MacLeans and me

MacLean and MacLean:  

One evening, the MacLean brothers visited my after-hours club, and we quickly hit it off as friends. I joined them in performing the second oldest recorded song in the English language, an old Scottish ballad titled "The Lobster." I earned the nickname "Lobsterman," though my singing voice left much to be desired. Initially, I approached the performance with a laid-back attitude, but as I began to care more about how I sounded, I encountered my first bout of stage fright. I would often break into a sweat before taking the stage. 

One particular night,  i forgot the words. After a pause during a chorus, Gary shot me a quizzical glance and asked, “Did you forget the words?” I nodded, my mind racing in search of the lyrics. “You arsehole!” Gary chimed in, ever the supportive friend. Miraculously, I managed to recall the words and finished the song, after which I didn't experience as much trouble with stage fright again.

Another cherished memory involves my good friend, Murray McLaughlin. I often dragged him along to performances, though he wasn’t particularly fond of being in the spotlight. One night, while playing at "The Chimney" on Yonge Street, we found ourselves with an hour to spare between shows. Seated in the dressing room with a couple of friends, we began to sing show tunes over a few Heinekens. The laughter was infectious, and despite their reluctance, the MacLeans and I showcased an impressive repertoire of songs. I can still picture the dressing room door swinging open, revealing a bewildered audience witnessing Murray McLaughlin and the MacLean brothers belting out "Oklahoma" at full volume.

Later that night, we ended up in the boys’ hotel room. Gary and I were trying to impress a couple of lovely young ladies when he asked Murray to sing "The Farmer’s Song" for us. Murray, ever gracious, picked up a guitar and delivered a beautiful rendition. After he finished, Gary expressed his gratitude, joking, “Thanks, Murray, that was lovely. It’s just like when I’m at a party and someone asks me to perform ‘The Shit Routine.’”

Sundays were particularly special, at my bar as I would host gatherings for anyone in town, complete with free drinks, a lavish seafood dinner, and a jam session. The MacLean brothers thrived in this setting, serving as excellent bartenders. One moment that stands out was when Burton Cummings perched on my kitchen counter, singing "I Got a Letter from the Postman," with the MacLeans and Murray harmonizing alongside him. It was truly magical.

One night we were playing the Ell Macombo upstairs. It was late start with the last show starting at midnight. I sat alone at  our table as the boys started the show. I had noticed a large table with a half dozen chairs leaning in and a big reserved sign. About.about 5 minutes into the show there was a rush of guys to the table and a quick order of drinks. My eyes were used to the darkened room and soon recognized Billy Joel. It was him and his band. They had just played maple leaf Gardens.

So when I got up to sing the lobster song there is a verse where you can pick somebody off and i sang it thus.

That is the End

There isn't anymore.

There is an apple up me arsehole

And Billy Joel can have the core.

Afterwards we all go together with Billy and the band in the dressing room. The bar sent up cases of Heinekens and we were having a grand time. Billy raved about the show. But all he seemed to remember was me. He was so surprised when I used his name he laughed and laughed. It never pays to upstage the stars of the show. We remained friends but the maCleans never asked me to sing again.

BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS /DANNY BOY

MacLean and Maclean used to sing the Battle of New Orleans to the tune of Danny Boy. it was amazing and hilarious.

The Writing of the Fox

 Doug Brown invited a bunch of us to the Berry Farm near Stoufville for a party.
I showed uo with Murray Mclauclan and the Maclean Brothers  all three with martin guitars.
the Good Brothers showed up with Martin guitars must have been 8 or 9.of them. Beer and drugs set the mood and the concert began.
We ended up all sitting around a round dining room table (me without guitar sitting back) And everybody started playing mostly simple folk songs so they played together and then Gary MacClean
says I got one and he started"  I got one and he started the Fox song
The fox went out on the town one night
And he fucked and he sucked and he fucked and he sucked
And it must be a mighty fine towno.

 Well the song was so silly and the playing so good that they must have played it for 2 hours straight.
It was both inspiring and hilarious.

Billy Joel Cost me my Job

Billy Joel

Billy Joel Cost me my Job!
I loved doing the Lobsterman with Maclean & Maclean.
My last performance was at the El Macombo. We were doing the last set and as I was getting ready to go up to the stage I saw the manager whisk Billy Joel and his band to a reserved table.

When it came time for me to do the lobsterman

 I sang the Lobster song I stuck Billy Joel's name into it.

