Early days
The Ides of March began in Berwyn, Illinois (a western suburb of Chicago) on 16 October, 1964, as "The Shon-Dels". Their first record "Like It Or Lump It" was released on their own 'Epitome' record label in 1965.

In 1966, after changing their name to The Ides Of March, (the name was suggested by bassist Bob Bergland after reading Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in high school), the band released their first single on Parrot Records - "You Wouldn’t Listen". The song reached #7 in Chicago, and #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1966. This record, and its follow-ups (all pre-"Vehicle" and the later additional of brass instruments) have been re-released on the Sundazed Records CD Ideology. In 1968, the band added the brass section, and Bergland often doubled up on tenor saxophone for the brassier tracks.

Success
Having secured a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records, in 1970 the band released the track "Vehicle", which, at the time became the fastest selling single in Warner's history.[citation needed]

A little-known fact is that fourteen seconds of the completed master of "Vehicle" was accidentally erased in the recording studio, (primarily the guitar solo), and the missing section was spliced in from a previously discarded take. The song reached #2 in the Billboard record chart, and #1 in the corresponding Cash Box listings. When played on the radio, many people would mistakenly think it was Blood, Sweat and Tears (who was still going strong at the time) playing because of the similarities with the vocals and brass arrangement. The following album, Vehicle, reached #55 nationally.

The band toured extensively throughout 1970, in support of many of the top acts of the day, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and most notably Led Zeppelin, whom the band upstaged in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The local newspaper’s entertainment headline read "Ides Of March Steal The Show". The Ides were also among the participants in the legendary "Festival Express" train tour documented in a 2003 film, although the Ides were not featured in the film.

In 1971, the band released their second album Common Bond. The featured single was the vocal-driven "L.A. Goodbye". The song stayed at the #1 spot on regional charts for five weeks, but only reached #73 on the Billboard Chart. By 1972, the band changed its focus away from the "brass" sound, and changed record labels to RCA Records. Their next release World Woven however, failed to produce a hit single.

In 1973, the Midnight Oil album was released. The band played its final show of the 'first era' at Morton West High School, in Berwyn, in November 1973.

Split
Between 1973 and 1990 The Ides Of March went on an extended hiatus, during which Peterik founded the band Survivor and co-wrote all of their platinum hits including "Eye of the Tiger", "The Search Is Over", "High on You" and "I Can’t Hold Back".

He also began a career of writing collaborations, which resulted in many platinum hits for other artists; most notably "Hold On Loosely", "Rockin’ Into The Night", "Fantasy Girl" and "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys" for .38 Special and "Heavy Metal" for Sammy Hagar.

Comeback
In 1990, The Ides’ home city of Berwyn made an offer to have the re-united Ides headline their "Summerfest" festival. The concert was attended by over 20,000; and the Ides returned to live performances. The following year they released their first new music since 1973, a four song cassette EP entitled "Beware - The Ides Of March".

In 1992 the full length CD Ideology was released, with re-recordings of "Vehicle", "L.A. Goodbye", and "You Wouldn’t Listen" plus new material. After another five year gap, 1997 saw the EP "Age Before Beauty" being released. By 1998 the band wrote and released "Finally Next Year" to commemorate the Chicago Cubs' magical season. The song was included on a CD entitled The Cubs Greatest Hits which was sold at all Major League ballparks. The song was used on many Cubs-themed radio and television programs.

[edit] Recent times
By 2001 The Ides had expanded their schedule, and returned to national touring. The band recorded a two hour live performance for XM Satellite radio in Washington, DC. Also, "Vehicle" was used for an extensive national advertising campaign by General Motors.

A double live album Beware - The Ides Of March Live from an entire concert at the McAninch Center at the College Of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Rhino was issued in 2002. Plus, Handmade Records released Friendly Strangers, a double CD limited run set of the original Warner Bros. recordings.

The Ides Of March celebrated 40 years since their original formation in 2004, together with a series of multi-media shows emceed by Dick Biondi. The sold out show at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois, is captured on the DVD, A Vehicle Through Time.

2005 saw "Vehicle" get further promotion when American Idol runner-up Bo Bice performed the song three times on the show. That same year, the Ides released their compilation CD, Idessentials. It included past hits ("Vehicle", "L.A. Goodbye" and "You Wouldn’t Listen") and their versions of Survivor classics like "Eye Of The Tiger", "High On You" and "Rebel Girl", as well as new material. It featured the new single "Come Dancing", and a re-release of the Ides' first recording "Like It Or Lump It".

Matt Di Anglo and Flavia Cacace performed a salsa to 'Vehicle' in Strictly Come Dancing, Series 6, in Week 8 and in the final, scoring 38/40 and 39/40 respectively.

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The Ides of March (band)
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The Ides of March
Origin U.S.
Years active 1966-1973
1990-
Label(s) Warner Bros. Records
Members
Larry Millas — Vocals and guitar
Jim Peterik — Vocals and guitar
Bob Bergland — Vocals, bass, saxophone
Mike Borch — Vocals and drums
Chuck Soumar - Trumpet, vocals and percussion
John Larson - Trumpet
Derek Lull -Trumpet Soloist
The Ides of March was an early 1970s band, that had a transatlantic hit with the song "Vehicle" in 1970.