The Toronto Dreams Project
The Toronto Dreams Project Historical Ephemera Blog
The Toronto Dreams Project Historical Ephemera Blog
The Little Red Umbrella
1970s punk from the Queen Street scene The Diodes may very well be the most important punk band in the history of Toronto. They were formed in 1976 — playing together at the Ontario College of Art just as the Queen West punk scene was about to become one of the greatest punk scenes on Earth. And The Diodes played a founding role. It was The Diodes and The Viletones who quickly became the giants of the scene: their infamous rivalry pitted the art school background of The Diodes against the working class thug
Well, thank fuck: it seems as if people may finally be ready to start paying a bit more attention to the history of music in Toronto. It's about bloody time. Recently, there have been a whole series of popular projects exploring the city's music scenes from days gone by: from the sounds of 1960s Yorkville ( Before The Gold Rush ) to the rock and soul of the Yonge Street Strip ( Yonge Street: Toronto Rock & Roll Stories ) to 1970s Queen Street punk ( Treat Me Like Dirt ). Not to mention, *ahem*, the Toronto
Carol Pope and Kevan Staples first started playing together in Yorkville in 1968, but it would be another six years before they officially became the New Wave group Rough Trade. They quickly developed a reputation for their sexual live shows at Grossman's Tavern (on Spadina south of College) and later at the Horseshoe (on Queen West). Pope made a habit of wearing bondage gear on stage and made no secret of her homosexuality.
The Toronto Dreams Project
The Toronto Dreams Project Historical Ephemera Blog
The Toronto Dreams Project Historical Ephemera Blog
The Little Red Umbrella