"There is an apple up me arsehole and Billy Joel can have the core." The Macleans looked at me in askance, in the bright lights they had no idea what was going on until after the show.

After the show, The manager brought Billy Joel up to the dressing room and we found that Billy Joel was a big fan of dirty Humor . He had tapes of the then unheard Peter Cook and Dudley Moore Jayne Mansfield routine. The management provided cases of Heineken's and we drank and partied late into the night.  Billy Joel raved about the show. But all that he could really remember was me. The Macleans never asked me back to sing again. They always denied it but even 5 or 6 years later. They would say for me to come up and sing the lobsterman and somehow forget to do it. I never sang with them again.

Me and Blair

The Sun thought I was Gary Maclean

Big snowstorm

One Winter night in 78 we got hit by a monster winter storm and I opened my after hours club to a dismal night. Somehow by 2 in the morning there were four people Gary MacLean and Blair MacLean and a beautiful waitress from the El Mocombo and me. So after a few drinks and puffs we somehow started playing strip poker. The girl was lucky somehow she had bared Blair and I one time and Gary twice. I could stand no more and cheated until we got her naked. She ran off to the washroom to dress and Gary said to me"You Cheated!" I said Gary if I saw your hairy dick one more time I was going to scream.

Meeting MacLeans

 MacLean and MacLean

The MacLean’s came to my club one night and we immediately became fast friends. I joined them in performing sing the second oldest recorded song in the English language. It is an old Scottish Ballad called the ‘Lobster’ and I was known as the Lobsterman. I couldn’t sing that well but mostly got through it. To begin with I took it very much in stride. But eventually I begin to care about how I did. That is when I ran into trouble and got stage fright and I actually used to sweat before I did my bit. Then one night I did it, I forgot the words. They waited through a chorus and then Gary Looked at me. “Did you forget the words?” I nodded my mind racing trying to find the words. “You Arsehole!” says the ever-helpful Gary. Somehow I found the words and finished the song and never really had much trouble again.

One of my favorite memories of the boys is with Murray McLaughlin. Murray was a good friend and I used to drag him along when I sang. He didn’t like to go, not so much that he didn’t like the MacLeans I think but just didn’t’ t like to be seen at their performances. We were playing ‘The Chimney’ on Yonge Street and there was an hour between shows and we were all sitting in the dressing room with a couple of girlfriends drinking Heinekens when somehow we all started singing Show Tunes. It was hilarious. They are all good singers and we went through an incredible repertoire. I can only think of dressing room door opening and the startled audience looking in At Murray McLaughlin and MacLean and MacLean singing Oklahoma at the tops of their voices.

That night we ended up back at the boy’s Hotel room. Gary and I were trying to impress a couple of tag a long sweet young things and Gary asked Murray if he would sing the Farmers Song for us. Murray grabbed a guitar and obliged us. Murray did a beautiful job and Gary thanked him.. “Thanks Murray that was very nice I know it is just like me being at a party and someone asks me to do ‘The Shit Routine.”

On Sundays I used to entertain whoever was in town with free drinks a huge dinner (mostly seafood) and a Jam Session. MacLean and MacLean loved to run the bar and they were excellent bartenders. I especially remember Burton Cummings sitting on the counter in my kitchen singing ‘I got a letter from the postman’ with MacLean and MacLean and Murray McLaughlin doing the harmony. It was magic.

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McNally Robinson Booksellers
presents the launch of
Blair MacLean's
Was It Something We Said?

  

Thursday June 21, 7:00 pm
Grant Park in the Atrium
Please join host Marcia MacLean and the friends and family of Blair MacLean at this special event featuring Al Simmons and a musical tribute by The MacLean Brothers

Was It Something We Said? written by the late Blair MacLean, provides a special backstage look at the thirty plus year career of the legendary Canadian comedy duo MacLean & MacLean. Their satirical humour, combined with renditions of pop and folk songs, madeMacLean & MacLean well known across Canada and around the world.

Blair and his brother Gary were trailblazers on the comedy scene in Canada. Their well publicized Supreme Court Case changed the boundaries within which their brand of "raunchy" comedy could be performed in this country, and set a precedent supporting freedom of speech in Canadian law. Without their persistent appeals right up to the Supreme Court of Canada, the entertainers of today might still be "censored" when performing on Canadian soil. They truly changed what could be said "on stage" in this country. In the book Blair recounts this case as well as many others they endured andClayton Ruby, the respected constitutional lawyer responsible for their defense, offers a word on the topic in his foreward.

