Park Playhouse Gift Cards have no expiry date. They can be used for any show date or special performance, any day of the week, at any of the performances held each year.
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Toronto’s Platinum Blonde broke onto the music scene in 1982, featuring vocalist Mark Holmes, drummer Chris Steffler and guitarist Sergio Galli. The trio eventually recorded the six-song Platinum Blonde Six Track Attack LP which created the excitement that then fueled the commitment of CBS Records. The group worked with English producer David Tickle (Split Enz, Peter Gabriel) to complete their debut full-length album Standing In The Dark in 1984 including the singles "It Doesn't Really Matter", "Not In Love" and "Standing In the Dark".
Platinum Blonde's popularity throughout Canada in the early days was fuelled by cross-country tours including Billy Idol's 1984 Rebel Yell tour and in '83 with Bryan Adams. State-of-the-art videos by award-winning director Robert Quartly and a powerful CBS team were also significant assets in the band’s rise. Touring in America was highlighted with dates at New York City's The Ritz Music Hall (with Dead or Alive '84), The Filmore East (Spin Magazine party '85) and The Limelight in '86.
The release of their follow-up album Alien Shores in 1985 saw the band expand to a four-piece with the addition of bassist and keyboardist Kenny MacLean and witnessed the release of several singles, including songs like "Situation Critical", "Somebody Somewhere" and "Crying Over You” which peaked at #1 on the charts, won a Gemini Award for Best Music Video and exceeded the five times platinum sales mark. Extensive touring on the Alien Shores release also broke a 1985 Canadian merchandising sales record. The following release of the Contact album revealed a funkier movement in the group’s sound and platinum level success with songs including the album’s title track and a remake of The Ohio Players’ “Fire”.
Although the group disbanded in 1989, a compilation of Platinum Blonde’s best material was #1 on HMV's September sales chart in Toronto when released on CD in 1999.
In recent news, Platinum Blonde was recognized for their achievements with an induction to the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame. The band was honored at the Canadian Radio Music Awards luncheon on Friday, March 12, 2010 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during Canadian Music Week, March 10-14, 2010, in Toronto.
Canada's most consistently sold out stand-up comedian, RON JAMES, makes a visit to Cobourg with a poetically-charged, rocket fuelled trip across Canada's cultural landscape. Ron James is an award-winning comedian who has appeared on every major television network in North America over the last twenty-five years. Beginning as an actor with Toronto's The Second City in the early 1980s, Ron went on to appear in dozens of commercials and television shows, garnering a Genie Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor and sharing a Gemini Award as part of the writing team for This Hour Has 22 Minutes. At the inaugural Canadian Comedy Awards, Ron was voted Canadian Comedian of the Year. In 2009 The Ron James show debuted on the CBC to critical and commercial success. Season Two is right around the corner and you can catch it Friday’s at 8pm on the CBC.
"Cleverly, hysterically funny." Toronto Star "uniquely Canadian ... a sheer delight" Globe and Mail "Simply the best." Toronto Sun " ...a virtuoso comedic performance...hilarious." Globe and Mail
A child of the sixties, Carl was enchanted with the sounds of the Beatles, Creedence, the Stones, the Guess Who, Sly, Motown, "and all the magic rock and pop music that climbed the charts in those early days". The next heavier wave of bands like Free, Humble Pie, Grand Funk, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, Faces, Mick Taylor-era Stones and of course Led Zeppelin crystallised Carl's desire to be a player, not just a fan. "For me, being a musician was never about trying to get girls or be popular; it was always about trying to re-create that thrill that great music gave to me."
Early 1981 Carl moved closer to home to Toronto. Barely settled, he answered a newspaper Classified ad from a band seeking a guitarist/singer. That band was Coney Hatch, and Carl was quickly hired. Carl joining Coney Hatch was the final piece of the puzzle for the ambitious young band. A strong creative partnership quickly formed and within six months the group's writing and demoing lead them to a record deal with Anthem Records in Canada, later followed by a world-wide deal with Polygram-Mercury.
