Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Simone Denny: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1848

Episode Date: February 12, 2026

In this 1848th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with singer Simone Denny about her work with BKS, Love Inc. and Widelife, her relationship with Chris Sheppard, and how it feels to finally receive her flowers. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Nick Ainis, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail].

Hi there, this is Simone Denny, and I am making my debut on Toronto Mike. Welcome to episode 1,848 Toronto Mike, an award-winning podcast, proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. Order online at greatlakesbier.com for free, local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh. Homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Visit palmapasta.com for more. Fusion Corpsohn, Nick Aienies.

He's the host of building Toronto Skyline and building success, two podcasts that you ought to listen to. Recyclemyelectronics.catech.a. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. And Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. Joining me today, making her Toronto mic debut. It's Simone Denny.

Great to meet you. Great to meet you too. What an absolute privilege. I was at an event for the 30th anniversary of Electric Circus. Ah, okay. So I was too intimidated by you to go up and say hello. Oh, come on. But, you know, I did.

Moses was there. Yes, I remember that, yes. Did you get a hug from Moses? I did. I'll bet you did, Simone. He's great. Now, Monica D'Oll was there? Yes.

And of course, what is the name? George Lagagannis. Logganis, I believe. I was going to put you that. And you were there. Yes. I was there. It was a great night.

Yeah. It was a great night. Yeah. And, again, too intimidated to approach you. But at some point, I mustered up, well, you're Simone Denny. I don't know if you know that or not. Oh, my gosh. That's a key detail.

I'm Simone. You're Simone, okay. Yes. I want to congratulate you off the top because I understand you're receiving a lifetime achievement award. Yes. From the Canadian Black Screen Awards. Yes. Well, congrats.

Thank you. Thank you. Feels good. So tell me this is happening this weekend. Yes. There's actually, this is going to be a great two weeks. There's one this weekend and I'm getting a Career Highlights Award. from women in music Canada as well.

That's on March 5th. So it's a big time to be Simone. It's a big time to be Simone. You're getting your flowers. I am. I am. Okay, well, you're still young. I love you.

Thank you. Because I was going to say, sometimes we give these flowers too late. Yes, I agree. Sometimes we wait until people are already shouting out Ridley funeral home. Like, it's very important that you and you're still in your prime here, getting your flowers.

Definitely. And you're a Toronto girl, right? Oh, yeah. Toronto born and raised. What neighborhood in Toronto were you raised in? Well, there's three. I was born in downtown Toronto, Blur and Young. And then my parents lived at Laird and Eglinton. And then we moved to Don Mills and Shepard.

And then they moved to Scarberia. When Kennedy Road was a dirt road. Like once you hit Shepard and Kennedy, it was a dirt road after that. So it was lots of farms and... New developments. It was like a lot of farms. I could tell you pretty much everything that was in that area. Well, you know, I mean, it's not Scarborough. I'm not allowed to call Scarberia because I'm from the, yeah, I'm from West of Young. Okay. Okay. You can call it that. But I always tell my kids like where Canada's Wonderland is. I'm like, yeah, you know, this was just empty vast. There's no developments there. We had drive-in theaters. That's right. It was nothing. Yeah.

That's right. And now it's a whole other Toronto now. Now Toronto just keep going. It just keeps going. Yeah. I come downtown and I'm like, what intersection is this? It looks completely different from anything I've remembered. It's amazing.

It's wild. It is wild. It's wild. It's wild. Okay. And you mentioned Scarborough because you're living there for a period. Are you still live in Scarborough or no? I am in and out of Scarborough. Still in Toronto, but I go back and forth.

Back and forth. Yes. You know who else is from Scarborough? Who? Meestro Fresh West. That's right. Meistro's family for me. Okay.

Tell me about that because I'm pointing to my 12-inch single. Oh, nice. I see it. That's great. Okay. I bought that in 89. Amazing. And I'm a big maestro fan.

Everybody knows this. But tell me about your relationship with Meestro Fresh West. Wow. Well, my relationship with Meestro goals all the way back before we were born. Excuse me, because our parents knew each other from Guyana. They were friends all the way back. The families knew each other from then. So this is a relationship that was predestined.

So it's, yeah, our families... You're taking me way back. Like, way back. Our families are very good friends. So it's pretty much family at this point. So, yeah. So when in your life do you realize I have a great voice, I should just sing? Like, when do you get the bug to be a performer?

You know, that music found me, I always say. I come from a family that's about school and degrees and, you know, it's doctor, lawyer. That's the family that I was from there, like, you want to sing? Why? So it kind of crept on me at a talent show. I was doing for School Spirit in Scarborough. And I sang Anne-Marys, you needed me because I was a big track then. And I was learning it on guitar because I was taking guitar lessons, actually.

And my mom heard me singing. and playing. She's like, why don't you do that for the talent show? Because there's a little backstory here. We were going to do Michael Jackson's Rock with you and was going to be five of me and my friends. And we got to the stage door for the audition and they all bailed on me. Wow. And I was like, really now?

Really? So I went back and my teacher played You Needed Me on the piano for me. Went up and had no idea what to expect. I just wanted to be involved. And I got a standing ovation and that was the moment. Well, two things happened. A, you realized, I'm good at this.

Yeah. And B, you got the bug. That's pretty thrilling to be on stage and have a crowd. It was amazing. It was amazing. I think it's because I was an only child and I, you like attention, right? Listen, I'm going to be your armchair amateur psychiatrist here.

Okay. I'll tell you what's going on. But did you ever meet Ann Murray and tell her that story? I have not. I have been at the Juno's when she's there, but I've never actually had a chance to meet her. I would love to meet her and tell her that. Have you won a Juno?

I do. I actually have four Junos. Okay. Yeah. From all the different projects that I've been involved with, I've always won Junos from my vocals, so it's been amazing. Now, where would you keep your Junos?

Do you have like a trophy case? Where would I find these four Junos? I kind of have them all over. Wherever they work with the decor of the house, really? Well, when you have four of them, You could spread the wealth. Right now I have two of them. I still have two to pick up, believe it or not, that I...

Why are you waiting? Because I've never really been about the... If I wanted Juno, I'd pick it up the next morning. You know, I've never really been about the Juno's. I still have billboard plaques that I have to pick up. Because I'm in the mentality that I, I gotta keep going. You know, it's like, what's next? What's next?

What have you done for you lately? Yeah, I never kind of dwell on what I've done. It's more like, what's coming out, what's next? and I really have to pick all of that stuff. Well, you're going to hate this conversation because I am going to be revisiting some Simone Danny's latest hits here. Now, you're going to answer a question that came up. I had a reggae artist over here named Amoy.

Yes, okay. She's up for her eighth Juno. Amazing. But she's over seven. So I told her eighth time is a charm. Definitely. It's funny because yesterday Dave Bedini from Rio Static's was over. He's been nominated for four Junos, and he's never won a Juno either.

Oh, wow. Yeah, and I just chatted with, who was I chatting with? Gordie Johnson from Big Sugar. Oh, wow. I haven't seen him enough. They've never won. Yeah, he's a busy dude. Oh, wow.

