Triumph - One of the 80’s most successful rock bands, back again.

They say that time heals all wounds. Kiss reunited and put the makeup back on, Hell froze over for The Eagles, Roger Waters played a show with Pink Floyd and, for one glorious night, the mighty Led Zeppelin returned. Now another impossible reunion has taken place — Canadian power trio, Triumph! Known for their excellent musicianship, positive message and spectacular light shows, Triumph was one of top arena rock bands of the 80s.

Gil Moore (drums/vocals), Mike Levine (bass) and Rik Emmett (guitar/vocals) formed Triumph in 1975. “Mike and I were buddies,” Moore notes. “We were already playing together in Toronto. Since we wanted to start Triumph from the ground up, we went looking for a guitar player. We got a tip on Rik from a friend and, after we saw him perform in a club, we asked him to join our band.”

Texas played a big part in Triumph’s success. “Joe Anthony, Lou Roni and KISS FM in San Antonio were the first to play our music in the United States,” Moore recalls. “Triumph broke from the city of San Antonio outwards to Corpus Christi, Austin and Dallas. The first real concert that we played outside of Canada was the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio.”

All the attention from Texas landed Triumph a deal with RCA Records, and soon they were on the road in the U.S. Thanks to a high-energy stage show and a state-of-the-art light show, Triumph built their reputation as a top arena rock band. In 1983, Triumph was one of the bands to play the US Festival in front of over 500,000 people on Heavy Metal Sunday. Eight of their albums were certified gold or better in the U.S. making Triumph one of the most successful rock bands of the 80’s.

But in 1988 it all came to an end when Emmett quit Triumph to pursue a solo career. Pressure from the record companies and arguments over musical direction, royalties and album credits had driven a nasty wedge between Emmett and his bandmates. “Bands are like marriages,” Moore explains. “They have their ups and downs. We had one bad fight, and it got out of control because lawyers got involved and ruined everything. If not for the lawyers, I think we could have solved our problems between us. We won’t be the first band to make that mistake, and we won’t be the last. If I can give any advice to any musicians out there, especially the younger bands, it’s this — eventually you’re going to get into some sort of fight, and someone’s going to want to get a lawyer involved. My advice is, Don’t!”

On March 10, 2007, Triumph was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. This led to the band’s first face-to-face meeting in nearly 20 years. “When we were invited to go into the Hall of Fame, that necessitated a meeting that I had hoped would happen for a long time,” Moore relates. “I always felt that if we met face to face, we could work things out. When we got together, a lot of the hostilities melted, and soon we were having dinner and laughing so hard our sides hurt.” On April 6, at the 2008 Juno Awards, Triumph will also be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

With past mistakes behind them now, Moore is optimistic about the band’s future. “For me, the only thing about Triumph that matters from here on out is our friendship. That’s the only thing that I want to be absolutely certain that I never give up again. I want to be friends with Mike and Rik forever, and never ever let any issue, personal or business come between us again.”

The reunited Triumph is scheduled to play this year’s Sweden Rock Festival and Rocklahoma. “We’re just gonna go have some fun, play some gigs and hopefully pay the fans back for being so patient. I really thought they would have forgotten about us, but the response so far has been overwhelming.”

If everything goes well, the plan would be to take about a year off to practice and get back into touring shape, followed by a possible North American tour in 2009. “If things work out, I’d really like to play for the Texas fans again. They’ve supported Triumph from day one. I’d love for my kids to come down and experience the culture. The Lone Star State is the second home to Triumph. It wouldn’t be a U.S. tour if we didn’t play Texas.”