Big Sugar
Big Sugar are a Canadian blues rock and reggae band. They were active from 1991 to 2004 and again since April 2010.
Big Sugar officially formed in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Gordie Johnson, bassist Terry Wilkins, and drummer Al Cross, though the three musicians had already played together for several years as a supporting band for Molly Johnson's jazz performances and as an informal jam band with members of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. Read Full BioBig Sugar are a Canadian blues rock and reggae band. They were active from 1991 to 2004 and again since April 2010.
Big Sugar officially formed in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Gordie Johnson, bassist Terry Wilkins, and drummer Al Cross, though the three musicians had already played together for several years as a supporting band for Molly Johnson's jazz performances and as an informal jam band with members of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. After Molly Johnson returned to rock music with Infidels, she helped her former bandmates to secure a record deal; their eponymous debut album was released in 1991 on Hypnotic Records.
After Wilkins left the band in 1993, Big Sugar recorded the album Five Hundred Pounds with the help of guest musicians, including harmonica and tenor saxophonist Kelly Hoppe, also known as Mr. Chill. Hoppe brought a blues and old-school r'n'b influence into the band's sound. Hoppe would become an official member of the band in September 1994. He would later add keyboards and melodica to his sideman responsibilities. In July 1994, bassist Garry Lowe joined the band. Lowe had moved to Canada in the mid-1970s from Kingston, Jamaica. Soon after arriving in Toronto, he became an in-demand bass player for touring reggae recording artists. He often accompanied them at Toronto's famed Bamboo club on Queen St.W., among other venues. Lowe was a founding member of "Culture Shock", a popular Toronto reggae band. Johnson, an avid reggae maven (and one-time bass player), had been a fan of Lowe's and was overjoyed when he agreed to join Big Sugar as a full-time member.
Big Sugar had slowly built a reputation as an outstanding live band, and Five Hundred Pounds consolidated it; the album sold 10,000 copies in Canada on the strength of their live shows without any real publicity or radio airplay. During this time, Gordie Johnson also recorded an album as Don't Talk Dance, with Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies and Chris Brown of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir.
In 1995, the band released two EPs; Dear M.F., which featured a cover version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy"; and Ride Like Hell. Following the release of these EPs, Stich Wynston left the band and was replaced by Walter "Crash" Morgan. During the band's tour that year, however, Morgan suffered a heart attack, collapsed, and died on stage during a show in Iowa. Longtime band associate Raffa Dean was enlisted to finish the tour, and former Odds member Paul Brennan subsequently joined as the band's new drummer, appearing on one of their most commercially successful albums, 1996's Hemi-Vision.
Hemi-Vision's single "Opem Up Baby" was a notable first for the band, who recorded a French version of that song, "Ouvres-Toi BΓ©bΓ©", for radio stations in Quebec. The song gained widespread airplay in the province, and for their next album, 1998's Platinum-selling Heated, the band recorded a French version of each single they released; the French songs were collected on the 1999 EP Chauffe Γ bloc. Also that year, Johnson and Hoppe performed several acoustic shows as a duo under the names "Little Sugar" or "Two Fools on Stools".
Cross returned as drummer in 1999. The band also added a new rhythm guitarist, Mojah. In July of that year the band performed at Woodstock 1999.
In 2000, the band released a dub album, Extra Long Life, under the stage name Alkaline.
In 2001, Big Sugar released Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready? Taking their abilities in writing and performing French material to its logical conclusion, a complete track-for-track French version, Brothers and Sisters, Γtes Vous Ready?, was released the same year. Only the English album concluded with a blistering rendition of "O Canada".
The two-CD compilation Hit & Run, featuring a greatest hits disc that included a special edition, limited run live concert performance disc, was released in 2003.
Big Sugar, known for its thundering rock shows performed without set lists, played their last concert before splitting up on December 31, 2003, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. Gordie "Grady" Johnson immediately formed the Austin, Texas-based band Grady and later joined Wide Mouth Mason as their full-time bassist, and also started the gospel dub duo Sit Down, Servant!! when he began playing steel guitar. Kelly Hoppe formed Mr. Chill & The Witnesses, a roots music group. Mojah and Garry Lowe went on to form Truth and Rights Revue, a reggae band, and have released one album to date.
The band reunited in 2010, playing their first show since 2003 at Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler, B.C. on April 23, with tour dates through summer 2010. A new studio album evolved and was released in June 2011, titled Revolution Per Minute. This recording included Stephane Beaudin "Bodean" on drums and new full-time band member "DJ Friendlyness" as the fifth member of Big Sugar. Revolution Per Minute was released on both cd and vinyl with the vinyl album containing bonus "Alkaline" dub remixes and additional songs. 2012 was the first ever DVD release when Eliminate Ya! Live!, a double CD/DVD set that included a new single covering Al Tuck's "Eliminate Ya!" was released.
