Rock band, formed in Mississauga, Ont, in 1975 by Mike Levine (bass guitar, keyboards) and Gil Moore (drums, vocals) with Rik Emmett (guitar, vocals). All three contributed, or collaborated on, songs in the band's repertoire. The guitar and keyboard player Rick Santers was added in 1986 for Triumph's concert appearances. The trio moved quickly from local high schools and Ontario bars to concert halls, making its first US appearance in San Antonio, Tex, in 1977, and its first Canadian tour in 1978. It performed regularly at Maple Leaf Gardens 1978-87; two concerts there a week apart in April 1985 were sold out. In 1979 and 1981 it appeared at the CNE Grandstand. Its touring itinerary took it to similar arenas and stadiums throughout North America, and in 1981 to England. A video of its performance in 1987 before 250,000 people at the US Festival in California, Live At The US Festival, was issued by MCA.
Initially its instrumentation, its high-tech, power-rock style, and the pyro-technical nature of its performances brought Triumph comparisons to Rush. To wit, Peter Goddard described its music as 'a kind of over-weaning, head-bending music that seriously challenged Rush's supremacy as the masters of the sonic clout' (Toronto Star, 24 Mar 1979). Rarely favored criticially, Triumph was often depicted by the Toronto media as a business rather than creative venture. In fact, it opened its own recording studio, Metalworks, in Mississauga, in 1981.

Emmett, however, came to be regarded as one of the premier guitarists in rock, and the group has had both a hard-core and mainstream following, the former, among young male audiences, based on the sheer volume and spectacle of its concerts. At the same time some of its more melodic material (usually sung by Emmett) enjoyed wide radio play - eg, 'Hold On' (1979, from Just A Game, Attic LAT-1061), 'Magic Power' (1981, from Allied Forces, Attic LAT-1122), and 'Somebody's Out There' (1986) and 'Just One Night' (1987, both from The Sport Of Kings, MCA MCA-5786).

Its other LPs released 1976-82 by Attic were Triumph (LAT-1012), Rock & Roll Machine (LAT-1036), Progressions Of Power (LAT-1083), and Never Surrender (LAT-1150). For MCA 1984-9 it also released Thunder Seven (MCA-5537), Stages (comprising concert excerpts 1981-5, MCA-2-8020), Surveillance (MCA-42083), and Classics (MCA-42283). Domestic sales of most of its LPs exceeded 50,000 each; those of Just A Game and Thunder Seven, 100,000. In the USA, Allied Forces and Never Surrender sold more than 500,000 each. Song folios corresponding with its albums have been published by Warner.

Emmett left Triumph after a concert 3 Sep 1988 at the Kingswood Music Theatre in Maple, Ont, and began touring in Canada and the USA on his own in 1990. His album Absolutely (1989-90, Duke Street DSR-31068) included the popular 'When a Heart Breaks,' 'Saved by Love,' and 'World of Wonder'. Triumph did not formally disband after Emmett's departure but remained inactive publicly 1989-91.



Source : http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003477