George Bowser and Rick Blue (real name Richard Elger), better known as Bowser and Blue, are a musical duo from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

who write and perform

comedic Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

songs. Their material ranges from absurdist humor ("I've Got a Great Big Dick", "Canadian Psychedelic Snowboarding Team", "I'm in Like with a Dyke Named Spike") to pointed political and cultural

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

("You Should Speak French", "Driving in Quebec", "Bouchard's Speech", "Clinton's Thing", "Rappin'

Rambo Rambo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *John Rambo, the main character from the ''Rambo'' franchise * Mary Rambo, female character in '' Invisible Man'' Films * ''Rambo'' (franchise), starring Sylvester St ...

").

History

Elger spent the 1960s performing folk music in coffee houses, and played in two bands: Mantis, and

The British North American Act The British North American Act was a Canadian psychedelic rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1968. The group recorded one studio album, ''In the Beginning'', in 1969 which included their song "Joe Cool", a moderate hit on the Canadian char ...

. He met singer/songwriter George Bowser, also a long-time member of the Montreal music scene, and they began performing as a duo in 1978. Their first gig was at Montreal's Irish Lancer pub, but comedy clubs were becoming very popular and the duo discovered their comedic talent early in the 1980s. They then went on a North American tour as the opening band for

Katrina and the Waves Katrina and the Waves were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Cambridge in 1981, widely known for their 1985 hit "Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves song), Walking on Sunshine". They won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the ...

; that tour introduced them to the college market. In 1986, they were signed to Justin Time Records and released their first album, ''Bowser & Blue'', which featured contributions from Katrina and the Waves members

Kimberley Rew Kimberley Charles Rew (born 3 December 1951) is an English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was a member of Katrina and the Waves from 1981 to 1999

, Alex Cooper and Vince de la Cruz, as well as

Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...

frontman

Rick Davies Richard Davies (born 22 July 1944) is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best-known songs ...

. In 1988, they appeared on '' Just For Laughs'', and began appearing weekly, and performing political satire, on the

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned List of Canadian ...

show ''Fighting Back''. Their specific appeal was the humorous defense of

English-speaking Quebecers English-speaking Quebecers, also known as Anglo-Quebecers, English Quebecers, or Anglophone Quebecers (all alternately spelt Quebeckers; in French ''Anglo-Québécois'', ''Québécois Anglophone'') or simply Anglos in a Quebec context, are a ...

, at a time when

Quebec nationalism Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...

was at its peak. They also began regularly entertaining snowbirds in the US, They began staging theatrical shows, notably at Montreal's

Centaur Theatre The Centaur Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Montreal, Quebec. It was co-founded in 1969 by Maurice Podbrey along with The Centaur Foundation for the Performing Arts. It currently has Eda Holmes as the artistic and executive director ...

and, from 2007 to 2012, headlined the Canadian Snowbird Extravaganza concert series. In 1991, they formed their own label, You Guys Publishing. Their 1997 national Christmas special ''A Bowser and Blue Comedy Christmas: Two Nuts Roasting On An Open Fire'', garnered a nomination for Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series at the

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in th ...

of 1998. They continue to perform and travel extensively across Canada and, on July 1, 2020, performed a

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

Virtual Covid Concert during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In October 2021, with Josh Freed, Terry Mosher and

Ellen David Ellen David is a Canadian actress. She was co-nominated for a 2007 Gemini Award for Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series in '' The Business'' episode ''Check Please'' and nominated for a 2005 Prix Gemeaux for Meilleur rôle de ...

, they created the show ''Four Anglos Surviving the COVID Apocalypse''. In 2022, they released the album ''Hindsight'', which addresses aspects of the pandemic.

