| Breeding Ground | |
|---|---|
 Jonathan Strayer (bass, left) and John Shirreff (vocals, right) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Alternative rock, post-punk |
| Years active | 1981–1990 |
| Labels | Mannequin Records, Fringe Product |
| Members | John Shirreff (vocals) Hugh Gladish (guitar, keys) Jonathan Strayer (bass guitar) |
| Past members | Ken Jones (drummer) Jonathan Davies (drummer, production) Kevin Hunter (drummer) Gary Quinn (bass guitar, slide guitar) Chris Wardman (additional guitars, production) Molly Johnson (guest vocals, live shows) Jason Sniderman (piano) Tad Winklarz (saxophone) |
Breeding Ground were a Canadian alternative rock band in the 1980s, based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Lead singer John Shirreff and guitarist Hugh Gladish were the only consistent members of the band, and they founded the group in 1981 with original bassist Jonathan Strayer.
History
Formation
Breeding Ground were created in 1981 within a basement in East York, Toronto, the original four members began writing in the darkest hours. That line up consisted of Jonathan Strayer - Bass, Hugh Gladish - Guitar and John Shirreff - Vocals. Their first drummer, Ken Jones, camped out in the driveway in his van.
Within six months of forming, they had enough material to do warmup sets for bands like Men Of Song, Khroma-Key and Blue Peter. Having made significant noise in the Toronto alternative music scene, they were quickly gaining popularity in the College and University circuits. John Shirreff came up with the name after several gigs were played without one. Breeding Ground played over 40 shows on the Queen Street West circuit before they released their first eponymous debut EP, Breeding Ground, on Mannequin Records, recorded at Montclair Sound in November 1982, a 4-song self titled EP which was very well received by the college/university radio circuit, with original drummer Ken Jones. This was produced by Paul Tozer, their live audio technician, who worked with them on their first two EPs.
Within a month of its release they were asked to open up for Bauhaus on December 4, 1982, at Larry's Hideaway in Toronto. Comparisons to Joy Division and the British cold-wave invasion were quick to surface after this release. They were managed by longtime friend David Hart (who also masterminded and operated the stage lighting) during this era. Breeding Ground also played at Lee's Palace in Toronto in 1986.
The band's rehearsal space eventually moved into a dilapitated warehouse next to the Don River in the lower east end of Toronto, conveniently across the street from a beer store. Within those cold walls, they continued writing and were soon back in the studio recording the 12" EP "Reunion/Slaughter" their second 12" single. Jonathan Davies, the drummer for local band Kinetic Ideals, expressed an interest in assisting with production, and 3 months before the release replaced Jones in the live line-up. This EP was recorded at Quest Studio, Oshawa, and released in October 1983. "Reunion/Slaughter" was playlisted on Toronto radio station CFNY and their fan base quickly multiplied.
A few years later they were back in the studio recording an album titled "Tales Of Adventure" of which the song "Happy Now I Know" quickly became a big hit and made some commercial headway. Davies was later replaced by Kevin Hunter, who would stay with the band until their break-up in 1990. They were now filling nightclubs on a regular basis. The Gary's took an interest and offered them opening slots for acts like Bauhaus, The Stranglers and Echo & The Bunnymen. Videos were shot for the songs "This Time Tomorrow" and "Happy Now I Know" and given regular rotation on MuchMusic.
Late in 1986, Strayer left and the rest of the band put things on hold.
Within a few months, a new line up was put together with original singer John and guitarist Hugh, along with a new bass player Gary Quinn and second guitarist Chris Wardman. The third drummer, Kevin Hunter also remained with the new line up. Sometime after the release of the LP, bassist Jonathan Strayer left and they effectively disbanded. However, Wardman and Shirreff continued writing material in Wardman's basement along with bassist Gary Quinn and before long, the remainder of Breeding Ground was recruited back for the 1987 line-up of Shirreff, Gladish, Quinn, Hunter and Wardman.
They were soon back in the studio recording their second album "Obscurity & Flair", with Chris and Gary contributing heavily in the writing. This record once again featured Molly Johnson on vocals and Chalk Circle's Tad Winklarz adding saxophone. A third video "Ceremony Of Love" was shot for this release. They continued to play the night club circuit in Ontario and Quebec with a strong following.
Sometime in the early 1990's, John and Hugh made a decision to bury the project.
A compilation CD entitled "Revisited" was put together in 1994 released on Fringe Product.
R.I.P. Gary Quinn 2009
Studio albums
Three years after releasing "Reunion/Slaughter", the band returned to the studio in the late winter of 1985 to record their third release, with label Fringe Product. This album, Tales of Adventure, was released April 25, 1986, and spawned the hits "This Time Tomorrow" and "Happy Now I Know" featuring Molly Johnson. Videos were produced for these songs, both directed and produced by Jonathan Strayer's younger brother Colin Strayer; the video for "This Time Tomorrow" was shot on January 28, 1986. However, a year later, bassist Strayer had left, leading to a brief hiatus in which they disbanded, until reforming with Gary Quinn on bass leading to the follow-up recording, Obscurity & Flair. Chris Wardman joined soon after the release of Obscurity & Flair as an additional guitarist. Gary Quinn wrote the lyrics for, and played slide guitar on the track "Live Like Fear".
Local and national success
They were invited to open for touring acts such as The Stranglers at The Concert Hall in April 1983 and Echo and the Bunnymen as well as Let's Active on the Ontario portion of their tour in March 1984.
With the release of Tales of Adventure the band started to receive even more national radio airplay, and the two music videos were getting regular rotation on Canadian television music channel MuchMusic. Breeding Ground made it to the number one spot on the college and university music charts, a first for an independent Canadian act. In 1989, four years after releasing Tales of Adventure, the band went to the studio for the last time, with the line-up of Shirreff, Gladish, Quinn and Hunter, with a mixture of song-writing including Chris Wardman, before he officially joined the live line-up. Obscurity & Flair produced the hit "Ceremony of Love", once again featuring Johnson. A third video was shot for this song, produced by Mark Mowad, but received minimal exposure on MuchMusic because it was so dark, literally. Keyboardist Tad Winklarz from Chalk Circle added saxophone on the track "Bells Descend".
Gladish and Shirreff made a decision to end the second phase of the band in March 1990.
Discography
In nine years of existence, Breeding Ground released 2 LPs, 2 EPs, one greatest-hits CD and 3 music videos.
| Release Date | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Breeding Ground 12" EP | Mannequin Records | Eponymous debut; helps put their name on the map and gets them more shows at clubs around town. Features original drummer Ken Jones. Got some college radio airplay. |
| 1983 | Reunion/Slaughter 12" EP | Fringe Product | Single release for upcoming album Tales of Adventure; this EP was included in the second pressing of Tales of Adventure. Assistant production by Jonathan Davies, who replaced Ken Jones in 1983. |
| 1986 | Tales of Adventure | Fringe Product | First full-length album. Was generally well-received and cemented their place in the Toronto club scene. Produced by Chris Wardman of another local Toronto band, Blue Peter. Molly Johnson sang on the record—with her help, the record made it onto spot No. 60 CFNY Radio's best 86 Albums of 1986.
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| 1989 | Obscurity & Flair | Fringe Product | Second full-length album, and the first to feature Gary Quinn on bass and slide guitar. |
| 1994 | Revisited | Fringe Product | Greatest-hits CD. Was released post-breakup.
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References
- ^ CANOE!. "Breeding Ground entry at CANOE! Jam Pop Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- missparker0106 (13 March 2010). "80's Music Rules - Criminally Underrated Bands -- Breeding Ground". Retrieved 2011-01-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "Lee's Palace - Best of List". Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
- ^ Hugh Gladish. "Breeding Ground Myspace". Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- "Tales of Adventure: Information from Answers.com". Answers.com. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- CFNY 102.1 Toronto. "Best 86 of 86". Retrieved 2011-01-23.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
