1. Carole Ann Pope was born on 6 August 1945 and is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian entertainers to achieve mainstream fame.
Carole Pope was the oldest of four children born to Jack Pope, a salesperson, a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and a circus stilt walker, and to Celia, a music hall performer.
Carole Pope grew up with two sisters, Diane and Elaine, and a brother, Howard.
At the age of five, Carole Pope emigrated with her parents to Montreal.
Carole Pope met her longtime musical partner Kevan Staples at a band audition in Scarborough.
Carole Pope often performed in black leather pants and bondage attire.
Whilst with Rough Trade, Carole Pope sang backup vocals on Murray McLauchlan's album Into a Mystery, in 1980, and would go on to win the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist in 1981 and subsequently the Juno Award for Best Female Vocalist in 1982 and 1983.
Carole Pope appeared as a guest vocalist on the Payola$ single "Never Said I Loved You," which was a top 10 hit in 1983.
Carole Pope sang the role of Primavera Nicholson in the COC production of R Murray Schafer's Patria I in November 1987.
Carole Pope relocated to Los Angeles in 1989 to pursue opportunities in soundtrack work and acting, and produced the soundtrack for The Silencer, a thriller movie directed by Amy Goldstein, which was released in 1992.
In 1995, Carole Pope announced she was no longer living in Los Angeles.
Carole Pope starred in the cabaret, Quiet Please, There's a Bitter, Petulant Diva on Stage, at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.
In 1997, Carole Pope provided the voice for the schoolteacher in the animated version of Pippi Longstocking, and in 1999 playwright Bryden MacDonald staged Shaking the Foundations, a musical revue based on the music of Rough Trade.
Years later, Carole Pope discussed attending Dusty Springfield's funeral where she spent time with the Pet Shop Boys, amongst other notables.
In 2005,21 years after her last EP, Carole Pope returned to Los Angeles and released Transcend, her debut full-length solo album.
In 2011, Carole Pope released Landfall, her second full-length album, featuring a duet with Rufus Wainwright.
Carole Pope is an ambassador for the Harvey Milk School in New York City and a board director for the Songwriters Association of Canada.
In 2015, Carole Pope signed with Squirtgun Records to re-release the Music for Lesbians EP on 23 June 2015.
On 22 September 2017, Carole Pope released the single, This Is Not A Test.
Later that same year, Carole Pope collaborated with keyboardist Kevin Hearn to release the single, Resist It, on 22 October 2018.
In 2021, Carole Pope collaborated with Ottawa band Church of Trees to release the song "World's A Bitch".
Later that same year, Carole Pope worked with Canadian performer Clara Venice to produce the single "Speaking In Code".
Carole Pope served as a guest judge on the second episode of the third season of Canada's Drag Race in 2022.
On July 21,2023, it was revealed that a documentary based on Carole Pope's autobiography is currently in the works.
The documentary, titled AntiDiva: The Confessions of Carole Pope, is being funded by The Canada Media Fund.
Carole Pope narrated Marusya Bociurkiw's 2023 documentary film Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World.
In March 2018, Carole Pope was forced to cancel a scheduled performance in Toronto due to a fractured ankle.