Red Rider
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Red Rider
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Much beloved in their native Canada, Red Rider never cracked the lucrative American market, although bandleader Tom Cochrane would find better luck as a solo artist in the '90s. Red Rider's trademark sound was a blend of AOR and new wave, which made them quite popular in their home country, where their albums regularly went gold. Intraband tension and personnel shifts gradually took their toll, and Red Rider called it a day as the '80s drew to a close.Red Rider were formed in Toronto by singer/guitarist Ken Greer, keyboardist Peter Boynton, and drummer Rob Baker in 1976. Bassist Jeff Jones soon came onboard as well, and in 1978, following a gig at Toronto's legendary El Mocambo club, they met singer/guitarist Tom Cochrane. Cochrane had previously pursued a career as a folk singer, and had even released a solo album, Hang On to Your Resistance, back in 1974 (to little success). Red Rider took Cochrane on as their frontman, although Greer had an equal hand in shaping the band's direction early on. They soon signed with Capitol Records through a connection of Cochrane's, and issued their hit debut single, "White Hot," in late 1979. Their first album, Don't Fight It, followed in early 1980, and its title track was also a hit, helping the album go gold in Canada. Their second album, 1981's As Far as Siam, went platinum and still ranks as their most enduringly popular work. It featured the band's signature song, the Canadian chart-topper "Lunatic Fringe" (which later appeared in the film Vision Quest and the TV series Miami Vice), as well as another Canadian hit in "What Have You Got to Do (To Get Off Tonight)."
Keyboardist Boynton subsequently left the group and was replaced by Steve Sexton for the follow-up, 1983's Neruda, a prog-tinged concept album about the famed Chilean poet. Neruda spawned the band's second biggest Canadian single in "Power (Strength in Numbers)," but it still couldn't break Red Rider in the U.S. Sexton departed and was replaced by John Webster for 1984's Breaking Curfew, which found even their Canadian audience slipping a bit. Tensions were running high, and when an opening slot on Rush's American tour failed to bring them a new audience, Red Rider temporarily disbanded. After taking a bit of time off, Cochrane, Greer, and Webster regrouped with bassist Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve and drummer Mickey Curry, and Cochrane assumed greater control of the band, billing himself out front. The eponymous Tom Cochrane & Red Rider appeared in 1986 and brought the band another Canadian hit single with "Boy Inside the Man." Victory Day followed in 1988, and Webster was gone by this point, his spot filled simply by session men. After one further outing, 1989's The Symphony Sessions (an album of old favorites recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra), Cochrane officially left for a solo career, and Red Rider disbanded, this time for good. Cochrane went on to score a massive solo hit -- in America -- with the Top Five smash "Life Is a Highway" in 1992. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi
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Red Rider
For the comic strip and fictional cowboy, see Red Ryder. For the diabetic cyclists, see Tour de Cure. For the Australian band, see Red Riders. For the Biblical horseman, see Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
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| Red Rider | |
|---|---|
 Tom Cochrane & Red Rider perform in Halifax August 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Rock |
| Years active | 1979–1989 2002–present |
| Labels | Capitol, RCA |
| Members | |
| Tom Cochrane Ken Greer Jeff Jones Gary Craig Davide Direnzo Tom Lewis |
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| Past members | |
| Bill Bell John Webster Randall Coryell Rob Baker Peter Boynton Ken"Spider"Sinneave Steve Sexton Randall "Mongo" Stoll |
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Red Rider are a Canadian rock band popular in the 1980s. While the band achieved great success in Canada, in the US, the band never had a song in the Top 40. Although Lunatic Fringe was #1 for 16 straight weeks on the American AOR charts in late 1981.
In 1978, Tom Cochrane joined up with Rob Baker on drums, Jeff Jones on bass, Peter Boynton on keyboards and Ken Greer to form Red Rider. They were signed to Capitol Records and released their first album Don't Fight It in 1980. With the singles "White Hot" and "Don't Fight It", the album quickly reached gold status. Their second album As Far as Siam was released in 1981 and featured the hit "Lunatic Fringe" which was used in the 1985 movie Vision Quest and which is now a mainstay on American classic rock radio. The song also saw high rotation on the United States cable network MTV. Boynton was replaced by keyboardist Steve Sexton on Red Rider's third album Neruda, released in 1983. The track "Napoleon Sheds His Skin" would become one of the more popular songs from the album.
