As long as anyone can remember, Peterborough’s live music scene has regularly seen acts, of the both solo and band variety, come and then go as quickly as they arrived.
For sure, there have been exceptions to that. Jericho’s Wall comes to mind quickly as an act that had legs, as does Max Mouse and The Gorillas and Washboard Hank and Bobby Watson — to name but a few that stayed the course over a number of years stretching into decades.
Then there’s Rick and Gailie Young, whose fandom of all things Beatles and British Invasion music has resonated with audiences on day one and, more to the point here, led to a now 20-year-old Monday night residency called “Crash and Burn” at the Black Horse Pub in downtown Peterborough.
That quite remarkable run is cause for celebration, and celebrate the husband-and-wife duo will do on Monday (August 25) at the George Street North pub, joined by a number of longtime music collaborators and friends that have gravitated toward the highly likeable pair and have rarely left their side.
Organized by Paul Clark, who provided the backbeat for Rick and Gailie’s Crash and Burn shows for three years, the 6 to 11 p.m. event will feature performances by Charlie Horse (Al Black, JP Hovercraft, Clifford Maynes, and Trevor Davis), Don McBride & The Unlikely Heroes (Jeremy Mellor, Sean Daniels, Al Black, and JP Hovercraft), Dennis O’Toole and Old Soul (Michael O’Toole, Bryan Landry, and Jim Leslie), and Mike MacCurdy & Friends, featuring Maggie Sabyan.
In addition, as befits a typical Crash and Burn event, any “jammers” in the room will be invited to take a stage spin.
“It’s beautiful chaos,” says Clark of Crash and Burn. “Sometimes these songs come together so perfectly, it’s like angels singing in your ear. Other times, it’s crash and burn — a total musical fender bender. And you know what? That’s hilarious.”
“The best part? It’s human, like watching someone trip and then laugh it off, except they’re holding a guitar. It’s not robots. It’s not AI. It’s not some algorithm picking your playlist. It’s not auto-tuned pop stars. It’s real people in a room having a blast together. There’s something very real about it.”
“You’re not just watching a band or a musician. You’re part of this living, breathing historic thing. It’s like the universe sprinkled fairy dust on your soul, thanks to Rick and Gailie’s spirit and resilience.”
Indeed, those at the centre of what’s billed as “Peterborough’s friendliest and longest-running music session” are as real as it gets: musicians who are as dedicated to the music they love as they are to the community they bring it to.
Peterborough born and raised, Gailie attended Crestwood Secondary School before landing her first real working gig with Westclox in 1969.
Rick, meanwhile, is a Toronto native and East York Collegiate grad who, after studying horticulture at the University of Guelph, commuted across Lake Ontario by ferry to tend to the Toronto Islands’ gardens and landscaping.
They met in 1971 at a Toronto house party; a chance encounter that led to a close friendship. Come 1992, her marriage at an end and parent to a young daughter, Gailie reconnected with Rick. Two years later, the couple moved to Peterborough and, in 2003, were married.
Soon enough, their mutual love of the music of their youth compelled Rick and Gailie to pursue a union of a different kind, initially at the Historic Red Dog where they debuted at an open mic event hosted by singer Charlotte Melby. Buoyed by how well that event went, the pair stayed on at the Historic Red Dog for a Wednesday night residency, and also landed a regular gig at the Montreal House.
Come 2005, a new pub, owned by Ray Kapoor, opened on George Street North. As a former co-owner of the Historic Red Dog, Kapoor committed to featuring live music from the get-go and, more pertinent, he was very familiar with Rick and Gailie’s act.
“Ray had us play the pre-opening party for the Black Horse,” recalls Gailie. “We played where this little table was. People were dancing. Microphones were being knocked into our faces. I looked up and there was a stage there with tables. I said ‘Ray, what the hell are you doing? That’s a stage.'”
“We were playing at Clancy’s at the Red Dog and Ray asked if we wanted to do matinees at his new place,” adds Rick. “He gave us Friday and Saturday matinees, and then he kept us on doing that for years and years and years. I guess we were good for business.”
