For as long as Rock music continues to be played in clubs and dive bars all across the world, there will never be another artist quite like Bryan Adams .
For the better part of the last four decades, Bryan has occupied the highest echelon of superstardom and fame . So in order to celebrate one of the greatest gifts that Canada has ever given to the world, here are some facts about the iconic Bryan Adams that fans didn’t know .
He has a star on both the Canadian Walk of Fame, as well as the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bryan is one of only 57 Canadians to receive their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted in March of 2011.
Bryan’s big break happened on his birthday.
Of all the albums in Bryan’s catalog, his 4th album Reckless remains his most impactful. It was released on Bryan’s 25th birthday and helped him to become the first Canadian artist to sell over 1 million albums .
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He’s won the second-most Juno Awards in the history of Canada.
The Juno Awards celebrate musical excellence within the country of Canada. To date, Bryan has won 21 awards against 63 nominations . Only the legendary Canadian singer Anne Murray has more.
Bryan was rumored to have had an affair with a member of the Royal Family.
Believe it or not, Princess Diana was a huge fan of Bryan Adams while she was alive. Bryan has never confirmed nor has he denied the allegations, stating only that the pair were good friends.
Bryan is a member of the Order of Canada.
The Order of Canada was created in 1967 as a way to celebrate outstanding achievements , dedication to the community, and service to the nation of Canada. It is considered to be among the country’s highest honors.
Bryan has been satirized by Trey Parker and Matt Stone on ‘South Park’ on multiple occasions.
The first time that Bryan Adams is mentioned in South Park happens in the feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut . He makes a second appearance in Season 15’s “Royal Pudding” episode.
He once did a private photo session with Queen Elizabeth II.
Bryan was given the incredible opportunity to do a five-minute long photo session with the late Queen of England . One of the photos was then chosen to be on a 49-cent Canadian stamp.
Bryan has been vegan since 1989.
Bryan has always been an outspoken animal rights activist. He is also the co-founder of bettermoo(d), a substitute for cow’s milk that requires far fewer resources and generates 80% less greenhouse gas emissions.
On top of being a Canadian rock ‘n roll legend, Bryan is also a professional photographer.
Over the course of his historic career, Bryan has shot ads for Levi’s Jeans and Converse Shoes. His photos have also appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Baazar, and Esquire .
He developed a very close friendship with the late British songstress, Amy Winehouse.
Bryan started taking photos of Amy and she quickly became his muse. He photographed the cover of her posthumous Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures album and even allowed her to stay with him while she was attempting to get sober .
Bryan Adams turned down Tom Cruise.
Well, technically Bryan turned down filmmakers for Top Gun. Originally, he was approached to have his song “Only The Strong Survive” featured but refused due to the fact that he felt the film glorified war.
His music has appeared in countless blockbuster films.
Bryan has written music for a number of feature films, the most notable being: Robinhood: Prince of Thieves, A Night in Heaven, The Three Musketeers, Don Juan De Marco, and The Mirror Has Two Faces.
Bryan’s face is also on a Canadian stamp.
Although the stamp is no longer in circulation , hardcore stamp enthusiasts can still find booklets that display Bryan’s proud face along with a small collection of other Canadian singers and songwriters.
His music has been covered by countless artists all over the world.
Bryan’s immortal ode to teenage love, “Summer Of 69”, has been covered countless times over by the likes of Bowling For Soup, Foo Fighters, and even Taylor Swift.
Bryan once took on the Canadian government when the CRTC dubbed him “Not Canadian enough” for radio play.
The CRTC was designed to help promote Canadian artists within the country by giving them priority radio play. Because Bryan’s song “Everything I Do” was recorded in the UK and had a UK co-writer, the CRTC ruled he wasn’t making Canadian content.
Of all his many collaborations over the years, there’s one he holds in highest regard.
Bryan has worked with everyone from The Police to Mel C of the Spice Girls. But to this day, he considers his collaboration with Tina Turner to be his greatest achievement.
Bryan is a dual citizen.
On top of being one of Canadian’s most beloved sons, Bryan also is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom. This is due to the fact that both of Bryan’s parents have British heritage .
As a child, Bryan lived all over the world.
Bryan’s father served in both the Canadian and British armies. He eventually went on to become a foreign service diplomat with the UN , thus Bryan lived in Portugal, Austria, Israel, as well as Japan during his childhood.
The first record contract Bryan signed was for $1.
“Contracts have to have a denomination passed back and forth to make them legal. And because they didn’t want to give me any money, one dollar was the minimum amount to make the contract legally binding ,” he said in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Bryan’s most famous song, “Summer of 69” isn’t about the summer of 1969.
Bryan would’ve barely been 10 years old in 1969. This immortal ode, therefore, is actually about the summer when he performed the sexual act 69 for the first time.
In 2015, Bryan met up with Justin Bieber in Berlin to perform an acoustic throwback of Justin’s breakthrough hit, “Baby.”
In this stripped-down version, the talent of these two Canadian music icons is on full display. What I wouldn’t give to hear Justin sing “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started.”
