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WINNIPEG -- It's a no-brainer to invite The Guess Who out to play when their hometown hosts the country's biggest music awards show.
Hundreds of fans and even fellow Canadian rock icons are lining up to remind Juno Awards organizers of that fact after a perceived snub to Randy Bachman, who has not yet been invited to play on the televised April 3 show at MTS Centre.
"If you're having something in Winnipeg and you're having something to do with music, that would be the first name that came to me -- you'd think they'd be leading the parade," legendary singer-songwriter Ronnie Hawkins said over the phone from his Peterborough, Ont. home.
Hundreds of fans sent e-mails to The Sun yesterday, protesting Bachman's exclusion -- so far -- from a performance slot.
Bachman helped lobby to bring the Junos to Winnipeg and he personally delivered an invitation to Neil Young to perform when Young didn't return phone calls from show organizers at the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Bachman got Young to sign on but he told The Sun earlier this week that was the last he's heard from CARAS. He added he probably wouldn't attend the show if he couldn't perform as promised.
A mere 24 hours before tickets for the award show go on sale, many local fans are saying heck, no, they won't go without Bachman, either.
Lee Thompson, 66, was going to buy his son and daughter a ticket but won't if Bachman and his Guess Who bandmate Burton Cummings are snubbed.
"If they announce it they'd have to do it awful quick because they're running out of time," Thompson said.
He's just one of many who voiced their outrage yesterday. See page 24 for more of their opinions.
After The Sun printed stories about Bachman's disappointment, his office was bombarded by calls from the media yesterday. He issued a written statement aimed at calming the storm of controversy. It reads: "I was under the impression that the performers had been chosen for the show. I have since found out that CARAS is still determining the final lineup. I've worked really hard at helping get the Junos to happen in Winnipeg and I hope to continue working with the organizers to make this a great event."
Bachman's publicist added he was "very touched" by the response from Winnipeggers who rallied behind him.
CARAS president Melanie Berry said a 20-member talent committee is still finalizing the performance lineup and suggested the fuss is premature.
"We are still unfolding the show. There is obviously going to be Winnipeg content. There are loads of plans and we don't want to spoil any surprises," she said.
But when pressed by The Sun, Berry refused to say whether Bachman will be invited to perform or not.
CARAS makes weekly announcements based on a communication strategy designed to build excitement and momentum as the Juno Awards date draws near, she said.
But evidently that strategy didn't involve giving Bachman a call to avoid this whole mess.
"It's very complex, it's very much a jigsaw puzzle. It's not a set number of acts or a set number of minutes," Berry said.
But music industry vets and some of Bachman's peers say it doesn't make sense to hold the show in Winnipeg without having The Guess Who onboard.
"In all fairness, The Guess Who is one of the reasons (the Junos are in Winnipeg) and if Randy was instrumental in getting people to come, to slight him is slapping our industry in the face, and that's what CARAS is supposed to be representing," said Gordon Lightfoot's manager Barry Harvey.
"I'll phone CARAS and find out what the deal is with Randy because that's an injustice. You don't shun the people who made this industry what it is."
The Guess Who were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1987. On Tuesday, Lightfoot, who does not plan to attend the Junos, presided over Bachman and Cummings' induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean agreed Bachman and Cummings have earned more respect than CARAS has so far shown.
"I hold those guys in the highest regards and I think everybody in CARAS should do the same -- and they should respect us a bit more while they're at it," he laughed.
Bachman will be in his hometown for Juno Week whether or not he performs on the live CTV broadcast April 3. He and his band will kick off celebrations at a Manitoba Social. Tickets for the Juno Awards show go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster outlets.