For their 1984 album Breaking Curfew, John Webster replaced Sexton on keyboards. The album did not sell as well as Neruda and a dispute with Capitol Records over the future direction of the band resulted in Red Rider being dropped from the record label later in 1984.
The band subsequently signed with RCA. In what became a strong signal regarding the future of the band, they officially became known as Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, and released their self-titled fifth album in 1986 which included Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve on bass.
In 1987, Capitol released a compilation CD titled Over 60 Minutes with Red Rider, covering the band's first four albums. Also in 1987 the band who had been nominated 11 times for Juno awards finally was awarded one for group of the year.
In the fall of 1988, the band released their sixth album Victory Day which contained the track "Big League," about the death of a young hockey player. The young man's father approached Cochrane on the day of a concert, mentioning that his son was a big fan of Red Rider's song, "Boy Inside The Man." Cochrane asked the man if his son was going to be attending the concert, and the man responded that his son had recently died in a car accident.[1] Another note about "Big League" is that Cochrane and Greer played it at GM place at the start of the 08/09 hockey season to commemorate the passing of Luc Bourdon, a member of the Vancouver Canucks. The song was featured in a segment on CBC Television's Hockey Night in Canada.
Red Rider's final album, The Symphony Sessions, was released in 1989 and saw the band performing with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, as Procol Harum had done seventeen years before. Cochrane's solo career was taking off and the band broke up shortly after the album was released.
The three-CD box set Ashes to Diamonds, which includes material by both Red Rider and Cochrane as a solo artist, was released in 1993. Professional wrestler Kurt Angle uses an instrumental version of Lunatic Fringe as his entrance music in TNA. UFC fighter and former Pride Champion Dan "Hendo" Henderson uses Lunatic Fringe as his intro song.
Cochrane, Greer and Jones reunited in 2002, and have been touring as Tom Cochrane and Red Rider since.
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Contents
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Discography
Albums
- 1980 - Don't Fight It
- 1981 - As Far as Siam
- 1983 - Neruda
- 1984 - Breaking Curfew
- 1986 - Tom Cochrane & Red Rider (as Tom Cochrane & Red Rider)
- 1988 - Victory Day (as Tom Cochrane & Red Rider)
- 1989 - The Symphony Sessions (as Tom Cochrane & Red Rider)
Compilation Albums
- 1987 - Over 60 Minutes with Red Rider
- 1993 - Ashes to Diamonds
- 2002 - Trapeze: The Collection
Singles
| Release date | Title | Chart peak | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM 100 |
US Hot 100 |
US Main- stream Rock |
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| March 1980 | "White Hot" | 20 | 48 | Don't Fight It | |
| June 1980 | "Don't Fight It" | 75 | 103 | ||
| August 1981 | "What Have You Got To Do" | 42 | As Far as Siam | ||
| October 1981 | "Lunatic Fringe" | 11 | |||
| March 1983 | "Human Race" | 29 | 11 | Neruda | |
| May 1983 | "Power (Strength in Numbers)" | 13 | |||
| September 1983 | "Crack the Sky (Breakaway)" | 39 | |||
| March 1984 | "Young Thing, Wild Dreams (Rock Me)" | 44 | 71 | 13 | Breaking Curfew |
| August 1984 | "Breaking Curfew" | 93 | |||
| June 1986 | "Boy Inside The Man" | 25 | 17 | Tom Cochrane & Red Rider | |
| October 1986 | "The Untouchable One" | 70 | 48 | ||
| January 1987 | "One More Time (Some Old Habits)" | 85 | |||
| May 1987 | "Ocean Blues (Emotion Blue)" | 88 | |||
| September 1988 | "Big League" | 4 | 9 | Victory Day | |
| January 1989 | "Good Times" | 2 | |||
| April 1989 | "Victory Day" | 32 | |||
| November 1989 | "White Hot" (Live) | 50 | The Symphony Sessions | ||
References
- ^ MelodicRock.com interview with Tom Cochrane. Accessed September 27, 2008.
External links
- Official Tom Cochrane and Red Rider Website - includes full streaming audio and video, bio, etc.
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Mentioned in
Ranson's Folly
(1915 Western Film)
Over 60 Minutes with Red Rider
(1998 Album by Red Rider)
Mad Mad World
(1992 Album by Tom Cochrane)
Serial Trailers
(1991 Western Film)
Ashes to Diamonds
(1994 Album by Tom Cochrane)
» More