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The Moffatts

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The Moffatts were a four brother band composed of Scott, Clint, Bob and Dave Moffatt. Eldest brother Scott was born on March 30, 1983 in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Less than a year later, the family moved south to Vancouver where, on March 8, 1984, triplets Bob, Clint and Dave were born. Although born on the same date, Bob and Clint are identical twins while Dave was a fraternal triplet. Growing up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, The Moffatts learned singing early in their lives and were trained in country music, first appearing on-stage in 1990. In 1992, after performing at large-scale country music festivals, the group was nominated for five awards by the British Columbia Country Music Association.

Beginning in 1994, the Moffatt family moved to Nashville, Tennessee and then toured with The Osmonds, had a seven-month engagement in the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, performed on television over 200 times, and released their first country album, titled The Moffatts. During this time, the brothers' parents divorced and the boys lived primarily with their father, who also managed the group until their 2001 break up.

As they became teens, the group dropped out of the country music genre and, with a new album, Chapter One: A New Beginning, began singing pop music. While previously only providing vocals, the group now added instruments, with Scott on lead guitar, Clint on bass guitar, Dave on keyboards and Bob on drums. Lead vocals were shared between Scott and Dave. Chapter One sold more than two million copies worldwide and almost went double platinum in their native Canada. It was produced in part by the Berman Brothers (who also worked for (Hanson and The Real McCoy) in New York and Toronto. One single, "Until You Loved Me," appeared in the Drew Barrymore film, Never Been Kissed. Chapter One was also very popular in Europe, with the group recording with German teen idol Gil Ofarim.

The follow-up album Submodalities was released in October, 2000, and contained a more classic/harder edged rock flavor than typical "boy band" fare. The transition between the bubblegum pop of their prior album and the harder edge of the new was captured in the 2001 documentary, Moffatts: Closing of Chapter One. The Moffatts wrote or co-wrote almost all of the album songs. Bob Rock, who has produced albums for such superstars as Metallica, Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi, produced Submodalities. The first single, "Bang Bang Boom" was played on Top 40 radio and topped the retail singles chart in Canada.

In October, 2001, the group broke up. This happened after a year of exhaustive touring for the Submodalities release and coincided with Dave Moffatt's coming out of the closet to his family. Dave left home and reported that he did not speak to his father-manager for over a year.

Post Break-Up

After the break-up, twins Bob and Clint Moffatt briefly joined a group called Hidell [1] that lasted slightly over a year and released one album.

Scott Moffatt resurfaced in an Ontario-based band The Boston Post, named after either an old New England newspaper, the cursed Boston Post cane or a highway system in colonial America (accounts vary). They released an EP titled It's 99PM in 2003, though whether they are still together or not is uncertain.

In 2004, the Canadian Pacific Railway announced in a press release that Bob and Clint were "reunited" and appeared under the name "The Moffatts" for the railway's Holiday Train program, a mobile fundraiser for community food banks. There appears to be some indicia that Scott also joined for at least part of the tour (see this photograph (Clint to the far left, Scott and Bob to the far right), there are no photographs of Scott's participation on the Railway's website nor is Scott mentioned in the press release linked above. There is a topic that has been added to the Discussion page on this entry with respect to Scott's participation in this tour.

Dave Moffatt eventually relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, at first to attend the University of Winnipeg and then deciding to launch an acting and modelling career. In addition to hosting karaoke nights at a local gay bar, Dave also appeared in a 2005 Winnipeg production of Miss Saigon and was a contestant on Canadian Idol, that country's version of American Idol and Britain's Pop Idol, making it into the top 32 before being eliminated. In an October 2004 interview linked below, Dave reported that he and his family are now communicating and getting along well.

Whether the Moffatts will ever reunite is unknown and while there are occasional reports to that effect, these have not resulted in any reunion. One news item covering the Canadian Idol competition reports that Scott, Bob and Clint are reforming as a trio to produce music with an "alt-rock vibe," and that "Dave wants a pop career." Although the group has shut down its main website, the Moffatts remain popular in Europe; its German fansite, linked below, is quite active.

Discography

including cd singles:

  • 1994: Wonderful World
    • I Think She Likes Me
  • 1995: The Moffatts
    • Guns of Love
  • 1998: Chapter One: A new beginning (European and Canadian edition)
    • I'll Be There for You
    • Miss You Like Crazy
    • Crazy
    • If Life is So Short
    • Girl of My Dreams
  • 1999: Chapter One: A New Beginning (USA edition)
    • Until You Loved Me
    • Misery
  • 2000: Submodalities
    • Bang Bang Boom
    • Just Another Phase
    • Walking Behind (Europe release only)
    • Who Do You Love (Asia release only)
  • 2002: The Closing of Chapter One (DVD)
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