The Diodes 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 ...

punk rock

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

formed in 1976 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. They released five albums: ''Diodes'' (1977), ''Released'' (1979), ''Action-Reaction'' (1980), ''Survivors'' (1982), and ''Time/Damage Live 1978'' (2010). They were one of the first Canadian bands to embrace this style of music and helped to foster the original core Punk scene in Toronto.

History

The Diodes formed in October 1976 at

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...

after a chance meeting between members. They played their first gig supporting the

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

in January 1977. The band, along with their manager Ralph Alfonso, went on to open Canada's first punk nightclub, the Crash 'n Burn, in June 1977. Many of the city's founding punk bands played in this iconic venue. The first groups to play the club were

The Nerves The Nerves were an American power pop trio formed in 1974 and based in Los Angeles, California featuring guitarist Jack Lee, bassist Peter Case, and drummer Paul Collins. All three members composed songs and sang. They managed an internation ...

, on a bill with The Diodes. Other international bands performing at the Crash 'n Burn included

The Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. ...

. The club, which was housed in The Diodes' basement rehearsal space, was closed at the end of the summer of 1977, due to complaints by the

Liberal Party of Ontario The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

(the principal tenants of the building). The Crash 'n Burn was the subject of a movie by experimental filmmaker Ross McLaren, '' Crash 'n' Burn''. Footage of the club also exists in the CBC Television archives because it was the subject of a TV special in 1977. The band put out their first record in summer 1977, a single featuring Bruce Eves and Amerigo Maras of the Centre for Experimental Art and Communication (CEAC), an avant garde, performance art collective and gallery. Mickey Skin of the all-girl punk band The Curse spews profanities on one side, The Diodes provide musical backing with Paul Robinson counting down the spoken intervals, on the other. It was released on the Crash 'n' Burn label. One side was called "Raw", the other "War". It is considered one of the first punk records to come out of Canada. The single was actually part of an issue of the CEAC Newsletter (published by CEAC, the owners of the building that housed the Crash 'n' Burn club). The Diodes played CBGBs in New York in July 1977 supporting

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. ...

as part of a Toronto punk bill featuring

The Viletones The Viletones are a Canadian punk band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, led by Steven Leckie on vocals. Other members from the original line-up were Freddie Pompeii, (some sources list him as 'Frederick DiPasquale') on guitar/vocals; Chris Hate (C ...

, Teenage Head, The Curse, The B Girls and The Dents. They signed to Columbia Records in Canada shortly afterward in August 1977, releasing their self-titled debut album ''The Diodes'' in October 1977. The release was produced by Bob Gallo and was accompanied by a single with two tracks from the LP. The A-side of the single featured a punk-rock deconstruction of

the Cyrkle The Cyrkle was an American rock band active in the early and mid-1960s. The group charted two Top 40 hits, "Red Rubber Ball" and " Turn-Down Day". Career The band was formed by guitarists and lead singers Don Dannemann and Tom Dawes (who also p ...

's sixties hit "

Red Rubber Ball "Red Rubber Ball" is a pop song written by Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel and Bruce Woodley of The Seekers and recorded by The Cyrkle, whose version reached 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and in South Africa and New Zealand. In Canada ...

". The LP also included a cover of the Max Frost & The Troopers' "Shape of Things to Come" done in a similar style, along with eight original tunes written by the band. It was domestically released in Europe and Australia, however it was overlooked in the US and UK, where it was import only. The Diodes were featured in the January 9, 1978 issue of ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

'', on the cover and included in the article "The Class of '78: Introducing the New Elite". They were touted as the Canadians "we'll soon be talking about". Others included in this elite group included

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

and Conrad Black. On January 20, 1978 they opened for the Ramones and Runaways at the Aragon Ballroom in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to an encore. The band also toured the U.S. east coast during the blizzard of 1978; performing in

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Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Philadelphia and Baltimore. In 1979 the Diodes released their second Bob Gallo produced LP, on Epic Records in Canada, after a year of delays. Ironically titled ''Released'', after the band's internal problems with the label, it again opened with the track "Red Rubber Ball". This was due to the song getting US airplay on the American CBS compilation album ''Permanent Wave''. It was followed by nine original tracks, including the highly regarded single, "Tired of Waking Up Tired", which also got UK domestic release. Unlike the band's debut album, which was exported heavily to the United States by Jem and other record importers, ''Released'' was not widely distributed in US record stores and the band seemed to disappear in the minds of many of their fans outside of Canada. 1980 saw the release of the Diodes' third album, ''Action/Reaction'' on the independent label Orient Records, distributed by RCA. It was produced by Ian Gunther and Willi Morrison. The band performed concerts in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

supported by

The Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Ci ...

and Agent Orange. They also played in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The year was rounded off by a cross Canada tour with U2,

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

, Gary Numan and

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built ...

