Post by valerie davenport on Oct 5, 2007 8:40:51 GMT -5
Roller clones reunite in Mississauga
Irish rockers Rosetta Stone are back in Canada for Rosetta Stone Fan Fest tomorrow at the Delta Toronto Airport West Hotel.
By: Dianne Trimble
September 28, 2007 - A Massey Hall concert featuring Irish rockers Rosetta Stone caused mayhem nearly 30 years ago.
It was 25 years ago the band had a Canadian chart hit with the single, Hiding From Love.
This weekend, they will be in Mississauga to remember their heyday.
“The whole band is excited about coming back to Canada for the Rosetta Stone Fan Fest,” said lead singer Damian McKee.
Fest organizers Marianne Bean and Jacky Schmitt are bringing the five-man band and their fans together at the Delta Toronto Airport West Hotel in Mississauga for a weekend of events culminating in a re-union concert tomorrow night.
They disbanded in 1983, but fans still clamour to hear them. Rosetta Stone re-united for Fan Fests in their hometown of Downpatrick, Northern Ireland in 1998, in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1999 and London, England in 2001. Now fans have organized a final hurrah where the band’s last major tour ended.
Formed in 1973, Rosetta Stone became the opening act for the Bay City Rollers gigs in Northern Ireland. Their association with the tartan clad Scottish pop sensation was a fantastic break.
“We played to packed halls from then on,” McKee said.
For three years the bands shared the same manager, Tam Paton, and their lead guitarist, Ian Mitchell, spent several months in early 1976 as a Roller. But, the two bands were quite different. “We were always linked to the Rollers but we were a rock band. We played power pop,” Mitchell said.
Nevertheless, Mitchell’s stint in the Rollers only served to increase their popularity.
Rosetta Stone were well established in Europe when they arrived in Canada for a 10-day tour on May 23, 1978. Touring regularly in Britain, continental Europe and Asia, including three sold out nights at Japan’s renowned Budokan Arena, they had several Top 10 hits in Germany and Japan.
Pandemonium ensued when the 1,300 fans attending their June 1 Massey Hall concert hysterically mobbed the band. A major Toronto newspaper described it as “Rollermania in miniature.”
Despite their chart successes abroad, getting airplay on Canadian AM radio stations proved difficult. The Canadian music establishment took no notice of them until the early 1980s, when they recorded several songs by then unknown Canadian singer/songwriter Bryan Adams.
Their rendition of Hiding From Love charted on Canada’s RPM Top 50 in April and May 1982. They also recorded Adams’ songs London Girls, Remember and the song that launched Adams’ career, Straight From The Heart.
They were fresh off their Canadian chart hit when they returned in October 1982 for their second Canadian tour. Billed at Toronto’s famed rock venue the El Mocambo as Ireland’s Number 1 touring band, they played to a packed house.
Recently, band member Mitchell acquired the master tapes for their albums and released a compilation CD in October 2004. It climbed to number nine in the Japanese charts.
Irish rockers Rosetta Stone are back in Canada for Rosetta Stone Fan Fest tomorrow at the Delta Toronto Airport West Hotel.
By: Dianne Trimble
September 28, 2007 - A Massey Hall concert featuring Irish rockers Rosetta Stone caused mayhem nearly 30 years ago.
It was 25 years ago the band had a Canadian chart hit with the single, Hiding From Love.
This weekend, they will be in Mississauga to remember their heyday.
“The whole band is excited about coming back to Canada for the Rosetta Stone Fan Fest,” said lead singer Damian McKee.
Fest organizers Marianne Bean and Jacky Schmitt are bringing the five-man band and their fans together at the Delta Toronto Airport West Hotel in Mississauga for a weekend of events culminating in a re-union concert tomorrow night.
They disbanded in 1983, but fans still clamour to hear them. Rosetta Stone re-united for Fan Fests in their hometown of Downpatrick, Northern Ireland in 1998, in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1999 and London, England in 2001. Now fans have organized a final hurrah where the band’s last major tour ended.
Formed in 1973, Rosetta Stone became the opening act for the Bay City Rollers gigs in Northern Ireland. Their association with the tartan clad Scottish pop sensation was a fantastic break.
“We played to packed halls from then on,” McKee said.
For three years the bands shared the same manager, Tam Paton, and their lead guitarist, Ian Mitchell, spent several months in early 1976 as a Roller. But, the two bands were quite different. “We were always linked to the Rollers but we were a rock band. We played power pop,” Mitchell said.
Nevertheless, Mitchell’s stint in the Rollers only served to increase their popularity.
Rosetta Stone were well established in Europe when they arrived in Canada for a 10-day tour on May 23, 1978. Touring regularly in Britain, continental Europe and Asia, including three sold out nights at Japan’s renowned Budokan Arena, they had several Top 10 hits in Germany and Japan.
Pandemonium ensued when the 1,300 fans attending their June 1 Massey Hall concert hysterically mobbed the band. A major Toronto newspaper described it as “Rollermania in miniature.”
Despite their chart successes abroad, getting airplay on Canadian AM radio stations proved difficult. The Canadian music establishment took no notice of them until the early 1980s, when they recorded several songs by then unknown Canadian singer/songwriter Bryan Adams.
Their rendition of Hiding From Love charted on Canada’s RPM Top 50 in April and May 1982. They also recorded Adams’ songs London Girls, Remember and the song that launched Adams’ career, Straight From The Heart.
They were fresh off their Canadian chart hit when they returned in October 1982 for their second Canadian tour. Billed at Toronto’s famed rock venue the El Mocambo as Ireland’s Number 1 touring band, they played to a packed house.
Recently, band member Mitchell acquired the master tapes for their albums and released a compilation CD in October 2004. It climbed to number nine in the Japanese charts.
