National Velvet (band)
National Velvet | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Goth rock, hard rock |
| Years active | 1985–1995 2011–present |
| Labels | Capitol, Iron Music |
| Members | Maria del Mar Mark Crossley Tim Welch Mark Storm Garry Flint Darrell Flint Mark Thwaite |
National Velvet are a Canadian goth rock band, popular in the 1980s and 1990s.[1]
The band members have included vocalist Maria Del Mar, guitarist Mark Crossley, guitarist Tim Welch, bassist Mark Storm, saxophonist Chris Weiss and drummer Garry Flint.[2] The band came together after a chance meeting between Del Mar and Storm in an alley during a party in Toronto, Ontario;[2] that initial meeting was actually an argument about musical taste, because Storm was a fan of gothic rock bands such as Bauhaus, while del Mar was into Spanish classical music, Motown, swing music and punk rock.[3] Maria del Mar worked the coat check at Toronto nightclub The Diamond, while Tim Welch was the lighting technician there.[4] Six months later, they released a self-titled independent EP,[2] before signing to Intrepid Records in 1987.[2]
Their self-titled debut album was released in 1988,[5] and spawned the radio single "Flesh Under Skin".[2] In 1989, their single and video for "68 Hours" garnered them a CASBY Award.[2]
Their follow-up album, Courage was recorded in England with producer Zeus B. Held,[6] and was released in 1990.[7] The album was supported by a cross-Canada tour,[7] and gave the band further radio airplay for the singles "Shine On" and "Sex Gorilla". (The latter title was a band in-joke. The song had actually been written as "Sarsparilla", but the fans kept misunderstanding the lyrics, so the band relented and retitled the song.)[2] "Sex Gorilla" also led to a fan tradition of throwing bananas at the stage during their shows.[1][8]
The band subsequently left Capitol Records, and released their third and final album Wildseed in 1995 on the independent label Iron Music.[1]
Despite frequent confusion, Del Mar is not the same person as television actress Maria del Mar.[9] She has continued to work in the Toronto music scene, including gigs with Classic Albums Live and with the Rolling Stones tribute band Midnight Ramblers.[10]
Storm was reported missing in November 2002. The following June, his body was found in Lake Ontario.[11]
The band has performed periodically, including shows at Toronto's Bovine Sex Club in 2011 and 2012, and continue to perform at select venues.[12]
Discography
- National Velvet (EP, 1986)
- National Velvet (1988)
- Courage (1990)
- Wildseed (1995)
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Ottawa holds out banana for National Velvet". Montreal Gazette, April 16, 1995.
- ^ a b c d e f g National Velvet at Jam! Music - Pop Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Dark and emphatic, National Velvet brings rock to Whyte; Any resemblance with the sentimental, old flick is purely coincidental". Edmonton Journal, April 20, 1990.
- ^ [1] at Then And Now: The Diamond Club
- ^ "Bumper crop of Canadian pop blooming this spring". Toronto Star, April 2, 1988.
- ^ "National Velvet: Courage". Toronto Star, March 30, 1990.
- ^ a b "National Velvet". Calgary Herald, April 19, 1990.
- ^ "National Velvet singer Del Mar soon goes banana". Ottawa Citizen, April 2, 1990.
- ^ "Street Legal's Maria del Mar dreams of coming back to Ottawa". Ottawa Citizen, May 29, 1993.
- ^ "Hear the Rolling Stones' best album -- live". Ottawa Citizen, June 26, 2003.
- ^ "Memorial for National Velvet Bassist Tomorrow". Chart. 2003-06-09. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ "The top 10 Toronto goth bands of all time". BlogTO, October 25, 2014.