DENNIS RUFFO continued from page 49
called U-2 at Barrymore’s for 200. Dennis built a stage after the
final evening movies at the Rideau Theatre to bring New Wave acts to town in the early 80s. He put on outdoor shows at Camp Fortune on the ski hill. That’s where Peter Gabriel played… almost. It would have been magical, the
ex-Genesis front man under the stars, weaving his musical magic. But the afternoon of the show, Ruffo was faced with every promoter’s nightmare. “We brought a lot of artists into
Camp Fortune over two or three years,” he remembers. “But it was very hard to make it work. One of the shows that did really well in pre- sale was Peter Gabriel. We sold over 6,000 tickets”. So far, so good. Problem was, the morning they started setting up
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all the equipment, the stage started to crumble from the weight. There was no way they were going to be able to put on their show”. Oh-oh. “Fortunately,” he adds, “the Civic
Center had nothing booked that night so we were able to move the show there.” Dennis was not so lucky with a
Depeche Mode concert scheduled for the Civic Center in the 80s. While the show was being set up, the band’s production manager noticed workmen cleaning up some asbestos that had fallen from the ceiling. He freaked, told the band (en route in their jet) and the show was cancelled. Outside, lined-up Depeche Mode fans looked even more depressed than usual. And Dennis remembers the time
Rod Stewart and his manager nipped out after sound-check to grab a beer at a popular pub on Elgin Street. “The problem was they had no Canadian money. So they borrowed
$200 from me to go to the pub. I never got the money back.” And then there are the stories –
many, many more, – that Dennis is saving for his book. But that will have to wait for
a while yet. He’s still active with his own company, Dennis Ruffo Productions, booking acts into places like the NAC and Nepean Centrepointe theatre. He admits to being a music hound,
and that’s not likely to change any time soon. At least, not until he books a
certain singer again and gets his $200 back.
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