The Canadian Composer, Feb. 1986
Relatively speaking, it didn’t take Aceboy long to jump from Toronto’s El Mocambo, where they put on their debut show a year ago, into a publishing contract with Chappell Music.
The deal they landed between Chappell and their own publishing company, Weaselguard, sees Chappell financing the recording of Aceboy originals and then shopping them through Chappell offices in Toronto, New York, London
and Los Angeles. Jerry Renewych, president of Chappell Music of Canada, says he took an interest in Aceboy after producer Brian Allen recommended he catch their act.
The five members qf the band, singer Owen Critchley, guitarist Spencer Critchley, drummer Michael Spencer-Arscott, singer/keyboardist Tamara Silvera and keyboardist John Whynot have covered a lot of ground over the past 12 months.
They appeared in all of the major Toronto clubs, did a live to 2-track recording for national broadcast by CBC Radio and won a grant from FACTOR (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent On Record), which they put toward the recording of demos with producer John Tucker.
Tamara Silvera also made it into the Canadian and European dance charts with her version of the Spinners hit Rubberband Man, prodqced by John Forbes.
Silvera and Whynot are long time Torontonians, but the rest of the band who are from Bermuda, have only been here two years.