In 2014, Big Sugar released an album called "Yard Style" which contains uplugged versions of nine of their original songs, plus four previously unreleased songs.
The song "Police Bway A Vampire" appeared as a reworked electric version under the name "Universal Vampire" on their next studio album "Calling All The Youth", which was released in 2015 on Bread & Butter Records.
In May, 2017, two long time members, Kelly Hoppe and DJ Friendliness, left Big Sugar. Hoppe is now a freelancer, frequently performing live and in-studio with various artists, while Friendliness likes to concentrate full-time on his other band Human Rights. They were replaced by Ray Arteaga and Gordie Johnson's wife Alex.
Garry Lowe died of cancer on July 7, 2018.
Big Sugar officially formed in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Gordie Johnson, bassist Terry Wilkins, and drummer Al Cross, though the three musicians had already played together for several years as a supporting band for Molly Johnson's jazz performances and as an informal jam band with members of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. Read Full BioBig Sugar are a Canadian blues rock and reggae band. They were active from 1991 to 2004 and again since April 2010.
Big Sugar officially formed in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Gordie Johnson, bassist Terry Wilkins, and drummer Al Cross, though the three musicians had already played together for several years as a supporting band for Molly Johnson's jazz performances and as an informal jam band with members of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. After Molly Johnson returned to rock music with Infidels, she helped her former bandmates to secure a record deal; their eponymous debut album was released in 1991 on Hypnotic Records.
After Wilkins left the band in 1993, Big Sugar recorded the album Five Hundred Pounds with the help of guest musicians, including harmonica and tenor saxophonist Kelly Hoppe, also known as Mr. Chill. Hoppe brought a blues and old-school r'n'b influence into the band's sound. Hoppe would become an official member of the band in September 1994. He would later add keyboards and melodica to his sideman responsibilities. In July 1994, bassist Garry Lowe joined the band. Lowe had moved to Canada in the mid-1970s from Kingston, Jamaica. Soon after arriving in Toronto, he became an in-demand bass player for touring reggae recording artists. He often accompanied them at Toronto's famed Bamboo club on Queen St.W., among other venues. Lowe was a founding member of "Culture Shock", a popular Toronto reggae band. Johnson, an avid reggae maven (and one-time bass player), had been a fan of Lowe's and was overjoyed when he agreed to join Big Sugar as a full-time member.
Big Sugar had slowly built a reputation as an outstanding live band, and Five Hundred Pounds consolidated it; the album sold 10,000 copies in Canada on the strength of their live shows without any real publicity or radio airplay. During this time, Gordie Johnson also recorded an album as Don't Talk Dance, with Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies and Chris Brown of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir.
In 1995, the band released two EPs; Dear M.F., which featured a cover version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy"; and Ride Like Hell. Following the release of these EPs, Stich Wynston left the band and was replaced by Walter "Crash" Morgan. During the band's tour that year, however, Morgan suffered a heart attack, collapsed, and died on stage during a show in Iowa. Longtime band associate Raffa Dean was enlisted to finish the tour, and former Odds member Paul Brennan subsequently joined as the band's new drummer, appearing on one of their most commercially successful albums, 1996's Hemi-Vision.
Hemi-Vision's single "Opem Up Baby" was a notable first for the band, who recorded a French version of that song, "Ouvres-Toi BΓ©bΓ©", for radio stations in Quebec. The song gained widespread airplay in the province, and for their next album, 1998's Platinum-selling Heated, the band recorded a French version of each single they released; the French songs were collected on the 1999 EP Chauffe Γ bloc. Also that year, Johnson and Hoppe performed several acoustic shows as a duo under the names "Little Sugar" or "Two Fools on Stools".
Cross returned as drummer in 1999. The band also added a new rhythm guitarist, Mojah. In July of that year the band performed at Woodstock 1999.
In 2000, the band released a dub album, Extra Long Life, under the stage name Alkaline.
In 2001, Big Sugar released Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready? Taking their abilities in writing and performing French material to its logical conclusion, a complete track-for-track French version, Brothers and Sisters, Γtes Vous Ready?, was released the same year. Only the English album concluded with a blistering rendition of "O Canada".
The two-CD compilation Hit & Run, featuring a greatest hits disc that included a special edition, limited run live concert performance disc, was released in 2003.
Big Sugar, known for its thundering rock shows performed without set lists, played their last concert before splitting up on December 31, 2003, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. Gordie "Grady" Johnson immediately formed the Austin, Texas-based band Grady and later joined Wide Mouth Mason as their full-time bassist, and also started the gospel dub duo Sit Down, Servant!! when he began playing steel guitar. Kelly Hoppe formed Mr. Chill & The Witnesses, a roots music group. Mojah and Garry Lowe went on to form Truth and Rights Revue, a reggae band, and have released one album to date.
