54-40 (band)
| 54-40 | |
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Dave Genn, Neil Osborne and Brad Merritt at the Vancouver ShoreFest in 2009
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Rock, alternative rock |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Reprise, True North |
| Website | 5440 |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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54-40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Vancouver, British Columbia, who take their name from the slogan Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!, coined to express the unsuccessful expansionist agenda of James K. Polk's presidency, intent upon controlling a contested U.S.-Canada border area in the Oregon boundary dispute.
The group formed in 1981 as a trio consisting of Brad Merritt (bass), Ian Franey (drums), and Neil Osborne (vocals and guitar) (born 1960). They made their recording debut that same year, with four tracks on the independent compilation LP Things Are Still Coming Ashore, which also featured music by Vancouver bands Animal Slaves and Junco Run. The following year, the band issued the EP Selection.
In 1983, Phil Comparelli was added on guitar, trumpet and vocals, and Franey was replaced by Darryl Neudorf. Neudorf subsequently was replaced by drummer Matt Johnson in 1986.
The band's self-titled second album, released in 1986, began to attract attention from radio and record buyers across Canada, with the single "Baby Ran" gaining significant college radio airplay. Musician Dave Osborne (keyboards, harmonica), toured and recorded with the band from 1987 to 1993. The band's third album, Show Me, became their commercial breakthrough in Canada, with the hits "One Day in Your Life" and "One Gun".
Although the band was popular on college radio in the United States, they never had a commercial breakthrough — 1992's Dear Dear was their first album not to have a U.S. release. It was, however, their best-selling album in Canada up to that time, leading to a new U.S. contract for the follow-up, Smilin' Buddha Cabaret, which had a significant hit in "Ocean Pearl".
The band's song "I Go Blind" was covered in the mid-1990s by American band Hootie & the Blowfish, and was featured on the first soundtrack to the TV series Friends. The song also appears on two compilations released by the band: 2000's Scattered, Smothered and Covered and 2003's The Best of Hootie & the Blowfish (1993 Thru 2003). Royalties from the Hootie and the Blowfish cover enabled the band to build their own recording studio in Vancouver.
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