<P> The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, are a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of lead singer Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay . They have released 14 studio albums, two live albums, one EP, and 54 singles . Nine of their albums have reached No. 1 on the Canadian charts . They have received numerous Canadian music awards, including 16 Juno Awards . </P> <P> Following Downie's diagnosis with terminal brain cancer in 2016, the band undertook a tour of Canada in support of their thirteenth album Man Machine Poem . Although some media have reported this as the band's final concert tour, the band themselves have not declared it as such, stating only that future recording and performing activity will depend on Downie's health . The Man Machine Poem Tour's final concert, held at the Rogers K - Rock Centre in Kingston on August 20, 2016, was broadcast globally by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a cross-platform television, radio and internet streaming special . </P> <P> The Tragically Hip formed in 1984 in Kingston, Ontario . Gord Sinclair and Rob Baker were students at Kingston Collegiate and had performed together at the KCVI Variety Show as the Rodents . Baker and Sinclair joined with Downie and Fay in 1984 and began playing gigs around Kingston with some memorable stints at a Queen's University pub called Alfie's . Guitarist Paul Langlois joined in 1986; saxophonist Davis Manning left that same year . They took their name from a skit in the Michael Nesmith movie Elephant Parts . </P> <P> By the mid-1980s they performed in small music venues across Ontario until being seen by then - MCA President Bruce Dickinson at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto . They were then signed to a long - term record deal with MCA, and recorded the self - titled EP The Tragically Hip . The album produced two singles, "Small Town Bring - Down" and "Highway Girl". </P>

Where did the name tragically hip come from