VIDEO: “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” by The Beatles – The Rick & Gailie Band
Come 2018, Rick and Gailie were nothing short of a fixture at the Black Horse Pub, but the security of regular gigs was cast in doubt when Kapoor, in anticipation of retirement, listed the pub for sale. Frankly, no one knew if the new owner would keep live music on the menu.
Enter Desmond and Maria Vandenberg who, in May of that year, took ownership of the pub.
“Around that time, when I was looking at all the different restaurants I considered buying, music wasn’t something that I going after,” recalls Vandenberg.
“I brought my daughter in here (the Black Horse Pub). She was about 20 years old at the time. Rick and Gailie were playing. I was like ‘Oh yeah, Rick and Gailie. I like The Beatles,’ but my daughter, what’s she going to think? She was like ‘This is pretty good.’ Rick and Gailie are part of the reason we ended up buying the Black Horse. This is something I like, and this is something younger people can like too.”
Vandenberg says his relationship with Rick and Gailie was anchored in a mutual respect that kept the music going, even when the pandemic struck.
“From day one, it was a two-way street — they were helping me, I was doing my best to help them,” he says.
“It didn’t matter what curveballs we got. When COVID hit, they were like ‘What can we do? We can’t play inside, so we’ll play outside.’ Whatever we could do, they were there for us in a big way, not just through COVID but throughout the years.”
Clark’s reference to Crash and Burn aside, Rick says the event name emerged as a result of him and Phil Connor singing Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.”
“We were just having fun with it — two guys trying to sing a song sung by a female. I said to him ‘It’s Monday night. Who cares if it crashes and burns?’ There wasn’t much of an audience in the beginning, so we’d try anything we wanted just for fun, whether it crashed and burned or not.”
Remarkably, Rick and Gailie arrive for their Black Horse gigs without a set list. Rather, familiar with an endless list of songs from the 1950s through the 1970s, they pick and choose songs as they go, sometimes fulfilling audiednce requests.
VIDEO: “Just One Look” by The Hollies – The Rick & Gailie Band
That, notes Terry Guiel, continues to work well for the duo and is at least partially responsibility for their longevity.
“You have to play the music that people want,” says Guiel, who fronted Jericho’s Wall during its equally impressive 13-year Saturday night run at the Historic Red Dog.
“You play to your audience. The era that they want. The songs they want. Songs that are memorable, familiar, and happy. Their entire set list is back-to-back-to-back songs that are very positive and happy.”
“Also, you’ve got constantly learn new material to keep your regulars interested,” Guiel adds. “And you’ve got to be entertaining. Rick and Gailie are entertaining. They play for the crowd. They’re wonderful people to work with, which is important for the bars and places that hire you.”
Guiel says Rick and Gailie’s musical talent is one thing, but their work ethic and joy for what they do is quite another, along with their wholly unselfish eagerness to help any cause or organization in need of help.
“They’re just two really lovely people. They’re not pretentious. There’s no ego. They just love entertaining people and performing old classics. That resonates with people.”
“It is work,” admits Guiel of maintaining a long residency at a venue, adding “There’s bad days, there’s tired days, but you do it for your audience.”
Al Black, who has drummed many times as part of Rick and Gailie’s backing band, says “it’s crazy” that Rick and Gailie have continued under three owners of the Black Horse, including current owner Sajen Ganeshalingam who bought the pub from Vandenberg in March 2024.
Black makes specific mention of Rick and Gailie’s relentless support of charitable events, as both musicians and organizers, and sometimes as both.
“Gailie is a real wrangler — she knows how to organize folks, she’s loving, and she’s very firm,” he says, adding ‘I don’t have the nerve to say ‘No’ to her.”
And then there’s the legendary Gailie hug, as warm and sincere as it’s impossible to escape.
“If you’re going to get one, get ready,” advises Black, with Vandenberg noting “When I came here (to the Black Horse), I was not a hugger. Gailie converted me. Now I’m a big-time hugger.”
As for the 20-year milestone celebration, Rick and Gailie are approaching it from different vantage points.
“I’m looking forward to it because of what it is,” says Gailie.
And Rick?
“After 20 years, we’re ready for a raise in pay.”
