AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Doug and the Slugs

Artist:Doug and the Slugs

Song:Day by Day

Album:Slugcology 101: A Decade of Doug and the Slugs

Doug and the Slugs had modest success in their native Canada in the early 80s. Their downfall is they were unable to break through in the US and they split up in 1988. The leader of Doug and the Slugs was Doug Bennett. He was born Oct. 31, 1951 in Toronto. Bennett was a graphic designer but he moved to Vancouver in 1973 to form a band. Bennett was lead singer, main songwriter and producer of Doug and the Slugs. He formed Doug and the Slugs in 1977 and after some personnel changes, the band for the next decade was Richard Baker and John Burton on guitar, Simon Kendall on keyboards, Steve Bosley on bass and John "Wally" Watson on drums. The big problem in the early days is club owners hated the band name. I understand that Bennett was trying to be cheeky but I agree with the club owners. Fortunately, Bennett was very savvy and he promoted his own shows at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom. When word started to spread, RCA Canada came calling and signed them to a distribution deal. Their 1980 debut single Too Bad reached #20 on the RPM chart but it reached #2 on Vancouver radio station CKLG. So maybe most of the band's success was in Vancouver and not so much in the rest of Canada. Doug and the Slugs released two albums on RCA. When the band was unable to get anywhere in the US, RCA dropped them and they signed with A&M Canada. Day by Day is from the 1984 album Popaganda. They recorded two albums on A&M and when radio airplay and sales were disappointing, the band was dropped. This comp is a good intro to their music. Bennett released a solo album in 1986. He went on to have success as a music video director for Triumph and others. A version of Doug and the Slugs continued to perform in Vancouver clubs though they did not record. The original band reunited for a 25th Anniversary show in 2003. Bennett was a heavy drinker and this led to health problems and he died on Oct. 16, 2004 at age 52. Teresa Alfield's documentary Doug and the Slugs and Me was released in 2022 and it currently airs on CBC's Documentary Channel in Canada. Here's the video for Day by Day by Doug and the Slugs.