David Bradstreet

Born in London, England, David Bradstreet relocated to Canada alongside his family during childhood. After completing high school he pursued studies in architecture, yet the folk movement of the 1960s exerted a stronger pull, prompting him to commit to music as a full-time profession. Like countless peers, he first earned recognition by working the club circuit, and in 1968 he embarked on a tour of coffee houses and venues throughout the United States, launching that journey in New York City. Returning to Canada in 1971, he appeared at folk festivals, campus coffee houses, and modest concerts, and he also performed on television, notably on Ian Tyson’s Nashville North. Three years of steady stage work and songwriting drew notice from fellow musicians, leading him in 1971 to join the Texas ensemble Lazarus, a group linked to Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary and managed by Albert Grossman. Within that band he began a songwriting and performing partnership with Billie Hughes that lasted until Hughes’s death in 1998.

In 1974 Bradstreet moved back to Canada to resume his solo path. His breakthrough arrived when Valdy scored a Canadian hit with Bradstreet’s composition “Renaissance,” securing him a contract with A&M Records. There he cut the 1977 album David Bradstreet and the 1978 follow-up Dreaming in Colour; both releases fared well north of the border, and in 1977 he received a Juno Award as Best New Male Vocalist. Continuing to record and tour, he established his own imprint, Street Records, in 1980. Through the label he issued his own projects, among them 1980’s Black and White and 1998’s Renaissance, while also releasing material by other artists including Billie Hughes and Jane Siberry. He played an extensive part in Siberry’s self-titled debut, serving as co-producer, co-engineer, and guitarist.

Across subsequent decades Bradstreet composed and recorded soundtracks for numerous television programs and films. He also achieved considerable success creating and performing music for the Solitudes label, known for blending instrumental tracks with natural soundscapes, an endeavor that earned him a Juno nomination in 1998.