Carole Pope

Carole Ann Pope (born 6 August 1950)<ref name="toronto.citynews.ca">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian entertainers to achieve mainstream fame.

Early life

Pope was born on 6 August 1950<ref name="toronto.citynews.ca"/> in the rural outskirts of Manchester in England. She was the oldest of four children born to Jack Pope, a salesperson, a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a circus stilt walker, and to Celia, a music hall performer. Pope grew up with two sisters, Diane and Elaine, and a brother, Howard.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At the age of five, Pope emigrated with her parents to Montreal.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After a couple of years there, the family moved to the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario.<ref name="globe">"Carole Pope unpeeled". The Globe and Mail, Elizabeth Renzetti. 25 November 2000</ref> She studied at Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute.<ref name="Bingham2015">Template:Cite book</ref>

Music career

1968–1988: Rough Trade

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Pope met her longtime musical partner Kevan Staples at a band audition in Scarborough. In 1968, they began performing together as a duo in Yorkville, which was Toronto's live music and arts district at the time.<ref name="Finkelstein2012">Template:Cite book</ref> 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 studio Nelvana and play such iconic on-screen characters as Mr. Pencil.<ref>"Toronto Mike'd Podcast: "Clive A. Smith: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1535". Toronto Mike'd Podcast, 14 August 2024</ref>

In 1975, Pope and Staples recruited several backup musicians and formed the band Rough Trade. Pope often performed in black leather pants and bondage attire.<ref name="Mersereau2015">Template:Cite book</ref> The band's first album, Rough Trade Live, was produced by Jack Richardson.<ref name="Mersereau2015" />

Whilst with Rough Trade, Pope sang backup vocals on Murray McLauchlan's album Into a Mystery,<ref name="Adria1990">Template:Cite book</ref> in 1980, and would go on to win the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist in 1981 and subsequently the Juno Award for Best Female Vocalist in 1982 and 1983.<ref name="go" />

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 a Genie Award<ref name="go">"Carole Pope: Not Going Gently". GO Magazine, 24 April 2012. by Andrew Vail</ref> 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/songwriter Nona Hendryx's second studio album, Nona.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Pope also appeared as a guest vocalist on the Payola$ single "Never Said I Loved You," which was a top 10 hit in 1983. She would team up again with Payola$ founder Paul Hyde to sing the duet "My Brilliant Career" on his album Living Off the Radar in 2000. She also sang the role of Primavera Nicholson in the COC production of R. Murray Schafer's Patria I in November 1987.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cite news</ref>

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 at Joe's Pub, in Manhattan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

1988–1999: Solo Beginnings

After Rough Trade disbanded, Pope released her debut solo single in 1988, which was a cover of The 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, a thriller movie directed by Amy 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 drummer Jack Irons. A music video was produced to promote the EP's third track, Kiss The Ground.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Pope also starred in the cabaret, Quiet Please, There's a Bitter, Petulant Diva on Stage, at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> 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.

2000–2005: Release of autobiography and first solo album

File:Carole Pope.jpg

Pope at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2000, Random House published Pope's autobiography, Anti Diva.<ref name="Rak2009">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="globe" /> The book included Pope's first public acknowledgement that she had been in a relationship with British singer Dusty Springfield in the early 1980s.<ref name="antidiva">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="RichardsJM">Template:Cite magazine</ref> That year she and Staples contributed a track to the Dusty Springfield tribute album Forever Dusty: Homage to an Icon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Publishing2000">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Anti Diva also revealed fleeting 1970s dalliances with comic actress Andrea Martin and music producer Bob Ezrin. Years later, Pope discussed attending Dusty Springfield's funeral where she spent time with the Pet Shop Boys, amongst other notables.<ref>"Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 823: Carole Pope". Toronto Mike'd Podcast, 21 March 2021</ref>

Soon afterwards, Pope re-recorded the Rough Trade single "High School Confidential" for the Queer as Folk season 1 soundtrack and appeared in the Toronto production of The Vagina Monologues in 2001. She would then move to New York City to continue writing and recording.<ref name=":0" /> In 2005, 21 years after her last EP, Pope returned to Los Angeles and released Transcend, her debut full-length solo album.<ref name="tuck">"JUNE FEATURE INTERVIEW: MUSIC ICON AND PIONEER CAROLE POPE". Tuck Magazine, 1 June 2012</ref>

2011–present: Second solo album, EP, and collaborations

In 2011, Pope released Landfall, her second full-length album, featuring a duet with Rufus Wainwright.<ref name=tuck /> That year she also was a guest vocalist on the album The Hills Are Alive by the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata.<ref>"Album review: Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, 'The Hills Are Alive'". Metro West Daily News, 22 March 2011</ref>

Pope is an ambassador for the Harvey Milk School in New York City<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and a board director for the Songwriters Association of Canada. In 2015, Pope signed with Squirtgun Records (distributed by eOne Entertainment) to re-release the Music for Lesbians EP on 23 June 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 22 September 2017, Pope released the single, This Is Not A Test.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An accompanying music video, directed by Jasun Mark, was released on 8 May 2018.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Later that same year, Pope collaborated with keyboardist Kevin Hearn to release the single, Resist It, on 22 October 2018.,<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> which was later accompanied by a music video directed by Phillip Harder.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> A third single, I'm There, produced in collaboration with Spoons' 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 her Theremin skills to Pope's 2017 single, This Is Not A Test.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Pope served as a guest judge on the second episode of the third season of Canada's Drag Race in 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On July 21, 2023, it was revealed that a documentary based on Pope's autobiography is currently in the works. The documentary, titled AntiDiva: The Confessions of Carole Pope, is being funded by The Canada Media Fund. The production of the documentary is being handled by Gay Agenda,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and it is scheduled to debut on CBC’s Documentary Channel in 2025.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She narrated Marusya Bociurkiw's 2023 documentary film Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World.<ref>Pat Mullen, "Analogue Revolution Review: A History of Women’s Voices". Point of View, February 28, 2024.</ref>

Personal life

Pope currently lives in Los Angeles,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> although she has previously resided in New York.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Health

In March 2018, Pope was forced to cancel a scheduled performance in Toronto due to a fractured ankle.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 of spinal stenosis. In order to assist with her living expenses following surgery, a fundraiser was established on GoFundMe.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Solo discography

Albums

• Transcend (2005)
• Landfall (2011)

EPs

• Radiate (1995)
• The Silencer (1999)
• Music for Lesbians (2014; 2015 re-release with Squirtgun/eOne)

Singles

• "Nothing but a Heartache" / "I'm Not Blind" (1988) (B-side "I'm Not Blind" reissued in 2022)
• "Transcend" (1999)
• "World Of One" (2000)
• "Johnny Marr" (2007)
• "Shining Path/Tell Me" (2010)
• "Viral 01/Viral 02" (2011)
• "Francis Bacon" (2013)
• "Lesbians in the Forest" (featuring Peaches) (2013)
• "Vagina Wolf" (2014)
• "This Is Not a Test" (2017)
• "Resist It" (with Kevin Hearn) (2018)
• "I'm There" (with Rob Preuss) (2019)
• "All Touch / No Contact Live" (2020)
• "I Want to Live" (2020)
• "World's a Bitch" (2021) (with Church of Trees and Rob Preuss)
• "Speaking in Code" (2021) (with Clara Venice)
• "More Or Less" (2024)
• "Play Fisty For Me" (2024)
• "I Miss My Land" (2024)
• "Carole Pope (Live)" (2024)

Filmography

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

External links

• Carole Pope
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