Text has been partially revised for the purposes of this site. (updated April 1, 2001).
Just want an updated timeline of the big things? Head down here.The most recent lineup:Moe Berg (lead vocals, lead
guitar) The alumnae (one alumnus):Johnny Sinclair (bass, vocals)
[left 1990] |
 |
Edmonton native Moe Berg watched his father play in country bands while he grew up, and spent his time admiring guitarists like Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Beck and Johnny Winter. In his teens and early 20's he pursued his musical ambitions with area bands like the Modern Minds, Troc '59 and Facecrime. It was in Troc '59 that he hooked up with drummer Dave Gilby and in 1985, they agreed that the only way to keep going musically was to move to Toronto and try things out there.
Berg
arrived first and promptly began a solo acoustic act that he took to any bar
that would have him. It was while he was doing this that he met Saskatoon native
Johnny Sinclair and the idea of TPOH began to take shape. By 1986 they had added
Winnipeg-born sisters Tam and Tasha Amabile for backing vocals, and the band
began playing the Toronto area. A song that Berg had written in the summer of
1985, "I'm An Adult Now", was a constant audience favourite, so Berg's
director friend Nelu Ghiran made a low-budget video of the song, which was promptly
picked up by MuchMusic and "Toronto
Rocks" (on CITY-TV), and suddenly the independent 12" single the band
had pressed was totally sold out. Sensing the burgeoning interest in the band,
WEA Canada picked up the single, repressed and repackaged it, and distributed
it across the country. Now the band had a cross-country hit. Such was the band's
independent success that they received Juno
nominations in 1987 for Most Promising Group and Best Video.
WEA did not exercise its option to sign the
band to a full deal, so in 1988 the band put out another 12" single called "Killed
By Love" which was also a regional hit in the Toronto area. Constant playing
anywhere and everywhere earned the band a reputation as being one of the strongest
and loudest acts in the area, and all this activity caught the interest of Chrysalis
Records. At this point the Amabile sisters decided to pursue their own musical
interests (with their band Femme Fatale), and guitarist Kris Abbott and Leslie
Stanwyck were brought on board for backing vocals. After signing the band, the
label got the idea to pair the band with mega-producer Todd Rundgren. Rundgren
ventured to Toronto in 1987 to see the band live at the 
Diamond Club. TPOH went into
the studio with him and the result was 1988's full-length debut, Love Junk.
Completely re-recording "I'm An Adult Now", it was the album's first single, once again garnering considerable critical and public praise, and the new video once again became a MuchMusic staple, although MTV in the US initially banned it, citing lyrical references to sex, alcohol and drugs; it was later added to rotation and the band even did a live spot on the famous music station. The album eventually went platinum in Canada (100,000 copies) and sold over 100,000 copies in the States.
The group returned to the studio
with Rundgren for their second Chrysalis offering, One-Sided Story (1990).
Another lineup change occurred after recording had been completed as Stanwyck
and Sinclair left to do their own musical
things, so Halifax native Brad Barker (bass) and Susan Murumets (backing
vocals) joined full-time. Berg's reputation for being a funny, intelligent,
masterful songwriter was solidified. Although not selling quite as well as Love
Junk, the album still went gold in Canada (50,000 copies) and their constant
touring continued to draw sell-out crowds and enthusiastic reviews from the
media.
Label troubles
forced the band to take an unexpected three-year hiatus, but they got signed
by Mercury, hooked up with producer Ed Stasium (Smithereens, Living Colour,
the Ramones) and added Rachel Oldfield for backing vocals in the interim. Their
next release, 1993's The Downward Road, featured a musical collaboration
with veteran songwriter Jules Shear and a guitar solo by Rundgren, and continued
in TPOH's blistering pop vein. Although not selling as well as the previous
two releases, it nonetheless garnered just as much critical praise, and live
they still sold out venue after venue based on their reputation as being one
of Canada's best performing units.
The last two band albums, 1995's
Where's The Bone (which was followed by another lineup change - Oldfield
was replaced by Jennifer Foster) and 1996's The Wonderful World Of... were
both released on an independent Toronto label, Iron Music Group, and were both
accompanied by tours and enthusiasm from their league of hard-core followers.
Though the band has never officially announced
its demise, in 1997, Berg released the solo album Summer's
Over and is currently working on a book; Stanwyck and Sinclair have
continued on as successful musical duo Universal
Honey; Jennifer
Foster released a solo CD called 'Speedyhead' which was produced by Moe
Berg and Paul Myers (Gravelberrys); Kris Abbott is pursuing a book writing career;
Razor & Tie Records in the US released a 'best of'
package featuring some rare material in 1999; Moe Berg has also revived
TPOH's cover-band alter-ego called Monteforte in March
2000.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, Canoe Limited Partnership.
All rights reserved.
(Find more recent updates on the band members on the To Review page!)
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS TIMELINE (as of 09/2018):
1986 - The Pursuit of Happiness were launched in early 1986 when lead vocalist Moe Berg and drummer Dave Gilby moved from Edmonton to Toronto, Ontario. They soon met bassist Johnny Sinclair and formed the band, adding sisters Tamara and Natasha Amabile as backing vocalists. 
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