The Box (band)

Infobox Musical artist
Name = The Box


Img_capt =
Img_size =
Background = group_or_band
Alias = BOX
Origin = Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genre = New Wave, rock
Years_active = 1981–1992, 2002–present
Label = Alert, Universal
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.theboxband.com www.theboxband.com]
Current_members = Jean-Marc Pisapia Dan Volj Denis Faucher Francois Bruneau Martin Lapierre Isabelle Lemay
Past_members = Guy Florent Jean-Pierre Brie Guy Pisapia Sylvain Coutu Philippe Bernard Claude Thibeault Luc Papineau

The Box was a Canadian New Wave group from Montreal in the 1980s. A new lineup of the band was restarted in 2003.

Biography

The band was formed in 1981 by Jean-Marc Pisapia, an early member of Men Without Hats. He recruited guitarist Guy Florent and bassist Jean-Pierre Brie for the band, who were originally known as Checkpoint Charlie before settling on the name The Box.

The band's first single attracted the attention of Montreal radio station CKOI, leading to a deal with Alert Records. Also that year, Pisapia's brother Guy joined the band on keyboards.

Their debut album, "The Box", was released in 1984 and produced the hit singles "Must I Always Remember" and "Walk Away". Drummer Sylvain Coutu joined the band for its supporting tour, but was replaced by Philippe Bernard before the band's next album. Florent also left the band, and was replaced by Claude Thibeault.

In 1985, The Box released "All The Time, All The Time, All The Time". That album, which included backing vocals by Sass Jordan and Marie Carmen, produced the hit singles "My Dreams of You" and the band's most famous song, "L'Affaire Dumoutier (Say to Me)". The band won the 1985 Félix Award for group of the year, and were nominated for the Juno Award for most promising group.

1987's "Closer Together" was the band's most commercially successful album. Featuring the hit singles "Ordinary People", "Closer Together" and "Crying Out Loud for Love", the album was certified platinum. Backing vocals on the album were provided by Jordan and Martine St. Clair.

After touring for more than eighteen months, the band took six months off to recover before returning with 1990's "The Pleasure and the Pain". That album was a commercial disappointment, and The Box disbanded in 1992 after releasing the greatest hits compilation "A Decade of Box Music".

Pisapia released a solo album, "John of Mark", in 1995. He subsequently revived The Box with a new lineup, releasing a new hits compilation, "Always in Touch With You", in 2003. In 2005 the band released "Black Dog There", its first new album in fifteen years.

The Box also released a song exclusively for the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, simply titled "The Goal", that was played after a Canadiens goal while on home ice. Although popular with the fans, The Box never released this song to the public.

The Box's tour bus was parked around the Université de Montréal's campus during the beginning of December 2006. Other regular sightings from March 2007 near original location of Cafe Campus. Their bus can also be seen regularly parked outside a home on Westmount's tony Summit Circle, next to the mountain lookout.

The Box is working on a new progressive album, which will be released in 2008.

Discography

ingles

Albums

Original studio albums

Compilation albums

* "A Decade of Box Music" (1992)
* "Always in Touch with You: The Best of the Box" (2003)

External links

* [http://www.theboxband.com The Box] official website
* [http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/B/Box.html JAM! Canadian Music Encyclopedia - The Box]