Ian Thomas is “the complete entertainment experience!” He is a film-composer with 22 feature films to his credit, an author, an actor, and a much sought-after as a voice-over artist. He is also recognized for roles such as Dougie Franklin on the Red Green Show and, of course, a Juno-award-winning singer-songwriter whose songs helped form the bedrock of the Canadian musical landscape, a contribution recognized by SOCAN when Ian was honoured with a National Achievement Award for Songwriting.
Thomas first garnered major radio airplay in 1973 with the top-40 single “Painted Ladies”, followed by a string of hits throughout the ’70s and ’80s, and on into the ’90s with his band The Boomers. Whether performed by him or covered by artists including Santana, Chicago, Manfred Mann, America, Bon Jovi, or Bette Midler, Ian’s many hits continually achieved heavy rotation on radio across Canada and around the world … recordings such as “Come The Sun”, “Long Long Way”, “Right Before Your Eyes”, “Coming Home”, “Pilot”, “Hold On”, “Time Is The Keeper”, “Liars”, “Wishes”, “The Runner”, “Levity”, “Back To Square One”, “Love Ya Too Much”, “You Gotta Know”, “One Little Word”, “Dirty Love”, “To Comfort You”, and of course, “Painted Ladies”.
In the new millennium, Thomas joined fellow singer-songwriters Murray McLauchlan, Marc Jordan, and Cindy Church to form Lunch At Allen’s, touring coast to coast for the past two decades, and now with five albums to their credit.
With his stellar four-piece band, Ian Thomas is bringing past to present, recreating the original sound of all his hits on his current Not Gone Yet tour throughout the Maritimes. They stop in Sydney on April 23 at the Highland Arts Theatre.
“The song remains the most satisfying creative experience for me,” says Thomas. “Songs are interactive and, with over 50 years of writing, I have spent many hours with each one and they with me. When I listen to one of my old albums, I remember where I was and the people I made them with, some living, some now dead. I think about who I am, who I used to be, and who I thought I was. These albums are like flags stuck in the road behind me that wind back, into the past, almost out of view.”
