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The 80's Club
Honeymoon Suite
A Flock of Seagulls
Men Without Hats
Spoons
CANADIAN TOUR NOVEMBER 12TH - 29TH, 2024
By Curtis Newart
November 1, 2024
The 80's Club tour begins on November 12th in Prince George, British Columbia, and works its way across Canada, concluding in Moncton, New Brunswick, on November 29th.
The tour features four unforgettable 1980s bands with a stack of hits between them. Honeymoon Suite, A Flock of Seagulls, Men Without Hats, and Spoons collectively have over 40 hits worldwide.
Johnnie Dee from Honeymoon Suite (Source: Honeymoon Suite Official Facebook Page)
“Come join us with our good friends Honeymoon Suite, A Flock of Seagulls, and Spoons this November," said Ivan Doroschuk of Men Without Hats. "We can’t wait to ‘Safety Dance’ together again.”
“This tour is exciting for us in so many ways,” said Gord Deppe of Spoons and A Flock of Seagulls. “It's the first time we've toured the country from coast to coast in decades. On top of that, I get to play with my own group Spoons, as well as with my new bandmates A Flock of Seagulls. There will never be another decade like the 80s and this lineup of acts represents it in a most stellar way.”
Honeymoon Suite (L to R): Peter Nunn (keyboards), Gary Lalonde (bass) Johnnie Dee (lead vocals), Derry Grehan (lead guitar), and Dave Betts (drums). (Source: Honeymoon Suite Facebook)
Honeymoon Suite 1988. Top row (L to R): Gary Lalonde, Johnnie Dee, Dave Betts; bottom row (L to R): Rob Preuss and Derry Grehan. (Press Photo)
Canadian rock band Honeymoon Suite was founded in 1981, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Their name was inspired by Niagara Falls being known as the honeymoon destination, worldwide.
Original band members included Johnnie Dee (vocals, guitar), Brad Bent (keyboards, vocals) and Mike Lengyell (drums). By 1983, the line-up changed, with Dee (the only original member) on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, plus new members Derry Grehan on lead guitar and Dave Betts on drums.
In 1983, Honeymoon Suite won the annual Homegrown Contest by Toronto’s Q107-FM radio station with their song “New Girl Now”. They signed with WEA Canada shortly thereafter.
They toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, headlining club appearances and opening for Billy Idol, Bryan Adams, Heart, Journey, Loverboy, 38 Special, Jethro Tull, The Kinks, Laura Branigan, and April Wine.
Honeymoon Suite with Dick Clark at their American Bandstand taping which aired on November 3rd, 1984 (Source: Honeymoon Suite Instagram)
Dick Clark interviews Honeymoon Suite- American Bandstand 1984 (Source: Awards Show Network YouTube)
Honeymoon Suite released their self-titled debut album in 1984, which produced the hit songs “New Girl Now,” “Burning In Love,” “Wave Babies” and “Stay In the Light.”
Honeymoon Suite (1984)
Honeymoon Suite - New Girl Now [Official Video]
Honeymoon Suite - Wave Babies (RESTORED VIDEO)
Honeymoon Suite - Stay in the Light (RESTORED VIDEO)
The MTV and MuchMusic favourites released their follow-up album, The Big Prize, in 1986. It launched four more hits for the band: “Bad Attitude”, “Feel It Again”, “What Does It Take”, and “All Along You Knew”.
They won a Juno for Group of the Year in 1986.
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The Big Prize (1986)
Honeymoon Suite - What Does It Take
Honeymoon Suite Performing All Along You Knew. Spruce Grove, AB. July 1, 2015.
Since then, the band has chalked up another seven Top 100 hits in North America, including "Love Changes Everything", "Lookin' Out for Number One", "It's Over Now", "Still Lovin' You", "Long Way", "Say You Don't Know Me", and "The Road".
Honeymoon Suite's music has been used in movies and television, including the series Miami Vice and Bones, plus the title track "Lethal Weapon" from the 1987 film.
The band went through several more line-up changes, but in the early 2000s, the original line-up of Dee, Grehan, Betts and Lalonde reunited. They added Peter Nunn on keys, and have kept the same line-up since.
They have released a total of nine studio albums, and have sold over one million units worldwide.
On February 16, 2024, Honeymoon Suite released their new album Alive through Frontiers music.
Alive (2024) Buy Now
Honeymoon Suite Signed T-Shirt Contest
Buy Tickets Now! Honeymoon Suite Official! or Ticketmaster
Nov. 12 - Prince George, BC - CN Centre
Nov. 13 - Dawson Creek, BC - Ovintiv Events Centre
Nov. 14 - Enoch, AB - River Cree Casino & Resort
Nov. 15 - Lethbridge, AB - Enmax Centre
Nov. 16 - Moose Jaw, SK - Moose Jaw Events Centre
Nov. 19 - Thunder Bay, ON - Thunder Bay Cmty Auditorium
Nov. 22 - Hamilton, ON - First Ontario Concert Hall
Nov. 23 - Toronto, ON - HISTORY
Nov. 24 - Peterborough, ON - Memorial Centre
Nov. 26 - Ottawa, ON - TD Place
Nov. 28 - Saint John, NB - TD Station
Nov. 29 - Moncton, NB - Casino New Brunswick
Concert review coming in the December issue!
