Ian Thomas
Biography Ian Thomas
Ian Thomas
Little Dreams is the first solo album from Ian Thomas in twenty four years. It can’t be called a comeback recording, simply a new solo recording as he has been busy writing and recording in many other configurations the whole time.
Since his last of twelve solo recordings, Ian has done four Boomers albums with international success and subsequent concert tours of Germany, Canada and the USA. There have been four Lunch at Allens albums with cross Canada tours every year for the last ten years, twenty five movie scores that have had Ian working in studios from Prague to Hollywood, and two successful novels BEQUEST and The LOST CHORD, and a comedy record called Air Pirates. “Songs are still front and foremost my passion. They seem to naturally accumulate in my life like trail markers.”
Ian first broke in North America in 1973 with the top 40 Billboard hit Painted Ladies, which garnered a “Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year” Juno award in 1974. He was to be a fixture on Canadian radio with hits such as Painted Ladies (#4), Long Long Way (#19), Liars (#25), Right Before your Eyes (#57), Coming Home (#23), Pilot (#83), Time Is The Keeper (#71), Hold On (#11), The Runner (#20) and Strange Brew from the Bob and Doug McKenzie movie of the same name. Turns out Dave Thomas’ alias “Doug McKenzie the hoser” is Ian’s brother. Ian swears that nepotism played no role in his involvement in the Bob and Doug Movie. His name was apparently placed in a toque and pulled out by a stranger.
His songs have been covered and played all over the world by other artists as well - like Santana (Hold On – #4), Chicago (Chains), America (Right Before Your Eyes - #13), Manfred Mann (The Runner), Bon Jovi ( Stringing a Line), Bette Midler (To Comfort You) and Anne Murray (Good Again), Daryl Braithwaite (As The Days Go By #10, All I Do #12).
Ian’s group The Boomers, recorded four albums and scored significant success in Europe, Canada and the US. They had a string of international hits throughout the 90s and early 2000s which included Love You Too Much (#22 – most played song on Canadian radio in 1991), You’ve Got To Know (#20 – most played song on Canadian radio in 1993), I Feel A Change Coming (#15), Saving Face (#17), I Want To Believe In Something (#16), and more.
When Ian performs in concert he often hears - “I didn’t know that was your song!” “My shows are interesting that way. Often people, who don’t think they’ve heard of me, come to a concert with friends and realize that in fact - they do know me and my songs after all. I’ve even had a few folks who read my books who have come out to see what my music was all about only to realize they knew my songs. It’s really a wonderful privilege to have managed to become a part of the soundtrack to so many people’s lives”.