Carole Ann Pope (born 6 August 1950) is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian entertainers to achieve mainstream fame.
Pope was born in the countryside outside of Manchester, England, on August 6 1950. She was born the oldest of four children to Jack Pope - a salesman, member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and circus stilt walker, and Celia, a music hall performer. She grew up with two sisters (Diane and Elaine) and one brother, Howard. Aged five, she immigrated with her parents to Montreal and was raised in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. She attended Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute.
Pope met her longtime musical partner Kevan Staples at a band audition in Scarborough. In 1968, they began performing together as a duo in Yorkville, which was Toronto's live music and arts district at the time. In 1970, they adopted the name O, changing it to The Bullwhip Brothers the following year.

Return to Carole Pope Autograph Profile