney in the Canadian dramatic series Durham County.[19] His performance earned him a Gemini nomination for Best Actor in 2008;[20] the show itself won five Gemini awards and its second season was aired on TMN and Movie Central.
Dillon starred as Sergeant Ed Lane in the CTV/CBS police drama series Flashpoint, set in Toronto, which ran for five seasons between 2008 and 2012.[21][22] Dillon won the "Shaw Media Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role" at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2014 for his performance in the episode "Fit for Duty" on Flashpoint.[23]
Works Well with Others (the first solo album, released October 13, 2009, many of its songs are featured on the television show Flashpoint, track listing:
^Pike, David L. (2012). Canadian Cinema Since the 1980s: At the Heart of the World. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division. ISBN978-1-4426-1240-2.
Gemini 1986–2011, Canadian Screen Awards 2012–present. Separate awards were presented by gender prior to 2022; a single unified category for best performance regardless of gender has been presented since.