Roy Forbes

When the new millennium arrived, Roy Forbes had already spent almost three decades in the music business, sharing his skills as a guitarist, singer, and even a requested songwriter. He has also been known to step out of the front spotlight at times to work as a producer. Forbes began his career in the early '70s. Within a few years he had recorded a number of singles and albums, all under his childhood nickname, Bim. He went on to perform under his real name and with the group UHF. Along the way he did a little bit in a number of styles, from rock to country, to tunes for children. By the '90s his music could be found on both television mini-series and long-running shows like Sesame Street. Roy Forbes was born in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, in 1953. He grew up in a home filled with sisters, lacking any brothers to even the odds a little. When he was just out of his teens, Forbes left family and friends behind and moved to Vancouver with little more than his big dreams of being a music artist. His first successes came faster than many would have guessed. In 1975, working under the Casino Records label and going by the name Bim, he completed work on a debut album, Kid Full of Dreams. It was followed a year later by the sophomore Raincheck on Misery. When not recording, Forbes kept busy touring, performing festivals, and whatever gigs he could land. He continued recording and touring under his nickname into the early '80s. In 1985 he finally switched to his real name for several albums, including The Human Kind and New Songs for an Old Celebration. A few years later he joined forces with Bill Henderson and Shari Ulrich to form the threesome UHF, which put out a couple of self-titled albums. In 1995, Forbes pulled together a number of his early works and placed them on something of a "best of" album, titled Almost Overnight. Some of the tunes he has recorded over the years are "Can't Catch Me," "Tough Time," "And Now You Want My Love," "Sweet Shameless Hours," "Tiny Island," "For So Long," and "The Damage That We Do." ~ Charlotte Dillon