The Perlich Post: Stranger Cole

Showing posts with label Stranger Cole. Show all posts

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Remembering Gladdy Anderson on his birthday

Raising a glass to Jamaican keyboard/piano legend Gladdy Anderson with a couple of tunes with pal Stranger Cole and more.

Friday, June 12, 2026

R.I.P. Jamaican music legend Stranger Cole, 1942-2026

Sadly Stranger Cole – who had deep ties to the Toronto reggae scene – has passed away at 83. He'll be greatly missed.

R.I.P. Stranger Cole, 1942-2026

Jamaican Ska and Reggae legend Stranger Cole moved to Toronto in the early 1970s leaving stardom behind. Despite his talent he was forced to work at the Tonka Toy factory and as a security guard at Eaton's to make a living. His entrepreneurial spirit took over and he opened his own record store and label in Kensington Market at 58 Kensington Ave. Some 40 years later, Stranger Cole returned to Toronto to visit his old neighbourhood for Chris Flanagan and Graeme Mahieson's excellent short documentary Ruff and Tuff which you can view below following a few of Stranger Cole's classic recordings. Stranger Cole has passed away but his music and legacy will live on.

Saturday, July 13, 2024

Stranger Cole doc Ruff & Tuff w/ Empire Records @ Christie Pitts, Sunday

Ruff & Tuff, a short film on reggae great Stranger Cole screens before the feature, Empire Records, at 9 pm.

TORONTO OUTDOOR PICTURE SHOW

CHRISTIE PITS PARK

SUNDAY, JULY 14 at 9 pm

EMPIRE RECORDS

With Ruff 'n Tuff - Stranger Cole's Toronto Roots and Turning Tables

Based on screenwriter Carol Heikkinen’s own experience working at Tower Records, Empire Records pays homage to a time when our teenage after-school jobs were spent with our second family and every life event deserved a thoughtfully curated soundtrack. A cult favourite, Empire Records stars a ‘90s who’s who of emerging film stars, including Liv Tyler, Ethan Embry, Renée Zellweger, and Debi Mazar, as shopkeepers whose lives revolve around crushes, part-time jobs, and their favourite musicians. After learning that their beloved place of work might be in danger of being bought by a big chain that would implement corporate policies, the employees and their earnest, supportive manager risk it all in an attempt to save the record store. Over the course of a hectic 24 hours at the store, director Allan Moyle insightfully portrays teenage angst alongside more complex issues, with the music pumping all the while as the campaign to save Empire Records continues.

The shorts paired with Empire Records similarly convey the power of music and how it brings people together, inspires, and fosters cultural connections. Roots Records, the first Jamaican business in Kensington Market, and its delightful owner, Stranger Cole, are the subject of Toronto based filmmakers Chris Flanagan and Graeme Mathieson’s Ruff & Tuff – Stranger Cole’s Toronto Roots. The short documentary (watch the trailer right here) takes a look back at Cole’s career as a Jamaican Ska and Reggae legend and the journey that brought him to Canada. Elsewhere, Toronto filmmaker Chrisann Hessing traces Anishinaabe DJ and producer Joshua DePerry’s vibrant and inspiring journey towards club music stardom in Turning Tables. Originally from Long Lake 58 First Nation, where he is known as “Fancy Dancer” and still shares his love of music and dance with the local youth, DePerry combines his Nation’s traditional music with modern techno beats in a sound and style distinctly his own.

Event details:

Eats & Treats @ 6 pm / Showtime @ sundown (~ 9:00 pm)

Programme runtime: 1hr 55min

BYOBlanket & Chairs

Films are screened with captioning. Admission: Free/PWYC.

Donations make our programming possible (click here).

Check the T.O.P.S. site for more info about upcoming screenings right here.