About Me
Born on July 30, 1962 in Trois-Rivieres, Canada, Norman Bedard emerged from the Montreal underground music scene in the early-80's known by the stage name Norman Iceberg. His first commercial recording, "Be My Human Tonight", was released in 1985 on RCA.
Norman's next album, "Person(a)", released in 1987, was a conceptual collection of synth pop songs reflecting a young mans own vision of life. In 1988 he released "Gotta Move". With its frenetic, energetic beat, 1989's "Kiss the Beauty" was a favourite for months in night clubs. The title track's music video was directed by Erik Canuel. A couple of years later, "We Act" got him a Best Video nomination at the Musique Plus (his native Quebec equivalent to MTV) Video Awards.
In the early-90's, American music industry executives strongly advised him to change his name in order to avoid any confusion with new rap artists Ice-T, Ice Cube and Vanilla Ice. However, with a strong gay following, Norman decided to keep using his stage name, performing notably at the 1992 Los Angeles Gay Pride, the notorious Whisky A Go-Go, as well as Prince's Glam Slam, backed by dancers Viktor Manoel (David Bowie's Glass Spider tour), Luca Tomassini and Carrie Ann Inaba (Madonna's Girlie Show tour).
Ending a series of concerts with a five-piece rock band at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, Norman's actual last appearance as Norman Iceberg was on the Syndicated TV Show Sheena Metal's Freakin' Rock Review in 1993. He also recorded as Norman Joseph in 1994 before deciding to come back to Norman Bdard, his birth last name.
Committed to his craft, and now on his own, Norman Bedard continued writing songs, working with collaborators such as Cheng-Feng Lin, and Kevin Komoda (Rational Youth, Sarah McLachlan). These recordings revealing a more subdued side, would eventually culminate in a series of self-produced albums: "Fuel" in 1998, "Light" in 1999, "Vital" and "Home" in 2000, "Born" in 2001, and "Prana" in 2005.
Norman's newer material - recorded in various studios including Men Without Hats' home studio - offers the sound of a simple and mature man embracing life and savoring the chance to play another day. With his goal of easing our souls, he terms his music zen pop.
A second edition of "Prana" is scheduled for release sometime this year. The writing of a new album is also in the works.
Official Site:
www.normanbedard.com
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