L-R:
Gary MacLean, Mike McMahon, Blair MacLean,
Victor Pasta
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The MacLean brothers were born
in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada - Blair
on December 2, 1942, and Gary on June 25,
1944.
At age 18, Blair joined the Royal Canadian
Air Force, working as a commercial
artist. Posted to Gimli, Manitoba,
Canada, he and fellow recruit, Wayne
Hooper, formed a folk music duo.
"I got my first guitar for three dollars
at boot camp," he recalled. "It was
handed down from each training course
group before they moved on. The
strings were a half inch off the neck, but
that was my introduction to playing music
seriously. Folk music was big and we
learned all the folk songs back in the
barracks, rehearsing for hours every
night." Moving to Winnipeg, they
chose the name of The Glee Men for their
new venture and began performing in the
city's beverage rooms.
Back home in Glace Bay, Gary, the youngest
of four children, had taught himself to
play banjo and joined his first folk
group, The Sherwoods, at age 16.
Blair encouraged Gary and another Sherwood
member to come out to Winnipeg and join up
with The Glee Men.
Gary's decision to return to Nova Scotia a
short time later, coupled with Wayne
Hooper electing to leave at the same time,
left Blair in search of replacement
musicians. Victor Pasta and Cathy
Hunter filled the empty spots. For
Victor, as lead singer, this was his first
real start in the music business.
By 1964, Gary had once again relocated to
Winnipeg, this time to remain
permanently. With the brothers
reunited, they added a bass player to the
lineup and The Vicious Circle came into
being ... Blair MacLean, Gary MacLean,
Victor Pasta, and Mike McMahon.
Mixing comedy with song, the group was one
of the most popular attractions in the
local pubs by the late ’60s. "We had
a real following," boasted Blair.
"People would show up hours before the
pubs opened, knitting and crocheting until
the show started. We would have the
place packed." With Blair on
guitar and Gary on 5-sting banjo, their
soaring harmonies and preference for
traditional Maritime material was a
highlight.
By 1970, Gord Osland (drums) and Donnie
McDougall (guitar) had become part of the
band. When Donnie left in 1972 to
join The Guess Who, The Vicious Circle
folded. Gary and Blair went on to
perform as the legendary MacLean
& MacLean musical comedy duo.
Compiled and adapted from the following
sources:
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