Lorraine Segato

Lorraine Segato, CM (b. 1956) is a musician, songwriter, filmmaker, event producer and social justice activist. Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1956, Segato became interested in music at a young age, and started playing guitar at the age of 11. Her first gig was at her own high school graduation from Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School. After high school, Segato attended Sheridan College from 1974-1976, majoring in film while also studying audio recording and engineering.
Segato moved to Toronto in 1978 and became the vocalist for the radical feminist rock band, Mama Quilla II. The band played various rallies and benefit concerts and appeared regularly at venues such as the Horseshoe Tavern, the El Mocambo, and Cameron House. While playing with Mama Quilla II, Segato also joined the world-music infused band V alongside Mama Quilla II drummer Billy Bryans.
In 1982, Bryans was approached by the organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival to perform at the festival. Bryans agreed, but there were scheduling conflicts with the members of Mama Quilla II and V, so Segato and Bryans formed The Parachute Club to play the gig. The new band - featuring Segato on vocals, Lauri Conger on keyboards and vocals, Julie Masi on percussion, Margo Davidson on saxophone, Steve Webster and David Gray on guitar, and Bryans on drums – was an overnight success. The band was signed by Current Records shortly after their performance, and on July 11, 1983 they released their self-titled debut album.
The lead single from the first record was “Rise Up”. Written by Segato, Bryans, Conger, and Lynne Fernie and produced by Daniel Lanois, the song was a positive call for peace, freedom, and social change that resonated powerfully with listeners. The Parachute Club first performed the song at the Toronto Pride Parade in 1983, and the parade attendees embraced the song with so much enthusiasm that they rushed the stage. The song became an anthem at various times for gay rights, feminism, anti-racism, as well as the New Democratic Party. It was also a major hit for the group, reaching number 9 on the Canadian RPM 50 singles charts, and number 26 on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles charts. It also won a Juno Award for Single of the Year in 1984, while The Parachute Club won a Juno for Most Promising Group of the Year that same year.
Following personnel changes (Steve Webster left the band and was replaced by Keir Brownstone), The Parachute Club released their next album, “At the Feet of the Moon” in 1984. The title track becoming another Canadian Top 40 hit. In 1985, the group received both the Juno Award and CASBY Award for Group of the Year. That same year, the released a limited edition EP, “Moving Thru' The Moonlight”, which featured dance remixes of some of their most popular songs.
The band followed up this success with the album “Small Victories”, in 1986, which spawned the group’s third Canadian Top 40 hit, “Love is Fire” with guest vocals by John Oates of the group Hall & Oates. This single earned the band another Juno Award for Video of the Year in 1987. That year, both Julie Masi and Lauri Conger left the band. The remaining group members released a single in 1988, “Big Big World” in support of activists hoping to halt a clear-cutting campaign in the Stein Valley in British Columbia. The Parachute Club officially disbanded in 1989, with former members going on to pursue other careers and projects. Over the years, the Parachute Club reunited occasionally with various lineups. Founding members Margo Davidson and Billy Bryans passed away in 2008 and 2012 respectively.
After The Parachute Club broke up, Segato focused on a solo music career. Her first solo record, “Phoenix” was released in 1990, followed by “Luminous City” in 1998 and “Invincible Decency” in 2015.
“Phoenix” also gave Segato more opportunities to explore her interests in filmmaking. Before her solo debut, Segato had co-directed a short film, “Worth Every Minute” (1987), and served as a creative contributor on several of The Parachute Club’s music videos. For “Phoenix,” Segato stepped into the co-director role for her music videos, including “Givin’ It All We Got” and “Don’t Give it Away.” Segato also directed the music video for “Good Medicine”, which doubled as a national drug and alcohol awareness campaign video for the Canadian Auto Workers.
Segato continued to work in film, directing, writing, and producing “QSW: The Rebel Zone” (2001), a documentary about the thriving music and art scene of Toronto’s Queen Street West in the late 70s and early 80s. In 2015, she worked with filmmaker Shelley Saywell on the documentary film “Lowdown Tracks.” She has also worked as a composer for film and television on projects such as CTV’s “National Drug Test,” (1988) Lynne Fernie’s film “Apples and Oranges” (2003) and “Status Quo: The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada” (2012). And, as an actor, Segato appeared in the short film “Heart Songs” (1992) and the comedic documentary “The pINCO Triangle” (1999).
Segato has also worked as a writer, contributing articles to publications such as “NOW” and “Xtra”, as well as a chapter in the anthology book “Shakin’ All Over: The Rock N' Roll Years in the U.S. and Canada.”
Never far from her activist roots, Segato has also continued to uplift voices for social change. In 2003, Alongside Lynne Fernie, Segato wrote a campaign song for Jack Layton. As an event producer, Segato has worked on the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, “House Party,” a benefit concert for the homeless in Toronto, and “Hope Rising”, a benefit concert for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. As the Regent Park Artist in Residency, Segato produced a series of concerts entitled “Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues” to promote established and emerging female artists. “Rise Up” has also continued to be a rallying cry. In 2011, Segato performed a rendition of the song at the state funeral of Jack Layton. A remix of the song was also released in 2014 to coincide with WorldPride in Toronto. And in 2019, Segato released another new version of the song with the New Parachute Collective to raise funds for the “RiseUp Share Your Power Initiative,” a mentorship program pairing newer artists with more experienced ones.
Lorraine Segato was named to the Order of Canada in 2022. She was also recently shortlisted for the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 City of Hamilton Arts Awards. In 2023, the Parachute Club was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.

December 14, 2023

• English

“About Her.” Lorraine Segato.com. Accessed at: https://www.lorrainesegato.com/
Doole, Kerry. “Hamilton is Home Again for Lorraine Segato.” Hamilton City Magazine. July 20, 2023. Accessed at: https://hamiltoncitymagazine.ca/hamilton-is-home-again-for-lorraine-segato/
“Lorraine Segato.” Songcycles. Accessed at: http://www.songcycles.com/lorraine-segato.html
“Lorraine Segato.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_Segato
“Mama Quilla II.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mama_Quilla_II
“Rise Up (Parachute Club Song). Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_Up_(Parachute_Club_song)
“The Parachute Club.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Parachute_Club
“The Parachute Club.” Canada’s Walk of Fame. Accessed at: https://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductee/the-parachute-club
“Lorraine Segato & The Parachute Club.” Sounds Like Toronto. Accessed at: https://soundsliketoronto.ca/en/stories/artists/lorraine-segato

Record created by Lindsay Grant, Assistant Media Archivist, Media Commons Archives