But they've, he was telling me he's got zero Junos, but he's got several nominations or whatnot. Okay. So you actually win Junos, but here's the question that came up with a boy, and you're going to answer it once and for all. Okay. When you win a Juno, they give you the trophy, right? Do you have to pay for that trophy? You got to pay for it. You got to pay for it.

You know what? You got to pay for it. I said that to Amoy, because I had heard that from other artists, and she said, no way. Yeah, you do. And I said, I think you do. Yeah, you do. You do. Either it's your record company buying it for you, which ultimately you're still paying for it. Either way, directly or indirectly. Or it's coming out of your pocket. I feel very validated here, Simone, because I was sure of that and I was telling Amoy when she gave me this look. Like, no way, Jose. Unless that's changed. I don't think it's changed. As far as I know. So do you remember what it cost? get the trophy? Like approximately.

I think they're between three and five hundred, somewhere around there. If I may now, I'm going to put this on the public record. Okay. That kind of ticks me off. Like, I feel like we're recognizing Canadian, I was going to say, you're a superstar, but no, we'll save that, we'll save that, okay? But we're recognizing Canadian talent. Yes.

The industry can't give you the award. They have to invoice you for the damn trophy. I mean, maybe I'm just naive. I'm just an idiot. I haven't won anything. Well, I've won something, but they didn't have a trophy to pay for. You know, I don't know the intricacies of making that happen, whether we would pay into something so that that's already accounted for and paid for.

I don't know how they would make that work, but, you know. Okay, because I mean, the industry does, you know, I hate to say it, I said the game was rigged because I talked to so many Canadian musicians, and they talk about what you're describing there, which is that like, oh, that, you know, we had, I don't know, we had a rider for this, that, but it gets like build back to the band and these parties are built back. And then the video production is built back. Yes.

So it's almost like record labels, they give you a loan. That's it. And then you got to pay it all back. That's it. With interest. The artist is the last one to get paid. That is the industry. You know, I head on, do you know the rapper Kish?

I know of him, yes. Okay, so I was chatting with him about his album. He had an album in the early 90s. Actually, I think Maestro Guests on it. It's called Order from Chaos. Yes, I've heard of it. I run the world in 80 days. Yeah.

By the way, I like your earrings. Thank you. They're, it's funny. Gigantic. They're big, yeah. Yeah. You got big earrings. Big hoops.

Can I say that? That's right. But Kish was telling me, because I had Order from Chaos on CD. I paid, I don't know, I paid 1799 for it at Sam the Record Man or something. And I was spinning it. I would see him all the time on much music. There was a couple of hits on that album. And then I just said, hey, so what did you make from Order of Chaos?

He's like, I don't know, he's like, dollars and 95 cents or something like you know what I mean like it was it was Starbucks money yeah it doesn't seem right it is it is the way the industry is

and especially I think in Canada you should be driving a Rolls Royce but you're taking the bus you know that is that's so true that is that's Canada right now I don't think we have the infrastructure

or maybe it's developing now I'm sure it's much different than it was when I was when I was coming up with BKS and Love Inc. But, you know, I think there is still that's happening where you've got this great album. You're marketing it everywhere. And it's like, hey, isn't that? You know, and.

But everyone gets rich but the artist. Yes. We don't have a big population here, which is why everybody has to leave Canada in order to tour or to make money. It's unfortunate. And I don't think we have, it's still very much a rock and roll country. so there's not a lot of venues to play, you know. So I think with the growth of the population in the country, that will come.

Maybe not in our lifetime, but down the line, I'm sure. Let's hope so. Let's hope so. And I think even just talking about it is helpful because I... Definitely. Because I know I was completely ignorant. Okay. Because what do I know?

I just think, oh, I'm hearing them on... I'll date you here. Like, I'm hearing you on 680 CFTR and I see you on much music. Yeah. And I own your CD, which I overpaid for because that's what we did with CDs. So I just assume you're driving the Rolls Royce, like you said. And then the guests will invite the person over and they will pull up. They'll walk from the bus stop.

Yeah. Canadian star system. That is. I think we don't have a star system. I think it's developing. It's getting there. But it's definitely needed. A solid star system.

A solid star system. Let me drop a couple of Canadian star names. On you, here. Deborah Cox. Yes. How do you know Deborah Cox? I know Deborah Cox way back. We both auditioned for a band when we were probably about 15 or 16.

We also had a girl group together called One Voice. She's Guine's, I'm Guyne's background. So, you know, and we ended up, yeah, that's pretty much it. And then we ended up, I went to Humber College for music for about. six months. She was there as well. We were all classmates. And my vocal teacher at the time,

Joyce Britton, put me up for an audition for Mom I Wanna Sing, which is a huge musical out of the U.S. And I told them all about it. They all jumped on and auditioned and we were all in the musical together as well. So there's a lot of history there.

And then I think it kind of came full circle when she was at the top of the charts And I was at the top of the charts here in Canada. And we both did a performance of the Juno's together, a segue. One performance segued into the next. Wow. So it all begins with Mama, I want to sing. Well, a little bit before that.

Yeah. Well, no, you know, it's actually a big Canadian production. A little bit before that, yeah. Okay. And we've already talked about how you were like, you know, connected to Maestro before you were born. Yes. Which breaks my brain even think about that. Okay.

Yeah. But you also did, you know, sing with Maestro, right? Like, can you, which tracks? I'm a big maestro guy. I owned all the CDs. Like, which tracks were you performing backing vocals? The most famous one would be conducting things. Oh, wow.

Just because I'm from Canada and don't mean I'm no amateur. Of course. Wow. Yeah, conducting things would be, and I'm in the video too. Oh, my God. I'm one of the girls in the background, I guess it would be like the Supremes. Yeah. I'm the tallest one.

So if you pull up that video, you'll see me there. And there's something to be said about the first single from the follow-up to your breakthrough. So if you follow that trend. So if you think sympathy, symphony and effect is the breakthrough for Maestro back in 19. It's 89. I like how he tells you.

It's 89. So you know what he is. I like that. Thank you, Meistro. But you got symphony and effect. And then the follow up. And that's the lead single.

So there was a lot of like for us fans, there was a lot of anticipation for that first single that's going to draw from the new album. And you're all over it. Yeah. I've sung on quite a few. I've sung on some of his children's album as well and some other projects he's done. So, you know, I'm always happy to to jump on a project with Maestro because he's

just a great person. And I love supporting whatever he's doing. You know, he and his family and DJ Malbogie is his sister as well. So, you know, there's a long history between our families and, you know, it's, a pleasure. And now he's on a stamp. Yes, he is. I was supposed to be there and I couldn't make it. I was, but I was at his induction into the Music Hall of Fame. So, you know, I'm just, I beam with so much happiness and pride for him. Love it. Love to hear it. Now, Simone, you're now an FOTM.

That means friend of Toronto mite. Okay. You're in such, not only is maestro in that club, you should be honored. I'm honored. I am. Gifts coming your way. I won't even charge you, unlike the Juno's. Okay.

I'm going to give you presents and I'm not going to send you an invoice. All right. I'll take it. A fellow FOTM is Chuck D from Public Enemy. Oh, nice. And Chuck famously tells us, most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps. That's right. That's an American thing now, buddy, because we got,

Mishimi and Maestro Fresh West on our stamps. That's right. So Chuck, we got to revise that for Canada. Absolutely. Oh, I was, like I said, just really happy to see both and all of them inducted that way. Quebec, I hate to say it. I don't follow the Quebec scene as closely as I should. And I don't know about this Quebec hip-hop group.

