The 80’s Club Featuring Honeymoon Suite, A Flock Of Seagulls And Men Without Hats

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Cost: $49.00
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HONEYMOON SUITE
Johnnie Dee and Derry Grehan, the principal and founding members of Honeymoon Suite, met when introduced by manager Stephen Prendergast in 1982. Deciding to work together, they formed Honeymoon Suite with Grehan’s former Steve Blimkie And The Reason’s band-mate Dave Betts on drums, plus an anonymous keyboard player and bassist.
In 1983, they decided to enter the Homegrown Contest put on yearly by Toronto’s Q107-FM radio station so Prendergast approached his friend and producer Tom Treumuth to produce a song for them. Based on the buying public’s response, “New Girl Now” won the contest and Bob Roper at WEA Canada was so impressed with the song and response that he signed the band right away.
Personnel conflicts eventually arose and the keyboardist was replaced with Toronto-bred Ray Coburn. Although a session player named Brian Brackstone played bass on the album, the band soon found themselves a permanent bassist named Gary Lalonde. Originally scheduled for release on Valentine’s Day, the milestone first album was released in June of 1984.
Propelled by the success of more singles from the album, 1985 saw the band begin to headline gigs throughout Ontario and the rest of Canada. A highlight was the presentation of an award at the 1985 Junos. By this time the first album had achieved platinum sales status. Almost 22 years later the album has now sold over 400,000 units in Canada alone.
Honeymoon Suite’s second album was released on Valentine’s Day 1986. The Big Prize featured a rare appearance by Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson. It went platinum in Canada almost immediately and started selling steadily in the US. Tours in the States that year included opening stints for Heart, .38 Special, ZZ Top, Journey, Starship, and Saga. The band also headlined a sold-out show at the Kingswood Music Theatre just north of Toronto. Ray Coburn left and was replaced by Toronto whiz-kid keyboardist Rob Preuss (formerly of the Spoons). 1986 also saw the band win a gold award for ‘Best Live Act’ at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, the ‘Group Of The Year’ Juno and headline more dates in both Canada and some northern States.
For album number three, the band went to Los Angeles in the winter of 1987 to record with Ted Templeman (Little Feat, The Doobie Brothers, Van Halen), and while there Dee was hit by a car at L.A.X. airport breaking his leg in several places and requiring surgery for a ten-inch pin to help the leg heal properly. While recovering in hospital, Doobie Brother Michael McDonald was brought in to help out with the recording sessions; he wrote lyrics and sang back up on one song. The results of all the hard work was Racing After Midnight, a slightly harder-edged more guitar-oriented album that spawned a European tour with Status Quo and a headlining tour of Canada.
The trio returned to the studio in 1990 to craft Monsters Under The Bed with Paul Northfield producing. The album featured Steve Webster (from Billy Idol’s band) on bass and Jorn Anderson on drums. Singles like “Say You Don’t Know Me” and “The Road” did well in Canada. Some US success did come their way as songs got placed on TV’s Miami Vice and two movie soundtracks, Lethal Weapon II and One Crazy Summer.

A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
A Flock Of Seagulls may well be known for their bizarrely teased haircuts as much as their hit single “I Ran.” A Flock of Seagulls were one of prime movers in the 80’s new wave era. Growing out of the synth-heavy and ruthlessly stylish new romantic movement. Hairdresser Mike Score (lead vocals, keyboards) formed A Flock of Seagulls with his brother Ali (drums) and fellow hairdresser Frank Maudsley (bass) in 1980, adding guitarist Paul Reynolds several months later. The group released its debut EP on Bill Nelsons Cocteau Records early in 1981, and while the record failed to chart, its lead track, “Telecommunication,” became an underground hit in Euro-disco and new wave clubs.
The band signed a major-label contract with Jive by the end of the year, and their eponymous debut album appeared in the spring of 1982. “I Ran (So Far Away)” was released as the first single from the album, and MTV quickly picked up on its icily attractive video, which featured long shots of Mike Score and his distinctive, cascading hair. The single climbed into the American Top Ten, taking the album along with it. In the U.K., “I Ran” didn’t make the Top 40, but “Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)” reached number ten later that year; in America, that single became a Top 40 hit in 1983, after “Space Age Love Song” peaked at number 30. “Wishing” was taken from the group’s second album, Listen in 1983. The band released 1984’s The Story of a Young Heart which fielded the minor hit “The More You Live, The More You Love.”
In 2003, the original line-up of Mike, Ali, Frank and Paul reunited for a one-off performance on the VH1 series Bands Reunited. In September 2004, they reformed again and did a brief tour in the United States. From 2004 to 2017 Mike was as busy as ever touring the band around the world. In 2018 the band appeared on record together for the first time since 1984. The Ascension album was recorded in multiple studios around the world and featured the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra providing backing to their hits.

MEN WITHOUT HATS
Canadian new wave/synthpop group featuring original frontman Ivan Doroschuk, Lou Dawson and Rachel Ashmore on keys, and guitarist Sho Murray.
Known for the hits “The Safety Dance” (#3 on Billboard Hot 100) and “Pop Goes the World.” Men Without Hats returned to the spotlight in 2011 with a breakout show at SXSW culminating a hiatus of 20+ years. The seventh studio album Love in the Age of War (2012) was followed by extensive, well-received tours throughout North America and across the world in the years since.
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