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.

Biography

Early years (1968–1979)

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".

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.

Commercial peak (1980–1983)

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.

The controversy surrounding the raunchy lesbian-themed second single "High School Confidential" helped propel the song into the Canadian top 20, and made the band stars. The band sang this song on a notable 1981 appearance on SCTV, a prominent Canadian comedy show that also aired in the U.S.

The band's next album was 1981's For Those Who Think Young. (The title was originally meant to be "For Those Who Think Jung", a play on their earlier Avoid Freud LP as well as a reference to Carl Jung.) Although not as widely remembered as "High School Confidential" today, the LP's first single, the sexually charged "All Touch", was the band's most successful single on the Canadian charts during their career, peaking at no. 12. The release of both "All Touch" and its parent album was delayed by nearly a year in international markets, with "All Touch" peaking in Australia at no. 40 in January 1983 and spending 40 weeks in the Top 100. "All Touch" also became Rough Trade's only U.S. chart hit, peaking at no. 58 in early 1983. Although the song widely was believed to have the potential to break into the top 40, the bankruptcy of the band's American distributor Boardwalk Records

During the recording of Rough Trade's 1982 album Shaking the Foundations, Wilkins and Berger left and were replaced by Howard Ayee (bass) and Jorn Anderson (drums) as unofficial members. (By this point, the group was explicitly identified in the album credits as simply Pope and Staples, augmented by other musicians as needed on a track-by-track basis.) Shaking the Foundations spawned a top 20 Canadian hit in "Crimes of Passion". Dusty Springfield sang backing vocals on the album, and would also cover two Rough Trade songs that same year on her album White Heat. Many years later, Pope would reveal that she and Springfield were in a relationship around this time.

In 1983, Rough Trade were offered a Pepsi commercial to air in the Canadian market, but the ad was soon pulled from the airwaves as Pepsi had featured people wrapped in bandages and wearing tuxedos and sunglasses similar to Canadian musician Nash the Slash without his permission. The same year, lead singer Pope duetted with Paul Hyde on the Payola$ top 10 Canadian hit "Never Said I Loved You". However, Rough Trade's 1983 album Weapons failed to place a single on the Canadian charts, marking the beginning of the group's commercial decline.

On The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman, Martin Short recalled that one of his early performances included being the opening act for Rough Trade in the early 1980s.

Winding down (1984–1988)

In 1984, the duo of Pope and Staples were paired with new producer Terry Brown, after having previously co-produced all their True North material with Gene Martynec. The duo was supported by session musicians in the studio, including Berger, Wilkins, Ayee, and Anderson, as well as guests such as Dalbello and Neil Chapman of Pukka Orchestra. The band's 1984 album O Tempora! O Mores! spun off two singles that brushed the Canadian top 100, but it would prove to be Rough Trade's final full-length original release.

Rough Trade returned to a stable five person line-up in 1985 for performance purposes, with Pope, Staples and Ayee joined by Tony Springer (guitar) and Tony Craig (drums). This line-up would record a handful of new tracks for the 1985 greatest hits compilation Birds of a Feather. Their final full-scale tour "Deep Six in '86" took place in 1986, In 2001, Rough Trade undertook a mini-tour of several venues in eastern Canada.

Since the break-up, Staples busied himself as a composer for film, television and theatre, and lived in Toronto. Pope has issued two EPs, two albums, and several singles; her first full-length solo debut album Transcend was released in 2005, 21 years after her last full-length album with Rough Trade, which was followed by her second album, Landfall, which was released in 2011. Pope continues to play occasional shows across Canada and in Los Angeles and New York City and now lives in West Hollywood.

In 2020, Pope and Staples reunited as Rough Trade to record and issue a new version of "High School Confidential". Though billed as "High School Confidential (Fame Whore Mix)", the track was a completely new recording, rather than a remix.

Death of band members

On March 7, 2019, JoAnn Brooks, backing vocalist and percussionist of the band from 1976 to 1977, died from health complications.

On January 8, 2021, Michael Fonfara, keyboardist and arranger of the band from 1976 to 1978, died following a two-year battle with cancer.

On March 23, 2025, co-founding member, Kevan Staples, died of cancer at the age of 74.

Members

;Core members

Carole Pope – vocals, (1968–1988)
Kevan Staples – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, synthesizers (1968–1988, died 2025)

; Former members

JoAnn Brooks – vocals, percussion (1976–1977, died 2019)
John Lang – keyboards, guitar (1976–1977)
Hap Roderman – bass (1974–1977)
Marv Kanarek – drums (1974–1976)
Michael Fonfara – keyboards, arranger(1976–1978, died 2021)
Peter Hodgson – bass (1975–1977)
Rick Gratton – drums (1976–1978)
Luci Martin-Keyes – backing vocals (1977)
Sharon Smith – keyboards (1974–1975)
Jane Cessine – percussion (1974–1975)
Patricia Cullen – keyboards (1974–1976, died 1991)
Diane Roblin – keyboards (1975)
John Sheard – keyboards (1978–1979)
John Capek – keyboards (1975–1976)
John Hughes – keyboards (1978–1978)
Jim Norman – drums (1975–1976)
Peter Goodale – keyboards (1978)
Fred Mandel – keyboards (1975)
Terry Wilkins – bass (1978–1982)
John Adames – drums (1978–1979)
Bucky Berger – drums (1978–1982)
David McMorrow – keyboards (1980–1984)
Howard Ayee – bass (1982–1987)
Jorn Andersen – drums (1982–1984)
Chi Sharge – percussion (1983–1984)
Tony Springer – guitar (1985–1987)
Tony Craig – drums (1985–1987)

