Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C a n a D I a n L a w y e r m a g . c o m J a n u a r y 2 0 1 5 23 these guys, 'What is this crap?' — British groups like Wire and XTC." He went home to Windsor at Christmas, visited record stores, bought those groups, and a few other albums. "I started listening to this stuff and I loved it, abso- lutely loved it," he says. Perhaps it was the contrast to the genre that had dominated the listless 1970s musical scene. "I really didn't like music in the 70s," King says, calling it overpro- duced, innocuous, and "flatulent," embodied by rockers like the over- adorned Elton John. As a southwestern Ontario kid, King knew the power of Michi- gan music and Michigan record stores. One day, he walked into a store specializing in alternative rock in Port Huron, but before he could go further he caught a New Musical Express (NME) head- line that Joy Division's lead singer Ian Curtis had committed sui- cide. He snapped up Joy Division's first album Unknown Pleasures and a month later the newly released, Closer. Joy Division and the remaining band members' subsequent group, New Order, are to this day iconic bands in the annals of pop music. Singles like Love Will Tear Us Apart — "it's just an astounding song," King says. And Trans- mission is "my favourite song of all time." The groups captivated and captured him as the epitome of a kind of ethe- real, penetrating, and relevant rock that broke through the insipid floss of the previous decade. "Most of the music I like has kind of a heavy beat, drumming and bass, and the voice of this guy Ian Curtis has this rich baritone that still kind of gives me chills," he says. King has amassed a phenomenal col- lection of tens of thousands of albums and songs. "It's a serious passion, let's put it that way," he says with only a half laugh. The bands are too numerous to men- tion, but we can take a stab. All-time favourites include: Brian Jonestown Mas- sacre, Magazine, Gang of Four, TV On The Radio, Spacemen 3/Spiritualized, Echo & the Bunnymen, Arab Strap, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valen- tine, The Sisters of Mercy, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Newer bands include: Factory Floor, Caribou, Dark Horses, David Ford, We Were Promised Jetpacks, East India Youth,, and Django Django. His is an all-knowing passion. Mention the new documentary about Sheffield's Pulp and he will tell you, "I have been waiting for this," he says matter-of-factly. "Had a British copy of the DVD in my hands last month in Shoreditch but it was a Region 2 DVD so I waited." Shoreditch is the East London, U.K., home of renowned Rough Trade Records, housing a vast trove of even the most obscure rock. So King, of course, is a frequent and known customer, as he is at Amoeba Music in San Francisco and Los Angeles. To friends and professional colleagues in Windsor, that passion extends to the practice of law. "His opinions about a legal matter and his opinions about a completely obscure musical band are both worth paying attention to," says University of Windsor president Alan Wildeman. "He's a self-made guy, nothing was handed to him, a tremendous amount of drive, unbelievable work ethic," says Max Zalev, president of municipally- owned EnWin Utilities Ltd. "And on top of that he's a father of six." In labour law, which he practises at Windsor's McTague Law Firm LLP, King long ago made a con- scious decision to represent man- agement. "I've always been a bit of a contrarian," he says. "And to a certain extent the way that the laws in Ontario and Canada are, they've been sort of stacked against employ- ers for a lot of years." He calls it "a challenge" to help employers "wend their way through a minefield of significant laws and regulations that make it difficult to operate profit- ably in our country." But his tact and sure-footedness have won him plaudits from labour. "He brings a very respectful tone to the bargaining table," says former Cana- dian Auto Workers boss Ken Lewenza. "He represents the employers well but he also understands what the union needs to get the ratification process done." But on this November night, King has rounded-up a gaggle of friends for a trip over to Detroit's Magic Bag rock club. On stage is Peter Hook & The Light, Hook being the co-founder of Joy Division and New Order. Three sets of vintage music is on tap. The two know one another and the last three songs are ones King has selected. The final song Hook shouts out as a dedi- cation to George's son Andrew, 25, who has Down syndrome and is at the concert. Backstage afterwards, Hook calls his relationship with George "a musical friendship." And then ironically, this from a seminal rock artist, he laughs and says, "George has very kindly completed my musical education." Just as this issue of Canadian Lawyer was going to press, it was announced King had been appointed to the bench of the Ontario Superior Court so leaves behind his lawyering day job to fill an important role as a judge. i'm playing what i want to play, thE gEnrE of music i want to play, thE bands that suit my mood that night or suit thE mood of thE EVEning. night: DJ g. william rex spins the discs at the Loop nightclub.

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