Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Rough Trade (band)
Rough Trade (1968–1988) was a Canadian rock band centred on 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.
The first iteration of the band was formed in 1968, in Toronto, when Carole Pope (vocals, guitars) and Kevan Staples (keyboards, guitars) began performing in a folk group known as "O". Their musical partner in this venture was Clive Smith. In 1970, Smith left the group, and Pope and Staples changed their name to "The Bullwhip Brothers", performing as a largely acoustic duo at Toronto art festivals and at private events.
In 1973, the band was renamed Rough Trade, and was joined by percussionist Chris Faulkner, bassist Bob Jennings, and drummer Donny McDougal. As would happen frequently going forward, the players supporting Pope and Staples were subject to sometimes wholesale change, and by 1974, the Pope/Staples duo was joined by Hap Roderman, Jane Cessine, Sharon Smith and Marv Kanarek. The band, through their theatrical combination of rock, R&B and raw sexuality (Pope often performed in bondage attire), became a popular draw on Toronto's live music scene through their regular shows at Grossman's Tavern, in Toronto.
Rough Trade was the first rock band to record a direct to disc album with 1976's Rough Trade Live, which despite the title, was actually a studio recording. Each side was performed all the way through and cut directly to the mastering disc for greater audio fidelity. By this time, the band's line-up was Pope, Staples, JoAnn Brooks (vocals, percussion), Rick Gratton (drums), Michael Fonfara (keyboards, arranger), and Peter Hodgson (bass). As would be the case throughout the band's entire career, the majority of the album's songs were written by Pope and Staples. In the same year, Geoff Travis opened the first Rough Trade record shop in London, reportedly taking the appellation from the band; this eventually led to the formation of the similarly named Rough Trade Records in 1978.
On December 19, 1977, the band presented a newly created live musical called Restless Underwear, which co-starred Divine alongside the band (who by this time had added an additional back-up singer, Luci Martin-Keyes). The show, which played at Toronto's prestigious Massey Hall, was noted for its outrageous (for the time) sexual satire. However, aside from Pope and Staples, the rest of the band quit after Restless Underwear had completed its one-show run in a dispute over payment.
After a six-month layoff, Pope and Staples rebuilt the band, adding David McMorrow, Bucky Berger, Terry Wilkins, Bert Hermiston, Colina Phillips and Betty Richardson to the line-up at various points in 1978 and 1979. The group resumed playing regular Toronto shows, most often at the Horseshoe Tavern. In 1978, Tim Curry would issue a cover of the Rough Trade song "Birds of a Feather", from their 1976 direct to disc album. 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-television film One Night Stand.
On February 14, 1980, the band performed their musical revue Restless Underwear at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre. However, the event was promoted by the venue as a show by Divine, who in fact only sang two songs in the revue, both in act two. As a result, the show was received poorly. Later that year, the band line-up was again reshuffled, settling into a stable five-person line-up of Carole Pope (vocals), Kevan Staples (guitars, keyboards, etc.), David McMorrow (keyboards), Terry Wilkins (bass), and Bucky Berger (drums). The band also performed in the Canadian horror film, Deadline, that same year.
The new iteration of Rough Trade landed a record contract with True North Records in mid-1980, and recorded the group's second album Avoid Freud, which was released in October 1980. The official 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.
Hub AI
Rough Trade (band) AI simulator
(@Rough Trade (band)_simulator)
Rough Trade (band)
Rough Trade (1968–1988) was a Canadian rock band centred on 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.
The first iteration of the band was formed in 1968, in Toronto, when Carole Pope (vocals, guitars) and Kevan Staples (keyboards, guitars) began performing in a folk group known as "O". Their musical partner in this venture was Clive Smith. In 1970, Smith left the group, and Pope and Staples changed their name to "The Bullwhip Brothers", performing as a largely acoustic duo at Toronto art festivals and at private events.
In 1973, the band was renamed Rough Trade, and was joined by percussionist Chris Faulkner, bassist Bob Jennings, and drummer Donny McDougal. As would happen frequently going forward, the players supporting Pope and Staples were subject to sometimes wholesale change, and by 1974, the Pope/Staples duo was joined by Hap Roderman, Jane Cessine, Sharon Smith and Marv Kanarek. The band, through their theatrical combination of rock, R&B and raw sexuality (Pope often performed in bondage attire), became a popular draw on Toronto's live music scene through their regular shows at Grossman's Tavern, in Toronto.
Rough Trade was the first rock band to record a direct to disc album with 1976's Rough Trade Live, which despite the title, was actually a studio recording. Each side was performed all the way through and cut directly to the mastering disc for greater audio fidelity. By this time, the band's line-up was Pope, Staples, JoAnn Brooks (vocals, percussion), Rick Gratton (drums), Michael Fonfara (keyboards, arranger), and Peter Hodgson (bass). As would be the case throughout the band's entire career, the majority of the album's songs were written by Pope and Staples. In the same year, Geoff Travis opened the first Rough Trade record shop in London, reportedly taking the appellation from the band; this eventually led to the formation of the similarly named Rough Trade Records in 1978.
On December 19, 1977, the band presented a newly created live musical called Restless Underwear, which co-starred Divine alongside the band (who by this time had added an additional back-up singer, Luci Martin-Keyes). The show, which played at Toronto's prestigious Massey Hall, was noted for its outrageous (for the time) sexual satire. However, aside from Pope and Staples, the rest of the band quit after Restless Underwear had completed its one-show run in a dispute over payment.
After a six-month layoff, Pope and Staples rebuilt the band, adding David McMorrow, Bucky Berger, Terry Wilkins, Bert Hermiston, Colina Phillips and Betty Richardson to the line-up at various points in 1978 and 1979. The group resumed playing regular Toronto shows, most often at the Horseshoe Tavern. In 1978, Tim Curry would issue a cover of the Rough Trade song "Birds of a Feather", from their 1976 direct to disc album. 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-television film One Night Stand.
On February 14, 1980, the band performed their musical revue Restless Underwear at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre. However, the event was promoted by the venue as a show by Divine, who in fact only sang two songs in the revue, both in act two. As a result, the show was received poorly. Later that year, the band line-up was again reshuffled, settling into a stable five-person line-up of Carole Pope (vocals), Kevan Staples (guitars, keyboards, etc.), David McMorrow (keyboards), Terry Wilkins (bass), and Bucky Berger (drums). The band also performed in the Canadian horror film, Deadline, that same year.
The new iteration of Rough Trade landed a record contract with True North Records in mid-1980, and recorded the group's second album Avoid Freud, which was released in October 1980. The official 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.