Chalk Circle & Duke Street Records

Duke Street was a short lived Canadian record label that operated between 1984 and 1994. The company carried only Canadian artists on its roster, and its releases featured an eclectic variety of musical genres, from traditional classical offerings to jazz. Duke Street also issued recordings from some very talented Canadian rock and roll groups as well, one of which was Chalk Circle.

Chalk Circle was a quartet of young men from the small community of Newcastle, part of the suburban landscape that accompany’s King’s Highway 401 east of Toronto. Their story was typical of untold other rock and roll bands in that they came together in high school, started learning their craft, and began to get opportunities. While slogging through the club circuit in Toronto, they entered a competition being held by the FM radio station CFNY called the “CASBY” (Canadian Artists Selected By You) awards, and were selected as the winners in the “Most Promising Non Recording Act” category in 1985. (I think this would an appropriate opportunity to take a moment and acknowledge the important contribution CFNY made to the music scene during that time period. Thank you David Marsden!). The group also decided to add a keyboard player around this time, and in 1986 the band was signed by Duke Street. Shortly thereafter the band released their first commercial recording, an EP (extended play) titled “The Great Lake”. There would be two singles released from this record, “April Fool” and “Me, Myself And I”. Signing this group certainly worked out well for Duke Street, with the EP being their most popular (commercially successful)  release up to that time, with over 35,000 copies being sold. 

“The Great Lake” was a wonderful slice of nicely crafted pop music. The recording is well produced with a bright, clear sound. The band plays with a great deal of enthusiasm, and to my ears, the songs clearly benefit from the group performance involving the collective efforts of the musicians. The songs have great melodies, and while the compositions are not overly complex (or ambitious), the band members play them beautifully with an emphasis on the lead vocal during the verse and harmony vocals during the chorus. The musicianship is very good, with an emphasis on ensuring the instrumental performance complements the song and the band concept (as opposed to overplaying by individual band members). Both of the singles that were released from this recording, “April Fool” and “Me, Myself And I” (with this second song being my personal favourite) feature excellent singing, very nice harmony vocals and thoughtful lyrics, and a chorus with a great melodic hook. “The Great Lake” does exhibit the influence of some of the English “New Wave” groups that were popular at the time, but the group has its own sound, and the record is certainly not derivative. 

For the collector, in addition to the EP, there are also the singles.  “April Fool” was released as a 7 inch and a 12 inch single. The 12 inch single contained two mixes of “April Fool” and a remix version of “Me, Myself And I”. The single release of “Me, Myself And I” was limited to the 7 inch format.  

The music contained on “The Great Lake” has lost none of its immediacy and verve. It is a great example of some of the tremendous music that was being produced by young musicians in Southern Ontario during the 1980’s. Duke Street was a great small label that released all sorts of neat music, and provided an opportunity for many Canadian artists to be heard. Many of their releases are well worth seeking out.