Muzon? You know, because, okay. I'm not as tapped into Quebec. You know, we're going to plead ignorance because I think it's in French. And I think they have their own, like, uh, star system. Of course. channel over there. But yeah, so three stamps were issued.

Maestro, Mishi, and this Quebec, Muzon, I think they're called. So, okay. I said I was going to give you a gift. I'm going to do this real quick because then I got to ask you about somebody who's been the subject of much chatter on this podcast recently. But let me tell you, Simone. Yes. In my freezer upstairs, I have a large frozen lasagna from Palma pasta that you're taking home

with you. Bring it on. Do you like Italian food? Love it. Love it. Absolutely. Good. I'm worried sometimes I ask.

question and I sit back and they go, I'm lactose intolerant. And then I'm like, well, it's got a lot of cheese in it. Is that bad? Is that a bad thing? No, never. You can never have too much cheese, ever. Oh, thank goodness. Okay. So you'll love it. Thank you to Palmapasta for sending that over. Also, I have, it's actually in front of you, courtesy of Great Lakes Brewery. Today is the 39th birthday of Great Lakes Brewery. So they became a brewery 39 years ago today. And they sent over some fresh craft beer for you. That is awesome. Thank you so much. I'm not invoicing you for any of this. I appreciate that.

And Simone, because we're about to get into it here, I have a measuring tape for you, courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home. Thank you. All right. You can never, these are gifts I can use. You never know. I think it was Tara Sloan who told me she doesn't leave home without a Ridley Funeral Home measuring tape because you always got to measure something.

I can admit that I do have measuring tape in my bag when I travel. Now you've got a backup. Yeah, I like it. Okay. And I want to let people know the Ridley Funeral Home. home podcast that we recorded a fresh episode of yesterday is called Life's Undertaking with Brad Jones. So subscribe and listen to Life's Undertaking. I co-host that. And while you're subscribing to interesting podcasts, subscribe to Building Toronto Skyline with Nick Iienes. He's from

Fusion Corp and he stepped up to help fuel this real talk. So we love Nick Iienes for doing that. And last but not least, I want to let you know, Simone, about recycle myelectronics.c a if you have an old an old laptop, maybe an old phone, old cables, and you're thinking, oh, like, I don't need this anymore. Don't throw it in the garbage. Go to recycle my electronics.ca.

Put in your postal code and find out where you can drop it off to be properly recycled. Got it. Got it. All right, good. We're good. Tell me how when you met DJ Chris Shepard. Oh, wow.

Long story. short. I had been doing a lot of session work. That's what we did back in the day as vocalists. You wanted to be seen and heard and make your way up. You did a lot of demo sessions for producers and writers. They had heard about me. I don't through Anthony Vanderberg, I believe, who I had done a session for. And I think the track I did with him ended up doing really well. And they wanted a big voice. And I went in. I remember it was just off of Leslie Street, Leslie in New York, to Greg Kavanaugh's studio. And I got in there.

They had a studio basement at the time. I had heard of Chris Shepard. I kind of knew what he did. But they're like, oh, scream, yell, do this. And I'm like, oh, okay. You know, didn't make sense to me at the time. But I did it as soulfully as they needed. And it worked.

And that was Dream Catcher. Okay. So is this BKS? This is the project? This is BKS? Yeah. Okay. I'm playing something in the background.

here. With you what you're going to do loving you love it. Yep. I should bring it down and let you sing it. It's a great. It's a banger. It's a great one. I've been playing it all week. Massive chalk. So you're not a full-time member of

VKS though, right? You're like if they just parachute you in when they need that beautiful big voice. Definitely. Okay. Definitely. And so the reason Chris Shepard's been talked about quite a bit in this podcast recently is because TVO

On January 6th TV Ontario aired a 60 minute documentary about CFNY The Spirit of Radio Okay You can go to like

TVO docs YouTube channel and watch it tonight if you want Yeah I'd love to check it out And a huge part of the spirit of radio Which is basically the time at CFNY When David Marsden is there

That's essentially That's the era we're talking about But a huge star there Well listen to this Okay Love and you're loving. What you're going to do. Love and you love it.

Wow. Okay. But a huge star at CF&Y is Chris Shepard. That's right. And Chris Shepard is doing like live, I guess they were live to airs before Martin Street had that gig. It was Chris Shepard.

And, you know, you know, he kind of talked like this. Yeah. Crazy. Crazy, man. City of love. Yeah, we listen to some skinny puppy in the mix. What's the color of your sky tonight? All of it.

All right. So what made it interesting is that Chris Shepard does not appear in this documentary. You got some archival footage. But the filmmaker, I talked to the director. I tried to find Chris Shepard for Toronto Miked because I want to talk to Chris Shepard. I struck out. Okay. But the filmmakers, the people behind the documentary, CF&Y, the Spirit of Radio, they also struck out.

So before we move on, because you do quite a bit of work with Chris Shepard. But when was the last time you talked to Chris Shepard? Well, I have not talked to Chris Shepard since I left the group in 2001. And you mean Love, Inc? Well, actually, no. A little bit after that. Probably end of 2001 into 2002. That was the last time I spoke to Chris.

Okay, so maybe we'll get back to Chris now as I read between the lines. Sure. Because I thought maybe... Okay, so we're going to get back to Chris Shepard. But you're being parachuted in. You BKS is a, I mean, I'm a much music viewer. Like there's a lot of BKS on much music. It was a big deal, right?

Oh, absolutely. It was all over the radio. So why weren't you a, like, a full-time member? They just, well, I actually became a full-time member, but I was young and I should have said, you know what, feature my voice. I put, featuring Simone Denny. You know, that really should have been, I didn't have a manager really at the time, you know, so you're young, you don't know, you're just eager to get in there.

And it is what it is. My voice was well known. My name became well known on the radio because people were like, Simone Denny. And I think a lot of people also assumed the S was me. Oh, yeah. So a lot of people thought, oh, BKS stand for. It's Becker, Kavanaugh, Shepard. Right, okay.

Yeah. Okay, well, thank goodness they called it BK. It sounds like an accounting firm. Exactly. That is true. That is true. Okay, BKS. And you're on tonight, it's party time.

Mm-hmm, with Barry Harris. Barry Harris has been over here. Oh, he's the best. I love Barry. He's so, such a good guy. Love him. I'm a big fan myself. But we talked that big, the con can,

con can, yeah, because it's the opposite of CanConn. I always have to remind myself. It's Concan. But everywhere as well. He did some massive tracks. And he'd remix that Whitney Houston song too.

You know, and I really feel that he should be getting a star on the Walk of Fame for that. Just for that alone. That was one of the, the biggest remix is in history. You know, I think that's my, I don't think that there are enough acknowledgments of what Canadians have accomplished.

And, you know, and I think the stars need to reflect the Walk of Fame needs to reflect that. And that's not me slamming the Walk of Fame. I'm just saying there's a lot of people, you know, that I've done, I've made big steps so that everybody can fly. Do you think there's this Canadian tendency to not really fully appreciate someone's talents until the Americans tell us they're actually good? That's right. And I think we have to stop that culture. But at the same time, Barry was in the States.

