When Crash Test Dummies reunited in 2018, for sure more than a few wondered if the Winnipeg band could reclaim the magic that brought it well-deserved iconic Canadian band status in the 1990s.
Almost immediately, the answer came in the form of a resounding ‘Yes’ from fans starved for Crash Test Dummies’ trademark folk-rock harmonies, including the thousands who flocked to Peterborough’s Del Crary Park in July 2019 to catch the band’s second coming.
Now, seven years on from that performance, baritone voice-gifted Brad Roberts, Ellen Reid, Dan Roberts, and Mitch Dorge have little if anything to prove. Their music has well withstood the test of time, and their collective live presentation of that music has earned them a fresh start with a wholly expected result.
On Wednesday (August 5), Peterborough Musicfest welcomes Crash Test Dummies back to Del Crary Park. Admission to the 8 p.m. concert, as always, is free, thanks to the continued support of numerous festival sponsors including kawarthaNOW.
Originally formed in 1988 as a quintet with Benjamin Darvill in the mix early on, Crash Test Dummies exploded onto the Canadian music scene with its debut 1991 album The Ghosts That Haunt Me and its hit single “Superman’s Song,” which cracked the RPM Top Singles chart and gifted the band a 1992 Juno Award as Group of the Year.
Music fans, knowing there was more to come from Brad Roberts et al, didn’t have to wait long. The follow-up album, God Shuffled His Feet, was released in 1993. Featuring the track “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,” which would turn out to be the band’s most popular single, the album brought Crash Test Dummies international attention on the way to sales topping eight million.
Strangely, in Canada, “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” topped out at only number 14 on the charts, but album sales were bolstered by the two top 10 hits “Swimming In Your Ocean” and “Afternoons and Coffeespoons.”
Three 1995 Grammy Award nominations — for Best New Artist, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group, and Best Alternative Music Album — followed, as did three 1995 Juno Award nominations, including Single of the Year for “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.”
VIDEO: “Superman’s Song” – Crash Test Dummies (2023)
In a January 2018 interview with Xavier Loubser of Why Ed, Roberts recounted the ups and down of the band’s early years, including the success of the first album’s hit in Canada and the country’s relatively lukewarm response to the band’s sophomore record.
“The first line (of ‘Superman’s Song’) was inspired by a song I heard on the radio one day while bartending — ‘Tarzan … was a white man,'” recalled Roberts.
“It was a rap song, I think. Don’t know that it was a hit. Anyhow, the phrase ‘Tarzan wasn’t a ladies’ man’ came into my head and I took it from there. The song was going to be about Tarzan, but then Superman took over as I continued to fool about with the line and the concepts that might flow from it.”
“In Canada, our first record went multi-platinum, and we had a huge following and huge tours in Canada. When our second record came out, Canada, being the country that loves to eat its own, decided we weren’t going to have any success at all.”
The reception granted album two was a far different story south of the border, recounts Roberts.
“This radio station in Atlanta, Georgia had been playing our song. People were calling in and saying ‘What is that voice? Who is that guy singing that ‘Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm’ song? What do those words mean, and why is his voice so low? We’ve never heard anything like this.'”
“The record broke in America, and it was precisely because it was unusual that it broke. I had this strange low voice that people weren’t used to hearing. In pop music, the tenor has ruled for a very long time. It was very unusual to hear a bassy voice like that on the radio.”
VIDEO: “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” – Crash Test Dummies (2023)
January 1995 saw Crash Test Dummies release a cover of XTC’s “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead” as a single and for the soundtrack of the comedy film Dumb and Dumber. The song also put the band back on Canadians’ radar as it climbed to number four on the charts.
That was followed in 1996 by the band’s third album A Worm’s Life, which went platinum in Canada, mostly on the strength of the single “He Liked To Feel It,” which charted to the number two position. In 1999, the album Give Yourself A Hand, featuring Reid singing lead vocals on three tracks and Roberts proving he can also sing falsetto, was a nice surprise for fans used to the usual Crash Test Dummies formula.
Starting in 2001 with I Don’t Care That You Don’t Mind and culminating with Ooh La La! in 2010, Crash Test Dummies issued five more studio albums while band members worked on various side projects. An indefinite hiatus followed Ooh La La!. There things sat until August 2017 when the band, minus Darvill, reunited for a concert in Winnipeg.
“It was just a one-off,” recalled Roberts of the band’s Manitoba resurrection.
“To be honest, I didn’t think it was going to turn into a full-blown reunion tour. I thought we would just take a few more one-offs here and there because my brother has a couple of young kids and the rest of the band members have long since turned in different directions in their lives. But we started to get offers that were much more significant than one-offs.”
“I called up the rest of the band and said, ‘Listen you guys, these offers are coming in. The money is pretty good. Do you want to consider quitting your day jobs?’ So everybody had conferences with their husbands and wives and they all agreed that they would like to take up the opportunity to do this again.”
VIDEO: “Afternoons & Coffeespoons” – Crash Test Dummies (2023)
Early in 2023, Crash Test Dummies released the single “Sacred Alphabet” — their first song featuring the full band in more than a decade. The following two years brought international touring, with the band joined by touring musicians Stuart Cameron and Leith Fleming-Smith.
This fall, Crash Test Dummies’ international touring ways will continue with a series of concerts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Scotland through October before it’s back home and a tour of western Canada.
Prior to Crash Test Dummies taking the stage, the Cogeco-sponsored Future Sound Series will see Port Hope singer-songwriter Jeff Biggar perform from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. near the food trucks at the George Street entrance to Del Crary Park.
Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 16 free-admission concerts during its 39th season, staged in Del Crary Park on Wednesday and Saturday nights until August 19.
Overseen by executive director Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission remains “to provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”
For more information on this concert or the 2026 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or call the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest’s 2026 season.
