Arthur Frank Bergmann (born February 8, 1953 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, British Columbia) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who was one of the key figures in Canadian punk rock in the late 1970s.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''.

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly books ...

. . Bergmann was made a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

in 2021.

Punk bands

Bergmann began his musical career with an Abbotsford band called the Mount Lehman Grease Band. After Mount Lehman folded, he founded his own band, called the Notorious Smorg Brothers, which he stocked with a myriad of different support artists. Bergmann was later the lead singer and songwriter for Vancouver punk stalwarts

Young Canadians Young Canadians (originally The K-Tels) were a Canadian punk rock band formed in Vancouver in 1978 and active for just under two years. The YC's were influenced not only by the other punk bands in town at that time such as D.O.A. and the Pointed ...

(formerly The K-Tels). Although the Young Canadians only recorded two independent EPs and a single before breaking up, their song "Hawaii" (co-written with Ross Carpenter) is one of the classic Canadian punk anthems. Although long out of print, the EPs, along with some unreleased live material, were reissued in 1995 as the album ''No Escape''.

Solo career

In the 1980s, Bergmann played with Vancouver independent bands Los Popularos and Poisoned before the latter band signed to

Duke Street Records Duke Street Records was a Canadian independent record label"Barren ground for Canada's gutsy record labels". ''Edmonton Journal'', May 10, 1990. established in 1984 by Andrew Hermant, but the record label ceased operating in 1994. The Universal ...

in 1988. Due to confusion with the popular American band

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

which had marred the band's most recent tour, however, the label decided to bill the band's releases as solo albums by Bergmann. He released his debut solo album, the

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various sty ...

-produced ''

Crawl with Me ''Crawl with Me'' is the debut solo studio album by Art Bergmann, released July 5, 1988 on Duke Street Records. The album had originally been recorded in demo form by Bob Rock and Paul Hyde, but the studio release was produced by John Cale."Crawl ...

'', that year. He garnered a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

nomination for Most Promising Male Vocalist at the

Juno Awards of 1989 The Juno Awards of 1989, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 12 March 1989 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. André-Philippe Gagnon was the host for the ceremonies, which were bro ...

, and

James O'Mara page=2, alt=British Army intelligence file for James O'Mara, British Army intelligence file for James O'Mara, class=notpageimage James O'Mara (6 August 1873 – 21 November 1948) was an Irish businessman and politician who became a nationalist ...

and

Kate Ryan Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of ...

were nominated for

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

for Bergmann's "Our Little Secret". 1990's '' Sexual Roulette'', produced by Chris Wardman, became Bergmann's mainstream breakthrough, spawning the rock radio hit "Bound for Vegas" and garnering him a deal with

Polygram Records PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...

. He followed up with a

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

album on Polygram in 1991, again garnering significant radio airplay for the singles "Faithlessly Yours", "If She Could Sing" and "Message From Paul". In 1994 he collaborated with One Free Fall on a cover of

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

's "Prisoners of Rock and Roll" for the tribute album '' Borrowed Tunes'', leading to a new deal with

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

for 1995's ''

What Fresh Hell Is This? ''What Fresh Hell is This?'' is the fourth studio album by Art Bergmann, released in 1995 on Epic Records. The album gets its name from a quotation by American wit Dorothy Parker. The album was written primarily while Bergmann was in rehab, recov ...

''. That album won the

for Best Alternative Rock Album at the

Juno Awards of 1996 The Juno Awards of 1996, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 10 March 1996 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Anne Murray was the host for the ceremonies, which were broa ...

, but the album was not a strong performer on the charts and he was then dropped from the label. Bergmann quit the music business for a period following his release by Sony, performing sporadically between 1995 and 1998.

Ben Rayner Ben Rayner is a music critic and writer for the ''Toronto Star'' since 1998. His commentary on artists is extensively cited across the industry. Indie88 considers him "of the most respected industry professionals around." In 2012, he served on th ...

, "Bergmann living down his reputation". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', October 15, 1998: G4. The 1998 ''

Design Flaw A product defect is any characteristic of a product which hinders its usability for the purpose for which it was designed and manufactured. Product defects arise most prominently in legal contexts regarding product safety, where the term is app ...

'', produced by Peter J. Moore and released on the independent label Other People's Music, was a reworking of tracks from his first three albums, plus a cover of

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

' "Sin City". The songs featured Bergmann on acoustic guitar, with backing by

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

on electric. Bergmann then released ''

Vultura Freeway ''Vultura Freeway'' is the sixth studio album by Art Bergmann, released in 2000 on the Audio Monster record label. The album consisted of previously unreleased demo recordings Bergmann made in 1984 before releasing his debut album ''Crawl with Me' ...

'', a compilation of unreleased demo recordings from the early 1980s, in 2000, with liner notes from

Pointed Sticks Pointed Sticks are a Canadian punk rock/ new wave band from Vancouver. Originally active from 1978 to 1981, then reuniting to perform in July 2006 through to November 2012. After a three-year hiatus, Pointed Sticks returned to the stage in June ...

front man Nick Jones. Following ''Vultura Freeway'', however, Bergmann withdrew from the music business for several years, due to health difficulties with

degenerative arthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the ...

. In 2009 Bergmann's bassist Ray Fulber compiled the CD '' Lost Art Bergmann'', which featured early demo versions of most of the songs that appeared on the 1988 John Cale produced album. These demo recordings served as a tonic to many fans as they have a more guitar driven sound than the keyboard heavy Cale produced sessions. On August 26, 2014, Bergmann released ''

Songs for the Underclass ''Songs for the Underclass'' is an EP by Art Bergmann, released August 26, 2014 on weewerk.

'' through the independent label ( weewerk). On May 13, 2016, Bergmann released '' The Apostate'', his first full-length album of new material since 1995. On May 12, 2017, Bergmann released '' Remember Her Name'', a remastered edition of his self-titled 1991 album. On December 30, 2020, Bergmann was made a Member of the Order of Canada, for his "indelible contributions to the Canadian punk music scene, and for his thought-provoking discourse on social, gender and racial inequalities."Allie Gregory
"Art Bergmann Appointed to the Order of Canada"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', December 30, 2020.

Film appearances

He has also appeared in two Bruce McDonald films, '' Highway 61'' as Otto and ''

Hard Core Logo ''Hard Core Logo'' is a 1996 Canadian mockumentary adapted by Noel S. Baker from the novel of the same name by author Michael Turner. The film was directed by Bruce McDonald and illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock. Released in 1996, ...

'' as himself, and as a musician in ''Conjurer of Monikers''. Additionally, he was featured in ''

Bloodied but Unbowed ''Bloodied but Unbowed'' is a 2010 Canadian documentary film detailing the rise and influence of the punk music scene in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. History ''Bloodied but Unbowed'' was produced and directed by independent filmmake ...

'', a film featured at the 2010 Vancouver Documentary Film Festival.

Discography

*''

'' (1988) *'' Sexual Roulette'' (1990) *'' Art Bergmann'' (1991) *''

'' (1995) *''

'' (1998) *''

'' (2000) *'' Lost Art Bergmann'' (2009) *''

Songs for the Underclass ''Songs for the Underclass'' is an EP by Art Bergmann, released August 26, 2014 on weewerk.

'' (2014) *'' The Apostate'' (2016) *'' Remember Her Name'' (2017) *''Late Stage Empire Dementia'' (2021)

References

External links

Art Bergmann
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergmann, Art 1953 births Living people Musicians from Vancouver Canadian punk rock singers Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian alternative rock musicians Canadian Mennonites 20th-century Canadian male singers Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian male singers Members of the Order of Canada Mennonite musicians