Yes. Barry's, that remix was worldwide. You know, I was in the States. All of us have done there. So I think, you know, that track, it's not right, but it's okay. My God, you can hear that anywhere in the world. I travel and I hear it and I'm like, oh my God. And people immediately start dancing.

It's invokes emotion instantly. We were using it as the opening theme. We have a sub-series on Toronto mic, which is called FOTM cast, which is very meta. But we were using that as the opening theme because of Barry Harris's because he's an FOTM and because of his involvement there. Yeah, as it should be. You know, you're getting me all riled up here because I'm now thinking of all the great Canadian musicians.

I'm looking at, you know, Sloan and Junkhouse and the magically hip and all these bands I love, right? Yeah. Because I love rock, I love hip-hop. Roundbreakers. Yeah, but they all kind of took a shot at being American stars and for whatever reason came back here because they didn't succeed in becoming American stars.

And I'm here to tell you, Simone. Yes. I don't care if the Americans embrace you. Oh. Not you personally. I mean, just the Canadian music industry. I agree. You know, money's not everything.

It's not just money. I think we have been culturally geared towards measuring our success by American acknowledgement. I think that has to change. I think that we have many artists that are doing well globally, and we have to acknowledge that. You know, they've gone beyond the shores of Canada, and they're doing well.

That's important. Even a show like Shits Creek, for example. Oh, great. Yeah. Tragic, terrible. Very much. Did you ever meet Catherine O'Hare? I did not meet Catherine.

But I think we've all felt like Catherine was a friend because we've been so proud of her for all the things she has done and accomplished and represented. She's always been Canadian. She's a Toronto girl. Oh, absolutely. Like yourself. But it did seem to me like we didn't really fully embrace Shits Creek until the American said, hey, this is a great show. We're going to give it a whole bunch of Emmys.

You know what? I can say that I was into it before that. So I didn't really wait for the American nod. Not to slam my American friends. I didn't wait for the American nod. But, you know, great show is a great show. I'd been hearing about it from everyone. So.

All right. So, BKS with Chris Shepard. Shepard's next project is called Love, Inc. Mm-hmm. It's Brad Damon, it's Chris Shepard, and it's you, right? Yes. Okay. Can you give us a little, just a little, how did Love Inc.

Come to Be? And why Love Inc when there's BKS? I'm just curious for the real talk on this one. Well, I think the real talk is, is that, you know, that was, what we did with BKS was really groundbreaking in the sense that Chris really did bring house music and dance music to Canada. And that had more of a club feel to it. and it did what it needed to do.

It got on national radio. It got everybody's attention. Everybody was dancing to it. And the next step, of course, is to go mainstream. And that's what Love Inc was. So Chris disbanded Loving. Sorry, B.K.S. And approached me and said, listen, I want to take this to the next level.

I want you to be the vocalist. And I was like, absolutely. And that's it. Made you an offer you couldn't refuse. That's right. Let me tell you, darling, I've been high most of my life. And a dream is just to wish. Do you want to say, say, say your only things you could find in a drugstore.

People used to tell me, tell me, tell me just what kind of high they were looking for. Take a ride on a purple I play. Do you want to dance with me? Oh, absolutely. Broken Bones. First track. First track. Okay, so this is the first track from the first album from Love,

Inc. It is. Take me back. So we're in 1998 here, but just paint a picture for me. Like, what's going on with you, Chris and Brad? Wow. Just take me back. Well, you know, I'll take you further back.

Corey Bradshaw was a producer on the BKS albums and is actually the gentleman that conceived Broken Bones. So he is the one that put that idea together. And I guess when Chris left, you know, he kept the idea. Corey didn't get credit for that, but he went on, you know, went on the Loving album, and Brad and I were sitting on the ground in a studio, rearranging lyrics to make it the song that it is now, because it was just a bunch of gibberish on paper, and literally. And Brad and I were like, okay, this makes sense.

Broken Bones, not, you know, we put that chorus together, and then we went through all the different things, and we said, okay, well, this makes a chorus, this makes a bridge, this makes a verse, And that's what you're hearing. And I had the worst allergies of my life when I was recording that track. I had to over-enunciate to get it to come out. Let me see if I can hear those sniffles or something. I was, nope, you can't hear a sniffle.

Not one. But I was over-enunciating. You can sing. I try. Have you heard that? Has anyone ever told you that before? I've heard that a couple of times. I might have the first person to tell you.

A little bit, yeah. Wow. So, like, is there radio in Canada that will play a dance jam like this? They're all still playing it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, well, can you name, like, at least GTA? Z103. Z1.3 plays us religiously and relentlessly, and we're so grateful for their support all these years.

Yeah. And their HQ is really close to hear it. Yes. Yes. Yes. Evanoff group, shut out. Okay, so what about, I guess we're post, I'm now trying to figure out where I am in the world, 98. Is Energy 108 still a going concern?

Is it 103, Energy 108? Yeah, oh my God, yeah, it's 101. Because Shepard left CFNY. That's right. And went to Energy 101. That's right. That's right. Scott Turner was there and he kind of brought him over.

Yeah. Yeah. And J. Trance and all these CFNY has. That was Don Burns. Oh, my God. That's some major history there. Yeah, well, this is what we're doing. We've got to educate the kids here.

Broken Bones. So this is a Canadian hit. This is all Canadian, yeah. Canadian producers, all of it. Vocalist, everything, writing, everything. But you know, I'm just building up to the jam. I've got to dive deep into it. Broken Bones is a great song, okay?

I know where you're going. Reach for the sky. Hold your head. Don't you be afraid. You've got your name in a lot. right now. You're a superstar, okay? This song, it won the Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year. Yes, it did. 1999. But tell me how this, because Broken Bones, sure, great single, big hit, but you're a superstar.

Now you're in, this is, this was everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere, literally. So tell me what it's like when you're a superstar is in the stratosphere. I mean, that's you. You know, from the back end of it, or when you're inside it, I'm not really listening to the radio. I am more focused on, I have to be so-and-so at so-and-so in such a place because there's an interview. I've got to get costuming. We're at BMG at the time, so that's the big machine. So that was where my focus was, was making sure we were ready for the tours, things like that.

I really wasn't listening to the radio. Well, you have people to do that. Not even. Not even. It was, you know, it was more when you get back to Toronto and you see the reception that Toronto gives you at the Much Music Awards, you know, at the Junos and people are like singing it word for word. That is mind blowing for me. You know, that's when I'm like, okay, this is, this is it. And then the video was everywhere. So it got to a point where I could not walk or go anywhere without being noticed or a mob of people. So it. That's when you, for me, that's when it became very real. I understand from my, you know, research that this is the first dance album by a Canadian artist to receive platinum certification for sales. For the dance music category, yeah. Yes, for the dance music category. Absolutely.

So that's a breakthrough. That's big. That's huge. That's huge because we've, in a way, between BKS and Loving, we've laid the groundwork for dance to. be legit in Canada. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, we're going to talk a little more about Chris Shepard now.

