Posted in: News, Trivia Q & A | 1 Comment | Posted on October 15, 2021 by Mary Anne

Q. Sweeney Todd, named after the murderous barber legend from the 1800s, was formed in 1975 Vancouver. It had a major hit with “Roxy Roller”, but its lead singer, Nick Gilder, became much more successful after he left the band with a huge hit that went to number one in both the US and Canada in 1978. What song earned him two Junos as well as a People’s Choice Award?

A.  Hot Child in the City

Nicholas George “Nick” Gilder was born in London, England, Gilder was raised in Vancouver. He began his career as front-man for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd, which later briefly featured a very young Bryan Adams.  Sweeney Todd had a number one hit, “Roxy Roller”, that held on to the top spot in the Canadian music charts for three weeks in 1975.  It went on to win a Juno Award for “Best Selling Single” in 1977.

Feeling they had international scope, Gilder and fellow band member, guitarist and songwriting partner, James McCulloch left the band and signed a US record deal. It was in his second solo album that spawned the hit, “Hot Child in the City”, that gave Gilder chart success in the United States. That song went to No.1 both in Canada and the US. It also earned him two more Juno Awards: “Single of the Year” and for “Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year” in Canada as well as a People’s Choice Award in the US. It stalled outside the Top 40 in the United Kingdom, though it was featured on Top of the Pops and also in a Hot Gossip dance routine on The Kenny Everett Video Show. He’s had subsequent singles, but with only minimal success in Canada and none that cracked the US Top 40.

Gilder has also been successful as a songwriter for artists such as Bette Midler, Joe Cocker and Pat Benatar. In 1984, the band Scandal featuring Patty Smyth had a US Top 10 hit with “The Warrior,” which was written by Gilder and Holly Knight and earned him a BMI Airplay Award. The song also reached #1 in Canada, making him the first Canadian artist to reach the Top of the Canadian chart as lead singer for a band (Sweeney Todd with “Roxy Roller”), a solo artist (“Hot Child in the City”) and songwriter for another artist.

Gilder’s songs have been used in several movies such as Youngblood with Rob Lowe, The Wraith with Charlie Sheen, Barb Wire with Pamela Anderson, Scenes From the Goldmine, that included a cameo appearance in the movie by Gilder, and in TV series like Sex and the City, That ’70s Show, Ed (TV series), and most recently Nip/Tuck.