Doug and the Slugs
| Doug and the Slugs | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1977–2004 2009–present |
| Labels |
A&M RCA |
| Website | dougandtheslugs |
| Members | Ted Okos Rick Baker John Burton Simon Kendall Steve Bosley John "Wally" Watson |
| Past members | Doug Bennett |
Doug and the Slugs are a Canadian pop music group formed in 1977 in Vancouver. They are best remembered for the Canadian top 40 hits "Too Bad" (1980), "Making It Work" (1983) and "Tomcat Prowl" (1988). "Too Bad" was used as the theme song for The Norm Show, a 1999-2001 sitcom starring Norm Macdonald.
Doug and the Slugs was founded in Vancouver in 1977 by Toronto-born Doug Bennett, who had been a graphic designer in his home town before moving to British Columbia in the mid-1970s. Bennett served as the band's chief songwriter, frontman, and lead singer. Keyboardist Simon Kendall described Bennett's writing style: "He had some unique and very interesting lyrics. An anachronistic style, if you like. He was a bit of R&B, he was a bit 1940s, he was a bit Tex-Mex. As a writer, I think he deserves more credit than he gets for being intelligent. He wrote some beautiful and quite provocative songs."
After some turnover amongst Slugs in the early months, the lineup stabilized by 1978, and for the entirety of their recording career (1978–1992), Doug & the Slugs consisted of lead vocalist Doug Bennett, guitarists Richard Baker and John Burton, keyboardist Simon Kendall, bassist Steve Bosley, and drummer John "Wally" Watson.
In their early years, Doug and the Slugs had trouble getting club owners to book them due to their name. They entered a battle of the bands in Vancouver at the Body Shop, but lost. Hardly discouraged, the enterprising Bennett formed an underground following of dedicated fans by promoting his own dances at booked community halls (most notably the Commodore Ballroom) in Vancouver, and giving these dances attention-grabbing names like "Beach Blanket Bungle," "Secret Agent Man," and "The Last Upper." These Dances became hot ticket items due to their guaranteed-good-time status during 1978-1979. Doug and the Slugs also put on an annual outdoor dance festival known as "Slugfest."
The band built a solid following in the Vancouver area through constant live performances. Determined to exert control over their own music and artwork, the band founded their own record label, Ritdong Records, and worked out a distribution deal with RCA Records for their recordings (Bennett chose the name "Ritdong" because he described it as the sound produced by an out of tune guitar). Their debut 45 single "Too Bad" was issued on Ritdong in February 1980, and became a substantial hit in Vancouver, rising to #2 on local Top 40 station CKLG. Shortly thereafter, the track entered the Canadian hit parade, becoming a top ten hit. That year, Doug & The Slugs' manager, Sam Feldman mortgaged his house to make The Slugs debut album, Cognac & Bologna, was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario.
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