(photo credit/5440.com)
Band members Neil Osborne and Brad Merritt met at South Delta Highschool in Tsawwassen British Columbia in 1978. Osborne went off to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, when he returned, he formed 54-40 with Merritt and drummer Ian Franey. Their first show was in Coquitlam on December 8th, 1980, the same day as when John Lennon was killed.
The bands name “54-40”, comes from the slogan “54-40 or Fight!” which was coined after the unsuccessful expansionist agenda during U.S. President James K. Polk’s presidency. The intent of Polk’s agenda was to control a contested U.S.-Canada boarder area during the Oregon Boundary dispute in the 19th century. Enough history lets get back to the band.
In the same year as their first show the band produced their first recordings for the Mo-Da-Mul label in Vancouver. Four of their songs featured on the LP “Things are Coming Ashore.” The LP also featured Vancouver bands Animal Slaves, and Junco Run. In 1982, 54-40 released the LP “Selection”, and not to long after Drummer Ian Franey left the group. He was replaced by Darryl Neudorf, and Phil Comparelli was brought in to play guitar, trumpet, and do vocals.
Neudorf left in 1984, shortly after their album “Set the Fire” was released. In 1986 under Warner/Reprise records, the band released their second album, which is nicknamed “The Green Album” garnered them a lot of mainstream attention in Canada, thanks to their singles “Baby Ran”, and “I Go Blind”. Their third album “Show Me,” became their commercial breakthrough which had their popular songs “One Day in Your Life,” and “One Gun” on the album.
The Green Album, 1986 (Photo Credit/5440.com)
Although they were extremely popular on college radio across the United States, they never got the mainstream media attention they needed, and were dropped by Warner Reprise. Their popularity in Canada remained strong. They signed on with Sony, and in 1992 they released the album “Dear Dear” which went gold in Canada, in 1993 it went platinum. Their next two albums “Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret” in 1994 and “Trusted by Millions” in 1996 both went certified platinum.
The 90’s seemed to be the bands most high-profile year, with the gold and platinum records, American band Hootie & The Blowfish covered their song “I Go Blind” and was featured on the soundtrack for the TV show Friends. The royalties the band received allowed them to open their own recording studio here in Vancouver. Along with their success, on December 13th, 1994, 54-40 became one of the first bands ever to launch their own website on the internet! Pretty neat. Throughout the decade the were constant regulars on the Canadian billboard charts reaching as high as number 18 for an album, and number 11 for a single. The won best pop/rock album at the West Coast Music Awards in 1999 and ended the decade off strong.
In the early 2000’s the band went through numerous changes within the group and didn’t reach as much success as they did in the 90’s. Although they still managed to tour and put out music as the years went on.
Throughout the Bands career they have been nominated for eight Juno Awards, have had records that have gone both gold and platinum, and between 1996-2016 they were among the top-150 selling Canadian artists and the top-50 Canadian selling bands in Canada. This year, their song “I Go Blind” was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
(Youtube/CanadianMusic&TV)
They may not have had the mainstream success in the U.S. or around the world like they had hoped for. Yet, they are a beloved, and a widely successful band in their home country, which is something to be proud of.
Congrats on 40 years 54-40! Keep on Rocking
-Kosta