Sweeney Todd (band)

Sweeney Todd
Origin	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Hard rock, glam rock
Years active	1975–1978 2000–present
Labels	London
Members	Nick Gilder Mark Kenny Mike Russell Glenn Regnier Dave Groves
Past members	Clark Perry Bryan Adams Drummond Eveleigh-Smith Christopher Booth Skip Prest Grant Gislason Philip Booth John Booth Lance Chalmers Jim McCulloch Marc Gladstone Dan Gaudin Joe Wowk Budd Marr Don Snell Frank Baker
Website	nickgilder.com

Sweeney Todd is a Canadian glam rock band formed in Vancouver in 1975. They released two albums, the first with original lead vocalist Nick Gilder, who soon left for a solo career, and the second with his 16-year-old replacement Bryan Adams, who later enjoyed international success as a solo artist.

Overview

The band, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, originally consisted of vocalist Nick Gilder, guitarist Jim McCulloch, bassist Budd Marr, keyboardist Dan Gaudin and drummer John Booth. The single "Roxy Roller" became a No. 1 hit in Canada, holding the top position in the RPM national singles chart for three weeks beginning on June 26, 1976, ^{[1] [2] [3]} and winning a Juno Award for the band. ^[4]

Gilder and McCulloch left the band to pursue solo careers. Gilder had hits with "Hot Child in the City", "Here Comes the Night" and "(You Really) Rock Me".

Clark Perry was brought in to replace Gilder on vocals, and Skip Prest replaced McCulloch on guitar. There was suggestion at this time that the group might rerecord their first album in its entirety for the US market. ^[5] Though he did record a second version of "Roxy Roller", Perry did not work out, however, and was replaced within a few months by Bryan Adams, ^[6] who was 16 at that time. That incarnation of Sweeney Todd also recorded a third version of "Roxy Roller".

The new lineup recorded Sweeney Todd's second album, If Wishes Were Horses. That album was unsuccessful and Adams left the band after less than a year. Perry would be replaced by a young Bryan Adams, then 16. He left the band to embark on a solo career with Jim Vallance; his most successful album to date is Reckless , which sold 12 million copies. ^{[7] [8]}

Adams was replaced by John Booth's younger brother ^[9] Christopher Saint Booth, then 17, on vocals; however, this did not last long, and Sweeney Todd broke up before recording any further albums. Booth went into film scoring, including the pornographic film Angels of Passion, whose song "Ulterior Motives", a collaboration with his twin brother Philip, would become a notable example of Lostwave, when a viral internet search ensued on sites such as WatZatSong and Reddit in the early 2020s under the title "Everyone Knows That (Ulterior Motives)". ^[10]

The band re-united with Gilder in 2000 and began working on The Sweeney Todd LP. The band followed up the completion of the record with a cross-Canada tour.

In 2007, Sweeney Todd — along with Gilder — headlined the Golden Spike Days Festival in Port Moody, British Columbia. In 2008, they performed (again with Gilder) at the Merritt Mountain Musicfest in Merritt, British Columbia.

Discography

Albums

• Sweeney Todd (1975) (Canadian RPM Album chart: #3)
• If Wishes Were Horses (1977) (Canadian RPM Album chart: #78)

Singles

• "Sweeney Todd Folder" (1976) - Canada #36 ^[11]
• "Roxy Roller" (1976) - Canada #1, ^[12] U.S. #90 ^[13]
• "Say Hello, Say Goodbye" (1976) - Canada #75 ^[14]
• "If Wishes Were Horses" (1977) - Canada #59 ^[15]

References

1. "Top Singles - Volume 25, No. 13, June 26 1976". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
2. "Top Singles - Volume 25, No. 14, July 03 1976". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
3. "Top Singles - Volume 25, No. 15, July 10 1976". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
4. Martin Melhuish (23 April 1977). "Juno 1977". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 76–. ISSN   0006-2510.
5. 'Ned Powers' (column) Saskatoon Star-Phoenix 22 June 1976 p. 15
6. Stone, Doug. "Sweeney Todd Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
7. "Remember September: 25 awesome albums turning 25 years old this month". 18 September 2016.
8. "Bryan Adams tickets: How to get them". 8 August 2014.
9. John Booth, "Sweeney". Royal City Music Project.
10. "Viral Lost Song 'Ulterior Motives' Found in Obscure '80s Porn Flick".
11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-03-20. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
12. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-07-03. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
13. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN   0-89820-089-X
14. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-12-13. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
15. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1977-10-22. Retrieved 2019-08-01.

External links

• Sweeney Todd discography at Discogs