. In 1981, John Catto and Paul Robinson moved to London, England to launch a short-lived version of The Diodes with a new rhythm section consisting of bassist Steve Robinson (ex-Barracudas) and drummer Richard Citroen (ex-Loved Ones). An album of new material was recorded, but remains unreleased. This version of The Diodes toured Ontario in 1982, to promote the group's fourth album ''Survivors'', a compilation of unreleased outtakes, demos, and live recordings (from the first two albums, live with John Hamilton on drums, plus demo recordings with Mike Lengyell on drums). Upon returning to England, the group metamorphosed into High Noon (consisting of John Catto, Paul Robinson, Steve Robinson, David Buckley (ex-Barracudas, backing vocals), and drummer Rick Zsigmond) in 1983. High Noon lasted until 1985 and were regulars playing around the London scene including headlining The Embassy club and the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed wh ...

Wardour Street Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the street became a ...

. The band also recorded sessions which remain unreleased. High Noon peaked playing an anti-heroin charity gig at The Moonlight Club in West Hampstead supported by

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...

, which culminated in a jam session including High Noon, The Stone Roses and

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

playing the songs " Substitute" and " The Kids are Alright". The group gradually disbanded, with each member going his own way, and singer Paul Robinson and guitarist John Catto remaining in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. "Tired of Waking Up Tired" was listed at No. 23 in the book ''The Top 100 Canadian Singles'', by Bob Mersereau, published by Goose Lane Editions. On July 2, 2011, The Diodes were voted "Best Toronto Band. Ever" in a contest run by the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

''. Readers voted for them over the course of a month, beating out such peers as Rush,

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

Martha and the Muffins Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian rock band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single " Echo Beach" under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and th ...

and others.Toronto Star, Entertainment section, July 2, 2011 (p 4)

Reunions and new releases

In 1998,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

released ''Tired of Waking Up Tired: The Best of The Diodes'' on CD, and in 1999, the band reunited in 1999 to perform one song on ''

The Mike Bullard Show ''The Mike Bullard Show'' was a Canadian late-night talk show which aired weeknights at 12:05 AM on Global from November 24, 2003 to March 11, 2004. The show was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and taped at the Global Theatre in Toronto, Ontario. ...

'' to promote that CD. On May 24, 2007, The Diodes (Robinson, Mackay, Catto) played the

Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

as part of the International Pop Overthrow Festival. On May 25, 2007, they did an afternoon concert at Lennon's Bar in Liverpool, also as part of the festival. On June 9, 2007, the original lineup from the first album (Robinson, Mackay, Catto, Hamilton) reunited for 30th anniversary concerts for the

NXNE North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main focus is live music, but it also includes an eSports gaming tournament, comedy, a conversations series, a flea marke ...

festival. They performed a free afternoon concert at

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and a midnight show at Sneaky Dees. A live vinyl album of a 1978 concert, ''Time Damage'' was released on Rave Up Records (Italy) in February, 2010. ''Action-Reaction'' is now on iTunes on Bongo Beat Records (including bonus tracks from the ''Survivors'' album) and the physical cd released in Jan, 2012. New tour dates announced for 2015. The original 1977 line-up (Robinson, Catto, Mackay, Hamilton) re-united again in 2010 for touring and recording. They performed at The Horseshoe (Toronto), Call The Office (London), Starlight (Waterloo), This Ain't Hollywood (Hamilton), Road to Ruins Festival (Rome, Italy), Pop Corn Club (Venice, Italy), and The Sound Of Music Festival (Burlington, Canada; with The New York Dolls). The 1977 line-up toured Canada again in November, 2011, but added original 1976 drummer Bent Rasmussen (also of Johnny & The G-Rays) behind the kit while John Hamilton could finally play his album keyboard parts live. The Diodes also presented awards at the 2011 Hamilton Music Awards on Nov 19 and also Nov 20. A documentary about the band 'Circa 1977 The Diodes' directed by Aldo Erdic premiered at

2010. In 2015, the Diodes reunited once again for a five-city tour: The Phoenix (Toronto), Manantler Brewery (Bowmanville), This Ain't Hollywood (Hamilton), the Brantford Station Gallery (Brantford) and the Phi Centre (Montreal). At the exclusive show for Manantler Brewery in Bowmanville, the Diodes celebrated the creation of their own beer—Time Damage, IPA. The tour revealed a dynamic, re-energized Diodes driven by the powerful Keith Moon-style playing of new British drummer John Andrew making his Canadian debut, and perfectly complementing lead guitarist John Catto's Townsend stylings. Original drummer John Hamilton continued in his keyboard role contributing deep-bass synth a la Nine Inch Nails and Jon Lord Hammond accents adding a Prog dimension to the Diodes' proto-Punk.

Members

* Paul Robinson - vocalist * John Catto - guitarist * Ian Mackay - bassist * John Hamilton - drummer/keyboards * John Andrew - present drummer (2015) * Mike Lengyell - drummer * David Clarkson - bassist (on "Raw"/"War" single only) * John Corbett - bassist (not on any recordings) * Bent Rasmussen - drums (not on any recordings) * Steve Robinson - bassist (not on any released recordings) * Richard Citroen - drums (not on any released recordings)

Discography

*1977 ''The Diodes'' *1979 ''Released'' *1980 ''Action/Reaction'' *1982 ''Survivors'' *2010 ''Time/Damage Live 1978'' *2017 ''Rarities''

References

External links