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The B.C. rockers headline tomorrow on the opening night of the free John Labatt Heritage Festival at the Covent Garden Market public square in downtown London. The band is touring in support of Radio Love Songs (Columbia/Sony), sub-titled The Singles Collection.
Kim Mitchell to the Max, led by the former Max Webster frontman, headlines on Saturday night, closing the two-day fest.
Radio Love Songs is a best-of. Sort of. It's also the latest effort by 54-40 in a touching, long-may-you-run campaign. That is its place in the plan to make sure rock fans eventually make the connection between all those great songs and the band that's made them over its 20-year career.
"That's a conscious effort on our part," says 54-40's bassist Brad Merritt. "We met our fifth or sixth product manager at Sony . . . and I said, 'Brent, here's your challenge.' I held up one hand and go: 'Here are all these songs' and (holding out other hand) 'this is the band.' And you've gotta connect these things."
Merritt's tale of the hands and the air in between them shows 54-40 goes after its career with the same blend of bright pop surface and thoughtful substance underneath you find in the band's music.
Radio Love Songs continues the saga by opening with two new songs. But the rest of its 19 tracks take in the pop glories of the band's career.
A few tracks are revisited because they date from 54-40's days with Warner Music Canada before moving to the Sony side of the pop universe. The Warner remakes include I Go Blind, a huge hit for Hootie and the Blowfish. It was a tune 54-40's singer Neil Osborne was always happy to wrestle back from Hootie when the two bands were somewhat tensely touring together.
Radio Love Songs isn't designed just to remind the world about where I Go Blind came from. "The criteria for this one was simply songs that did well on rock radio, possibly even crossed-over, and also had a video made from them," Merritt says.
So that means Sony marketing guy Brent has such hits as Ocean Pearl, She-La, One Gun and Nice to Luv You to help make the connection.
"All these songs are our songs," Merritt says -- even if many fans don't click on the fact. "It's like: 'I had no idea those were all . . . I love those songs,' " Merritt echoes the comments 54-40 hears over and over.
Radio Love Songs is the latest attempt to get the hits, the fan's inner ears and the band to line up. It's not easy. 54-40's original, full-length, studio albums (nine) outnumber its Junos (none). Still, the band continues on the only path it knows.
The foursome has a date in mind for its last gig.
"We used to say, in a humorous way, that when the Rolling Stones quit, that will be our 20-year warning," Merritt jokes.
A voice from the rock sidelines reminds Merritt, not that he needs it, the Stones are touring once more.
"This may be their last one, 2004 they may not be there," Merritt responds. "So 2024, that's it for us."
That leaves a mere 22 years for Radio Love Songs to do its job.