54-40
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| 54•40 | |
|---|---|
Dave Genn, Neil Osborne & Brad Merritt at the Vancouver ShoreFest in 2009
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|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Tsawwassen, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Rock, alternative rock |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Reprise, True North |
| Website | 5440 |
| Members | Neil Osborne Matt Johnson Brad Merritt Dave Genn |
| Past members | Phil Comparelli Darryl Neudorf Ian Franey |
54•40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, British Columbia.
The band takes their name from the slogan Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!, coined to express the unsuccessful expansionist agenda of James K. Polk's presidency, intent upon controlling a contested U.S.-Canada border area in the Oregon boundary dispute.
Contents
History
The group formed in 1981 as a trio consisting of Brad Merritt (bass), Ian Franey (drums), and Neil Osborne (vocals/guitar). They made their recording debut that same year, with four tracks on the independent compilation LP Things Are Still Coming Ashore, which also featured music by Vancouver bands Animal Slaves and Junco Run. The following year, the band issued the EP Selection.
In 1983, Phil Comparelli was added on guitar, trumpet and vocals and Franey was replaced by Darryl Neudorf. Neudorf subsequently was replaced by drummer Matt Johnson in 1986.
The band's self-titled second album, released in 1986, began to attract attention from radio and record buyers across Canada, with the single "Baby Ran" gaining significant college radio airplay. Musician Dave Osborne (keyboards, harmonica), toured and recorded with the band from 1987 to 1993. The band's third album, Show Me, became their commercial breakthrough in Canada, with the hits "One Day in Your Life" and "One Gun".
Although the band were popular on college radio in the United States, they never had a commercial breakthrough — 1992's Dear Dear was their first album not to have a U.S. release. It was, however, their best-selling album in Canada up to that time, leading to a new U.S. contract for the follow-up, Smilin' Buddha Cabaret, which had a significant hit in "Ocean Pearl".
The band's song "I Go Blind" was covered in the mid-1990s by American band Hootie & the Blowfish, and was featured on the first soundtrack to the TV series Friends. The song also appears on two compilations released by the band: 2000's Scattered, Smothered and Covered and 2003's The Best of Hootie & the Blowfish (1993 Thru 2003). Royalties from the Hootie and the Blowfish cover enabled the band to build their own recording studio in Vancouver.
The band announced in March 2005 that long-time member Comparelli had officially passed on guitar duties to Dave Genn, formerly of Matthew Good Band.
In 2010, to celebrate the band's 30 years together and almost 25 years since their first commercial album "The Green Album", the band went on a promotional concert tour with a two set act. The first set was "The Green Album" from start to finish. The second set was one song from every album since, with the exception of Dear Dear where they played two songs. 54-40 also performed a new song from their upcoming record, "Lost In The City" which was released on June 14, 2011. The Green tour was during the first few months of 2010.[1]
Discography
EPs
| Year | Title | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| CAN | ||
| 1982 | Selection | — |
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [2] |
CAN [3] |
||
| 1984 | Set the Fire | — | — |
| 1986 | 54-40 | 91 | — |
| 1987 | Show Me | 66 | — |
| 1989 | Fight for Love | 36 | — |
| 1992 | Dear Dear | 22 | Platinum |
| 1994 | Smilin' Buddha Cabaret | 47 | Platinum |
| 1996 | Trusted by Millions | 28 | Platinum |
| 1998 | Since When | 19 | Gold |
| 2000 | Casual Viewin' | 24 | — |
| 2003 | Goodbye Flatland | — | — |
| 2005 | Yes to Everything | — | — |
| 2008 | Northern Soul | — | — |
| 2011 | Lost in the City | — | — |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak Chart Position | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [4] |
CAN Alt. [5] |
CAN Content (Cancon) [6] |
|||
| 1984 | "Set the Fire" | — | — | — | Set the Fire |
| "What To Do Now" | — | — | — | ||
| "Broken Pieces" | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "Baby Ran" | — | — | — | 54-40 |
| "I Go Blind" | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "One Day in Your Life" | 90 | — | — | Show Me |
| "One Gun" | — | — | — | ||
| "Walk In Line" | — | — | — | ||