Sure. Okay. I say, I put a pin in it, but now I'm coming back. But I've got to give him kudos right now that BKS and then Love Inc. Like, that's two. So, I mean, this guy was more than just a radio DJ. He's gone out and proven that, you know, he could be part of a hit-making machine. Well, I think, you know, Chris knew the sound.

You know, that was a most. important part. He knew where the sound needed to go from his expertise at being a DJ and just being on the radio. He knew where the songs needed to go. You know, the producers, the writers, the singer, myself, we were really the elements that really brought it together because we had that knowledge heavily. But Chris just knew where it needed to end up. You know, so when he could listen to it and go, not there yet, or this is a hit. That's the one. When he would talk to you, in that setting, does he use that persona?

Is he talking to you like this? Or is he talking to you like normal? No, Chris was very kind of a nervous kind of guy all the time actually. You know, I think he was just, you know, there was only so much he could do. And then he really had to depend on the people like myself, the producers, the writers. You mean the talent? The talent to really bring it together. Like I said, he knew the end point where it needed to go.

He knew the sounds that needed to be, you know, You know, we'd be like make references to different records or whatever, like the way it's done here or there. You know, and that was his expertise. It wasn't the actual production. It was knowing this is great or we got to have so-and-so remix it or I need this put in it or, you know, I need it to sound like this. That was his expertise. All right. You're comfortable right now.

Simone, you look comfortable. You're enjoying yourself here? I am. Okay. So I'm going to ask you a big question right now. Bring it on. Do you think Chris Shepard gets too much? much credit for this success of Love, Inc?

No, I don't, I think it's a shared credit. You know, I don't think it's, um, it's one over the other. I think a lot of people really just refer to Love Inc, you know, so they're both different, they're both different, uh, very different sounds, Love Inc and B-CAS. Glad, glad to hear it. No, glad to hear it. Because he's sort of the face of this band, but, you know, he's, he, like you said, he might be, you know, guiding it in some form.

Right. He's in the clubs and everything, right? Right. But, you know, you're singing on this thing. You're helping to arrange it. You got the producers. Like, that's where the music is getting made. Right. So I just wondered if maybe, like, it's, it's, he's waited too much in Chris Shepard's

arena when you think of what is loving in the old shepherd, but, you know, Shepard's not. It's funny. I've never heard of it, heard it in that light. I've always heard, you know, people just saying, oh, loving was amazing. You know, and I see people online going, oh, my God, I love that group. You know, so I've never heard one higher than the other.

I know there are devout shepherd fans, and that's okay, because like I said, Chris did his thing. You know, I can never and would never take that away from him. And he was a big star. Of course. You know, and that's why everybody wants them on their docks. Absolutely. You know, we'll find out what happened with you in, you know, 2001. Sure.

But, you know, I can tell you that as far as my research goes, I produce a show for Humble and Fred. They were the morning show on 102.1 at the edge. And I believe an appearance by Chris Shepard on that show in 2014 is the last recorded public appearance by Chris Shepard. Okay. That's, I'll do a little math for you. We're almost 12 years ago now.

Yeah. Helping you out with that one. So that's a long time for somebody this famous and this popular to be completely off the grid. But you don't have any insight. You're not going to make a big announcement and he's going to come down stairs. Hey, Chris. There's no big announcements.

From what I've heard through people that I know are somewhat in touch, you know, he is, older now. And let's just put it this way. If Chris wants to be seen and wanted to be contacted, he would make himself available. And so the fact that he is not, you know, on the radar and he's off and he has not come back with all the requests that have been out there, I think we need to respect that he, you know, his privacy. Of course. You know, and I think that's, I think that's just where it is right now. I think, you know, I think he's got to be in his mid-60s, maybe headed towards 70 at this point.

So he's just, you know, I think he's just in another phase of life and he just wants to chill out. And for whatever reason, maybe it's health, I don't know. and I think, you know, we just leave him alone. Well said, because, you know, you have the right to disappear. Yeah. And I think that's a problem. You know, a lot of people expect, well, I want to see him. And I'm like, well, he doesn't want to be seen right now.

Or maybe he can't be seen right now. So we've just got to give him that space to do what he's got to do. So I said as much with the director of this documentary because he talked about how they were, you know, trying, they tried different leads and falling up with different friends of Chris to see. Yeah. Where is he? You know, there's some say he's in Costa Rica, why not. Okay.

But they couldn't find him. And then he kind of half jokingly said there was a thought at that time. Maybe this documentary is searching for Shepard. But then as I said, and he agreed with me in this Toronto Mike episode, respect the man's privacy. He doesn't want to be found because he could start up an Instagram account today. That's right. And say, hey, you know, he can be on a million podcasts tomorrow if you wanted to hear.

So respect the man's right to. Go off the grid and disappear and we just hope he's okay. That's right. I think that's the best way to do it. And remember the legacy. Remember all the music. Remember the trailblazing. Because every time you're dancing to something right now,

anything dance or house music, that is Chris. You know, so for those who know, like we know, remember that and hold on to it because everything after that is because of what, you know, Chris, BKS, Loving, from all of what we did. And there were other voices in the movement, you know what I mean? But I think pretty much that BKS and Loving

became the voice of the movement, literally. It solidified it. That banger I just played. Yeah. I'll be dancing with my youngest to that tonight. Absolutely. Okay, so shut out to Chris Shepherd wherever you are. That's right.

I'm going to read this. I never do this, but I think the best way is I'm going to read what's currently on Wikipedia. I'm going to read it. And then you're here now, Simone, Denny to tell me if this is fair, accurate, whatnot. Okay. Because you are Simone Denny.

Fun fact. Okay. Despite the band's initial success, the 2000 follow-up album into the night was more poorly received. I think that's bad grammar. I'm just here to say, I wouldn't write it like that, is more poorly received. That's poor grammar. We got to fix that, somebody.

Okay, now back to reading. Okay. Performing poorly on the charts and containing only one noteworthy single. sorry, one noteworthy hit single, although the band did again win the Juno for dance recording of the year at the Juno Awards of 2001, and critics praised Denny's vocals as the best thing about an otherwise weak album.

In this era, Shepard was also beginning to develop a reputation for egotism. In early 2001, Denny had to back out of a previously unannounced surprise appearance as a special guest who would perform several live songs at one of Shepard's DJ shows at a dance club in Regina, Saskatchewan. The club canceled the show outright since it considered Denny to be the real star of the event,

but Shepard tried to use legal threats to force the club to pay him anyway. Last line, and then we're going to hear from you. The band did not release any further recordings and broke up after Into the Night, with Denny attributing the breakup, to Shepard mistreating her because he felt like he was the true creative force behind the band, even though Denny was generally considered its star.

That's a lot. I feel like we're in court here. That's a lot. There's a lot there. I'm going to sit back. Okay. And we're going to hear you tell me, is that bullshit? Is that accurate?

I want to hear from you. Okay. So we'll start at the top. What was that website that was downloading music for free? Oh my God. Napster? Napster. Napster is the reason that our album didn't do well

because I cannot tell you the amount of fans that would bump into us and be like, oh my God, I love your album. I downloaded it on Napster for free and we're like, great, thanks. And a lot of people don't realize that of course, whether an artist gets another album or not, it always comes down to accounting. That's what it's always money. So if there's no money coming in for that album

or for whatever artists, And if you probably look at a few artists of that time, that's what happened. Because Napster just pulled the rug out from under all of us. And then there was controversy happening within the group. Brad got let go. And Brad went on to write and produce foreign, oh, my God, Justin Timberlake in sync. Wow. So he went on to do that.

