 | Tranquility Base - If You're Lookin' Issued March 1970 in Canada on RCA Victor 74-0330. Ian Thomas, Oliver McLeod and Nora Hutchinson had been performing as a trio for a few years prior to 1969, when Toronto group Flapping broke up. Two of its members, Nancy Ward and Bob Doidge, joined Ian, Oliver and Nora and the group became Tranquility Base. The singer of Flapping, Buzz Shearman, then joined Leigh Ashford. Tranquility Base toured Canada, honing their chops and gaining an audience. They became the first rock group in residence with an orchestra, performing regularly with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Boris Brott, and with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. They were signed to RCA in 1970, and released "If You're Lookin'" in March, produced by Bill Misener (aka Billy Mysner, see under http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUUyXDMOBZg ). It entered the RPM 100 on March 28th at #95 and reached #24 on June 27th, at which time it had been #2 for two weeks on the RPM Top 50 Canadian Chart. In the fall, Tranquility Base released another single, "In The Rain," which didn't do very well. Still, RCA had them record an album. Major differences between the group and RCA A&R over the direction of the music led the album to be shelved. It remains unreleased. The group broke up in 1971, and Ian Thomas went on to become a Canadian music legend, beginning with his first solo album in 1973. |
 | Ian Thomas - Coming Home (1978) Ian Thomas with his 1978 Canadian hit, "Coming Home". Released on the album "Still Here", this song reached #25 on the Canadian charts. Born: Hamilton, Ontario Raised in Dundas, Ontario as the son of a Baptist minister, Thomas first got his musical start at age six after taking piano lessons. By the age of 14 he had graduated to guitar and a year after that he wrote his first original tune. In the mid'60's he formed the folk trio Ian, Oliver and Nora featuring Oliver McLeod and Nora Hutchinson. By the end of the '60's they were joined by Bob Doidge (bass) and Nancy Ward (keyboards, recorder) and called themselves Tranquillity Bass. The band would record two singles for RCA and often performed with the Edmonton Symphony and The Hamilton Philharmonic. They split up in the early '70's after an album they recorded failed to impress RCA and remains unreleased. Thomas got a day job as a theatre manager in Hamilton. In April 1973, Thomas signed to GRT Records and immediately released "Painted Ladies" which became a monster hit across North American; the song reached No.4 in Canada and No.34 in the United States. He won a Juno Award for 'Most Promising Male Vocalist that year. During this period he also produced a two-hour CBC Radio show called "The National Rock Works" which also featured comedy and became a showcase for the talents of his brother Dave Thomas -- future SCTV alumnus. Over the years Thomas has produced some classic albums including 'Calabash' (1976), which was followed by a U.S. tour with his band at that time: Mike Oberle (drums), Juno Award winning graphic artist Hugh Syme (keyboards), Josh Onderisin (guitar), and David Sawyer (bass). His fourth LP for GRT was 'Still Here' (1978) and included the hit single "Coming Home". Thomas' final album for GRT was 'Glider' in 1979 containing the hits "Pilot" and "Time Is The Keeper". In 1980 Thomas had been picked up by Anthem Records after the demise of GRT and took a run at several more gold albums - 'The Runner' (1981) (they same year he also made a guest appearance on the SCTV TV show), 'Riders On Dark Horses' (1984) and 'Add Water' (1985). It was from these album that number of acts would find Ian Thomas songs to the top, including "Hold On" (Santana), "The Runner" (Manfred Mann), "Right Before Your Eyes" (America), and "Chains" (Chicago). In 1991 Thomas joined forces with three other veteran Canadian musicians - guitarist Bill Dillon (Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell), drummer Rick Gratton (Rough Trade, Marc Jordan) and bassist Peter Cardinali (Rick James, Oscar Peterson) - to form the Boomers. They've become successful in Europe, especially in Germany and have several gold albums under their belts. with notes from Nan Bendall. |
