MAJOR LEAP OF FAITH: How Hamilton changed The JUNOS
It took plenty of convincing of the folks at CARAS to consider a 1995 move of the national music awards out of Toronto and about 70 km west to Copps Coliseum. One board member even called our city a ‘smog-filled, crime-ridden lunchbucket town.’ But CARAS president and Hamilton native Dave Charles was determined even as the ‘knives came out.’
As The JUNO Awards make their return to Hamilton for the seventh time, and first since 2015, HCM decided to explore the fascinating story of how The JUNO Awards first came to Hamilton, in 1995.
This was a real turning point for The JUNOS and a major coup for Hamilton. Bringing it to fruition was a serious challenge, one that required both courage and commitment from the key players involved. Call it a tale of two cities, Toronto and Hamilton, that didn’t always enjoy the most cordial of relationships (and we’re not just talking about the Argos and Tiger-Cats rivalry!).
We interviewed arguably the two most important figures in the initiative to bring The JUNOS to Hamilton in 1995. In the Toronto corner was Dave Charles, then president of CARAS (the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), the music industry trade organization responsible for producing The JUNO Awards, then and now. In the Hamilton corner was Gabe Macaluso, managing director/CEO of Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc. (HECFI), the now defunct City-owned corporation that ran Copps Coliseum, Hamilton Place, and Hamilton Convention Centre.
The seed of the idea of moving The JUNO Awards to Hamilton was sown by Debra Vivian, then marketing and public relations director of HECFI. Attending the industry-only JUNO Awards event at The O’Keefe Centre (now Meridian Hall) in Toronto in 1993, representing HECFI, Vivian felt that the event lacked the excitement that could be generated by holding it in an arena venue, with the public in attendance. At that stage, the only time The JUNOS had left Toronto was for Vancouver in 1991, but it remained a closed music industry gathering.
and Group of the Year.
In an interview with Graham Rockingham at The Hamilton Spectator in 2015, Vivian recalled thinking: “We can do this bigger and better in Hamilton.”
When she took that idea to Macaluso, her boss, he was immediately supportive. He tells HCM that “when Debra came into my office and said ‘I think we should go after The JUNOS,’ I told her I liked the idea very much.
“In talking to some people even before that, however, I’d sensed there was some hesitation at The JUNOS about leaving Toronto. Plus, Hamilton at the time didn’t have a great reputation amongst Torontonians. I remember one of the board members at CARAS then was like, ‘Look, you’re a smog-filled, crime-ridden lunchbucket town. It’s going to be really difficult for us to move the show to Hamilton.”
Fortunately, Macaluso and Vivian found an ally in the form of Charles. As fortune would have it, Charles, a giant of the Canadian radio industry, was a proud Hamilton native, having been raised on the east Mountain.
“As a kid, I grew up in the Hammer and worked as a Top 40 DJ from 1967 to 1971 at CKOC. I wanted to have the first JUNOS show in an arena setting be in Hamilton,” Charles told HCM.
“Having the show close to Toronto was important as all the major foreign-owned, multinational music companies wanted to be close to the show. They saw moving it out of Toronto as adding too much extra expense getting their artists and people to the show. Many hated my ass for taking The JUNOS out of Toronto and the knives came out.”
But, with the support of such noted CARAS board members as Daisy Falle and Duff Roman, Charles persuaded CARAS to take a major leap of faith and bring The JUNOS to Hamilton.
An important factor in the decision to bring The JUNOS into an arena setting and out of Toronto was the serious financial difficulties CARAS was in at the time. Macaluso took advantage of this situation by making them an offer that was highly attractive financially.
He and HECFI offered to waive the rental fee for the use of Copps Coliseum (then $25,000) for a full week. “The only thing we wanted were the out-of-pocket costs associated with putting on The JUNOS show, like ushers, ticket-takers, maintenance people, IATSE stage hands and so on.”
Charles reflects that “Debra Vivian, Gabe Macaluso and HECFI were instrumental in CARAS moving The JUNOS to Hamilton by giving us incredible incentives and the support of the City of Hamilton. Bob Morrow was mayor there then, and he got behind The JUNOS move big time.”
As part of festivities for The JUNO Awards, some 3,000 music industry and artist invitees were fed dinner in the exhibition area of the Coliseum, with the food conveniently prepared nearby, at the Hamilton Convention Centre.
Charles notes that 1995 debut of The JUNOS in Hamilton “was by all accounts a smashing success. I moved to Australia for work in 1994 and I remember that my last act as CARAS president was to make the deal for the Copps Coliseum work on the staging and lighting.”
Opening up the event to the public gave CARAS the opportunity to make money via ticket sales. In a win-win situation, Copps and Hamilton also benefited tremendously from the deal.
“The economic spinoffs for the city were huge,” says Macaluso. “The TV coverage was great exposure for the city and The JUNOS showcased Copps for other sporting, music, and entertainment events, all far outweighing the $25,000 rental fee. As I explained to our board, this was an opportunity to bring in major stars to this facility and an opportunity through JUNO Week to showcase our city to artists, songwriters, producers, managers, agents, and more and really put us on the map.”
This arrangement worked so well that The JUNOS quickly decided to return in 1996 and 1997, under the same terms. They also came back in 1999 and 2001, reaffirming that CARAS and The JUNOS were highly satisfied with the ability of Copps and Hamilton to host what had become a first-class event, for both attendees and the TV audience.
There was plenty of star power present at those first five JUNO awards in Hamilton, with the likes of Céline Dion, Anne Murray, The Tragically Hip, Sarah McLachlan, and Jann Arden, all attending as performers or hosts.
Looking back on that first era of JUNO Awards in Hamilton, Macaluso takes pride in his role. “I remember a couple of people at CARAS saying, ‘You and Debra (Vivian) should get a special JUNO for what you have done for us.’”
For Charles, Hamilton forever changed Canada’s music awards.
“The JUNOS road journey began in Hamilton and since that first show they have been showcased in major cities across Canada. It was a dream come true for me and a much better day for CARAS and The JUNOS’ future to embrace all of Canada and not just Toronto.”