Mike Score from A Flock of Seagulls (Courtesy A Flock of Seagulls)
A Flock of Seagulls classic line-up (L to R): Ali Score, Mike Score, Paul Reynolds, Frank Maudsley (Source: A Flock of Seagulls Facebook)
English new wave band A Flock of Seagulls was formed in Liverpool in 1979 by Mike Score (lead vocals, keyboards), his brother Ali Score (drums) and Frank Maudsley (bass) in 1980, then added guitarist Paul Reynolds several months later.
In 1981, their second single, "Telecommunication", became an underground hit in Euro-disco and new wave clubs.
They signed with Jive Records, then released their debut album, A Flock of Seagulls, in 1982. It became a commercial and critical success, charting number one in Australia and landing in the Top 10 in the US and New Zealand.
A Flock of Seagulls (1982)
The GRAMMY award-winning synth-heavy band's Top 40 hits include "I Ran (So Far Away)", "Space Age Love Song", and “Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)”.
A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away) (Video)
"I Ran (So Far Away)" became the band's biggest hit, with the music video playing in heavy rotation on MTV.
A Flock Of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song (Official Music Video)
Their current line-up includes Mike Score, Pando on bass guitar, Kevin Rankin on drums, and Gord Deppe (lead singer of Spoons) on guitar.
A Flock Of Seagulls (L to R): Mike Score, Kevin Rankin, Pando, Gord Deppe (Source: Kevin Rankin Official Website)
A Flock Of Seagulls Signed T-shirt Contest
Concert review coming in the December issue!
Men Without Hats are a Canadian new wave pop band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1977. They are best known for their 1980s hits "The Safety Dance" (a worldwide top ten hit), and "Pop Goes the World".
Men Without Hats
Men Without Hats (Press Photo)
Pop Goes the World (1987)
"The Safety Dance" was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he was kicked out of a nightclub for pogo dancing (the club cited safety concerns). Pogoing is generally defined as bouncing up and down and around, as if on a pogo stick. The dance was reputedly popularized by Sid Vicious of Sex Pistols fame, which was adopted by new wave club kids.
Men Without Hats - Safety Dance (HD 720p)
Men Without Hats - Pop Goes The World
Their music has been heard in ads for McDonald's, Alaska Airlines, Super Bowl campaigns, and Tide PODS® “Pop Goes the World” campaign.
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) inductees have over 38 million listeners on Apple Music, 31 million views on YouTube, and almost 10 million listeners on Spotify.
In 2023, Sahara Doroschuk-Sloan replaced her father Colin on keyboards. Current band members include Ivan on vocals, Sahara on keyboards and vocals, Sho Murray on guitar, and Adrian White on drums.
Men Without Hats are currently based in Vancouver, Canada.
Men Without Hats Signed Live Album Contest
Concert review coming in the December issue!
Spoons
Spoons
The pop and new wave band Spoons was formed in 1979 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Original members included Gordon Deppe (lead vocals and guitar), Sandy Horne (vocals and bass), Brett Wickens (keyboards and synthesizers), and Peter Shepherd (drums).
Their hits include “Nova Heart”, “Tell No Lies”, “Old Emotions”, and “Romantic Traffic”. They have toured extensively, playing sold-out shows with Talking Heads, The Police, Culture Club, and Simple Minds.
Spoons Romantic Traffic
Spoons - Old Emotions (remastered audio)
The Spoons' gold album Arias & Symphonies was named one of the 20 Most Influential Albums of The 80s by The Chart Magazine, and "Nova Heart" was included in the book The Top 100 Canadian Singles of All Time by Bob Mersereau.
In 2021, they released two albums. The first was the greatest hits compilation album Repeatable 1980-2020. The second, Echoes, is an amazing collection of cover songs by their peers worldwide to benefit artists during COVID. The album includes a cover of "Arias & Symphonies" by Gowan.
"Truly one of our proudest achievements ever," said Deppe.
The book Spoonfed is the life story of Gord Deppe, Spoons' principal songwriter, lead singer and lead guitarist.
SpoonFed: My Life With The Spoons by Gord Deppe (2014) Buy Now
Spoons current line-up includes Gord Deppe, Sandy Horne, drummer Chris McNeill and keyboardist Scott Macdonald.
Spoons Signed Album Contest
Concert review coming in the December issue!