 | Ian Thomas - Right Before Your Eyes (1976) Ian Thomas and his Canadian hit "Right Before Your Eyes", from the 1976 album "Calabash" Born: Hamilton, Ontario Raised in Dundas, Ontario as the son of a Baptist minister, Thomas first got his musical start at age six after taking piano lessons. By the age of 14 he had graduated to guitar and a year after that he wrote his first original tune. In the mid'60's he formed the folk trio Ian, Oliver and Nora featuring Oliver McLeod and Nora Hutchinson. By the end of the '60's they were joined by Bob Doidge (bass) and Nancy Ward (keyboards, recorder) and called themselves Tranquillity Bass. The band would record two singles for RCA and often performed with the Edmonton Symphony and The Hamilton Philharmonic. They split up in the early '70's after an album they recorded failed to impress RCA and remains unreleased. Thomas got a day job as a theatre manager in Hamilton. In April 1973, Thomas signed to GRT Records and immediately released "Painted Ladies" which became a monster hit across North American; the song reached No.4 in Canada and No.34 in the United States. He won a Juno Award for 'Most Promising Male Vocalist that year. During this period he also produced a two-hour CBC Radio show called "The National Rock Works" which also featured comedy and became a showcase for the talents of his brother Dave Thomas -- future SCTV alumnus. Over the years Thomas has produced some classic albums including 'Calabash' (1976), which was followed by a U.S. tour with his band at that time: Mike Oberle (drums), Juno Award winning graphic artist Hugh Syme (keyboards), Josh Onderisin (guitar), and David Sawyer (bass). His fourth LP for GRT was 'Still Here' (1978) and included the hit single "Coming Home". Thomas' final album for GRT was 'Glider' in 1979 containing the hits "Pilot" and "Time Is The Keeper". In 1980 Thomas had been picked up by Anthem Records after the demise of GRT and took a run at several more gold albums - 'The Runner' (1981) (they same year he also made a guest appearance on the SCTV TV show), 'Riders On Dark Horses' (1984) and 'Add Water' (1985). It was from these album that number of acts would find Ian Thomas songs to the top, including "Hold On" (Santana), "The Runner" (Manfred Mann), "Right Before Your Eyes" (America), and "Chains" (Chicago). In 1991 Thomas joined forces with three other veteran Canadian musicians - guitarist Bill Dillon (Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell), drummer Rick Gratton (Rough Trade, Marc Jordan) and bassist Peter Cardinali (Rick James, Oscar Peterson) - to form the Boomers. They've become successful in Europe, especially in Germany and have several gold albums under their belts. with notes from Nan Bendall. |
 | Ian Thomas - Long Long Way (1974) Ian Thomas withhis 1974 single "Long Long Way", from the album of the same title. Born: Hamilton, Ontario Raised in Dundas, Ontario as the son of a Baptist minister, Thomas first got his musical start at age six after taking piano lessons. By the age of 14 he had graduated to guitar and a year after that he wrote his first original tune. In the mid'60's he formed the folk trio Ian, Oliver and Nora featuring Oliver McLeod and Nora Hutchinson. By the end of the '60's they were joined by Bob Doidge (bass) and Nancy Ward (keyboards, recorder) and called themselves Tranquillity Bass. The band would record two singles for RCA and often performed with the Edmonton Symphony and The Hamilton Philharmonic. They split up in the early '70's after an album they recorded failed to impress RCA and remains unreleased. Thomas got a day job as a theatre manager in Hamilton. In April 1973, Thomas signed to GRT Records and immediately released "Painted Ladies" which became a monster hit across North American; the song reached No.4 in Canada and No.34 in the United States. He won a Juno Award for 'Most Promising Male Vocalist that year. During this period he also produced a two-hour CBC Radio show called "The National Rock Works" which also featured comedy and became a showcase for the talents of his brother Dave Thomas -- future SCTV alumnus. Over the years Thomas has produced some classic albums including 'Calabash' (1976), which was followed by a U.S. tour with his band at that time: Mike Oberle (drums), Juno Award winning graphic artist Hugh Syme (keyboards), Josh Onderisin (guitar), and David Sawyer (bass). His fourth LP for GRT was 'Still Here' (1978) and included the hit single "Coming Home". Thomas' final album for GRT was 'Glider' in 1979 containing the hits "Pilot" and "Time Is The Keeper". In 1980 Thomas had been picked up by Anthem Records after the demise of GRT and took a run at several more gold albums - 'The Runner' (1981) (they same year he also made a guest appearance on the SCTV TV show), 'Riders On Dark Horses' (1984) and 'Add Water' (1985). It was from these album that number of acts would find Ian Thomas songs to the top, including "Hold On" (Santana), "The Runner" (Manfred Mann), "Right Before Your Eyes" (America), and "Chains" (Chicago). In 1991 Thomas joined forces with three other veteran Canadian musicians - guitarist Bill Dillon (Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell), drummer Rick Gratton (Rough Trade, Marc Jordan) and bassist Peter Cardinali (Rick James, Oscar Peterson) - to form the Boomers. They've become successful in Europe, especially in Germany and have several gold albums under their belts. with notes from Nan Bendall. |
 | Ian Thomas - Liars (1976) Ian Thomas and his top 30 Canadian single "Liars" from the album " Calabash", released in 1976. Born: Hamilton, Ontario Raised in Dundas, Ontario as the son of a Baptist minister, Thomas first got his musical start at age six after taking piano lessons. By the age of 14 he had graduated to guitar and a year after that he wrote his first original tune. In the mid'60's he formed the folk trio Ian, Oliver and Nora featuring Oliver McLeod and Nora Hutchinson. By the end of the '60's they were joined by Bob Doidge (bass) and Nancy Ward (keyboards, recorder) and called themselves Tranquillity Bass. The band would record two singles for RCA and often performed with the Edmonton Symphony and The Hamilton Philharmonic. They split up in the early '70's after an album they recorded failed to impress RCA and remains unreleased. Thomas got a day job as a theatre manager in Hamilton. In April 1973, Thomas signed to GRT Records and immediately released "Painted Ladies" which became a monster hit across North American; the song reached No.4 in Canada and No.34 in the United States. He won a Juno Award for 'Most Promising Male Vocalist that year. During this period he also produced a two-hour CBC Radio show called "The National Rock Works" which also featured comedy and became a showcase for the talents of his brother Dave Thomas -- future SCTV alumnus. Over the years Thomas has produced some classic albums including 'Calabash' (1976), which was followed by a U.S. tour with his band at that time: Mike Oberle (drums), Juno Award winning graphic artist Hugh Syme (keyboards), Josh Onderisin (guitar), and David Sawyer (bass). His fourth LP for GRT was 'Still Here' (1978) and included the hit single "Coming Home". Thomas' final album for GRT was 'Glider' in 1979 containing the hits "Pilot" and "Time Is The Keeper". In 1980 Thomas had been picked up by Anthem Records after the demise of GRT and took a run at several more gold albums - 'The Runner' (1981) (they same year he also made a guest appearance on the SCTV TV show), 'Riders On Dark Horses' (1984) and 'Add Water' (1985). It was from these album that number of acts would find Ian Thomas songs to the top, including "Hold On" (Santana), "The Runner" (Manfred Mann), "Right Before Your Eyes" (America), and "Chains" (Chicago). In 1991 Thomas joined forces with three other veteran Canadian musicians - guitarist Bill Dillon (Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell), drummer Rick Gratton (Rough Trade, Marc Jordan) and bassist Peter Cardinali (Rick James, Oscar Peterson) - to form the Boomers. They've become successful in Europe, especially in Germany and have several gold albums under their belts. with notes from Nan Bendall. |
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