Neil Osborne

54-40

Neil Osborne is one of the original founding members of 54-40. In 1978 fate brought Neil Osborne and Brad Merritt together and the magic started. Who knew these early basement sessions would turn into decades of music from the best Canadian band on planet Earth!

54-40's first debut performance was on New Year's Eve 1981 at the Smilin' Buddha Cabaret, for about 100 lucky people.

Lead songwriter, lead singer and guitar

Later that same year, they caught Alley Moy's attention, a singer in a band called Popular Front. Moy had formed a non-profit record label called Mo=Da=Mu. In September of 1981, 54-40 (Neil Osborne, Brad Merritt, lan Franey) released "Things Are Still Coming Ashore" on a Mo=Da=Mu compilation album. In 1983, 54-40 decided to record a full length album and asked Allen Moy to be the producer. Darryl Neudorf had replaced Franey on drums by this time, and Phil Compareili had joined the band as a second guitarist, trumpet player, and keyboardist. They recorded "Set The Fire".

Read the band Bio for the complete history

Back in the 1980's they used to describe Neil as having a mercurial temper, being angry or moody, and sometimes confrontational. During gigs, on occasion, Neil would simply walk away, or lie down on the stage and his bandmates would jam, just improvising songs and having fun!

Makes me wish I would have been old enough to have been there to see that!

Neil is the most fantastic performer I have ever witnessed live. He emits pure positive energy, love and vitality and does it all without ego. You can feel the great vibe at every show and you leave refreshed. If you havn't seen this man sing, please do ASAP you wont regret it!