Jolly Tambourine Man
Jolly Tambourine Man was a Canadian alternative rock band, based in Toronto, Ontario and active in the early 1980s. The band recorded a demo tape and a 7" single during its lifetime. The single "Apple Strudel Man" was one of the first independent videos to be placed into rotation on MuchMusic.[1]
Jolly Tambourine Man | |
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Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Genres | Punk rock, post-punk |
Years active | 1983-84 |
Associated acts | Blibber and the Rat Crushers, Change of Heart, |
Past members | Stewart Black Steve Rhodes Warren Philips Greg McKenzie Ian Blurton Mike Armstrong Caroline Savage |
History
The Jolly Tambourine Man was a side project of the punk rock band Blibber and the Rat Crushers during a period when the main band was having trouble finding a permanent drummer. Its core lineup consisted of Blibber guitarist Stewart Black and the band's friend Steve Rhodes. With guest musicians Warren Philips and Greg McKenzie, the band recorded a self-titled and self-released cassette in 1983.[2] Songs on the demo tape were "Nazi Punks Go Bowling", "Lisa Burger", "Gropnick", "I am Albella", "Apple Strudel Man", "Mold in My Ears", "Scary Bowl" and "Movin' On Up".[2] A song about Terry Fox was included in the 1983 punk music retrospective film Not Dead Yet.[3]
Rhodes and Black then recruited Ian Blurton and Mike Armstrong of Change of Heart and Caroline Savage of Katwimmen to appear on a rerecording of "Apple Strudel Man", which was released as a 7" single in 1984 with the B-side "Sweater in Sri Lanka".[1]
A video was created for the single by film producer Bill Davis[4] and released the same week as MuchMusic's initial launch,[1] was added to MuchMusic's rotation; the single was also a hit on Toronto's alternative music station CFNY-FM.
For personal reasons, both Blibber and Jolly Tambourine Man went on hiatus following the "Apple Strudel Man" single. Blibber reemerged in 1990 with the demo release Pope Music.
References
- Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-992-9.
- Equalizing Distort, CIUT-FM.
- " Not Dead Yet 1983". Letterboxd, review by aul Corupe
- Andrew Pearson, "Live Fast, Die Young: Is Punk History Up in Flames?". The Tyee, June 30, 2006.