You know, there was some turmoil in the group. I won't lie about that. What was your next question in that? Can you fire a, is he a founding member? He's a full-time member. You can fire a... Well, I guess, you know, contractually, if, you know, it's not working out, he, you know, he decided we were, I think, signed to BMG via pirate records.

Okay. So, you know, I guess Chris had that and he cut him loose. And it was very difficult. Very difficult. So then the next part is, so, you know, I understand that I remember this. I mean, I'm old. I remember Napster, okay? And I do know how devastating it was for artists.

But I think it hurt most artists like Love Ink, who don't have like a huge nest egg sitting there they can tap into while this all kind of sorts itself out. So having your second album underperform in the sales world can be devastating for it. Very much so. Love Ink. Very much so. It was a rough time. Do you like this second album into the night?

Do you think it's good? I think there was enough singles on it to do something, but we weren't getting that chance because it wasn't getting the push the way the first album did. So again, accounting. If the record company's like, okay, well, we're doing all we can and they're not going to invest anymore in it. So you won't get that chance to tour.

You won't get the push. And you can see the difference with Lovingk's first album. We were everywhere, literally everywhere on every radio station, on every billboard, it was everywhere. So, you know, that's the difference. Again, this goes back to our initial conversation. Yeah.

About the game being rigged. It's like they can choose to promote you or not, and it'll make a break you in 2000. But they will not push or invest anymore. If they see it's just going down the drain, it's like, well, we're pushing, but people are downloading it on Appster. That means no money for,

the record company, they're not making money. So why would they continue to push? And it's not like you can go sell out at that year it would be in Maple Leaf Gardens. It's not like you can go sell out Maple Leaf Gardens because nowadays a lot of these acts are making their money on touring. That's right. That's right.

Jeez. Okay. Now this line I did highlight it because at least it's this Wikipedia paragraph I read. Critics, praise Denny's vocals as the best thing about an otherwise weak album. At least we got a good score there. It is. It is correct. It is correct. That did cause a riff in the group. I'll say that. You know. But does that have to do of this term? And it's in, I didn't write this. What's the term?

Egotism. Was Shepard getting a reputation for egotism at this time? Yeah. Do you think that's fair? Yeah. You know what? Egotism in the sense that, how can I put this? he wanted to have the rest of us, I think, kind of submit to, you know, I don't know how to put this word. It's nice. Not greatness, but, you know, we weren't allowed to get more praise or notice than him. And that was very hard because I knew what my job was. My job was to be the lead vocalist.

and I went out and I did my job to the 100% and beyond. You know, so that got me a lot of love from the fans, and I knew that that's what I was there to do. So if that caused a riff, I'm like, well, what is it you, you want me to not sing as well or not perform as well on stage? I'm like, I'm not sure what is expected at that point. So it was a little bit awkward. And same with Brad.

We were just like, well, what are we supposed to do? You can fire Brad. but you can't fire Simone Denny. I don't think Brad should have been removed either. You know, Brad was an integral part of those songs being the success that they were. You know, and in a sense, removing him in a way, you know, probably caused the second album in some way to maybe not as due as well, you know, including the Napster thing. So that was, for me, personally, very difficult when Brad left because he was like a brother to me. So it was very hard.

It was very hard. It's only going to get a little harder, but then it's going to get better here because I do need to find out what the hell happened in Regina. Okay. So Wiki suggests that you were going to be at like a Chris Shepard DJ show and you were going to sing songs live. But you had to pull out and then the club says no, no Simone, no show. She's the star.

What happened there? Is that what happened? I can tell you what happened. David Brady at the time was Chris Shepard's manager. And I was already at a point where I was thinking I've got to leave. And he approached me at the last minute just before, like, I mean a few days or a week before the tour would leave. And he's like, we need to know if you're in, yes or no. And at that point, there was a lot of tension happening in the group.

And I said, no, I don't think I can tour at this time. But thank you for the offer. And I think Chris legally felt that he's like, well, and I think his words exactly were, well, I'm love ink legally. And so we can go forth and do the tour. And what happened is, is he started to do the tours. And I think he tried to replace me with another girl who kind of looked like me, but didn't sound like me. And so he started to do the tour. And each venue would call ahead to the next venue saying, Simone's not there.

And the next tour and the next show and the next show would keep canceling show. shows. And so within about a week span, the entire tour was canceled because I wasn't there. And they had to call it, pack it up and come home. Yeah, they're not interested in Kirkland brand Simone Day. No, no. I mean, I don't even know who the girl is because apparently they took her also to the UK, because it was launching off in the UK in 2003, 2002 to Top of the Pops. And when they got there with her, they were like, this is not Simps. I'm sorry, you can't, we can't proceed.

So on the bright side, that must feel nice to know in here. You're not just an interchangeable part here. Exactly. I am not in it. I was never an interchangeable part, and I don't think they realized it. I think they thought we can kind of put any black girl that sings in there, and it'll work. And it's like, they found out the hard way it did not.

So that's the end, essentially. That was it. the end of love, Inc. That was it. And that's the last time you talked to. Well, there were negotiations. You know, we tried to negotiate and I ultimately had to choose me because there were many factors.

I thought as a woman in this industry, everybody was talking about it. As a woman in this industry, knowing everybody knowing what was going on. And I go back to the group and I accept that treatment. What message am I sending as a woman in the industry to other women coming up in industry and also to other people in the industry who are watching me. They're like, she went back. You know, that would have been really horrifying for me. And that was, you know, I had to really save myself at this point. Well, kudos to you for having the courage there to stand up for yourself.

Had to. No, good. That's why you're being celebrated so much over the next few weeks. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. It was a very difficult part in my life because I had worked so hard to get to that success and so to have to make that decision to walk away was heart-wrenching. I can imagine. And just as we close the chapter on Love, Inc., my condolences, because if the listeners

don't know, Brad Damon passed away in 2018. Yeah. I can hear how close you guys were. Yeah, that was another rough patch because Brad and I were talking all the time and we're getting ready to do new music. And so when I got the word, what was happening, I was actually able, their family was very kind and they were able to let me speak to Brad. And I sang Superstar to him over the phone. Molly was in his hospital bed and he couldn't speak, but he smiled. He knew exactly, he recognized my voice. He knew who was talking to him. And it's something that I will treasure him choking up. No, I'm choking up. It's something that I will treasure for the rest of my life because

I never took for granted how much Brad brought to that group and how much we had gone through together. And like I said, when he was let go, it was very difficult because I missed having his camaraderie. I missed actually the whole group was let off one by one until it was just me left. And then Chris turned on me at that point. And I just, that was one of the reasons.

I like, I can't stay in this. I have no one. It's just me and them on a bus and this is not going to work. So when he passed, it was, you know, it was just, it was just hard. It was just really hard. I've dedicated quite a few shows to his memory that year and beyond. It's just just rough. Well, I just want you to know, I appreciate that you're sharing because that can't be easy to.

