Toronto impact of promoter Gary Topp documented in He Hijacked My Brain

Gary Topp opened up his archive for the much anticipated UXB Press book He Hijacked My Brain out Dec 1. 

He Hijacked My Brain – Gary Topp's Toronto

“New York run by the Swiss” is how Peter Ustinov once memorably described Toronto: a big, busy city that ran on money and tradition; orderly and prosperous, sure, but rather lacking in culture and excitement. If never entirely true, this characterisation is now entirely out-dated, and few personalities can take half the credit for that as Gary Topp.  

Armed with taste, energy and a powerful disdain for convention, Gary Topp took Toronto by storm. As part of The Garys (with longtime co-hort Gary Cormier) he offered Canada its first taste of the Ramones, the Police, the B52’s, Sun Ra, Slayer, Talking Heads, The Cramps, James Chance & The Contortions and countless others.

From humble beginnings bringing underground film to thrill-hungry early ‘70s audiences, through years in which he became the city’s most daring and visionary concert promoter, Order of Canada nominee Gary Topp transformed Toronto’s cultural landscape over five exhilarating decades.  

Spanning taverns to concert halls, cinemas to circuses, if it was new, vital and discomfiting to the mainstream, Gary booked it. Packed with first-hand accounts and rare photographs, He Hijacked My Brain - Gary Topp’s Toronto celebrates the revolutionary events that countered Toronto’s culture, painting an insider’s look at a pivotal period that shaped Toronto as a cultural hotbed before Drake and TIFF existed.

From Derek Emerson and his award winning team at UXB Press that created Tomorrow Is Too Late (Toronto Hardcore Punk in the ‘80s) and Eve of Darkness Toronto Heavy Metal in the ‘80s) this is the third in a series of books documenting the history of Toronto’s underground music and culture. 

Copies of He Hijacked My Brain – Gary Topp's Toronto will be available for purchase at the Concert Hall book launch on December 1st – see below for details and clips.  

"The Garys helped define the city of Toronto as a cosmopolitan mecca of artistic expression. They stayed one step ahead in shaping the city’s cultural landscape." — STING, The Police

"The Garys gave an entire generation this idea that you can do it, this is going to happen. They always fought the good fight. And they did it for passion, not profit." — STEVEN LECKIE,  The Viletones

"The Garys gave (Toronto) its edge, literally (with The Edge club) and figuratively." — GLOBE AND MAIL

"There weren’t many spaces that queer culture could go in the ’70s and ’80s. The Garys were supportive when a lot of others weren’t. If a list were made of the musicians the Garys helped to break, they would win every award imaginable, it’s an absolute no-brainer." — CAROLE POPE (Rough Trade)

"It’s all a matter of taste for Topp."— NATIONAL POST

"Gary Topp made my life so much richer than it would have been without his work. I will remain indebted until the day I die." — ROB BOWMAN, Grammy Winning Music Historian

He Hijacked My Brain book launch 

The Concert Hall (888 Yonge St, Toronto)

Sunday, December 1. 1:30 pm to 6 pm. 

Off limits to the general public for decades, the Red Room of Toronto's Masonic Temple/Concert Hall (888 Yonge St) – the Mason's inner sanctum – plays host to the release of the new book HE HIJACKED MY BRAIN  – Gary Topp's Toronto (UXB Press) documenting the cultural impact of Toronto concert promoter. Come celebrate Toronto concert + cinema history with rarely seen artwork, vintage film footage and personal soundboard recordings directly from the vault of Gary Topp! New book HE HIJACKED MY BRAIN will be on sale at the event. Cash bar. Limited capacity - advance tickets are $7.30 on sale now right here.

1:30 - Doors open; Mike Milligan & His Double Bass 

FROM THE VAULT: original hand drawn poster boards from Gary Topp's personal collection on display in gallery space

2:30 - FROM THE VAULT: Beyond The Valley Of The Previews - Original 99 Cent Roxy Film Trailer Screening

3:30 - Ronley Teper & The Lipliners

4:00 - FROM THE VAULT: He Hijacked My Brain documentary - Rare Film Clips 1947-1981

4:30 - TALES FROM THE INNER CIRCLE - Q+A with Gary Cormier + (The Garys), Jeff Silverman (Partner, Roxy + New Yorker Theatres), Ivar Hamilton (CFNY Radio), Colin Brunton (Filmmaker, Poster Artist)

5:30 - FROM THE VAULT: Rare soundboard recordings from Gary Topp's personal archives. 

Watch the Talking Heads perform "Pulled Up" at the Horseshoe Tavern on May 12, 1978 followed by  soundboard clips of The B-52s performing "Rock Lobster" at their Toronto debut – opening for The B-Girls – at The Horseshoe Tavern on October 13, 1978 and James Chance with The Contortions at The Horseshoe Tavern on August 3, 1978.