The debut album "Coney Hatch" was released in summer 1982, produced by Canadian Rock legend Kim Mitchell who had "discovered" and nurtured the band through the formative stages. Nine of the album's ten songs were either Carl Dixon-written or co-written. Top-ten single "Hey Operator" (later covered by Aldo Nova), FM Rock Radio support plus touring through the U.S. and Canada helped to later push the album to gold sales. In 1997 Carl was contacted by the Guess Who to join their touring show which worked constantly in the United States. Jumping at the chance to perform some of the music he loved, Carl agreed to join. This happy arrangement ("best gig I ever had") lasted until April 2000, when the original Guess Who singer Burton Cummings rejoined the band for a still-going reunion. Meantime Carl had produced a live album for the band entitled "The Guess Who - Down the Road."
Saturday September 25th, 2010
Doors: 7:30pm Show: 8pm
Tickets: $25 plus HST
THE SHOW "We hope you will enjoy the show..."
ACT I : THE LIVE RADIO AND TELEVISION PERFORMANCES Showcasing music from 1962 to 1964, this set recaptures the breathtaking birth of Beatlemania. From the live BBC radio broadcasts and various appearances on European television programs through to the history making Ed Sullivan performances, The FabFour rekindle the excitement of the early Beatles in stunning detail. Don't miss seeing replicas of the famous black, tailored "Ed Sullivan" suits, the legendary left-handed Hofner bass, Rickenbacker and Gretsch Country Gentleman guitars, as well as Horner Harmonicas!
ACT II : THE LIVE TOURING YEARS This set highlights the touring years from 1964 to 1965 and captures the feverish excitement of a live Beatles show. Donning the recognizable "military jackets", The FabFour re-enact the Beatles' record breaking Shea Stadium Performance. The FabFour feature classic songs on authentic instruments including including Gretsch Tennessean and Gibson Casino guitars as well as a Rickenbacker 12 String.
ACT III : SGT. PEPPER The Beatles colourful psychedelic era comes to life. The FabFour now regularly include this colourful set of songs (and uniforms!) in their already excellent and polished shows. This set includes music from 1965-1967, a time when the Beatles stopped touring and began experimenting in the studio. Hear, live (without the aid of backing tapes or sequencers), such memorable and groundbreaking tunes from this productive period of the Beatles as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, With A Little Help From My Friends and Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds. "A splendid time is guaranteed for all.”
ACT IV : AND IN THE END... In this final act of the show, the FabFour cover material from the "Apple" studio years of 1968 to 1970. Songs performed are taken from the last three albums released by the Beatles before their break-up. The band adopts the "hippie-era" look the Beatles stylized including Lennon "Granny" glasses and long-haired wigs.
Instrumentation for this set includes instantly recognizable Epiphone, Fender and Gibson guitars and an electric keyboards to help round out the now familiar sound the Beatles made famous.
Michelle Wright
Thursday October 21, 2010
Doors: 7:30PM Show: 8PM
Tickets: $35 plus HST Returning by popular demand, Michelle Wright in a special acoustic concert. Hear all your favourite hits ... "I Surrender", "He Would Be Sixteen", "Take It Like A Man" ... and many more. Multi-award winner, Michelle will weave her most famous songs in an up close and personal presentation. A must for fans old and new.
Michelle Wright is one of Canada’s most widely recognized and awarded country singers with over 30 major music industry awards to her credit, a string of 25 Top Ten hits on radio, including seven Number One singles, and nearly 2 million albums sold in North America. The first Canadian-born artist in the modern era of country music to have a Top Ten hit in the U.S., to have a Number One video on CMT-USA, and to win an Academy of Country Music Award, Michelle has been recognized from the outset for her expressive voice and distinctive style.
No seventies group represented Canada's musical identity to the world like THE STAMPEDERS. A quick look at Canada's music scene from 1971 until 1976 confirms The Stampeders were truly the country's international musical ambassadors. Instead of trying to blend into any specific format, they developed their own identity, which was both entertaining to watch in concert, and to listen to on radio and records. The Stampeders also toured more extensively in Canada and overseas than any other Canadian group of the same period. Between 1970 and 1977, they released ten albums and 15 singles, with six albums and seven singles going gold. Along with three Billboard chart singles in the U.S., The Stampeders had ten, Top-Ten singles in Canada. They also won three JUNO Awards, three BMI Awards, an EDISON Award and toured Canada, Europe, the U.S., including Hawaii, and South America.
