Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts are a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band, based out of
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
that formed in 1980. The band's name was taken from the title of
Lou Reed's
1983 album.
Biography
Bentall's first group was Brandon Wolf, a
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
he also used, which formed in 1978
with the original line-up consisting of: Bentall (lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Doug McFetridge (guitar), Kevin Swain (bass) and Derek Morrison (drums) and which later changed to: Brad Kilburn (bass), Wilf Froese (keyboards) and Jack Guppy (drums). With songs written by Bentall and long-time childhood friend and songwriting partner Gary Fraser (who sometimes wrote using the pseudonym Robert Arrow
), as well as McFetridge and Swain, they self-released "Excerpt from the Montmartre Letters", a 4-track 45 rpm
EP in 1979. This record was followed by "Not Guilty", a 5-track
EP released in 1980 on
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
, that had modest success in Western Canada. In 1982, Brandon Wolf recorded and released ''Losing Control'', a 13-song
LP, on their own label, Possible Worlds Records.
Reverting to his real name in 1984, Bentall, together with Guppy, Nairne, bassist Barry Muir, and keyboardist Cam Bowman, recorded demos produced by noted producer
Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, ...
. In 1988, Bentall, Guppy, Nairne, Muir and Bowman, by then known as Barney Bentall & The Legendary Hearts, had a breakthrough when they landed a recording contract with Epic/CBS Records after releasing a video for "Something to Live For" on
MuchMusic in 1987. The
self-titled debut album, which featured three hit Canadian singles including "Something to Live For", "House of Love (is Haunted)" and "Come Back to Me", reached platinum status in Canada (100,000 records sold). After the record a musician named David Reimer joined the band. In 1989, the group won a
Juno Award for "
Most Promising Group of the Year". In 1990, Bentall, Fraser and Nairne were nominated for a
Genie Award for "Restless Dreamer", a song they wrote which appeared on the soundtrack to the Sandy Wilson film ''
American Boyfriends
''American Boyfriends'' is a 1989 Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Sandy Wilson and starring Margaret Langrick, John Wildman, Jason Blicker, Liisa Repo-Martell, and Delia Breit. It is the sequel to ''My American Cousin'' (19 ...
''.
The band would release four more albums on Epic and later Sony Records, achieving more hits with "Crime Against Love", "Life Could Be Worse", "Livin' in the 90s", "Doin' Fine", "Do Ya", and "Shattered". Throughout the late '80s and early '90s the band toured extensively across Canada and into the U.S. After their last album in 1997, the group quietly disbanded. Bentall would take a lengthy break to work his ranch in the
Cariboo region of
BC, before returning with a solo album ''Gift Horse'' in 2006.
Despite solo projects, Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts continue to play the occasional gig together. Muir is a stockbroker; Fraser is a litigator in Vancouver, and Bowman is a plastic surgeon in Vancouver.
Discography
Albums
as Brandon Wolf * ''Excerpts from the Montmartre Letters'' (EP) - 1979
* ''Not Guilty'' (EP) - 1980
* ''Losing Control'' (EP) - 1980
as Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts
* ''
Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts'' - 1988
* ''Lonely Avenue'' - 1990
* ''Ain't Life Strange'' - 1992
* ''Gin Palace'' - 1995
* ''Greatest Hits 1986-1996'' - 1996
* ''Till Tomorrow'' - 1997
* ''Unsung'' - 2009
Singles
* "Something to Live For" - 1987 #17 CAN
* "Come Back to Me" - 1988
* "House of Love (Is Haunted)" - 1988
* "She's My Inspiration" - 1989 #30 CAN
* "Crime Against Love" - 1990 #11 CAN
* "Life Could Be Worse" - 1991 #24 CAN
* "I Gotta Go" - 1991 #29 CAN
* "Nothing Hurts (Like the Words of the One You Love)" - 1991
* "Livin' in the '90s" - 1992 #11 CAN
* "Doin' Fine" - 1992
* "If This is Love" - 1993 #30 CAN
* "Belly of the Sun" - 1993
* "Family Man" - 1993
* "Do Ya" - 1995
* "I'm Shattered" - 1995 #7 CAN
* "Oh Shelly" - 1996 #32 CAN
* "Gin Palace" - 1996 #14 CAN
* "Be Inside You" - 1997
* "You Should Be Having Fun" - 1997
* "Shoulder of the Road" - 1997
References
* Jackson, Rick. ''Encyclopedia of Canadian rock, pop and folk'' (1994). pg. 42-43. Quarry Press
Barney Bentall- CanConRox entry
- JAM! Canadian Pop Encyclopedia entry
External links
Barney Bentall- Official site
- CanadianBands.com entry
- Discogs Discography
*
{{Authority control
Canadian rock music groups
Musical groups from Vancouver
Musical groups established in 1980
1980 establishments in British Columbia
Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year winners