No, it's still not. No, I can hear it in your voice. He made a lot to you. Yeah. I can hear that you miss them. We had some great times, us and the whole crew. Everybody that was there was truly about the movement and really just happy to be part of it. And it was just really hard when one by one, you know, for whatever reason, they were just let go.

And I was like, all my friends are like gone, you know? And I'm like, what am I doing here? You know, it was rough. Yeah, I'm very sorry about all that. Maybe I'll switch gears with some. Switch gears. It's okay. I'm following here.

You ready? Here's the music. Absolutely. Here you go on. I was just waiting for you to sing along. I wasn't sure if I was okay to sing. Oh my gosh. I would bring this down and just listen to you.

You kidding me? I got Simone Denny in the basement studio here. So there is life after Love, Inc. Absolutely. Tell us what we're listening to. We are listening to the NBC Bravo original series of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the theme song, which I am the vocalist on. I was featured with a group called

and they're Canadian, Wildlife. All things just keep getting better. That could be the name of your memoir. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Just say acknowledgement section. Just say thanks to Toronto Mike for the obvious title.

I will remember you. All right. So there's a lot of people right now hearing this song in their headphones and they're like queer eye. Yeah. Major show. Yeah. That's a big show.

That's a big show. And your voice is on the theme song here. And Wide Life, you know, when I, Wide Life, I almost want to tell Wide Life, it should be Wild Life. Am I out to lunch there? A lot of people would call it Wild Life, but it is Wide Life. It's Wide Life. Because I think between Ian Rashid, they said, you want to live a wide life, you know, all-encompassing wide life. So tell me about Life Post Love, Inc.

You're doing more than just this. You're doing more collaborations with White Live. Well, you know, that was a rough year when I left Love Inc. again. I just kind of was M. I was M.I.A. for a bit. And then I got approached by Ian O'Hushy to do a track called I don't want you.

And that climbed the billboard charts. That was on Nervous Records. And one of the only songs that I really didn't put my name on, which was, because I was like, I don't really know who these guys are and what's going on. And I was just really scared because I had just left Lovingk, and

I'd been through so much. I was just like, okay, you know what, just go ahead and put it out there, no problem, whatever. you know, signed off on it, and it went number one on Billboard. So it was a massive track across the States on all the, every dance station was playing it. It was huge. But it must have felt good to have success post Shepard. It was because many people in this camp literally said, well, what can she do without Chris?

And I was like, I'm a vocalist. I can do a lot without Chris or BKS. You know, so, and, you know, truthfully, when they, that song hit the charts, I think it was I don't want you, first hit the charts. I did get a call from Chris asking me to come back because at the same time, Superstar was taking off in the UK. And so, you know, the conversation, without getting into too much detail, was, you know, basically, you know, come back, you know, are you probably just doing clubs? I'm doing stadiums, you know, and I went, uh.

That's the egotism I read about on Wikipedia. That's where it was kicking it. And it was not happy that I was doing well with something else. And at the same time, I think I basically said was, you know, Chris, you might not want to insult what I'm currently doing. That doesn't really give you the, me the pathway to come back because it lets me know you're still in that mode. And I have to decline.

At that time I had to decline. I was just like, I can't go back into that again. But that's okay. You know, Quirai went on to do very well. We toured with the FAB 5. We did a video. Amazing things with Capitol Records. You know?

Yeah. That was a big time. Queer Eye was everywhere. It was huge. It was a massive track. And I don't think that Capital really caught up with the success of it because they took too long to actually release an official version. So all the radio stations,

across America were making up their own edited versions and playing it because and even Wendy Williams at the time she's like I love this song I love this track and so they never really put it out properly but it went to number two or number five on billboard the dance chart which I'm very proud of you know and yeah it's another it's another it's another bomb for you and then yeah and then you uh the stereo dynamite sessions volume one that was about 10 years ago that's your own. Finally, this is just Simone Denny time. That's right.

I'm going to ask, I got a song I pulled here. Okay. Okay, because I just found it interesting. So, Superstar was everywhere. You still hear it everywhere. Right now, I'm just checking the time. Yep, Z103 is playing it right now. I'm sure they are.

And by the way, one of the interesting things about pulling the songs for you from Love, is which version do I pull? Yeah. For example, Love Inc. Okay, I decided, okay, I want, the radio edit. And I pulled, basically, I pulled it from the video.

Yeah. Because that's like the quickest way for me to get like the radio edit. Yeah. But there are, you know, on YouTube, for example, there are multiple versions of lung. So I'm guessing,

then you'll correct me if I'm wrong. Like the streaming revenue from Spotify and YouTube and all these services, do you still get a slice of that pie? I do. Okay. Okay.

But Superstar everywhere. So I'm going to play this and we're going to have a little chat about this. Okay. Oh, God. You can't escape this, Simone. It happened. Don't you know that I don't mean up for a superstar?

We'll give it another moment here. And get a rain again. So wait to hold your head up high. You're a superstar. I'm pretty good friends with Darren O'Brien, who's also known as Snow. Oh, yes, yeah. He had an American, he went to number one in the best. billboard the U.S. billboard for seven weeks

in former 93. Then in 2019 Daddy Yankee put it out as like a what's like a reggaeton. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Which is big right now because bad guys reggae. Yep. Yep. Yep. Suddenly it's everywhere. Okay. But it was a hit again.

It was. Same song, different genre. Yeah. Okay. And then I was chatting with Canadian fiddler Ashley McIsaac. Oh, wow. And then I was talking to talking to Snow. I was at a private party with them chatting him up. And I pitched to Snow's manager

like a fiddle version of Informer. And I mean, it hasn't happened yet, but they were into it. They were into it. You never know. I think what Snow's doing in his life now, he hasn't actually released like a new song,

like a new in like two decades. Okay. So he's got this one big song people want to hear and he's just going to put it out in all the genres under the rainbow. Yeah. Was that the idea here? This version of this song,

came about through my dear friend Graham Trude who's a country artist here and we connected because I did a song with him called Home Crowd which is like a rock country anthem which you'll be able to find on Spotify I believe and on YouTube and we had such a good time doing that he's like you know you should do a country version of superstar and I was like

that's kind of interesting I've never really thought of that I was like why not because your vocals are the same exactly you're not putting a twang in there not at all not at all And, you know, it really shows you that how universal music and songs are. And it's just about production. And so he did this version. I gave him complete control.

And, you know, this is what it was saying. I performed it out in Edmonton for Edmonton Pride. And it was, for me, fun. I just sang the original version of Superstar. I came back out and I did the country version. People were like, huh. You know? And it works.

Like, I'm not a big country officianto or whatever. but if I'm going to sample some country, I'll be digging the, you're a superstar country version. Absolutely. I thought maybe the person, no, the blame's the wrong word,

that suggests there's something negative here, but it's all positive, it's all wonderful. But the person I thought might have sparked this country version of your superstar. I thought it might be Tyler Shaw. No, no, no.

Because don't you, way back in 2020, because that song I played is from 20204, right? Yes, yes. So back in 2020, on the CBC New Year's Eve special, You perform, you're a superstar with Tyler Shaw.

That must have been a country-esque version. No? No, well, that was a dance version. A dance version. Okay, do I have my names? Is Tyler Shaw not a country singer? No, Tyler is a, you know what that means? I've confused him with somebody.

