Chris Haight (guitar)
John Hamilton (drums; switched to bass)
Bent Rasmussen (drums)
Zoom was formed in the Fall of 1976 and debuted at Toronto Queen Street bar The Beverly Tavern on New Year's Eve of that year. It was there that the band would meet up with future scene makers Steve Leckie (The Viletones) and Lucasta (The B-Girls).
In January 1977 the band revived the Colonial Underground and begin playing there regularly while booking other bands like The Diodes, The Viletones, The Cads, The Battered Wives and Teenage Head. Jimmy The Worm (Chris Haight's brother) was club manager.
The band hastily released a single in the Spring of 1977 but it wasn't long before they played their last gig on Toronto Island -- kicking out their original bassist for dressing badly (Hamitlon switched from drums), and recruiting Diodes drummer Bent Rasmussen.
With most of the punk acts in disarray at the same time, Hamilton wound up in The Diodes as their drummer; Haight changed his name to Hate and joined the Viletones as bassist; Rasmussen ended up in Johnny & The G-Rays.
Between work with their respective full-time bands Hamilton and Haight re-issued the Zoom single with a picture sleeve with plans to release a Zoom album on the side. Though the album was recorded and produced by BB Gabor and Bob Segarini, it was never released. The recording features additional musical input from BB Gabor, Bent Rasmussen, Lucasta and Zenia (B-Girls), Screamin' Sam Sinatra (The Ugly), and Dr. Bourque (The Curse) among others.
Later Hamilton and Haight would reconvene in the early 1980's as musical frustration led the two musicians to quit The Diodes and The Viletones respectively. With Haight's departure from The Viletones, that band essentially folded and members Motor X (drums) and Freddy Pompeii (guitar) joined Hamilton and Haight first for a Zoom review-styled production, then as backing musicians for several Toronto singers and finally as The Secrets.
With notes from John Hamilton.
Singles
1977 Sweet Desperation/Massacre At High School (Riot)
Albums
Video
Compilation Tracks
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