The Pursuit of Happiness
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The Pursuit of Happiness are a Canadian rock group, who were one of Canada's most successful independent bands in the 1980s.
Led by Edmonton, Alberta singer/songwriter Moe Berg, The Pursuit of Happiness were launched in 1985 when Berg and drummer Dave Gilby moved to Toronto, Ontario. They soon met Johnny Sinclair and formed the band, adding twins Tam Amabile and Tasha Amabile as backing vocalists.
Their debut single, "I'm an Adult Now", quickly became a smash hit across Canada in 1986. However, the band did not immediately sign to a record label, and released another independent single, "Killed by Love", in 1988. The Amabile twins left the band that year, and were replaced by Kris Abbott and Leslie Stanwyck.
Also in 1988, they signed to Chrysalis Records. Their debut album, Love Junk, was produced by Todd Rundgren and released that year. "I'm an Adult Now" was released as a single again, and made it to the charts a second time. It was followed by "She's So Young" and "Beautiful White". The album sold over 100,000 copies in Canada, and was certified platinum, and is considered one of the classics of Canadian rock.
Stanwyck and Sinclair then left the band, going on to form Universal Honey, and were replaced by Brad Barker and Susan Murumets when The Pursuit of Happiness returned to the studio with Rundgren to work on the followup, 1990's One Sided Story. That album, led by the hit singles "New Language" and "Two Girls in One", did not sell as well as Love Junk, but was still a significant hit for the band. Rachel Oldfield was added to the band's lineup in 1992.
The band then went through difficulties with their record label, but signed to Mercury Records for 1993's The Downward Road. Oldfield left the band in 1995, and was replaced by Jennifer Foster, who in turn left the following year and was replaced by Renee Suchy.
Although the group have never officially disbanded, they have not recorded as a unit since 1996.
Discography
- Love Junk (1988)
- One Sided Story (1990)
- The Downward Road (1993)
- Where's the Bone? (1995)
- The Wonderful World of the Pursuit of Happiness (1996)
- Sex and Food: The Best of TPOH (2000)
External links
- Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia (http://jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicPopEncycloPagesP/pursuit_of_happiness.html)
- Incompletely Conspicuous - The Pursuit of Happiness and the Press (http://tpoh.org/)