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CanadianBands.com Bio

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.

The GridTO: Then & Now: The Edge

Flyer credit: Don Pyle
Flyer credit: Don Pyle

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/

This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - Blue Peter - "Chinese Graffiti"

Chinese Graffiti 45 Cover
Chinese Graffiti 45 Cover 1981

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.

North of the Border Radio's Weblog

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/

Reliving the '80s as part of Juno concert series

MSN Review Jan 8-2011
MSN Review Jan 8-2011

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."

blogs.music.msn.ca

A 40th Anniversary Concert Series at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

This show is sold out. Tickets are available for the January 21, 2011 show with Chalk Circle at The Mod Club.
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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

The Juno Awards 40TH Anniversary Concert Series @ The Horseshoe Tavern

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

Angus MacKay, co-founder of Ready Records

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.

Guest Book

Lonely Vagabond Review, 2009

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...

"Same Old Place" to be Featured in the movie "Suck"

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 Story from Alienated In Vancouver

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...).