Margo Isabella Davidson was a founding member of the Parachute Club, for which she was saxophonist, percussionist and vocalist. and an advocate for the homeless.
Early life and education
Davidson was born in Simcoe, Ontario and attended Simcoe Composite School where she developed her musical talent. She was a diabetic from childhood. Davidson's father died in 1971; she had one brother and two step-siblings. Her brother David, a trombonist, was also involved in music, as a high school music teacher and performer. Davidson initially played both piano and saxophone, and was a member of the Simcoe Composite School band. She formed her first music group, a jazz quartet, while a high school student, and played semi-professionally in the Simcoe area.
Musical career
Davidson arrived in Toronto from Simcoe in 1975, following graduation from Simcoe Composite School. She briefly attended the University of Toronto, and commenced playing with local bands. With Toronto female singer Robin Wells, with whom Davidson had been associated in a previous band, Davidson co-founded The Wells-Davidson Band in 1978, playing rhythm and blues and rock music. The band was one of a minority of bands led by two women. It was managed by Harbourfront s manager, by Harbourfront Centre music programmer Derek Andrews. The drummer for the band was Arthur Fogel, who later became a concert promoter and executive with Live Nation Entertainment. At that time, and through the 1980s, Davidson was also notable as one of very few female saxophonists playing professionally, predating such artists as Candy Dulfer, Katja Rieckermann and Colleen Allen. In terms of the Toronto music scene of the late 1970s, she was a contemporary of Dianne Heatherington, with whom she played on occasion. She also recorded with the Foxrun Band on their album You're Invited. Davidson later joined Kid Rainbow, a band established by Toronto singer-songwriter Gary O'Connor as a means to promote his songs. She also played in a stage version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show that toured Toronto and area venues. Both The Wells-Davidson Band and Kid Rainbow met with a degree of local success. In 1982 Davison was invited to form The Parachute Club, along with former Mama Quilla II members Lorraine Segato and Lauri Conger, as well as Steve Webster, Billy Bryans, Julie Masi and Dave Grey. Davidson was a saxophonist, percussionist and vocalist with The Parachute Club between 1982 and 1989, during which all of the band's recordings were made. The band, best known for their hit single "Rise Up", started out playing locally, and later toured across Canada, as well as in the United States and Germany. As a member of The Parachute Club Davidson was the recipient of two Juno Awards for Most Promising Group of The Year in 1984 and for Group of the Year in 1985. Davidson's role with The Parachute Club was primarily as a musician and harmony vocalist, though she is also the co-writer of "Love Is Fire", the lead single from the band's third album, Small Victories. The album was less successful that their previous one, and Parachute Club eventually broke up in 1989. Davidson was briefly a member of the well-known Toronto band Bratty and The Babysitters, in 1988, when the future of The Parachute Club was uncertain, playing a mix of various musical genres. Bratty and the Babysitters disbanded in 1989, the same year that The Parachute Club formally disbanded for the first time, though the latter's last public performances became those at Toronto's Ontario Place in July 1988.
Advocate for the homeless
After the initial breakup of The Parachute Club, Davidson, with the exception of the occasional guest performance, left the music business and spent the balance of her life working with organizations dedicated to assisting the homeless. Davidson became a creative writer and a director of St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society, based in Toronto. She was also an outreach worker at Eva's Phoenix, a transitional housing project dedicated to life skills and homeless youth.
Death
For much of her life, particularly in her later years, Davidson was affected by depression and alcoholism. Davidson died in her Toronto home on Saturday, May 17, 2008. Her funeral and interment were in Simcoe on May 23, 2008, and she was interred at Oakwood Cemetery, Simcoe. Her cause of death was not publicly disclosed, and Davidson left no publicly acknowledged partner.
