Wha’ Happen?: Blue Peter
The GridTO:
In our recurring feature Wha’ Happen?, we find out what happened to those Toronto artists that were all over local airwaves and MuchMusic during the ’80s and ’90s, but are less visible today.

The GridTO:
In our recurring feature Wha’ Happen?, we find out what happened to those Toronto artists that were all over local airwaves and MuchMusic during the ’80s and ’90s, but are less visible today.
CanadianBands.com: View the original here
Blue Peter's beginnings were pretty typical - friends getting together in the basement to play rock and roll and hopefully impress the girls, and the late '70's had some of the freshest sounds anywhere. Disco was on its way out and punk was making a statement, leading the way for new wave. Originally formed by Markham, Ont, vocalist Paul Humphrey and guitarist Chris Wardman, the band's lineup was solidified when Geoff McOuat came in on bass and Ron Tomlinson brought his drumkit on board.
FRI NOV 2, 2012
Then & Now: The Edge
...The Garys saw the club as a springboard for emergent local acts. “We nurtured a lot of local groups who got signed from playing regularly at The Edge and from being promoted the same ways we would promote The Police or whoever,” says Topp. He namechecks more than a dozen Toronto acts of the time, including The Mods, Drastic Measures, The Sharks, The Curse, Spoons, Battered Wives, The Demics, The Dishes, Johnny and the G-Rays, Blue Peter, and The B-Girls."
Full Story: http://www.thegridto.com/culture/music/then-now-the-edge/
Sam “The Record Man” Sniderman, whose name graced Toronto’s Mecca for music lovers and who helped unknown Canadian musicians make their marks in music history, died Sunday. He was 92.
Full Story at The Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/news/obituary/article/1261272--sam-the-record-man...
Vintage Toronto added a photo of CFNY's Top 102 Canadian Songs from 1991.
Blue Peter's "Don't Walk Past" is #15!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384929484910375&set=a.2560455411...
From About.com 80s Music ORIGINAL STORY:
80music.about.com/b/2012/07/30/this-weeks-forgotten-gem-of-the-80s-blue-peter-chinese-graffiti.htm Monday July 30, 2012
By Steve Peake, About.com Guide
Canadian new wave/synth pop band Blue Peter created an elegant keyboard-based sound during the early '80s that also benefited from well-timed injections of guitar. Led by composer/guitarist Chris Wardman and fronted by lead singer Paul Humphrey, the group didn't stay together long enough to become an outright fixture on the pop music scene. Nevertheless, Blue Peter earned a place among '80s Canadian artists with its melodic intensity. The band's versatility also allowed for impressive slots opening for punk rock and new wave legends The Jam and The Police.
The Canadiana Classic:
If I had to choose one Canadian band to laud from the aftermath of punk’s first generation it would be Blue Peter. Most of the material on their three full length albums and three E.P.’s sound like they could have been released yesterday. The two mainstays of Blue Peter have always been Paul Humphreys and Chris Wardman. Both have remained active as musicians and producers on the Canadian music scene, but their subsequent work hasn’t garnered the kind of attention still given to their first band. (An interesting side note: Humphrey’s brother John, also a musician, was once a member of Jean Luc Ponty’s touring band.) Although Blue Peter is no longer actively making music, all of their recordings have been reissued and they continue to play a couple of shows a year. I recommend you investigate.
http://northoftheborderradio.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/week-eleven-words/
Did you know: ... that Blue Peter's album, Falling, contained the song "Don't Walk Past", the video for which was inspired by the then-recent film Blade Runner?
By Kerry Doole
Originally Published: 2011-01-16
Blue Peter frontman Paul Humphrey looked almost identical to when I first saw the band when I was in high school (and got lucky after the gig when a girl unfathomably thought I was in the group, and I went along with it). Blue Peter's 1980 "Radio Silence" album ranks among my favourite Canadian new wave records, and the title track and "Video Verite" still resonated with me when they were performed on Saturday. The lovely and talented Emm Gryner joined the band to sing on what's probably its best known song, "Don't Walk Past."
(Chalk Circle was) followed by the musically strongest set of the night, from local new wave/synth pop heroes Blue Peter. Singer Paul Humphrey looked and sounded great, and the guest presence of Emm Gryner boosted their biggest hit, "Don't Walk Past."
This show is sold out. Tickets are available for the January 21, 2011 show with Chalk Circle at The Mod Club.
