Kim Clarke Champniss

Kim Clarke Champniss is a Canadian television personality and musician, best known as a VJ for MuchMusic in the 1980s.[1]

Background

He was born in Bahrain and raised in London, England.[2] He was a child actor in his youth, including appearances in the 1960 film Village of the Damned[2] and a television commercial for Quaker Oats. He moved to Canada at age 19, briefly taking a job with the Hudson's Bay Company in Arviat before moving to Vancouver to study at the University of British Columbia.[2] He became a DJ at the city's new wave club Luvafair in 1980,[2] before becoming manager for local band Images in Vogue.[3]

Broadcasting career

He later joined MuchMusic as host of the daily entertainment news show Rockflash[2] and the alternative rock program City Limits.[4] In addition, he produced music documentaries for the channel, including a tribute special to mark the tenth anniversary of Bob Marley's death,[5] and became a cohost of The New Music in 1993.[6] In this role, Marianne Faithfull, John Lydon and The Bee Gees all walked out of interviews with Champniss because they objected to his interview questions.[7]

After leaving The New Music in 1996, Champniss moved into production roles with MuchMusic and its sister stations within the CHUM Limited media conglomerate, including as a contributing producer for Bravo! and as head of programming for MuchUSA.[8]

In 1997, he released the album A Sound Mind, which was credited to KCC & Dancespeak.[9] His collaborators on the album included Joe Vizvary of Images in Vogue and Dave Rout of Rational Youth and Digital Poodle.[9]

Post-Much career

He left CHUM in 2000 to form his own company, Invisible Republic,[10] which provided music management for artists including Serial Joe and the revived The Grapes of Wrath.[4]

In 2005, Champniss returned to an on-air role, hosting the series The Word This Week on BookTelevision and A-Channel.[11] He has also appeared as a radio host on Toronto radio stations Edge 102 and Boom 97.3.[12]

In 2013, he published the book The Republic of Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Roaring ’80s from Curtis to Cobain.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "U.S. Radio/Video Begin to Embrace Electronic Music". Billboard. February 15, 1997. p. 78. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Music puts glow in his eye now". Windsor Star, February 25, 1989.
  3. ↑ "Images In Vogue". Canadian Pop Encyclopedia. canoe.ca. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Catching up with old VJs: Much Music alumni create new careers". Ottawa Citizen, December 24, 2002.
  5. ↑ "The 'ambassador' of reggae subject of tribute". Windsor Star, May 8, 1991.
  6. ↑ "CITY's New Music to be seen nationally". The Globe and Mail, January 26, 1993.
  7. ↑ "Looking back on 18 years of alternative music on TV". Victoria Times-Colonist, October 16, 1997.
  8. ↑ "treble charger: MuchMusic won't hit play button in Canada on group's latest video". Windsor Star, January 22, 1998.
  9. 1 2 "The host with the most pops a CD". The Globe and Mail, July 4, 1997.
  10. ↑ "Life at the great crossroads". National Post, June 19, 2004.
  11. ↑ "Canada Reads". Victoria Times-Colonist, October 2, 2005.
  12. ↑ "Plan your week with our picks". Vancouver Province, September 9, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Former MuchMusic host Kim Clarke Champniss revisits '80s in new book". Victoria Times-Colonist, March 28, 2013.
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