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Len (band)

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Len
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Years active
  • 1991–2005
  • 2011–present
Labels
Members
Past members
  • Brendan Canning
  • Brian "DJ Moves" Higgins [1]
  • Planet Pea (AKA Kudu5)[2]
  • Derek "D Rock" MacKenzie[3]
  • Drew "You're You" Lidkea
  • Drew MacEachern
  • Jody Mayne
  • Roy "Big Dog" Thirlwall
  • Mike Ramsay
  • Craig Bennett
  • Matt Kelly
  • Malcolm Sweeney

Len is a Canadian alternative rock duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of siblings Marc Costanzo (vocals, guitar) and Sharon Costanzo (vocals, bass) and a revolving lineup of touring and studio musicians.[4] The group is best known for their 1999 single "Steal My Sunshine".

History

[edit]

Marc Costanzo began recreationally recording music at the age of 13 years old. These recordings were predominately helmed by Marc, although his older sister Sharon sometimes contributed vocals to the recordings.[5] In 1991, Marc began to produce music under the pseudonym of Len as a solo project. The name was taken from a high school friend of Marc's named Lenny. Sharon officially joined this project a year later, thus marking Len's first iteration as a duo. Len began as a punk rock band, with pop music influences.[6] Between 1992 and 1997, the brother-sister duo independently released a self-titled extended play and two studio albums, Superstar (1995) and Get Your Legs Broke (1997). Marc estimated both albums sold around 10-15,000 units each.[7] While these two albums received minimal attention in Canada, the duo found difficulty in attracting attention from major record labels.[8] The band had their first taste of success when they received retroactive acclaim for the song "Candy Pop".[9]

Len released a more hip-hop oriented album, You Can't Stop the Bum Rush, in 1999;[10] a song from the album, "Steal My Sunshine", featuring a sample of the disco track "More, More, More" by the Andrea True Connection,[11] was also released that year. It climbed the popular charts both in Canada and in the United States and became Len's biggest hit.[12][13] Len was nominated for a 2000 Juno Award as best new group,[14] and the album was nominated as Best Alternative Album.[15]

After the song, Len's fame dropped, but they continued to release albums until 2005, followed by a seven-year hiatus.[16] During this hiatus, Marc announced the group's disbandment in a MySpace message dated 2008. He stated: "...it looks like we're not gonna make another len record. Just couldn't get it ( and everyone ) together." He still, however, announced he and Sharon would still record another album together.[17] Despite this, Len returned with Marc and Sharon in October 2012, in which they released their fifth studio album It's Easy If You Try. The album was promoted with one single, "It's My Neighborhood", which had a music video featuring scenes of Toronto residents lip syncing to the song.[18]

In 2016, Marc announced it is unlikely Len will record another album.[5]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[19] 		CAN
[20] 		UK
[21]
Superstar — — —
Get Your Legs Broke
  • Released: 1997
  • Label: Funtrip
  • Formats: CD
 — — —
You Can't Stop the Bum Rush
  • Released: May 25, 1999
  • Label: Work
  • Formats: CD, cassette, LP
 46 32 177
The Diary of the Madmen — — —
It's Easy If You Try
  • Released: October 16, 2012
  • Label: EMI
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

[edit]
Title Details
Len
  • Released: 1992
  • Label: Funtrip
  • Format: Cassette

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak chart positions Certification Album
CAN
[24] 		AUS
[25] 		UK
[21] 		US
[26]
1994 "Slacker" — — — — Superstar
1995 "Candy Pop" — — — —
"Showoff" — — — —
1996 "Smarty Pants" — — — — Get Your Legs Broke
1997 "She's Not" — — — —
"Trillion Daze" — — — —
1999 "Steal My Sunshine" 3 3 8 9 You Can't Stop the Bum Rush
"Feelin' Alright" — — — —
2000 "Cryptik Souls Crew" — — 28 —
"Kids in America" — — — — Digimon: The Movie
2002 "Bobby" — — — — We Be Who We Be
2003 "It's a Brother Sister Thing" — — — — The Diary of the Madmen
2012 "It's My Neighbourhood" — — — — It's Easy If You Try

Guest appearances

[edit]
List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released and album name
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Cool Beans" 1994 Hip Club Groove, Sixtoo Cool Beans EP
"The Elephant Song" 1994 None Big Truck Records Presents: Road Kill
"Making Our Dreams Come True"[29] 1996 More of Our Stupid Noise
"Big Meany" 2010 Hip Club Groove, Stinkin' Rich Unreleased & Rare

Awards

[edit]
Ceremony Year Award Song
MuchMusic Video Awards 1999 Best Video "Steal My Sunshine"
Best Pop Video
Favourite Canadian Video

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hay, Carla (July 31, 1999). "Work's Len 'Bum Rushes' charts". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 31. p. 9.
  2. ^ "Home". November 1, 2000. Archived from the original on November 1, 2000.
  3. ^ "Who's Who with Derek MacKenzie". Hand'Solo Records. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  4. ^ Carrie Bell (13 November 1999). "The Modern Age". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 97. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. ^ a b Helman, Peter (May 19, 2016). "Behind The Music: "Steal My Sunshine"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Appleford, Steve (September 12, 1999). "POP MUSIC : Len's Day in the Sun : The Canadian group borrows from old-school hip-hop to produce a bright, alternative sound". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  7. ^ Hay, Carla (31 July 1999). "Work's Len 'Bum Rushes' Charts". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (published July 31, 1999). p. 9. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  8. ^ Bliss, Karen (7 March 1998). "Toronto: Local Noise". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (published March 7, 1998). p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  9. ^ "A Completely Biased Ranking of the 60 Best CanRock Songs Ever, Part I". Vice, by Cam Lindsay. Sep 26 2016
  10. ^ "STEAL MY SUNSHINE LEN You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush (1999)". Winnipeg Free Press, via Newspaper Archives. June 30, 2017 - Page 68
  11. ^ Brunner, Rob. "'Steal' this hook". Entertainment Weekly, issue 501, page 69. September 3, 1999. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
  12. ^ "Top Singles". RPM Magazine, - Volume 69, No. 11. Jul 05, 1999
  13. ^ "How Steal My Sunshine became an accidental summer hit". Chris dela Torre, Calgary Eyeopener, CBC Radio One, Jul 25, 2013
  14. ^ LeBlanc, Larry (12 February 2000). "Morissette leads Canada's Juno nomination list". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 45–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  15. ^ "Rocking Good News". Macleans Magazine, page 64. Nicholas Jennings, March 13, 2000
  16. ^ "Len: Looking Forward With No Regrets". Aesthetic Magazine ⋅ October 27, 2012 By: Curtis Sindrey –
  17. ^ Stanisci, Grace (October 17, 2012). "Len celebrates Toronto with new music video for "It's My Neighbourhood"". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  18. ^ Strapagiel, Lauren (October 16, 2012). "Len 'It's My Neighbourhood' Video: '90s One-Hit-Wonders Pay Tribute To Toronto". HuffPost. Archived from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  19. ^ "Len Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  20. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Albums". RPM. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  21. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  22. ^ "American album certifications – Len – You Can't Stop the Bum Rush". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  23. ^ "Canadian certifications – Len". Music Canada. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  24. ^ "Results: RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  25. ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 164.
  26. ^ "Len Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  27. ^ "BPI Award Len Steal My Sunshine". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  28. ^ "Gold and Platinum Len Steal My Sunshine". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  29. ^ "More of Our Stupid Noise by Various Artists". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
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