Carole Pope | |
|---|---|
 Carole Pope performing in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Carole Ann Pope (1950-08-06)6 August 1950 (age 75) Manchester, England |
| Origin | Scarborough, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Rock,Electronic |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Website | carolepope |
Carole Ann Pope (born 6 August 1950)[1] is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edgednew wave rock with explicithomoerotic andBDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openlylesbian entertainers to achieve mainstream fame.
Pope was born on 6 August 1950[1] in the rural outskirts ofManchester in England. She was the oldest of four children born to Jack Pope, a salesperson, a member of theCommunist Party of Great Britain,[2] and a circus stilt walker, and to Celia, a music hall performer. Pope grew up with two sisters, Diane andElaine, and a brother, Howard.[3] At the age of five, Pope emigrated with her parents toMontreal.[1] After a couple of years there, the family moved to theToronto suburb ofScarborough, Ontario.[4] She studied atCedarbrae Collegiate Institute.[5]
Pope met her longtime musical partnerKevan Staples at a band audition in Scarborough. In 1968, they began performing together as a duo inYorkville, which was Toronto's live music and arts district at the time.[6] In 1970, they adopted the name O, changing it to The Bullwhip Brothers the following year.Clive A. Smith was also a member of O; Smith would later go on to co-found Canadian animation studioNelvana and play such iconic on-screen characters as Mr. Pencil.[7]
In 1975, Pope and Staples recruited several backup musicians and formed the bandRough Trade. Pope often performed in black leather pants andbondage attire.[8] The band's first album,Rough Trade Live, was produced byJack Richardson.[8]
Whilst with Rough Trade, Pope sang backup vocals onMurray McLauchlan's albumInto a Mystery,[9] in 1980, and would go on to win theJuno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist in 1981 and subsequently the Juno Award for Best Female Vocalist in 1982 and 1983.[10]
Rough Trade released their first studio album, Avoid Freud, and also made an appearance in the Canadian horror film,Deadline, in 1980. They would win aGenie Award[10] and four gold and two platinum records as the decade progressed. She and Kevan Staples co-wrote the 1983 single "Transformation" along with the track "Design for Living", for singer/songwriterNona Hendryx's second studio album,Nona.[11] Pope also appeared as a guest vocalist on thePayola$ single "Never Said I Loved You," which was a top 10 hit in 1983. She would team up again with Payola$ founderPaul Hyde to sing the duet "My Brilliant Career" on his albumLiving Off the Radar in 2000. She also sang the role of Primavera Nicholson in theCOC production ofR. Murray Schafer'sPatria I in November 1987.[12]
Although Rough Trade did not record or perform extensively after its final Deep Six in '86 tour, they did not officially break up until 1988. Since breaking up, the band has had numerous reunions, and in 2022,Rough Trade - The Musical, a musical based on the band's music (and the life of Pope's late brother, Howard), debuted atJoe's Pub, inManhattan.[13]
After Rough Trade disbanded, Pope released her debut solo single in 1988, which was a cover ofThe Flirtations' 1968 soul hit,Nothing but a Heartache. The B-side was her self-penned song,I'm Not Blind. She relocated to Los Angeles in 1989 to pursue opportunities in soundtrack work and acting, and produced the soundtrack for The Silencer, athriller movie directed byAmy Goldstein, which was released in 1992.
In 1995, Pope announced she was no longer living in Los Angeles. That same year, she released her debut EP,Radiate, featuring drummerJack Irons. A music video was produced to promote the EP's third track, Kiss The Ground.[14] Pope also starred in thecabaret,Quiet Please, There's a Bitter, Petulant Diva on Stage, atBuddies in Bad Times Theatre.[14] In 1997, Pope provided the voice for the schoolteacher in the animated version of Pippi Longstocking, and in 1999 playwright Bryden MacDonald staged Shaking the Foundations, a musical revue based on the music of Rough Trade.
In 2000, Random House published Pope's autobiography,Anti Diva.[15][4] The book included Pope's first public acknowledgement that she had been in a relationship with British singerDusty Springfield in the early 1980s.[16][17][18] That year she and Staples contributed a track to the Dusty Springfield tribute albumForever Dusty: Homage to an Icon.[19][20] Anti Diva also revealed fleeting 1970s dalliances with comic actressAndrea Martin and music producerBob Ezrin. Years later, Pope discussed attending Dusty Springfield's funeral where she spent time with thePet Shop Boys, amongst other notables.[21]
Soon afterwards, Pope re-recorded the Rough Trade single "High School Confidential" for theQueer as Folk season 1 soundtrack and appeared in the Toronto production ofThe Vagina Monologues in 2001. She would then move toNew York City to continue writing and recording.[1] In 2005, 21 years after her last EP, Pope returned to Los Angeles and releasedTranscend, her debut full-length solo album.[22]
In 2011, Pope releasedLandfall, her second full-length album, featuring a duet withRufus Wainwright.[22] That year she also was a guest vocalist on the albumThe Hills Are Alive by the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata.[23]
Pope is an ambassador for theHarvey Milk School in New York City[24] and a board director for theSongwriters Association of Canada. In 2015, Pope signed with Squirtgun Records (distributed byeOne Entertainment) to re-release theMusic for Lesbians EP on 23 June 2015.[25]
On 22 September 2017, Pope released the single,This Is Not A Test.[26] An accompanying music video, directed by Jasun Mark, was released on 8 May 2018.[27] Later that same year, Pope collaborated with keyboardistKevin Hearn to release the single,Resist It, on 22 October 2018,[28] which was later accompanied by a music video directed byPhillip Harder.[29] A third single,I'm There, produced in collaboration withSpoons' keyboardist Rob Preuss, was released the following year.
In 2021, Pope collaborated with Ottawa band Church of Trees to release the song "World's A Bitch". Later that same year, Pope worked with Canadian performer Clara Venice to produce the single "Speaking In Code". Venice had previously added herTheremin skills to Pope's 2017 single, This Is Not A Test.[30]
Pope served as a guest judge on the second episode of thethird season ofCanada's Drag Race in 2022,[31] and narratedMarusya Bociurkiw's 2023 documentary filmAnalogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World.[32] On July 21, 2023, it was revealed that a documentary based on Pope's autobiography is currently in the works. The documentary, titledAntiDiva: The Confessions of Carole Pope, is being funded byThe Canada Media Fund. The production of the documentary is being handled byGay Agenda,[33] and it is scheduled to debut on CBC’s Documentary Channel in 2025.[34]
Pope currently lives inLos Angeles,[35] although she has previously resided inNew York.[36]
In March 2018, Pope was forced to cancel a scheduled performance in Toronto due to a fractured ankle.[37] Subsequently, she was compelled to cancel all of her scheduled performances for the remainder of the year due to mobility challenges that she had encountered during her tour. This ultimately resulted in a diagnosis ofspinal stenosis. In order to assist with her living expenses following surgery, a fundraiser was established onGoFundMe.[38]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Dangerous Offender: The Marlene Moore Story | Bar Patron | TV movie |
| 1997 | Pippi Longstocking | Teacher | Film |
| 1998 | Elimination Dance | Partner of woman whose urine sample is lost in the mail | Short |
| 2009 | Suck | Club Bouncer | Film |
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