Yeah, he's a pop, he's a pop artist. He's pop. There's got to be a, again, I'm going to speak to the listenership, but there's got to be like a Canadian country singer. Tyler's maybe something else. Maybe there's just too many Tyler's in the music industry. There's a lot of Tyler's. There's a lot of Tyler's.

Okay, so it's not Tyler Shaw who sparks. the, remind me, Shroud, what's the name of this country singer who does inspire this

version? Graham Trude. Graham Trude. How do you spell that last name? T-R-U-D-E. T-R-U-D only because I was checking it.

T-R-U D-E? Sveliant. T-R-U-D-E? E-D. Chute or maybe D-E. Could be D-E. Try both.

I'll try both. Try both. All I know is this Chude is a pretty cool dude here. That's what I'll say. He has some great music. Okay.

So we have other, maybe we need a reggaeton version. Oh God. You're a superstar. I don't know. It can probably be done, but I, I am connected. I've never personally had a conversation with the man, but I am part of this, like it's a, it's a paddle. It's called Paddle. It's like a paddle sport, not big here at all.

Nobody knows what it is here. But there's a professional league and an owner of one of the franchises is Daddy Yankee. Oh. And again, I am a friend of a friend of Darren O'Brien, who so I don't, I don't, I don't, might have some connections. We'll get a reggae ton version of you're a superstar. Just keep ride on that train because everybody loves that song. Love it.

Well, you know, Superstar did have a bounce back. It went number one in Ireland just, was it, 20, 22 with the Belters only, who are some amazing producers that come out of, I believe, Dublin, Ireland. They approached me. They tagged me on Instagram with a version that they had done. And it, you know, we, I was in the, we did the video. We shot that in Dublin as well. And it shot within two days to the top of the charts to the number one in, in Ireland again.

Well, my people have good taste. Oh, Irish. Nice. Absolutely. My people are from Dublin. Nice. Very good. I'm in, I'm in Belfast all the time.

Okay. That's the dirty Protestant size. No, we leave it alone. I love everybody. The troubles, okay, I'm being told the troubles are over. I can get it. And I hope they stay that way. Yeah.

Really do. Seriously. You want a taste of it. Go watch Dairy Girls. You ever watch Derry? You know, I've never taken the time to watch Derry. I've been to Derry, London Derry. I've been there.

Yeah, it's good. Good show. Yeah, yeah. I haven't watched it, but I have to. Did you ever watch Bridgeton? Of course. You know, of course. I make no assumptions on this show.

Oh, God, I love Bridgeton. The, not this season, I guess the previous season, the star of Bridgeton, was one of the dairy girls. That's right. She's still there. She's still there. She's still there. She made ways because she wasn't the typical body type for the second. the sex symbol.

That's right. And I thought that was brilliant. I thought that was brilliant. It's about time we got our shit together. Absolutely. Get her in there. Get her in there. I love it.

Okay. Any, anything to look forward to on the horizon? Like, I just want to know everything about you. Like now we have finally, all that was past tense, right?

Now we're in February. I nailed the R in there, right? February 2026. You over enunciated with your cold? Well, I have to over enunciated because I'm a mumbler. Oh, that's okay.

I have to focus on it. But what is, what's next? I mean, you're just going to go get your accolades. You're going to be lauded by numerous organizations. I'm going to enjoy the lauding. It's going to be beautiful. A lot of people say it's long overdue. And I am very grateful for the acknowledgement. It's nice to be seen and remembered for your work. I don't think there's an artist alive that wouldn't appreciate that. So I'm saying thank you to everyone and to the people who have spoken in rooms for me. when I'm not present, who were like, no, Simone Denny. You know, and so I'm very grateful for everyone who's done that.

Well, I'm looking at the promotional poster for the Canadian Black Screen Awards. It's Valentine's Day. It is. I just realized. Love, Inc. Love, Inc. Hey, there you go. And it's on the Love Day.

Right. And I see a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. And I see here, it says there's a red carpet. Yes. Do you know what you'll be wearing? I have a couple ideas. We'll see. Okay.

You're going to wear those earrings? Maybe. Maybe, maybe not. We'll see how it works with the outfit. Here's how it's going to go. Okay. When I see shots of you at Brampton City Hall, receiving this prestigious award,

if you're wearing these earrings, I'll take that as a personal nod to me. Okay. It'll be like when Carol Burnett would tug on her ear. Do you know this? Yes. So if I see those earrings. Okay.

Because they're kind of, I think those hoopings. are like a Simone Denny trademark. They are the red lipstick and the hoops, definitely. Okay, well, we're taking a photo by Toronto Tree right after this. Okay. And everybody can see it. You know, it's glory. How was this for you?

This was great. Thank you so much for having me. Still got to pinch myself here. Shout out to the Bernickel ladies. Pinch me. I can't believe Simone Denny is in my basement studio in South of Tobico, and I felt comfortable I could ask anything. Of course.

But you, you know what? You did ask me what's coming up? Yeah, I'm still listening. I've actually been working on some jazz projects, and I'll be working on some other music as well, more adult contemporary that can be remixed into dance. So there's many things that I never stop. Are you collaborating with anybody you want to shout out?

Right now, I don't want to save the adult contemporary one yet, until it's ready and it's dropped. But right now, collaborating with Resuvius Music, which is James B from Jazz FM and Lorenzo. People album right over there you go. There you go. Yeah. That's James's band. That's it.

There you go. So I'm collaborating with James and Lorenzo. So we're working on that right now. I've been doing some shows for them around the Toronto area, which have been a lot of fun. Other than that, I'm headed back to Scotland on the end of this month to do some shows. And then, of course, more in the summertime as well in the UK. Amazing. Yeah, I'm always over there.

Do you think James B is famous? I think so. He's Toronto famous for sure. Canada famous, I would say. I believe there's a James B. Doc. There should be. I believe the creator of Electric Circus, Joel Goldberg, is making a James B. Doc.

That's fantastic. James is awesome. He just released a film that he created. It was amazing. Okay. One last mind blow is that Joel Goldberg directed the video for Let Your Backbone Slide. I was supposed to be at that video shoot, but I was doing Mama. I want to sing.

and I had to be on set. So I couldn't go to let your backboard slide. I was like, no! But you know who was there? Who? Dwight Drummond. That's right. That's right.

That's right. We've all got a tie to Maestro. I love this very much. I appreciate you making some time for me today. Oh, I appreciate you having me on. This was great. And that brings us to the end of our 1,848th show. Go to TorontoMike.com for all your Toronto Micnec

needs. This is the Zit Remedy from DeGrassey Jr. High. I love it. If you're wondering. Okay. Much love to all who made this possible. That's Great Lakes Brewery. You've got your beer.

I got my beer. Don't leave about your lasagna. I'm not leaving without it. Nick Aienis. Recycle My Electronics.ca. And of course, Ridley Funeral Home, you've got the measuring tape. The next episode of Toronto Mike, as we hear the polka door in the background, the next episode is a Valentine's Day special where FOTMs have submitted their favorite love

songs and that's going to drop on Valentine's Day. And then we're back Tuesday for Toast at 1030 with Rob Proust and Bob Willett. See you all then.