From Blair's childhood memories of growing up in Glace Bay, to touring the country performing at festivals, nightclubs, and comedy venues, the book provides an honest and candid insight into the times, the people, and what made MacLean & MacLean the Canadian comedy icons they remain today.
  

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The Lobsterman

 Hi I am Gary LeDrew and I had an after hours bar in Toronto for 5 years MacLean & MacLean.
were two of my best customers and best friends for 5 years or so.
when they would come to Ontario I would go around and sing with them(or maybe against them - they were always amazed at how bad I truly was)I was the Lobsterman and sang the ancient lobster song. It was great fun and we had many adventures.

GARY MacLEAN obit

GARY MacLEAN

GARY MacLEAN June 25, 1944 - December 5, 2001 It is with great sadness that the MacLean family announce the sudden passing of Gary MacLean. Left to remember him, and carry on for him, are his three sons, Paul, Travis and David; along with their mother and the girl he counted on most, Monica. He also leaves to mourn, his oldest brother Bob (Army), his only sister Janice (Bob), and his closest brother Blair (Marcia), and many nieces and nephews.

Blair MacLean, of MacLean and MacLean, passes away.

Blair MacLean, of MacLean and MacLean, passes away.

« on: November 02, 2008, 07:14:56 am »

Sadly, the remaining half of comedy duo MacLean and MacLean passed away this week.  I was fortunate to know them both and will cherish their memory.

http://www.whatsonwinnipeg.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=69014

Performer remembered as having big talent, heart
October 31st, 2008
by Morley Walker

A ground-breaking Winnipeg performer is being remembered as a man with a big talent and a bigger heart.

Blair MacLean, the elder half of the Juno-nominated musical comedy duo MacLean & MacLean, died Wednesday afternoon at Victoria General Hospital.

He had suffered a heart attack and lapsed into a coma last weekend. He was 65.

"Blair cared enough about people to make us laugh, even when we didn't want to," said Gord Osland, his friend and former band-mate, now residing in Penticton, B.C.

"He used to crack me up so much it was all I could do to sit on my drum stool. He was the funniest guy on the planet."

MacLean and his younger brother Gary, who died of throat cancer in 2001, became legendary in Canadian show business for their ribald brand of musical comedy.

MacLean went on to develop a second career as a visual artist known for his "grain art," which involved attaching real grains to the canvas.

"He was quite the talented person," said his friend David Perich, a chauffeur to the stars in the Manitoba film industry.

"His grain art paintings are in government buildings all over the world."

MacLean & MacLean's notoriety peaked in the late '70s after they were found guilty of performing an immoral act in a Sault Ste. Marie bar.

With famed Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby representing them, they took the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, where it was overturned in 1982.

"That was just a small part of who he was," said Anola-based family entertainment celebrity Al Simmons, who got his start in show biz after MacLean introduced him to his agent, Len Andree.

"He was the nicest, sweetest man you could imagine. My three boys adored him."

Born in Glace Bay, N.S., MacLean landed in Manitoba with the air force and stayed here after he left the military.

After he started performing, he sent for Gary, two years his junior. They did their comedy together from 1972 to 1998. They produced seven albums and performed upwards of 150 shows a year in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

MacLean moved back to Nova Scotia in the early '90s to establish himself as an artist. Following Gary's death, MacLean and his second wife, Marcia, returned to Winnipeg in 2002 to help care for Gary's three sons.

Before his death, MacLean had finished a memoir of his life and times.

"We are going to publish it," Marcia vowed. "It's a story that needs to be told."

MacLean is survived by two sons, Kevin and Gillis.

Obit BLAIR MacLEAN, 65: ARTIST AND ENTERTAINER

Older half of MacLean and MacLean duo took free speech fight
to Supreme Court
George-Carlin-with-a-guitar brothers released seven
shock-humour albums, sold out concerts and wrote the theme
to a raunchy British sitcom, all the while being hounded by
the police

Burton Cummings

Gary Maclean introduced me to Burton.

the funniest moment is Burton comes in one night trying to be cool and quiet. plugs a quarter in the Jukebox just as 'AMERICAN WOMAN" came on full blast. Everybody jeered and pointed as he cried I didn't play it! I didn't play it!