| 1989 | "Fight for Love" | — | — | — | Fight for Love |
| "Miss You" | — | — | — | ||
| "Baby, Have Some Faith" | — | — | 1 | ||
| 1992 | "Nice to Luv You" | 30 | — | 4 | Dear Dear |
| "She La" | 38 | — | — | ||
| "Music Man" | 40 | — | 5 | ||
| 1993 | "You Don't Get Away (That Easy)" | 52 | — | 7 | |
| 1994 | "Blame Your Parents" | 45 | — | — | Smilin' Buddha Cabaret |
| "Assoholic" | 56 | — | — | ||
| "Ocean Pearl" | 22 | — | — | ||
| 1995 | "Radio Luv Song" | — | — | — | |
| 1996 | "Love You All" | 20 | 7 | — | Trusted by Millions |
| "Lies to Me" | 19 | 5 | — | ||
| "Crossing a Canyon" | 30 | — | — | ||
| 1997 | "I Love Candy" | 61 | — | — | |
| 1998 | "Since When" | 11 | 2 | — | Since When |
| "Lost and Lazy" | 87 | 8 | — | ||
| 2000 | "Casual Viewin'" | 48 | 3 | — | Casual Viewin |
| "Unbend" | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "Blue Sky" | — | — | — | |
| 2002 | "Love Rush" | — | — | — | Radio Love Songs: The Singles Collection |
| "Plenty Emotion" | — | — | — | ||
| 2003 | "Take Me Out" | — | — | — | Goodbye Flatland |
| "Animal in Pain" | — | — | — | ||
| "Ride" | — | — | — | ||
| "Wish I Knew" | — | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "Easy to Love" | — | — | — | Yes to Everything |
| "Golden Sun" | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Snap" | — | — | — | Northern Soul |
| "Lucky" | — | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "Lost In The City" | — | — | — | Lost In The City |
Live Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| CAN | ||
| 1999 | Heavy Mellow | - |
Compilations
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [7] |
CAN [3] |
||
| 1981 | Things Are Still Coming Ashore | - | - |
| 1991 | Sweeter Things: A Compilation | 39 | Platinum |
| 1997 | Sound of Truth: The Independent Collection | - | - |
| 2001 | Casual Viewin' USA | - | - |
| 2002 | Radio Love Songs: The Singles Collection | - | - |
| 2005 | The Essentials | - | - |
DVDs
- 2006 - This Is Here This Is Now
References
- ↑ http://5440.com/index.php?view=article&catid=1:latest-news&id=71:5440-celebrates-30th-anniversary-by-going-qgreenq-again&tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
- ↑ Peak positions for 54-40's albums in Canada:
- For "54-40" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Show Me" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Fight for Love" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Dear Dear" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Smilin' Buddha Cabaret" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Trusted by Millions" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Since When" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Casual Viewin'" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Peak positions for 54-40's singles on Singles Chart:
- For "One Day in Your Life" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Nice to Luv You" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "She La" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Music Man" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "You Don't Get Away (That Easy)" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Blame Your Parents" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Assoholic" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Ocean Pearl" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Love You All" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Lies to Me" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Crossing a Canyon" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "I Love Candy" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Since When" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Lost and Lazy" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Casual Viewin'" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Peak positions for 54-40's singles on Rock/Alternative Chart:
- For "Love You All" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Lies to Me" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Since When" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Lost and Lazy" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Casual Viewin'" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Peak positions for 54-40's singles on Canadian Content Chart:
- For "Baby, Have Some Faith" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Nice to Luv You" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "Music Man" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- For "You Don't Get Away (That Easy)" Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
