Doug and the Slugs
| Company type | Musical group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Headquarters | Vancouver , Canada |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
Doug and the Slugs is a Canadian pop ensemble that originated in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1977. Throughout the 1980s, they secured multiple Canadian top 40 singles, such as "Too Bad" (1980), "Who Knows How To Make Love Stay" (1982), "Making It Work" (1983), "Day by Day" (1984), and "Tomcat Prowl" (1988). Notably, their track "Too Bad" was later adopted as the theme music for the ABC sitcom The Norm Show (1999–2001).
Band history
The group was established by Doug Bennett, originally from Toronto and formerly a graphic designer. By 1978, the lineup was finalized with Bennett as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter, accompanied by guitarists Richard Baker and John Burton, keyboardist Simon Kendall, bassist Steve Bosley, and drummer John "Wally" Watson. Bennett’s songwriting style combined elements of R&B, influences from the 1940s, and Tex-Mex sounds, which earned critical acclaim.
Initially, the band faced obstacles in securing gigs due to their name. To counter this, Bennett organized self-promoted dance events at Vancouver venues like the Commodore Ballroom. These events bore memorable titles such as "Beach Blanket Bungle" and "Slugfest," helping cultivate a dedicated local audience.
To retain artistic and production control over their releases and visual presentation, the band created their own label called Ritdong Records, which partnered with RCA for distribution. Their first single "Too Bad," released in 1980 under Ritdong, climbed to #2 on Vancouver’s CKLG radio and entered Canada’s top ten charts. That same year, manager Sam Feldman funded their debut album Cognac & Bologna by taking out a mortgage on his home.
During the 1980s, Doug and the Slugs produced several albums. Their most commercially successful record was 1982’s Music For The Hard Of Thinking, which reached #22 on Canadian charts and yielded two top 40 singles. Despite strong domestic performance, international breakthroughs eluded them; RCA discontinued its distribution agreement in 1984 following a greatest hits compilation release.
Following this, Ritdong joined forces with A&M Records for distribution purposes, resulting in releases like Popaganda (1984) and Tomcat Prowl (1988), alongside Doug Bennett’s solo project Animato (1986), which featured contributions from the full band. The single "Tomcat Prowl" became their final top 40 entry at #23.
After A&M’s contract concluded post-1988, the group independently issued their last album Tales From Terminal City (1992) through Tomcat Records; however, it did not chart. Most founding members exited after 1992 except for Kendall who remained until 1994. Bennett continued touring with new musicians under the Doug and the Slugs banner. The original ensemble reunited for two concerts commemorating their 25th anniversary in Vancouver in 2003.
Bennett’s health deteriorated due to heavy alcohol use; he passed away from liver cirrhosis in October 2004 while en route through Calgary. Simon Kendall later remarked that although Bennett's declining condition was noticeable, its severity had been underestimated.
The band along with Bennett were featured in Teresa Alfeld’s documentary Doug and the Slugs and Me, which premiered at the 2022 DOXA Documentary Film Festival.
