Rough Trade (band)
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Rough Trade was a Canadian new wave rock band in the 1970s and 1980s, centred around singer Carole Pope and multi-instrumentalist Kevan Staples. The band was noted for their provocative lyrics and stage antics; singer Pope often performed in bondage attire, and their 1981 hit "High School Confidential" was one of the first explicitly lesbian-themed Top 40 hits in the world.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years (1968-1979)
The band began in 1968 in Toronto, when Carole Pope (vocals, guitars) and Kevan Staples (keyboards, guitars) began performing in a group known as "O". Their musical partner in this venture, Clive Smith, would later go on to co-found the animation studio Nelvana.
In 1970, Smith left the group and the remaining duo of Pope and Staples changed their name to "The Bullwhip Brothers", and performed as a largely acoustic duo at Toronto art festivals and at private events. In 1974, the band expanded to a full line-up and became Rough Trade, adding Joanne Brooks, Rick Gratton, Happy Roderman, John Lang and Marv Kanarek to the lineup. The band, through their combination of hard-edged new wave rock and raw sexuality (Pope often performed in bondage attire), became a popular draw on Toronto's live music circuit through their regular shows at Grossman's.
They were the first rock band to record a direct to disc album, with 1976's Rough Trade Live. By this time, the band's line-up was Pope, Staples, Michael Fonfara (keyboards, arranger), Peter Hodgson (bass), Jo-Ann Brooks, (vocals, percussion) and Rick Gratton (drums). As would be the case throughout the band's entire career, the vast majority of the album's songs were written by the team of Pope and Staples.
In 1978, Tim Curry would issue a cover of "Birds of a Feather", the album's lead track. Pope and Staples were also at the time involved in writing music for film and television soundtracks, and in 1978 they picked up a Genie Award for their work on the made-for-TV film One Night Stand.
[edit] Commercial peak (1980-1983)
In 1979, Rough Trade's lineup changed, retaining only Pope and Staples, and adding Sharon Smith, Jon Cessine, Bucky Berger, Patricia Cullen and Terry Wilkins. Later that year, the band line-up was again reshuffled, settling into a stable five-person line-up of Carol Pope (vocals), Kevan Staples (guitars, keyboards, etc.), David McMorrow (keyboards), Terry Wilkins (bass) and Bucky Berger (drums).
In 1980, the band landed a record contract with True North Records. Their second album, Avoid Freud, was released later that year. The first single was the deliberately controversial "What's The Furor About The Fuhrer?", but radio stations flipped the single over and the B-side "Fashion Victim" became a top 40 hit in Canada.
The controversy surrounding the raunchy lesbian-themed second single "High School Confidential" helped propel the song into the Canadian top 20, and made the band stars. The band sang this song on a notable 1981 appearance on SCTV, a prominent Canadian comedy show that also aired in the US.
The band's next album was 1981's For Those Who Think Young. (The title was originally meant to be "For Those Who Think Jung", a play on their earlier Avoid Freud LP as well as a reference to Carl Jung.) Although not as widely remembered as "High School Confidential" today, the LP's first single (the sexually-charged "All Touch") was the band's most successful single on the Canadian charts during their career, peaking at #12. "All Touch" also became their only US chart hit, peaking at #58.
During the recording of Rough Trade's 1982 album Shaking The Foundations, Wilkins and Berger left and were replaced by Howard Ayee (bass) and Jorn Anderson (drums). Shaking The Foundations spawned a top 20 Canadian hit in "Crimes of Passion". Dusty Springfield sang backing vocals on the album, and would also cover two Rough Trade songs that same year on her album White Heat. Many years later, Pope would reveal that she and Springfield were in a relationship around this time.
In 1983, Rough Trade were offered a Pepsi commercial to air in the Canadian market, but the ad was soon pulled from the airwaves as Pepsi had featured people wrapped in bandages and wearing tuxedos and sunglasses similar to Canadian musician Nash the Slash without his permission. The same year, lead singer Pope duetted with Paul Hyde on the Payola$ top 10 Canadian hit "Never Said I Loved You". However, Rough Trade's own 1983 album Weapons failed to place a single on the Canadian charts, marking the beginning of the group's commercial decline.
[edit] Winding down (1984-1988)
By 1984, the band was essentially reduced to the duo of Pope and Staples, augmented by session musicians (including several former Rough Trade members such as Berger, Wilkins, Ayee, and Anderson, as well as Dalbello and Neil Chapman of Pukka Orchestra). The band's 1984 album O Tempora! O Mores! spun off two singles that brushed the lowest rungs of the Canadian top 100, but it would prove to be Rough Trade's final full-length release.
Rough Trade returned to a stable five person line-up in 1985, with Pope, Staples and Ayee joined by new members Tony Springer (guitar) and Tony Craig (drums). This line-up would record a handful of new tracks for the 1985 greatest hits compilation Birds of a Feather, and their final full scale tour took place in 1986, although they continued to perform occasional concert dates in Toronto until 1988. Around the same time, gutiarist Springer changed his stage name to Wild T and found modest fame as a solo artist in Canada.
After the final break up in 1988, Rough Trade subsequently performed several reunion shows in the late 1990s, with varying personnel supporting Pope and Staples.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Rough Trade Live! Direct to Disc (1976)
- Avoid Freud (1980)
- For Those Who Think Young (1981)
- Shaking the Foundations (1982)
- Weapons (1983)
- O Tempora! O Mores! (1984)
- Birds of a Feather: The Best of Rough Trade (1985)
[edit] Singles
| Release date | Title | Chart peak | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM 100 |
US Hot 100 |
|||
| 1980 | "Fashion Victim" | 25 | Avoid Freud | |
| 1981 | "High School Confidential" | 15 | ||
| 1981 | "All Touch" | 12 | 58 | For Those Who Think Young |
| 1981 | "Blood Lust" | |||
| 1981 | "For Those Who Think Young" | |||
| 1982 | "Crimes Of Passion" | 18 | Shaking The Foundations | |
| 1983 | "Weapons" | Weapons | ||
| 1983 | "Deca-Dance" | |||
| 1984 | "Sexual Outlaw" | 92 | O Tempora! O Mores! | |
| 1985 | "On The Line" | 91 | ||
| 1985 | "Rescue Me" | |||
| 1985 | "Birds of a Feather" | Birds of a Feather | ||
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (May 2009) |