The band reunited in 2010, playing their first show since 2003 at Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler, B.C. on April 23, with tour dates through summer 2010. A new studio album evolved and was released in June 2011, titled Revolution Per Minute. This recording included Stephane Beaudin "Bodean" on drums and new full-time band member "DJ Friendlyness" as the fifth member of Big Sugar. Revolution Per Minute was released on both cd and vinyl with the vinyl album containing bonus "Alkaline" dub remixes and additional songs. 2012 was the first ever DVD release when Eliminate Ya! Live!, a double CD/DVD set that included a new single covering Al Tuck's "Eliminate Ya!" was released.
In 2014, Big Sugar released an album called "Yard Style" which contains uplugged versions of nine of their original songs, plus four previously unreleased songs.
The song "Police Bway A Vampire" appeared as a reworked electric version under the name "Universal Vampire" on their next studio album "Calling All The Youth", which was released in 2015 on Bread & Butter Records.
In May, 2017, two long time members, Kelly Hoppe and DJ Friendliness, left Big Sugar. Hoppe is now a freelancer, frequently performing live and in-studio with various artists, while Friendliness likes to concentrate full-time on his other band Human Rights. They were replaced by Ray Arteaga and Gordie Johnson's wife Alex.
Garry Lowe died of cancer on July 7, 2018.
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TURN THE LIGHTS ON
Big Sugar Lyrics
I have had my share of fights,
And some lonely, lonely nights
Lord, that didn't feel too right
Gonna reach a higher height
The sun is sinking like a stone
And it hurts to be alone
And you're the finest thing I know
So won't you wake me up when you get home?
Turn the lights on baby,
Before you lie down
Turn the lights on,
Turn the lights on baby,
Before you lie down
Turn the lights on,
Turn the lights on baby,
Let them shine
Oh baby turn the lights on,
Turn the lights on baby
Let them shine
Oh baby turn the lights on
And if I'm sleeping like a log
Just wake me up and I'll be your dog
Turn the lights on baby
Before you lie down
Baby turn the lights on
Turn the lights on baby
Before you lie down
Baby turn the lights on
Turn the lights on baby
Before you lie down
Baby turn the lights on
Turn the lights on baby
Let them shine
Oh baby turn the lights on
Turn the lights on
Turn the light on
Turn the lights on
Turn the lights on mama
Let Γ’??em shine
Oh mama turn the lights on
Yeah
Turn the lights on
Turn them on good baby
I want to see you right now
I want to see you real good
Really good
Why are you so good to me?
Wake me up when you get home
Wake me up when you get home
Turn the lights on baby
Before you lie down
Baby turn the lights on
Turn the lights on baby
Before you lie down
Baby turn the lights on
Turn the lights on baby
Before you lie down
Baby turn the lights on
Turn the lights on mama
Let them shine
Oh mama turn the lights on
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GARRY LOWE, GORDIE JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Jeffrey Barkin
THIS Song went to Number ONE or TWO on the Canadian Charts in 1997, I recall...
It was a Major Crossover HIT!!!
Do CHECK OUT THIS Album, it is FASCINATING!!!!
Cheers from Canada Too!!!!!
ROCK ON.... ROCK ON..... ROCK ON......
ABSOLUTELY
Daniel Wolitski
These guys are dope! I remember seeing them in Nanamo back in 98, it was a great show!
Thirteen Records
yo i was there i was 10 when i seen them in concert :) with The Trew's as a back up band.on Vancouver Island I used to live in Courtenay :)
Jeffrey Barkin
This is a MASTERPIECE!
The storyline, #musicianship and melody are FANTASTIC!!!
Thank You BIG SUGAR, you ROCK!!!!
Continued Success and hope that you Keep #Touring too....
#
Miles Harbord
I was there the weekend this was filmed, saw the band play an after hours show, it was amazing. π
Jeffrey Barkin
THIS Song went to Number ONE or TWO on the Canadian Charts in 1997, I recall...
It was a Major Crossover HIT!!!
Do CHECK OUT THIS Album, it is FASCINATING!!!!
Cheers from Canada Too!!!!!
ROCK ON.... ROCK ON..... ROCK ON......
ABSOLUTELY
eric N amber roberson
I love Canadian music
Robert Sears
You're welcome
(Canadian musician) LOL
I like these guys too///my band covers this
Tyrel
I've heard this song 1000 times on the radio, but I'm surprised how few views and comments it has
Anna Moriyama
Love it !!!!
CHAD HOGAN LIVE
Always amazing