MacLean & MacLean
BIOGRAPHY & ROAD STORIES
Blair and his younger brother Gary, "MacLean and MacLean", started their illustrious career in 1972 and continued working together for 26 years until they left the road in 1998. They produced 7 albums and performed at least 150 shows a year during this time.
They defended their right to present their controversial material to the public all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. They made headlines across Canada, appeared on both radio and television and gained legions of fans without the benefit of airplay of their recordings.
They appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and from there went on to perform in England and Germany. Their recording of 'Dolly Parton's Tits' was a huge hit in England, making it to the top 100 charts and being chosen as the theme song for a favourite British TV show called 'Over the Top'.
Their performances took them across Canada hundreds of times as well as into the U.S.
They performed at the first Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal in 1983. They then were chosen to host the first 'Nasty Nights' at the Festival in 1986 and performed again for the Nasty Nights 10th Anniversary in 1996.
They toured and performed on numerous occasions with Burton Cummings of Guess Who fame. The three of them wowed their audiences with harmonic renditions of rock and roll favourites.
MacLean and MacLean created the popular character 'The Champ' and formed a partnership with Brother Jake, the voice of The Champ. Fans will be familiar with some of their other characters, including Slim Chance and Bing Buff to name a few.
Their touring brought them to some of the largest and most renowned clubs in Canada including the Commodore in Vancouver, The Back Alley in Calgary, the El Mocambo in Toronto, Barrymore's in Ottawa and The Palace in Halifax. They performed in every city in Canada, both large and small. And everywhere they went they were honoured with sold out shows. Their fans have been totally devoted throughout all the years and this website is for them and in memory of Gary.
In 1998, tired of the road, they hung up their instruments and took to other passions. Gary became a DJ with KY58 radio in Winnipeg and Blair developed his art. Blair is known internationally for his 'Grain Art' which can be seen on www.ucanbuyart.com. He continues now to create new pieces which are sold almost as fast as he can create them.
Tragically, Gary was diagnosed with throat cancer and he died on December 5, 2001. They had their last performance together at a benefit held for Gary and his family where they showed the crowd of over 2600 people that they still had it.
Their comedy, their integrity and their indomitable spirits had overcome every roadblock thrown their way but Gary's illness was something they could not conquer.
ROAD STORIES
From time to time we will send different stories to be inserted in this section. The first 'road story' goes like this:
"Day of the Short Knives"
Baden-Baden, Germany - The former Nazi SS training camp and now a gambling spa for rich Germans. We were performing there in 1990 and went to town to shop for some souvenirs. We wandered into this little shop crammed with knick knacks and strangely a section devoted just to knives. Knives of all sorts behind glass cases. Big, curvy daggers with brass knuckles… so you could stab and puck someone at the same time. Slim, compact stilletos, shivs!
We were approached by this young fraulein, all perky and pressed and yet somewhat stern. We asked to see a few knives. She went behind the counter and went fucking berserk with the knives… picking up a ten inch switchblade she flicked it open and snapped it shut like an automaton. She went down the row of knives, picking them up, twirling, hefting, flashing and gesturing with them. The deadly blades battling imaginary foes. She explained in German how each was superior to the last. Finally she got down to the tinier pile, the very last one being a three inch switchblade that with the push of a button turned into a comb! Well, that was just what we wanted! After all her effort we were kind of embarrassed at buying a fucking comb. She got very icy and formal. We left the shop and no sooner had we stepped out onto the sidewalk when a Volkswagen roared past with a couple of neo-nazis screaming "English Fucking Pigs!!!"
We should have bought a knife! Blair MacLean