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 Bébé", 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 à 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, Êtes 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.
Cop A Plea
Big Sugar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ever since you fallout
I've been stuck in here
Seeking some relief
Thought I'd take a chance
Thought I'd send a call out
Not that you would care
Now I sit around fillin' the blank time
Now I sit around
Heartaches comin' on the inside
Can't wait for the flag to fall
You really should get over here
Mistakes burnin' in my mind
Can't wait for the flag to fall
You really should get over here
Being on my own
Was never my intention
How do things like this
Seem to happen to me?
Was it something that I said
Or forgot to mention?
Given half a chance
Gonna make amends
Heartaches comin' on the inside
Can't wait for the flag to fall
You really should get over here
Mistakes burnin' in my mind
Can't wait for the flag to fall
You really should get over here
Five days, feels like a lifetime
Can't wait for the flag to fall
You really should get over here
I am a simple man
Lookin' for a handout
How can you just sit
While I cop a plea?
I had things in mind
But they never panned out
Not that you would care
But, you see
Now I sit around fillin' the blank time
Now I sit around fillin' the blank time
Now I sit around
Heartaches comin' on the inside
Can't wait for the flag to fall
You really should get over here
Mistakes burnin' in my mind
Can't wait for the flag to fall
You really should get over here
Hard day, well, it feels like a lifetime
I can't wait for the flag to fall
You really should get over here
Heartaches tearin' on the inside
Can't wait for the flag to fall
In "Cop A Plea," Big Sugar croons about heartbreak, a sense of abandonment, and a longing for reconciliation. The singer is struggling to move on from a past relationship, and it's clear that he is still holding on to hope that his former partner will return. He is trying to fill his time but is, ultimately, unable to shake the heartache he feels. The final plea for his partner to return is desperate, and he even suggests that she is heartless for leaving him in such a state.
The tone of the song is melancholic and reflective, and Gordie Johnson's gritty voice captures the raw emotions of the lyrics. The repeated use of phrases like "fillin' the blank time" and "can't wait for the flag to fall" suggest that the singer is stuck in a limbo of sorts, neither fully able to move on nor able to reconnect with his former partner. The repeated chorus of "you really should get over here" underscores the sense of desperation in the song, while the slow, bluesy guitar underscores the pain and sense of longing.
Line by Line Meaning
Ever since you left
I've been feeling lost without you
Ever since you fallout
Our relationship has deteriorated
I've been stuck in here
I feel trapped and alone
Seeking some relief
Trying to find a way to heal and move on from our troubles
Thought I'd take a chance
I tried to reach out to you
Thought I'd send a call out
I attempted to contact you in some way
Not that you would care
I doubt that you would be interested in hearing from me
But, you see
I felt like I had to try
Now I sit around fillin' the blank time
I'm just passing time and trying to keep busy
Heartaches comin' on the inside
I feel hurt and broken inside
Can't wait for the flag to fall
I am looking forward to an opportunity to make things right
You really should get over here
I need you to come back and help fix our relationship
Mistakes burnin' in my mind
Regretful actions are weighing heavily on my conscience
Being on my own
Living without you was not what I wanted
Was never my intention
I never wanted to be without you
How do things like this
I don't understand how our relationship turned out this way
Seem to happen to me?
Why do I always seem to be the one with problems in relationships?
Was it something that I said
Did I contribute to our problems?
Or forgot to mention?
Did I leave out important information?
Given half a chance
If I had the opportunity
Gonna make amends
I will try to fix things between us
Five days, feels like a lifetime
Time is passing slowly without you here
I am a simple man
I am not complex, just looking for love and support
Lookin' for a handout
I just need some help, I am not asking for much
How can you just sit
Why aren't you trying to fix things?
While I cop a plea?
Why am I the only one trying to make things better?
I had things in mind
I had plans and hopes for our relationship
But they never panned out
Things did not turn out the way I had hoped
Hard day, well, it feels like a lifetime
Every day without you is a struggle
Heartaches tearin' on the inside
I am in emotional pain without you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: GORDIE JOHNSON, PATRICK BALLANTYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind