Parachute Club (band)
Parachute Club is a Canadian band formed in Toronto in 1982, principally known for its hit song "Rise Up". A reconstituted version of Parachute Club continues to perform.
History
The original Parachute Club band consisted of Lorraine Segato on vocals and guitar, Lauri Conger on keyboards and vocals, Billy Bryans on drums, Margo Davidson on saxophone and vocals, Julie Masi on percussion and vocals, Steve Webster on bass and Dave Gray on guitar. Segato and Conger had previously been associated for several years as the nucleus of Mama Quilla II, a band that gained respect in Toronto in the late 1970s and early 1980s for their integrated musical and sexual politics—elements that would continue with The Parachute Club. Billy Bryans had been a well-known percussionist and producer in Toronto since the early 1970s, primarily associated with the Downchild Blues Band during this period.
Segato and Bryans first met in 1979, and started to collaborate musically. In 1982, Bryans was offered a chance to play at the inaugural Festival of Festivals in Toronto. Bryans approached Segato to form a band to play at the festival. Conger came from Mama Quilla II, while Margo Davidson, Dave Gray and Steve Webster were approached to join in the project. The band was well-received at the festival, and shortly thereafter received and accepted an offer for both a management and recording contract with Current Records. Parachute Club was thereby formed, while Mama Quilla II disbanded.
Parachute Club's eponymous first album, released in 1983, was produced by Daniel Lanois, who had previously been the producer of Mama Quilla II's sole release, an EP released in 1982. The song "Rise Up", from Parachute Club's first album, won a Canadian Juno Award in 1984 for Single of the Year, while the group won a Juno award for Most Promising Group of The Year. In 1985, the group received the Juno Award for Group of the Year. In 1987, the group's video of their single, "Love Is Fire" received the Juno Award for Video of the Year.
Steve Webster left to perform with Billy Idol and Keir Brownstone replaced Webster on their second album At the Feet of the Moon in 1985, produced by Michael Beinhorn. They received a Juno Award for Group of the Year the same year.
In 1986, they released their third album, Small Victories. The album included the song "Love is Fire" featuring Segato singing a duet with John Oates of Hall & Oates. Oates produced the single, as well as several other Small Victories tracks; The Parachute Club and Mike Jones were credited as producers on the remainder of the album. Julie Masi left the band after their Canadian tour in support of the album.
In 1987, they composed and performed four songs for the Canadian and U.S. versions of the anime series, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. During 1987, Lauri Conger left the band. After a final non-album single in 1988 ("Big Big World"), the band's final performances were in July, 1988 at Ontario Place, in Toronto, where the remaining band members were rejoined by Lauri Conger. In early 1989, the original Parachute Club formally disbanded, with band members going their separate ways. Some members, such as Lorraine Segato and Billy Bryans, continued as professional musicians, while other members, such as Margo Davidson and Lauri Conger, substantially left the music business.
In 2005, critic Greg Quill wrote in the Toronto Star that "No musical collective bespoke this city during a specific period as powerfully as Parachute Club did in the 1980s. Their infectious, inclusive, soca-soaked dance music carried important messages about the social changes Toronto was experiencing at the time, about sexual and personal politics, about the need for hope and courage in an age of confusing, impersonal rhetoric from local policymakers and world leaders."
Reunion and reconstitution
In 2005, a reconstituted Parachute Club commenced performing, co-headlining a reunion show with Martha and the Muffins and headlining at Toronto's City Roots Festival. The reconstituted band included original members Segato, Bryans, and Gray, as well as Brownstone (who was a member of the band for their second and third albums). Masi, Conger and Davidson were not part of the revived line-up; new members were Mystic Walsh and Miranda Walsh (daughters of Eric Walsh, lead singer of Toronto reggae band Messenjah) on vocals, and Ashley Wey on keyboards.
In 2006, The Parachute Club was inducted into the Canadian Indies Hall of Fame.
As of 2008, the reconstituted band is performing on a regular basis, although to date they have not released a new album. The band's website lists the current Parachute Club personnel as Chendy Leon Jr, Glenda del Monte, Dave Gray, Lorraine Segato, Billy Bryans, Rebecca Campbell, and Keir Brownstone.
Discography
Albums
1983 The Parachute Club Current/RCA
1984 At The Feet of the Moon Current/RCA
1985 Moving Thru the Moonlight Current/RCA; remixes
1986 Small Victories Current/RCA
1992 Wild Zone: The Essential Parachute Club BMG; reissued 2006 by EMI International
Compilation Inclusions
1984 Self Control and Other Smash Club Hits Polydor; "Rise Up"
1990 Radio Ffn Powerstation SPV Records; "Innuendo"
1996 Party Time, Volume 2: The Ultimate Party Album SPG; "Rise Up"
1996 Oh What A Feeling: A Vital Collection of Canadian Music MCA Records; "Rise Up"
1998 Hi-NRG Classics: The Definitive 12" Collection Unidisc; remix of "Rise Up"
1999 Poptronica Romance Buddha; "Love Is Fire"
2000 Party Time SPG; "Rise Up"
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