Artist / Band

Ian Thomas

Origin Hamilton, Ontario

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Biography

Ian Thomas is a Juno award winning Canadian Singer -Songwriter-film-composer -author and actor. In 2014 he received SOCAN’s National Achievement Award for Songwriting. Ian’s first international hit was Painted Ladies in 1973, followed by a string of top 40 hits in Canada and around the world. International artists such as Santana, America, Manfred Mann, Bon Jovi, Bette Midler, Ann Murray and Chicago have all recorded Ian Thomas songs. In 1990s, he formed a band called The Boomers that found great success over four albums in Europe. Ian is also a successful film composer with 22 feature films to his credit. As an actor he has done extensive voice work in over 1000 commercials, and played character Dougie Franklin on the Red Green Show for six seasons. In the new millennium, Ian joined fellow singer-songwriters Murray McLauchlan, Marc Jordan and Cindy Church to form Lunch At Allen’s. With 5 albums to their credit, Lunch At Allens have crossed the country coast to coast nearly every year, for the last 20 years. Ian is currently finishing his 19th album and will be performing a 10 City Ontario concert tour with his own band in the spring of 2023. In June, Lunch At Allen’s embarks on a 10 City Tour in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Somewhere in the middle of all of the music, he has authored two novels with a new one in the works. Life is good.

Bio Old:
Ian first hit internationally in 1973 with "Painted Ladies". Over the years he has acquired a Juno award, four SOCAN classic awards for Painted Ladies, Right Before Your Eyes, Hold On and Pilot, a UNICEF Danny Kaye Humanitarian award, Juno and Gemini nominations,15 albums and nearly as many top twenty records. Ian’s lyrics have been utilized in English textbooks while his songs have found international success with many artists such as Santana, America, Manfred Man, Chicago, Bette Midler and Ann Murray. Ian founded the internationally acclaimed group The Boomers (1990-2000) that produced four acclaimed albums and two European concert tours. Ian has also added author to the mix with two novels, Bequest (Manor House 2006) and The Lost Chord (Manor House 2008). When he isn’t performing his own shows, he also records (four albums to date) and tours the country regularly with good friends Murray McLauchlan, Marc Jordan, and Cindy Church in a band called Lunch At Allen’s.

This past year saw the release of a long awaited new solo album (Little Dreams) to strong reviews in both Canada and the USA. A new novel, autobiography and album are in the works.

Ian Campbell Thomas, singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor (born 23 July 1950 in Hamilton, ON). A Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter, Ian Thomas is best known for the hit single "Painted Ladies" (1973), and for his role as Dougie Franklin in the first six seasons of Steve Smith's cult TV program The Red Green Show (1991–2006).

Recording Career
Thomas began his career as a member 1969–71 of the rock band Tranquility Base (the pop group-in-residence 1970–71 with the Hamilton Philharmonic). As a CBC producer 1972–74 in Toronto, Thomas was responsible for the radio program National Rock Works and for CBC LM-series recordings by more than 20 performers, including Bearfoot, Bim (Roy Forbes) and Cal Dodd. He produced commercially released recordings by James Leroy, D'Arcy Wickham and others. Throughout his career he has also written, produced and performed many jingles.

His debut album, Ian Thomas (1973, GRT 9230-1037), included the song "Painted Ladies," which was popular in Canada and the Unites States. Five albums followed 1974–79 for GRT: Long Long Way (1974, 9230-1044), Delights (1975, 9230-1054), Calabash (1976, 9230-1063), Still Here (1978, 9230-1067), and Glider (1979, 9230-1082). Thomas received a Juno Award in 1974 for Most Promising Male Vocalist and was active in clubs, concerts and on TV in Canada. He toured in the United States in the 1970s. He retired for a time from live performance in 1981 but maintained, through subsequent recordings, his reputation as one of the better craftspeople in Canadian pop.

On the demise of GRT, The Best of Ian Thomas (1980, ANR-1-1024) was compiled by Anthem Records, which continued with The Runner (1981, ANR-1-1032), Riders on Dark Horses (1984, ANR-1-1044), and Add Water (1985, ANR-1-1047). His 11th album, Levity (1988, WEA CD-55556), was followed by What We Do (1991, WEA CD-74515), which introduced the Boomers: Thomas, guitarist Bill Dillon, bass guitarist Peter Cardinali and drummer Rick Gratton. The band, which was particularly successful in Germany, recorded three more albums by 2002.

Other popular Ian Thomas singles include "Liars" (1976, from Calabash); "Coming Home" (1978, from Still Here); "Hold On" and "Chains" (1981, from The Runner); and "Levity" (1988, from Levity).

Covers by Other Artists
"Hold On" was an international hit in 1982 for the American band Santana, and "Runner" in 1984 for the British group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Other Thomas songs have been recorded by Anne Murray ("Good Again"); Bette Midler ("To Comfort You"); the US groups America and Chicago; Germany's Lineman; and the Australian singers Daryl Braithwaite and John Stevens. In 1994, Ian Thomas received SOCAN Classic Awards for "Painted Ladies," "Right Before Your Eyes," and "Hold On;" his "You've Got to Know" (recorded by The Boomers) was SOCAN's most popular Canadian song of 1993.

Other Pursuits
Ian Thomas began touring with the revue Lunch at Allen's (Murray McLauchlan, Marc Jordan, Cindy Church) in 2004 and has also performed with his brother, comedian Dave Thomas. He has written scores for film and TV. As an actor, he was seen regularly on TV's The Red Green Show (see Steve Smith). He was president of the Songwriters Association of Canada 1998–2000. He has also written two novels: Bequest (2006) and The Lost Chord (2008).

A version of this entry originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.

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