Alan Frew
Musical artist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alan Graham Frew (born November 8, 1956) is a Scottish-Canadian singer, songwriter, actor, and author, who is the lead singer of the Canadian rock band Glass Tiger.[1] He has also released three solo albums.[2]
- Rock
- alternative rock
Alan Frew | |
|---|---|
Alan Frew, 2011. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 8 November 1956 Coatbridge, Scotland |
| Origin | Newmarket, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres |
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| Occupations | Singer, musician, author, public speaker |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1983–present |
| Label | Capitol |
| Website | alanfrewworld |
Early life
Born 8 November 1956, in Coatbridge, Scotland,[3] Frew moved to Newmarket, Ontario, at age 16 with his family.[4]
Musical career
In 1983, Frew and others formed Glass Tiger.[5] In 1986, the band released its first album, The Thin Red Line.[6] Two of its songs, "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" and "Someday", reached the Top 10 in the U.S. charts.[7] The Thin Red Line went quadruple platinum in Canada and gold in the United States.[8] Glass Tiger was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987[9] and has won five Canadian Juno Awards.[4]
Frew and Stephan Moccio co-wrote "I Believe", which "became the theme song for Canada's Olympic Broadcast Consortium for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver"[2] and "Free to Be", which is used by the Toronto Maple Leafs as their theme song.[10]
Frew portrayed the character Ewan McCauley in the 2010 Canadian comedy film GravyTrain.[11][12]
In 2025, amid the controversy around Donald Trump's trade war against Canada, Frew released the solo single "Canada's Song (Free to Be Strong and Free)".[13] He performed the song at concerts on Glass Tiger's This Island Earth tour, and on the This Hour Has 22 Minutes election special.[14]
Personal life
Awards and recognition
Frew has received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal "in recognition of his service to the Canadian arts, and for his dedication to helping poverty-stricken children".[8] With co-writer Sharon Brennan, Frew wrote The Action Sandwich: A Six Step Recipe to Success by Doing What You're Already Doing (ISBN 978-0-9736863-9-5), a 2007 autobiography.[citation needed]
Discography
Solo albums
- Hold On (1994)
- Wonderland (2000)
- 80290 Rewind (2015)
with Glass Tiger
- The Thin Red Line (1986)
- Diamond Sun (1988)
- Simple Mission (1991)
- 31 (2018)
- 33 (2019)
Solo singles
- "Healing Hands" (1994) [#8 CAN]
- "So Blind" (1995)
- "Canada's Song (Free to Be Strong and Free)" (2025)