Ed Wright
Photo by William Johns from the City of Victoria archives.
Ed spent a memorable youth in Alert Bay, playing in marching bands and working at his uncle's well known bakery. It was in Alert Bay that Ed grew to appreciate Native Arts and Culture, which greatly influenced his life. In his teens he moved to Oak Bay and worked on honing his skills as a musician. He learned to play guitar, harmonica and valve trombone. After high school Ed enjoyed his work at VGH for 25 years in the Dietary Dept. He also loved horseback riding and playing pool.
Ed was a founding member and the front man of Blues X Five, a band that won the Victoria Battle of the Bands and opened for the Doors in the late '60s. From there he went on to play/sing in As Sheriff, Moxie, John de Conqueroo and many others. Ed was a charismatic performer who played harp, sang and was a consummate showman in the mould of his idols, Mick Jagger, James Brown and Paul Butterfield.
Later in his career, Ed adopted the stage name, Diamond Eagle, and wrote and performed (sometimes with his wife Sylvia), cutting a number of CDs. Ed was also inducted into the Victoria Music Hall of Fame in 2008. Source Times Colonist
Just watched the check tv interview and I just realized something ....... a bit of revisionist history going on ...... originally the band was extremely psychodelic and Blues X 5, Moxie and a couple of other bands if I stop and think for a bit were more popular and drew bigger crowds ...... then Little Ed joined the band and they quickly became the number 1 band of the day ....... little Ed added energy, showman ship, and that special sauce that only a few performers have ...... the band was all, really good players but they were stiff and played acid rock that you could only sway and shuffle to, which without the drugs would have been boring ..... then Ed came along and the whole image changed and they became a band with dynamics and a danceable beat ....... as usual Little Ed gets short shifted when it was Little Ed Wright and As Sheriff that became the #1 band on the island back then ....... in retrospect before Ed the band was like the various Wiggs ...... good players and nice and tight but without a dynamic front man they are just good players that you can see at any quality jam ....... as the guardian of local rock history I expect you to do what you can when you can to elevate Little Ed to his rightful place in local music history as maybe the most DYNAMIC front man in the island's history and I am one of the few still living that has seen them all and have no doubt of my professional opinion !!! Ron Wright
