The Great White North Retro Podcast

Air Supply has been romancing audiences for over 50 years, rising to fame on the heels of a string of chart-topping hits in the early 80s.

One of the keys to Air Supply’s success is a combination of Russell Hitchcock’s soaring tenor voice and Graham Russell’s songwriting.

Air Supply has been playing the Calgary area on a regular basis for a number of years now, with their latest date set for February 24, 2027, as part of their ‘A Matter of Time Canada Tour’ with Glass Tiger.

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The Thompson Twins rose to the top of the charts in the early to mid-80s with a string of hits.

The British pop group’s fourth album Into the Gap was released in 1984 and became the band’s most commercially successful studio album, hitting number one on the UK Albums Chart and staying there for three weeks, and also reaching number 10 in the US.

The album included some of their biggest hits such as “Hold Me Now,” “Doctor! Doctor!” & “You Take Me Up.”

Bailey toured North America in the summer of 2024 as part of the ‘Totally Tubular Festival’ along with Thomas Dolby, Modern English, Men Without Hats, The Romantics, Bow Wow Wow, Tommy Tutone, and The Plimsouls.

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McCulloch was born in Edmonton, (we won’t hold that against him!) but also attended Mount Royal University in Calgary and got his start at The Loose Moose Theatre Company, where he met fellow ‘Kids In The Hall’ alum Mark McKinney.

The name comes from an unfavorable historical review that once called McCulloch the “dark purple slice” of ‘The Kids in the Hall’ and blends stand-up comedy, personal storytelling, music, and theatrical elements.

The show explores how people use dark or gallows humor to navigate difficult life experiences, such as grief, loss, and his father’s funeral.

It features poignant stories, including email exchanges with his late friend Gord Downie and an interactive segment where McCulloch hands out stuffed animals to audience members who have had a tough year.

Live musical accompaniment for the tour has featured Craig Northey and the band The Odds, alongside new tracks like “Sad Mall.”

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Colin James has been a mainstay on the airwaves in Canada for well over 30 years, and more recently has also been making inroads south of the border thanks to his blues-based rock.

James released his autobiography ‘Playing The Changes’ this past September, which covers growing up in Saskatchewan, family life, and his early music career up to his first record deal.

He’ll be touring parts of Europe this October and November before returning home for some Canadian dates in December.

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John Corabi was one of the founding members of the brief but successful band ‘The Scream,’ who released their first album, ‘Let It Scream’ in 1991.

The band also recorded a second album, ‘Takin’ It To The Next Level’ in 1993 without Corabi, but it’s never been officially released.

Corabi is considered by many to be a rock and roll journeyman and has been involved with many other bands including Union, Twenty 4 Seven, Ratt, Brides of Destruction, ESP and The Dead Daisies and worked with big names such as Bruce Kulick, Bobby Blotzer and Jerry Cantrell.

Corabi released his first-ever full-length solo album entitled ' New Day’ back in April.

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Chilliwack is one of the most enduring and beloved classic rock bands in Canadian music history, with numerous hits and were rock radio staples throughout the 70s, 80s, and beyond.

Lead singer Bill Henderson has been there from the beginning, back in 1970, and even before that with The Collectors, one of the first bands to ever make it big out of Vancouver.

Henderson is a member of the Order of Canada and along with Brian ‘Too Loud’ Macleod won a Juno for Best Producer for the 1982 Chilliwack album ‘Opus X.’

In 2019, Chilliwack was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

The band has tour dates still scheduled in late 2026 as part of their cross-country "Farewell to Friends" tour.

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(Courtesy REO Speedwagon, photo credit: Randee St. Nicholas)

REO Speedwagon is an American band that formed back in the late 1960s in Champaign, Illinois.

The band began with a hard rock sound but eventually became more pop-oriented thanks to the huge success of 1980’s “High Infidelity,” which spawned the mega-hits “Keep On Loving You” and “Take It On The Run” as well as two other singles.

The 1984 album “Wheels Are Turnin” also produced the #1 hit “Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

REO Speedwagon has sold over 40 million records and has had 13 songs hit the top 40 on the charts.

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Lawson, who is also Ewan McGregor’s uncle, returned to the character of ‘Wedge Antilles’ for the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.

Celebs are always a big draw at the expo, and 2024 was no different. There were cast members from Scream, Young Guns, Letter Kenny, a handful of other Star Wars guests, and Calgary’s own Todd McFarlane.

The 2024 Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo ran from April 25-28 at Stampede Park.

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Hunt won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1997’s “As Good As It Gets,’ as well as four Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.

Hunt also made her feature film directorial debut in 2007’s ‘Then She Found Me.’

Some of the highlights of the 2025 Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo included a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “Shell-a-bration,” marking the 35th anniversary of the 1990 movie with all four turtles, Shredder, and April O’Neil on hand.

Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and other cast members also gathered for “An Evening With Marty And Doc,” celebrating 40 years of “Back To The Future.”

The 2025 Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo ran from April 24-27 at the BMO Centre.

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An artist like William Shatner needs no introduction…he’s played the iconic Captain Kirk in Star Trek, a police sergeant in T.J. Hooker, and has hosted a number of TV shows.

The 95-year-old from Canada has also been known to dabble in music with a heavy metal album set to be released this year and even went to space in 2021 aboard the Blue Origin NS-18 on a sub-orbital mission.

The 2026 Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo ran April 23-26 at Stampede Park.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toddkaufman7.substack.com