Craig Manning | Through the Shattered Lens

Happy Canada Day!

Now, as our regular readers know, I absolutely adore Canada. I love the people, I love the movies, and I especially love the television! In honor of Canada Day, I thought I would share a great moment from Canadian history!

That moment, of course, is the night that Downtown Sasquatch defeated Hell Hath No Fury at the Toronto Battle of the Bands! It was this victory that not only introduced Spinner Mason to the rest of the Toronto but it also launched Craig Manning into super stardom.

First, a little background. Craig was one of the most popular students at Degrassi Community School but he shocked the entire student body when he cheated on his girlfriend, Ashley Kerwin, with Manny Santos. The end result is that Manny ended up pregnant and had to get an abortion. Ashley, meanwhile, challenged her rage by forming a band called Hell Hath No Fury. Hell Hath No Fury specialized in singing songs about how much they hated Craig.

Craig, of course, was already the lead singer for Downtown Sasquatch. When it came time to write a song for the upcoming battle of the bands, Craig was stunned to discover that his band would be competing against Hell Hath No Fury. Craig was hit with writer’s block. With Craig unable to come up with lyrics for a new song, drummer Spinner Mason and guitarist Jimmy Brooks decided to try to help out. Here’s what they came up with:

Things looked bleak for Downtown Sasquatch. Things looked even bleaker when, on the night of the battle of the band and with Craig still unable to write, Hell Hath No Fury — while wearing shirts that portrayed Craig burning in Hell — performed their anti-Craig anthem, Mr. Nice Guy:

When Downtown Sasquatch took the stage, it was as a power trio. Craig had mysteriously disappeared. Bravely, Spinner attempted to kill time but it was obvious that the audience had turned against Downtown Sasquatch. The future of Canadian music was in peril.

Then, suddenly, Craig returned, walking out on stage with freshly written lyrics in his hands. The rest is history: