Boulevard

There are at least 3 bands with the name Boulevard. One from Germany/Canada, one from New Zealand and one from Finland. 1) Randy Burgess (bass) Mark Holden (saxophone, vocals) David Forbes (lead vocals) Andrew Johns (keyboards) Randy Gould (guitar) Randall Stoll (drums) Tom Christianson (bass; replaced Burgess) Holden had been working in a recording studio in Frankfurt, Germany and an offer to open a new, multi-million dollar recording studio in Calgary gave him reason to return to Canada.

1) Randy Burgess (bass) Mark Holden (saxophone, vocals) David Forbes (lead vocals) Andrew Johns (keyboards) Randy Gould (guitar) Randall Stoll (drums) Tom Christianson (bass; replaced Burgess)

Holden had been working in a recording studio in Frankfurt, Germany and an offer to open a new, multi-million dollar recording studio in Calgary gave him reason to return to Canada. While working there, he and Gould formed BLVD with American violinist/vocalist David Forbes (who had recorded a beer jingle which Holden engineered). They recorded continuously and released several singles on CBS Germany, one which charted, but it wasn't practical to tour there or get a reciprocal deal in North America. When the studio finally closed in 1985, the band relocated to Vancouver. John Alexander at MCA Records expressed interest at the time and encouraged them to keep improving their demos and helped cultivate the act. They soon signed on with Rock Headquarters Management (Bruce Allen, Lou Blair, Cliff Jones) and a record deal was secured with MCA in 1987 When producer Pierre Bazinet (Luba, Sass Jordan) was brought in to record the debut album, the group had no 'sound'; they hadn't even performed together as a band or road tested any of the songs. The record was mixed by Mike Fraser, Bob Rock and Humberto Gatica. In 1988 MCA released the band's eponymous debut and their first single, "In The Twilight" followed as did three other singles. BLVD headed out on the road opening first for Glass Tiger and then with Boston. As crowds began to warm to the band, especially in Quebec City and Windsor, the album had sold 45,000 copies. By writing while on the road, they were able to return to the studio with John Punter (Roxy Music, Spoons) and lay down the 'live' feeling 'In The Streets. The album was released in 1990 under the full-blown Boulevard name because the band had been getting complaints that they didn't understand the abbreviation. In 1990 Randall Stoll quit the band, but the group disbanded shortly after the release of the "Crazy Life" single.

2) A small band from New Zealand.

3) Boulevard was a Finnish band that represented Finland at the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Naurevat silm?t muistetaan" (Laughing Eyes Will Be Remembered).