Original line up HITS PEMBROKE (Johnnie Dee, Ray Coburn, Dave Betts, Gary Lalonde and Derry Grehan)
HONEYMOON SUITE
Johnnie Dee formed the first incarnation of Honeymoon Suite in Toronto in 1981, with original drummer Mike Lengyell, and established the nucleus of the band. They added 3 other players to round out the lineup with bass, keyboards and guitar. They worked hard in that first year but the lineup was short lived and changes were already in the air. In 1982, Johnnie was introduced to Derry Grehan by manager Steve Prendergast. Deciding to work together, they re-formed Honeymoon Suite with Grehan's former Steve Blimkie and the Reason bandmate Dave Betts on drums. Also added to the lineup were Ray Coburn on keyboards, and ex-Toronto bassist Gary Lalonde.
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.
Throughout 1983 and 1984 Honeymoon Suite toured Canada and the US, consistently headlining club gigs and opening for such acts as Billy Idol, April Wine, Laura Branigan, Jethro Tull, The Kinks, and Bryan Adams. In 1984 the band was nominated for the 'Most Promising Group' Juno Award but did not win.
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 close to 400,000 units in Canada alone.
Read more about Honeymoon Suite at their website