Band member timeline
Available data on band personnel:
<timeline> ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1977 till:16/10/2004 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:lead value:orange legend:Lead Singer id:guitar value:tan1 legend:Guitarist id:bass value:gray(0.8) legend:Bass id:drums value:yellowgreen legend:Drummer id:keys value:powderblue2 legend:Keyboards
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1977
PlotData=
width:20 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Doug Bennett text:"lead vocals" from:01/01/1977 till:16/10/2004 color:lead bar:John Burton text:"guitar" from:01/01/1977 till:16/10/2004 color:guitar bar:Richard Baker text:"guitar" from:01/12/1978 till:31/12/1992 color:guitar bar:Graham Francis text:"guitar, vocals" from:01/06/1996 till:01/09/1996 color:guitar bar:Dennis Henderson text:"bass" from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1978 color:bass bar:Steve Bosley text:"bass" from:01/10/1978 till:31/12/1994 color:bass bar:Jay Wittur text:"bass, vocals" from:01/07/1996 till:end color:bass bar:Ted Laturnus text:"drums" from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1978 color:drums bar:John Watson text:"drums" from:12/08/1978 till:31/12/1994 color:drums bar:Doug Grant text:"drums, bg vocals" from:01/09/1995 till:15/10/2002 color:drums bar:Chris Murray Driver text:"drums, vocals" from:01/10/2001 till:end color:drums bar:Keith Merritt text:"tambourine, vocals" from:01/07/1996 till:end color:bass bar:Drew Neville text:"keyboards" from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1978 color:keys bar:Simon Kendall text:"keyboards" from:08/12/1978 till:31/12/1994 color:keys bar:Logan Dunster text:"keyboards" from:01/12/1995 till:31/01/1998 color:keys bar:Marc Gladstone text:"keyboards, vocals" from:01/05/1998 till:end color:keys
</timeline>
Additional musicians associated with the band (exact timelines unavailable):
- Drummers:
- Vince Ditrich
- Larry McGillivray
- Jake Adams
- Pat Steward
- Guitarists:
- John Ellis
- Elio Martelli
- Al Rodger
- Tony Jenks
- Bassists:
- Danny Latham (long-term)
- Keyboardists:
- Darrell Havers
- Dale Wallace (1995–1997)
- Saxophonist:
Graham Francis has participated in numerous bands and composed a variety of songs. Dennis Henderson retired as an electronics instructor at a Richmond high school in British Columbia and continues performing folk-rooted music alongside Barb Fraser under the name "Fraser/Henderson."
Simon Kendall’s composition titled "Hymn For Unbelievers" was featured during season three of Da Vinci's Inquest.
In 2009, members of the Slugs’ classic '80s lineup—Baker, Bosley, Burton, Kendall, and Watson—reunited with singer Ted Okos assuming lead vocal duties. This formation continues to perform live under the Doug and the Slugs name despite no current member bearing the name Doug.
Studio albums
| Release Year | Album Title | Chart Rankings |
|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM Album Charts | ||
| 1980 | Cognac and Bologna | #36 |
| 1981 | Wrap It! | #28 |
| 1982 | Music for the Hard of Thinking | #22 |
| 1984 | Popaganda | #43 |
| 1986 | Doug Bennett: Animato |
#95 |
| 1988 | Tomcat Prowl | #39 |
| 1992 | Tales from Terminal City | — |
Compilation albums
- 1984: Ten Big Ones
- 1987: Doug and the Slugs (released exclusively in the U.S.)
- 1993: Slugcology 101
Singles
1988| Year Released | Song Title | Chart Performance | Associated Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top 100 |
Australia Kent Music Report | ||||||
| 1980 | "Too Bad" | 20 | — | Cognac and Bologna | |||
| "Chinatown Calculation" | 75 | — | |||||
| "Drifting Away" | — | — | |||||
| 1981 | "Real Enough" | — | — | Wrap It! | |||
| "Running Around" | — | — | (Non-album single) | ||||
| 1983 | "Who Knows How to Make Love Stay" | 25 | — | Music for the Hard of Thinking | |||
| "Making It Work" | 29 | — | |||||
| "Nobody but Me" | — | — | |||||
| 1984 | "It's Alright Medley" | — | — | Ten Big Ones | |||
| "Day by Day" | 92 | 62 | Popaganda | ||||
| "Love Shines" | — | — | |||||
| "Waiting for You" | 83 | — | |||||
| 1985 | "White Christmas" | — | — | (Non-album single) | |||
| 1986 | "It's Got to Be Monday" | 80 | — | 'Animato' | |||
| "Tomcat Prowl" |
23 | — | Tomcat Prowl |
- 1989 |
(I Don't Want To) Walk Away" |
84 | — | - "It's a Powerful Thing" |
64 | — | - 1992 |
"Terminal City" |
— | — | "Tales from Terminal City" |
Awards and Recognition
- 1981: Received several Juno Award nominations including:
- Composer of the Year for "Too Bad"
- Best Album Graphics for Cognac and Bologna
- Single of the Year for "Too Bad"
- 1983: Nominated for Juno Award as Most Promising Group of the Year
External links
- 2003 in Canadian music
- Musical groups established in 1977
- Musical groups disestablished in 2004
- Musical groups reestablished in 2009
- Musical groups from Vancouver
- Canadian pop rock music groups
- Doo-wop groups
- 1977 establishments in British Columbia
- 2004 disestablishments in British Columbia
- 2009 establishments in British Columbia