Inductee: The Spoons

The Spoons: Canadian synth-pop gods. Photo by Andrew McNaughton. Courtesy Gord Deppe.

Reason for Induction:
For distinguished service blazing a New Romantic trail as synth-pop pioneers.

Citation:
Bred in Burlington, Ont., suckled on the techno-teat of CFNY radio, and tested in such Toronto clubs as Larry’s Hideaway, the Spoons were like a wonderful nebbish musical fungus growing in isolation. Teenagers who, in their parents’ basements, riffed out OMD-inspired 20-minute epics, the members of the group aimed to indulge themselves rather than win label approval. The result was an innovative sound that crashed, like a beaming New Romantic comet, into a scene infested with the likes of REO Speedwagon and the Family Brown. Of course, the timing was right. It was the early 1980s, an era when musical nerds (like the Talking Heads) were coming out of the woodwork.

Formed in 1979 and named during lunch, the Spoons were the brainchild of high-school sweethearts bassist Sandy Horne and guitarist/lead singer Gord Deppe, whose signature vocals oozed New Romantic verve and adolescent indignation. The group was rounded out by keyboardist Rob Preuss on the Jupiter IV and drummer Derrick Ross. An aspiring producer named Daniel Lanois recorded their first album and it caught the attention of Brit legend John Punter (Roxy Music, Japan), who collaborated on the Spoons’ next effort, a 12-inch single, Nova Heart.

Written by Deppe, the song’s obtuse lyrics (he calls them “a spiritual take on the end of childhood”) complemented a hypnotic and frenetic new wave beat. Both dark and danceable, Nova Heart was released in 1982 and became an instant hit in Canada and a cult favorite in the States. L.A.’s KROQ, for example, gave it heavy rotation. Incredibly, Nova Heart remains a staple both on radio and in the clubs. Four new Nova Heart remixes were recently printed by Release Records. Last fall it was used in the American series Huff and alterno-group Johnny Hollow recorded a version featuring a female vocalist and cellos.

The Spoons followed Nova Heart with Arias and Symphonies, an album that hit gold status and was named by Chart magazine as one of the 20 most influential albums of the ’80s. They had three Top 10 hits in Canada and toured incessantly. Sting handpicked them to play the 1982 Police Picnic. They opened for Culture Club and Simple Minds, collaborated with producer Nile Rodgers (producer of David Bowie’s Let’s Dance) and recorded many more hits, including Old Emotions and Romantic Traffic. The Spoons' eclectic foray into new wave proved that Canadian music wasn’t all cock-rock, lumberjack vests and heavy metal. Ironically, however, by 1990, that was precisely what the American market wanted in the form of grunge, and after a series of wrangles with their record label, the Spoons went on hiatus. A 1995 offering, Collectible Spoons, triggered a burst of new interest and the Spoons continue to reunite a few times each year – when they bring back those old emotions.

Andrew Clark is a Toronto writer who remembers when the Spoons played an Ottawa gig at Barrymore’s in 1982.