Carole Ann Pope is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian entertainers to achieve mainstream fame. She is the sister of Emmy Award-winning television producer and screenwriter Elaine Pope.
Pope met her longtime musical partner Kevan Staples at a band audition in Scarborough. In 1968, they began performing together as a duo in Yorkville, which was Toronto's live music and arts district at the time. In 1970, they adopted the name O, changing it to The Bullwhip Brothers the following year. In 1975, Pope and Staples recruited several backup musicians and formed the bandRough Trade. Pope often performed in black leather pants and bondage attire. The band's first album, Rough Trade Live, was produced by Jack Richardson. In 1980, Pope sang backup vocals on Murray McLauchlan's album Into a Mystery. She won the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist in 1981 and subsequently the Juno Award for Best Female Vocalist in 1982 and 1983. She and Staples co-wrote the 1983 single "Transformation," recorded by Nona Hendryx. Pope also appeared as a guest vocalist on the Payola$ single "Never Said I Loved You," which was a top 10 hit in 1983. She teamed up in 2000 with the Payola$ founder Paul Hyde to sing the duet "My Brilliant Career" on his album Living Off the Radar. She sang the role of Primavera Nicholson in the COC production of R. Murray Schafer's Patria I in November 1987. During the 1980s, Rough Trade won a Genie Award and earned four gold and two platinum records. Although the band did not record or perform extensively after its final Deep Six in '86 tour, they did not officially break up until 1988.
1990s to present
Pope's solo career has been lower-profile than her time with the band. Pope issued a debut solo single in 1988, but did not issue a follow-up release for several years afterwards. In 1991, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue opportunities in soundtrack work and acting. Pope issued an EP, Radiate, in 1995. In 1997, she provided the voice for the schoolteacher in the animated version of Pippi Longstocking. In 1999, playwright Bryden MacDonald staged Shaking the Foundations, a musical revue based on Pope's music with Rough Trade, at Toronto's Buddies in Bad Times theatre. In 2000, Random House published Pope's autobiography, Anti Diva. The book included Pope's first public acknowledgement that she had been in a relationship with British singer Dusty Springfield in the early 1980s. That year she and Staples contributed a track to the Dusty Springfield tribute albumForever Dusty: Homage to an Icon. The same book also revealed fleeting 1970s dalliances with comic actress Andrea Martin and music producerBob Ezrin. Soon afterwards, Pope re-recorded the Rough Trade single "High School Confidential" for the Queer as Folk soundtrack. She also appeared in the Toronto production of The Vagina Monologues in 2001, then moved to New York City to continue writing and recording. In 2005, 21 years after her last EP, Pope returned to Los Angeles and released Transcend, her debut full-length solo album. In 2011, Pope released Landfall, her second full-length album, featuring a duet with Rufus Wainwright. That year she also was a guest vocalist on the album The Hills Are Alive by the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata. Pope is an ambassador for the Harvey Milk School in New York City and a board director for the Songwriters Association of Canada. In 2015, Pope signed with Squirtgun Records to re-release the Music for Lesbians EP on 23 June 2015. On 22 September 2017, Pope released the single, "This Is Not A Test." An accompanying music video, directed by Jasun Mark, was released on 8 May 2018. Pope collaborated with keyboardist Kevin Hearn to release the single, "Resist It," on 22 October 2018. It was later accompanied by a music video directed by Phillip Harder. A third single, "I'm There," produced in collaboration with Spoons' keyboardist Rob Preuss, was released the following year.
Pope stopped performing in the Summer of 2018 after she experienced mobility issues whilst touring. She was later diagnosed with spinal stenosis and underwent surgery that year. A fundraiser was created via GoFundMe to cover her living expenses.
