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 re-formed the bands first lineup and
added Grehan's former Steve Blimkie and The Reason band mate Dave Betts on
drums along with Toronto bred keyboardist Ray Cockburn and ex- Toronto
bassist Gary Lalonde.
In 1983, they decided to enter the annual Homegrown Contest promoted by
Toronto's Q107-FM radio station. Prendergast approached his friend and
producer Tom Treumuth to produce a song for the contest entitled, “New
Girl Now,” which went on to win the contest that year. Bob Roper head of
A&R at WEA Canada was so impressed with the initial response to “New Girl
Now” that he signed the band immediately. Honeymoon Suite entered the
studio shortly thereafter to begin recording. Originally scheduled for
release on Valentine’s day the milestone first album was released in June
of 1984.
Honeymoon Suite toured Canada and the US throughout 1983 and 1984,
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.
Propelled by the success of additional singles from the album, in 1985 the
band began headlining gigs throughout Ontario and the rest of Canada. A
significant highlight was their achievement of a Juno award in 1985,
propelled by the first album’s platinum sales status. Almost 22 years
after its initial release, the album has sold over 400,000 units in Canada
alone.
Honeymoon Suite’s second album was released on Valentine's Day in 1986.
“The Big Prize” featured a rare appearance by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson
and achieved platinum status in Canada almost immediately, with steady
sales in the US. The band’s American tour that year included opening
stints for Heart, .38 Special, ZZ Top, Journey, Starship, and Saga.
Honeymoon Suite also headlined a sold-out show at the Kingswood Music
Theatre (north of Toronto). In 1986, Ray Coburn left the band and was
replaced by Toronto whiz-kid keyboardist Rob Preuss (formerly of the
Spoons). This year also led to the band’s achievement of a gold award for
'Best Live Act' at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, in addition
to the 'Group Of The Year' Juno Award in Canada.
For their third album, the band travelled to Los Angeles in the winter of
1987 to record with Ted Templeman (Little Feat, The Doobie Brothers, Van
Halen). During their time in Los Angeles, Dee was hit by a car at L.A.X.
Airport and broke his leg in several places, which resulted in surgery.
While Dee recovered in hospital, Doobie Brother Michael McDonald was
brought into the studio to help out with the recording sessions, where he
wrote lyrics and sang back up on one song. These successful sessions
resulted in “Racing After Midnight,” a slightly harder-edged,
guitar-oriented album that spawned a European tour with Status Quo and a
headlining tour throughout Canada.
Problems surfaced with long-time management company Head Office, which the
band subsequently left. Keyboardist Ray Coburn then returned to the band
in time for WEA to release a “Best Of” compilation in 1989. When Betts and
Lalonde took leave shortly thereafter, Coburn, Dee and Grehan began
writing together again.
The trio returned to the studio in 1990 to craft “Monsters Under The Bed,”
with Paul Northfield as producer. This album featured Steve Webster (Billy
Idol) on bass and Jorn Anderson on drums. Singles "Say You Don't Know Me"
and "The Road” were successful in Canada and the band began to receive US
attention, with songs featured on US television show Miami Vice and the
movie soundtracks of Lethal Weapon II and One Crazy Summer.
Honeymoon Suite’s original line-up reformed in 2007 and after a very
successful year of touring, they hit the road again for a sold out summer
touring schedule in 2008. One of the highlights was their fantastic
performance at the Festival D’ete de Quebec with Dennis Deyoung and a
crowd of 40,000 people who gave the band two standing ovations. Honeymoon
Suite will continue their non-stop touring schedule this summer with shows
in Canada and the US alongside Loverboy, April Wine, Helix and other
Canadian and American classic rock acts. The band has also just been
confirmed as special guests on the prestigious Firefest Festival in
Nottingham England Oct 24th.
In recording news, a brand new studio album titled “Clifton Hill” (named
after Niagara Falls, ON where the band was formed 25 years ago) has now
received a worldwide release. Produced by Tom Treumuth (who produced the
debut album) the album will be released in the US on July 14th by the E1
Entertainment Company.
For more information including up coming tour dates please visit http://www.honeymoonsuite.com
or contact the band’s management at
Tom@hypnoticmanagement.com
HITS
New Girl Now
Bad Attitude
Feel It Again
What Does It Take
Love Changes Everything