Lineups

{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="float:width:375px; margin:0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse:collapse; border:1px solid #e2e2e2; width:99%;"

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1968–1970

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1970–1974

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1974–1977

| valign=top | (O)

Carole Pope – vocals, guitar
Kevan Staples – keyboards, guitars

| valign=top | (The Bullwhip Brothers)

Carole Pope – vocals, guitar
Kevan Staples – keyboards, guitars

| valign=top | (Rough Trade)

Carole Pope – vocals
Kevan Staples – vocals, keyboards, guitars
Sharon Smith – keyboards
Patricia Cullen – keyboards
Jane Cessine – percussion
Hap Roderman – bass
Marv Kanarek – drums
Jim Norman – drums

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1977

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1977–1978

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1978–1980

| valign=top |

Carole Pope – vocals
Kevan Staples – vocals, keyboards, guitars
JoAnn Brooks – vocals, percussion
Michael Fonfara – keyboards, arranger
Peter Hodgson – bass
Rick Gratton – drums

| valign=top |

Carole Pope – vocals
Kevan Staples – vocals, keyboards, guitars
JoAnn Brooks – vocals, percussion
Luci Martin-Keyes – backing vocals
Michael Fonfara – keyboards, arranger
Peter Hodgson – bass
Rick Gratton – drums

| valign=top |

Carole Pope – vocals
Kevan Staples – vocals, keyboards, guitars
David McMorrow – keyboards
John Hughes – keyboards
Terry Wilkins – bass
Bucky Berger – drums
John Adames – drums

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1980–1982

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1982–1983

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1983–1984

| valign=top |

Carole Pope – vocals
Kevan Staples – vocals, keyboards, guitars
David McMorrow – keyboards
Terry Wilkins – bass
Bucky Berger – drums

| valign=top |

Carole Pope – vocals
Kevan Staples – vocals, keyboards, guitars
David McMorrow – keyboards
Howard Ayee – bass
Jorn Andersen – drums

| valign=top |

Carole Pope – vocals
Kevan Staples – vocals, keyboards, guitars
David McMorrow – keyboards
Howard Ayee – bass
Jorn Anderson – drums
Chi Sharge – percussion

! style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| 1985–1988

| valign=top |

Carole Pope – vocals
Kevan Staples – vocals, keyboards, guitars
Tony Springer – guitar
Howard Ayee – bass
Tony Craig – drums

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable"

!rowspan=2|Year

!rowspan=2|Title

!colspan=3|Chart positions

!width="40"|CAN

!width="40"|CANCON

!width="40"|AUS

|1976

|Rough Trade Live! Direct to Disc

|align="center"|—

|1980

|Avoid Freud

|align="center"|19

|align="center"|—

|1981

|For Those Who Think Young

|align="center"|9

|align="center"|1

|align="center"|59

|1982

|Shaking the Foundations

|align="center"|9

|align="center"|1

|align="center"|96

|1983

|Weapons

|align="center"|20

|align="center"|—

|1984

|O Tempora! O Mores!

|align="center"|—

|1985

|Birds of a Feather: The Best of Rough Trade

|align="center"|—

|2022

|Rough Trade: Live 1979-1980

|—

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

!rowspan="2" | Release date

!rowspan="2" | Title

!colspan="4" | Chart peak

!rowspan="2" | Album

! style="width:45px;"| Canada RPM 100

!width="40"|CANCON

! style="width:45px;"| US Hot 100

! style="width:45px;"| AUS

| style="text-align:center;"|1

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "All Touch"

| style="text-align:center;"|12

| style="text-align:center;"|2

| style="text-align:center;"|58

| style="text-align:center;"|40

| rowspan="3"|For Those Who Think Young

| "Blood Lust"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "For Those Who Think Young"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| 1982

| "Crimes of Passion"

| style="text-align:center;"|18

| style="text-align:center;"|—

|Shaking the Foundations

| rowspan="2"|1983

| "Weapons"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| rowspan="2"|Weapons

| "Deca-Dance"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| 1984

| "Sexual Outlaw"

| style="text-align:center;"|92

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| rowspan="3"|O Tempora! O Mores!

| rowspan="3"|1985

| "On the Line"

| style="text-align:center;"|91

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Rescue Me"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| "Birds of a Feather"

| style="text-align:center;"|—

| Birds of a Feather

|2020

|"High School Confidential (Fame Whore Mix)"

|—

|Non-album single

References

External links

The Rough Trade Pages – history and discography (archived)
Article at canadianbands.com