''To Sir With Hate'' is the debut album by Canadian
post punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
band
Fifth Column
A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...
, released in 1985 on Hide Records. Considered a classic of Canadian music, it was named a shortlisted nominee in the 1976-1985 category for the
Michael Phillip Wojewoda
Michael Phillip Wojewoda is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has been nominated for eight Juno Awards and has received one for Recording Engineer of the Year and one for Producer of the Year.
History
Wojewoda began recording bands ...
ECW Press
ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...
. . with Fifth Column.
The cover photo is by Toronto artist John Brown.
A video for the song "Where Are They Now?" was directed by Marc de Guerre and released in 1985. A video for "The Fairview Mall Story" followed in 1986, directed by
Steven Rumbelow
Steven Rumbelow (also credited as Steve Rumbelow, 30 July 1949 − 27 February 2016), was a director in the entertainment industry for more than four decades. He began in theatre at the Bristol Old Vic, subsequently becoming the youngest dire ...
.
This album was followed by ''All Time Queen of the World'' in 1990, and '' 36-C'' in 1994.
Critical reaction
Liam Lacey reviewed the album favourably for ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' in 1986, writing "Let these rude girls loose in England, and they'd be the heroines of the alternative charts in six weeks.""To Sir With Hate: Fifth Column". ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', July 24, 1986. ''
Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' wrote that "while unfailingly thought-provoking — particularly on drummer-cum-guitarist (and noted film-maker) Gloria Berlin Jones’ darker compositions — the album ultimately falls victim to overly antiseptic production that blunts its punch considerably".
Track listing
Personnel
*
Caroline Azar
Caroline Azar is a director and playwright. She was the lead singer, keyboardist and co-lyricist/composer of the band Fifth Column.
Career
The all-women punk band Fifth Column began in the mid-1980s in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band self-rele ...
- main vocals, keyboard, drums
*
G.B. Jones
G. B. Jones (born 1965) is a Canadian artist, filmmaker, musician, and publisher of zines born in Bowmanville, Canada. She is known for producing J.D.s with her acclaimed''Tom Girls'' drawings before going on to create more musically, cinematica ...
- drums, keyboard, vocals
*Anita Smith - bass, vocals
*Charlotte Briede - guitar, vocals
*Kelly Ellis - trumpet on "Hit The Roof" and "Modern Diseases"
*Eric Fitz - saxophone on "Modern Diseases"
*
Nic Gotham
NIC may refer to:
Banking and insurance companies
* National Insurance Corporation, Uganda
* NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya
Politics, government and economics
* National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice a ...
- saxophone on "Late last Night"
*
Michael Phillip Wojewoda
Michael Phillip Wojewoda is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has been nominated for eight Juno Awards and has received one for Recording Engineer of the Year and one for Producer of the Year.
History
Wojewoda began recording bands ...
- timbales on "Modern Diseases"
*
Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce (born January 3, 1964) is a Canadian artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and underground director based in Toronto.
Life and career
LaBruce was born in Tiverton, Ontario. He has claimed both Justin Stewart and Bryan Bruce as ...
- background vocals on "The Fairview Mall Story" and "Hit The Roof"
*Marc de Guerre - background vocals on "Hit The Roof"
*John Porter - background vocals on "Hit The Roof"
*Kathleen R. - background vocals on "Where Are They Now?" and "Hit The Roof"