------
junoawards.ca
A 40th Anniversary Concert Series at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
Presented by
Tickets: $20.00 Advance. Available at ticketmaster.ca or 416-870-8000, Horseshoe Front Bar, Soundscapes, Rotate This, and MapleMusic
Dates:
January 8, 2011: Songs of the ’80s – Produced by Last Gang Entertainment
Featuring:
9:00 – Modern Superstitions
9:30 – Andy Curran (Coney Hatch)
9:40 – Rik Emmett (Triumph)
10:10 – Platinum Blonde
10:40 – Chalk Circle
10:55 – Christopher Ward w/ Lindi Ortega
11:00 – Blue Peter
11:30 – Maestro Fresh Wes
12:00 – The Spoons
12:30 – San Sebastian
1:00 – Michael Williams – DJ Set
February 5, 2011: Songs of the ’90s – Produced by Dine Alone Records and Bedlam Music Management
March 5, 2011: Songs of the ’00s – Produced by Pheromone Recordings and MapleMusic Recordings
Blue Peter will be performing as part of THE JUNO AWARDS 40TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT SERIES @ THE HORSESHOE TAVERN on Saturday, January 8.
Artists include Chalk Circle, Maestro Fresh Wes, Platinum Blonde, and Rik Emmett of Triumph. They will be joined by Modern Superstitions and San Sebastian. Foremost past MuchMusic VJ Christopher Ward will host the event; one of four concerts in celebration of the JUNO Awards‟ 40th Anniversary. The Songs of the 80s, is produced by Last Gang Entertainment.
Tickets are now on sale for all JUNO Decades shows. Tickets ($20 each) can be purchased in advance at ticketmaster.ca or by phoning (416) 870-8000; or in person at The Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen St. W), Soundscapes (572 College St. W) and Rotate This (801 Queen St. W); or online at Maplemusic.com. Proceeds will go to MusiCounts, Canada‟s music education charity associated with CARAS.
Performances start at 9:30pm
Blue Peter is now on iTunes Ping.
You can follow us here
Angus Mackay, the co-founder of Ready Records (with Andy Crosbie) died this week. Angus had been battling unbeatable cancer since December.
Ready Records was formed in 1979 and Angus and Andy produced some of the earliest releases which included The Demics' "New York City" and Blue Peter's "Test Patterns For Living". Angus also produced and played guitar for Ready Records act Steve Blimkie and The Reason.
Angus’s family has organized a celebration/memorial for him on June 27th. The details are below.
Please join us for a celebration of Angus's life at Clarke Memorial Hall, 161 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga, Ontario on Sunday June 27, 2010 5:30 to 8:30 PM.
Donations in Angus's memory can be made to Ian Anderson House, Oakville, Ontario.
BLUE PETER - YONGE & DUNDAS SQUARE (TIFF)
Although they emerged from the late 70’s, Blue Peter peaked at a time when New Wave reigned, justifying comparisons to groups that took-up MTV’s airtime. Almost 30 years on, their music still sounds contemporary, pop-stylings merged with electronic keyboards glossed-over with an edgy art-glam sheen. With Paul Humphrey’s dance moves and new-romantic vocals, “Don’t Walk On Past”, not surprisingly, evoked the biggest crowd reaction. A trip down Canadian music memory lane.
http://lonelyvagabond.com/wpmu/2009/09/12/blue-peter-yonge-dundas-square...
Blue Peter's song "Same Old Place" will be featured in Rob Stefaniuk's R&R vampire movie "Suck".
www.imdb.com/title/tt1323605/
It stars Malcolm McDowell, Iggy Pop, Dave Foley, Alice Cooper, Moby, Carole Pope and Henry Rollins.
Test Patterns For Living EP
Blue Peter's song "Same Old Place" will be featured in Rob Stefaniuk's R&R vampire movie "Suck".
www.imdb.com/title/tt1323605/
www.suckthemovie.com/
It stars Malcolm McDowell, Iggy Pop, Dave Foley, Alice Cooper, Moby, Carole Pope and Henry Rollins.
Test Patterns For Living EP
Art Bergmann and Tony Dekker from Great Lake Swimmers performing a cover of Sin City at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto on April 25, 2009.
Chris Wardman and Jason Sniderman from Blue Peter on Guitar and Keys, Sammy Kohn from The Watchmen on drums, Bob Egan from Blue Rodeo on pedal steel, Jonny Kerr on bass.
http://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2009/04/art-bergmann-in-toronto...
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009
Art Bergmann in Toronto, country music in Vancouver
Damn, man, I wish I was in Toronto this weekend, to catch Art Bergmann opening for the Great Lake Swimmers on the 25th. (Read the Ray Fulber piece below, if you've missed it - it looks like it may in fact be a bit early to pronounce Art's guitar slinger days as bein' COMPLETELY finished, given that we assume he'll be accompanying himself for this show, albeit acoustically...).