Chalk Circle

Websites:  https://www.chalkcircle.ca/music
Origin: Newcastle, Ontario
Biography:

Chalk Circle’s original members Chris Tait, Brad Hopkins from Newcastle and Derrick Murphy from Bowmanvile, Ontario moved to Toronto in 1983/84 and became a four-piece band by adding keyboardist Tad Winklarz in 1985.

The band gained notoriety by the mid-eighties with solid National radio airplay. They had charted radio success with songs such as “April Fool”, “This Mourning”, “Me Myself and I” and the T. Rex classic “20th Century Boy”. Their albums were released in Canada, Germany and Japan with 1987’s Album “Mending Wall” achieving certified “Gold” status in Canada. During that time they headlined numerous National tours and toured with the likes of Rush, Crowded House, and Tears for Fears. In 1989 they also played festival shows in East Berlin, Germany six months prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The band disbanded in 1990.

In 2006 the band released the 20th Century Masters best of album and played its first reunion, a sold out show at Lee’s Palace in Toronto. In 2011 the 40th anniversary of the Juno Awards prompted the band to do it again. Events at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto featured live performances of Canadian artists from the 70’, 80’s and the 90’s to celebrate the milestone. Chalk Circle performed on the 80’s night. Blue Peter Keyboardist Jason Sniderman joined original members Chris, Derrick and Brad to round out the line up. Jason has been a fulltime member ever since.

There have been a few reunion appearances in the last 11 years. 2016 was a fairly quiet year for the band performing only 2 shows. April 1st they played Café Campus in Montreal to celebrate the 30th anniversary of April Fool and April 2nd they played in Oshawa, Ontario. That night the band performed a set as part of a tribute night for local music enthusiast. the late Mike Star. He passed away earlier in 2016 and was owner of the local record shop Star Records. The only live performance in 2017 happened on father’s day at Burlington, Ontario’s Sound of Music festival. Most recently their hit Me, Myself & I was introduced to new audiences, as it was included in Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s Summer Spotify playlist. It’s band members relish nothing more than playing it’s music for their fans. The band would love to play select shows going forward.
Promoters can reach out at bradrhopkins@gmail.com

Chalk Circle was a Canadian college rock band in the 1980s. The band consisted of lead singer and guitarist Chris Tait, bassist Brad Hopkins, keyboardist Tad Winklarz and drummer Derrick Murphy.

Originally formed in Newcastle, Ontario, Hopkins and Tait were paired with Terry Miller and Stani Veselinovic in 1982 as "The Casualties", the band briefly changed its name to "The Reactors" and then to "New Addition" in 1984, and finally settled on the name Chalk Circle (taken from Bertolt Brecht's play The Caucasian Chalk Circle).

The band recorded a demo single "The World" (b/w "Black Pit") on cassette and played the Toronto-area, subsequently winning the CASBY Award for Most Promising Non-recording Group in 1985. After signing to Duke Street Records in Toronto, their 1986 debut release was a 6-song EP called The Great Lake. Produced by Chris Wardman, it was recorded at Manta Sound in Toronto and Quest Recording Studio in Oshawa. The lead single "April Fool" became a Top 10 single in Canada, along with another single "Me, Myself and I". The band produced videos for both tracks which were regularly featured on MuchMusic, and the EP went on to become Duke Street's biggest seller at that time.

Their second release was a full length album entitled Mending Wall released in 1987, with the inspiration for the title coming from Robert Frost's famous poem. Recorded entirely on digital equipment, the crisp sounding album featured another Top 10 Canadian single "This Mourning", a blistering commentary about nuclear politics in the 'ray gun' (Reagan) era of the late 1980s. The album would later be reissued with a cover version of T-Rex's "20th Century Boy", which also became a Top 10 Canadian single.

The band's final album was 1989's As the Crow Flies, which featured two singles, "Sons and Daughters" and "Together". Citing 'creative differences', the band broke up in 1990, and Tait went on to form the indie band Big Faith.

In 2006, Universal Music Group released a Chalk Circle greatest hits compilation as part of its 20th Century Masters series. The release prompted the band to reconvene after 15 years and in February of that year, they began rehearsals at the Cherry Beach rehearsal studios in Toronto in anticipation of possible reunion shows.

On June 17, 2006, Chalk Circle played a reunion gig at Lee's Palace in Toronto. The show received mixed reviews, however music critic Shondra Stabler remarked that "this was a rejeuvination of 1980s pop not seen since the return of Joey MacIntyre"