At the age of 19, he earned an ARCT in classical piano performance from The Royal Conservatory of Music, in Toronto, Ontario. Upon graduation, he enjoyed modest local success with the band Rhinegold in 1976.
After the band broke up five years later, Gowan began a solo career under the stage name Gowan, releasing his first album under that name in 1982, which was produced by Rob Freeman and featured Kim Mitchell of Max Webster on guitar. This album contained the singles "Victory", "Give In" and "Keep Up the Fight".
After his 1982 debut album Gowan did not fare well, Gowan "found himself naturally gravitating" to the Queen Street West music scene that was developing in Toronto in the mid 1980s. Still signed to Columbia Records, the label agreed to fund his next album. Gowan spent a year writing songs, and also travelled to Scotland and Ireland to trace his heritage. While there, he received a telephone call from English record producer David Tickle, who said he would produce the album and arranged a recording session. Tickle secured the services of several session musicians from the backing band of Peter Gabriel for the recording session, including bassist Tony Levin, drummer Jerry Marotta, and guitarist David Rhodes. The album Strange Animal was recorded at Startling Studios owned by Ringo Starr. Gowan's 1985 album Strange Animal was his commercial breakthrough in Canada. The album spawned the hit singles "A Criminal Mind", "(You're a) Strange Animal", "Guerilla Soldier" and "Cosmetics". That year he won a CASBY Award for most promising male artist.

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