Song:High School Confidential
Album:Birds Of A Feather: The Best Of Rough Trade
Rough Trade certainly did their part in shaking up the stodgy Canadian music scene in the 70s. But I don't think it converted to much success outside Canada and the music hasn't worn that well. I guess High School Confidential was a product of the times. Singer Carole Pope and pianist Kevan Staples had a group called O in 1968 in Toronto. The third member Clive Smith went on to found the Nelvana animation studio. When he left O in 1970, the duo performed for a while as The Bullwhip Brothers but by 1974 they decided to expand to a full band and change the name to Rough Trade. The band had several different lineups but Pope and Staples were always the leaders. The band concept was to write controversial almost lurid songs and have Pope prance around the stage in bondage gear. That sort of thing will get attention especially in a Puritanical backwater like Toronto. They recorded Rough Trade Live in 1976 and then they produced the short lived musical Restless Underwear co-starring Divine. That closed over financial disputes. In 1980, Rough Trade signed with True North in Canada and Stiff Records in the US. High School Confidential reached #12 on the RPM chart in Canada and the album Avoid Freud did well. It didn't take off in the US as Stiff was having financial problems. For their second album For Those Who Think Young, they moved to Boardwalk Records. The result was no different. They did well in Canada but not in the US. Their next album Shaking The Foundations wasn't released in the US. That's a bad sign. The pattern continued until Rough Trade split up in 1986. A band can't make a living from Canadian record sales. You can get all their hits on this comp. Carole Pope and Kevan Staples have reunited Rough Trade occasionally and continue to be part of the Toronto music scene. There's always that nagging feeling that they never reached their potential. I always thought a more consistent band lineup would have made a big difference. Here's the video for High School Confidential by Rough Trade.
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