Sweeney Todd

*This article is about the band. For the homonymous album, see Sweeney Todd (album).*

**Sweeney Todd** is a Canadian glam rock band.

## History

The band was founded as "Rasputin" in the early 1970s (maybe 1971 or 1972) in Vancouver, British Columbia, by drummer Don Snell and his high school friend, guitarist Jim McCulloch. The first singer was Ron Tabak, followed by Ted Fleetwood. By the time that Nick Gilder joined the band as a vocalist, they changed their name to "Sweeney Todd", inspired by the 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond, on which the 1979 Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim is based.

During a gig at a local high school gym, they were discovered by local producer/promoter Martin Shaer who invited them to record demo tapes for Roxy Roller and Sweeney Todd Folder. In the spring of 1975, the band was signed to London Records. In the same year, they released their self-titled debut album and the singles Rock 'N' Roll Story, Sweeney Todd Folder, and Roxy Roller which held position 1 at Canada RPM Top Singles for three weeks beginning on June 26, 1976 and received a Juno Award in 1977 as best selling single.

In 1976, vocalist Nick Gilder and guitarist Jim McCulloch left the band to pursue solo careers. They were replaced by Clark Perry on vocals and Skip Prest on guitar. Perry was replaced within a few months by Bryan Adams. The Roxy Roller single was re-released twice, one version with Clark Perry and another one with Bryan Adams.

In 1977, the band released the album *If Wishes Were Horses* and the singles Tantalize ‎, If Wishes Were Horses, and Song For A Star. They then went on a cross-country tour with the canadian rock band Trooper. In the autumn of the year, Bryan Adams left the band to pursue a solo career which eventually became mega-successful. He was replaced by Chris Booth.

In 1978, also Skip Prest left the band and was replaced by Grant Gislason. The band began writing some new material for a third album, but disbanded the spring of 1978. Gilder and McCulloch newly formed the band in 2000, and they made a cross-Canada tour. Since then, they perform at various music festivals.

## Members

**Present members:**

* Nick Gilder (?-1976, 2000-present, vocals)
* Dave Groves (guitars)
* Mark Kenny (bass)
* Mike Russell (keyboards)
* Glenn Regnier (drums)

**Past members:**

* Ron Tabak (beginn-?, vocals)
* Ted Fleetwood (vocals)
* Clark Perry (1976, vocals)
* Bryan Adams (1976-77, vocals)
* Chris Booth (1977-1978, vocals)
* Jim McCulloch (beginn-1976, guitars)
* Skip Prest (1976-1978, guitars)
* Grant Gislason (1978, guitars, vocals)
* J. Knutsen (guitars)
* Brian McDonald (1972-74, bass)
* Brian Konopelski (bass)
* Budd Marr (bass)
* Harold Collishaw (keyboards)
* Dan Gaudin (keyboards)
* Don Snell (beginn-?, drums)
* John Booth (drums)
* Lance Chalmers
* Marc Gladstone
* Joe Wowk
* Frank Baker

## Discography

**Albums:**

* *Sweeney Todd* (1975)
* *If Wishes Were Horses* (1977)
* *Sweeney Todd Featuring Bryan Adams* (1991, re-release of "If Wishes Were Horses")
* *The Best Of & The Rest Of Sweeney Todd* (1994, re-release of "If Wishes Were Horses")

**Singles:**

* Rock 'N' Roll Story (1975)
* Sweeney Todd Folder (1975)
* Roxy Roller (1975)
* Roxy Roller / Rue De Chance (1976, re-release of Roxy Roller)
* Tantalize ‎ (1977)
* If Wishes Were Horses (1977)
* Song For A Star ‎ (1977)

## External links

* Sweeney Todd at Wikipedia
* Sweeney Todd at livevictoria.com
* Sweeney Todd at canadianbands.com
* Sweeney Todd at pnwbands.com
* Sweeney Todd at the LyricWiki
* Sweeney Todd Discography at www.discogs.com