Boulevard

Active primarily throughout the 1980s under the shortened handle Blvd, the Canadian AOR rock band Boulevard centered on lead singer David Forbes, bassist Randy Burgess, guitarist Randy Gould, saxophonist Mark Holden, keyboardist Andrew Johns, and drummer Randall Stoll. Burgess eventually departed and was succeeded by bassist Tom Christianson. From 1988 to 1990 the ensemble issued six singles alongside two favorably received albums before formally disbanding in 1991.

Gould, Holden, and Forbes established the group in Calgary during 1983, with remaining members joining subsequently. Two years after formation Blvd had produced several demos that drew interest from MCA Records, yet the band waited another two years to secure a deal. Its first single, “In the Twilight,” appeared in 1988. Amid a touring slate that included opening slots for Glass Tiger and Boston, the group completed additional singles that year and capped the period with a ten-track self-titled debut album featuring “Dream On,” “When the Lights Go Down,” and “Far From Over.” In 1990 Blvd assembled new material for the follow-up full-length In the Streets, issued under the band’s complete name. A pair of further singles followed without commercial breakthrough. Burgess had already exited by then; shortly afterward Stoll also left, and operations ceased in 1991.

Following a twenty-five-year absence, Boulevard surfaced again in late 2015 with the concert DVD Live from Gastown, captured the preceding February at Vancouver’s Warehouse studio. Two years later the ensemble—now comprising David Forbes on vocals, Dave Corman on guitar, Andrew Johns on keyboards and vocals, Mark Holden on sax, Cory Curtis on bass, and Randall Stoll on drums—delivered its third studio album, Luminescence. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, England, the set emerged through Melodic Rock Records.