Discography

Albums * ''Bowser & Blue'' (1986), Justin Time * ''Is It In Yet?'' (1987), Justin Time * ''The Lovely & Talented Bowser & Blue'' (1989), Justin Time * ''Westmount Rhodesians'' (1990), Justin Time *''Bowser & Blue Live'' (1991), You Guys * ''Bowser & Blue At The Comedy Nest'' (1995), You Guys * ''Montréal Souvenirs'' (1996), You Guys * ''Troubadors'' (1996), You Guys * ''Crackpots'' (1997), You Guys * ''Bowser and Blue 20th Anniversary'' (1998), You Guys * ''We're All Here...'' (1999), You Guys * ''Red Guitars: Music for Misguided Angels'' (1999), You Guys * ''She Wants Me'' (2001), You Guys * ''The Illustrated Canadian Songbook'' (2003) *''Pull My Finger'' (2007), You Guys * ''No Ordinary Dummies'' (2008), You Guys * ''Live At The Cock And Bull Pub'' (2011), You Guys *''Schwartz's The Musical'' (2011), You Guys *''Openly Grey'' (2015), You Guys *''Hindsight'' (2022), You Guys DVDs * ''We're All Here...'' (1999), You Guys *''Humor for Boomers'' (2009), You Guys *''Bowser & Blue Tube'' (2013), You Guys Singles *"It Ain't Easy Being White" / "Polka Dot Undies" *"Rappin' Rambo" / "Writing My Name in the Snow" * "The BP Song" * "Everything Is Cheaper in the States" * "The Senator's Song" * "Snow Is a Four-Letter Word" * "That's Progress"

Television Specials

* ''Blokes'' (1993),

CFCF-DT CFCF-DT (channel 12) is an English-language television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Noovo flagship (broadcasting), flagship CFJP-DT (cha ...

, CBC Newsworld * ''La Fête Carrée (A Woodstock For Squareheads)'' (1996),

* ''Something Bowser, Something Blue'' (1996),

* ''Full Frontal Unity'' (1997),

– national * ''A Bowser and Blue Comedy Christmas: Two Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire'' (1997),

* ''Two Smart Fellers'' (1998),

* ''We're All Here (Because We're Not All There)'' (1999),

* ''She Wants Me (To Go Away)'' (2000),

Theatre Shows

* ''Blokes'' (1992),

, Montréal * ''The Best of Bowser and Blue'' (1993), The

Piggery Theatre The Piggery Theatre (''French: Le Théâtre Piggery'') is a summer community theater in Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality, in Estrie, in Quebec, Canada. By 1990, the Piggery was already the oldest profes ...

, North Hatley, Québec * ''Blokes Deux'' (1994), Centaur Theatre * ''Something Bowser, Something Blue'' (1995), Theatre Lac-Brome, Lac-Brome, Québec * ''Troubadours Through Time'' (1996), Centaur Theatre * ''Mainly Montréal'' (1997), (with David Fennario and Vittorio Rossi), Centaur Theatre * ''La Fête Carrée'' (a Woodstock for Squareheads) (1997) Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, Montréal * ''Two Smart Fellers'' (1998), Theatre Lac-Brome * ''We're All Here (Because We're Not All There)'' (2000), Theatre Lac-Brome * ''A Pile of Hits'' (2001), Theatre Lac-Brome * ''The Two and Only'' (2002), Hudson Village Theatre,

Hudson, Quebec Hudson is an Greater Montreal, off-island suburb of Montreal, with a population of 5,4112021 Census. It is located on the south-west bank of the lower Ottawa River, in Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. Situated about west of down ...

* ''The Paris of America'' (2003), Centaur Theatre * ''The 4 Anglos of the Apocalypse'' (2006), Theatre Lac-Brome and Centaur Theatre * ''Down Our Way, and Up Yours'' (2007), Theatre Lac-Brome * ''The 25th Century Belongs to Canada'' (2008), Theatre Lac-Brome and Centaur Theatre * ''Schwartz's: The Musical'' (2011), Centaur Theatre * ''The Last Night at the Gayety'' (2016), Centaur Theatre *''Not Necessarily a Christmas Show'' (2019), BLVD Bar & Grill,

Châteauguay Châteauguay ( , , ) is an off-island suburbs, off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, located on both the Châteauguay River and Lake Saint-Louis, Lac St-Louis, which is a section of the St. Lawrence River. The population of the ...

* ''Four Anglos Surviving the COVID Apocalypse'' (2021), Théâtre Lac-Brome,

St Jax Montréal St Jax Montréal is an Anglican church located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its address is at 1439 Sainte-Catherine Street West. History St Jax Montréal was first opened for worship in May 1864 under its formal and historic (and ongoing) name ...

References

External links

Bowser & Blue
official website * * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups from Montreal Canadian comedy musical groups Comedians from Montreal Canadian comedy duos Canadian satirists Canadian satirical musicians English-language musical groups from Quebec Justin Time Records artists 1978 establishments in Quebec