Formed in 1980, from the heart of suburbia in Burlington, Ontario, Gordon Deppe and Sandy Horne would soon make Spoons a different kind of household word. Their unique brand of upbeat, danceable music quickly became anthems to legions of fans. Gold albums, various EPs and a movie soundtrack produced such hit songs as Nova Heart, Arias & Symphonies, Old Emotions, Tell No Lies and Romantic Traffic. Now, more than two decades later, who could have predicted the magnitude of a phenomenon known as "retro 80s", when old and new fans alike would rediscover these Canadian classics?

From the dance club to the symphony stage, a double vinyl set of four remixes of Nova Heart became available to clubs and deejays internationally and the Spoons found themselves performing their hits with a full symphony orchestra. Most recently, a Live In Concert DVD was released by Much More Music/Linus Entertainment, their songs appeared on a 20th Century Masters double CD (Universal Music) and a new, long awaited album has finally hit the streets. Aptly entitled "Unexpected Guest At A Cancelled Party", the album is packed with previously unreleased recordings and concert favourites from the vintage 1982 - 1985 years.

"Searching for and finding these songs was like uncovering lost memories in some ancient, overgrown garden. Some had to be carefully restored from their neglected, corrupted state, not unlike faded photographs or cracked, moss covered statues. For some, it seemed, it was merely a matter of time before any hope of a second life would slip away altogether. But with a bit of care, they were brought back to life and, as they did, the memories that surrounded the songs also came back into focus. Of innocent days in the early 1980s when we were at our creative best and songs came without effort, when they just happened out of the sheer pleasure of making music.

If you push back the vines a little, you might see bits and pieces of songs that would make their way into other recordings. Unpremeditated Love and In The Hands Of Money show you their origins and, I think, are still more pure and musical. See if you can pick out the references to the Arias & Symphonies album, scattered all through 2000 Years. The earliest compositions on this collection are Bending and the instrumental Young English Gentleman, the latter a tribute to our good friend and producer John Punter. Given the chance, I think newer songs like Love Drum and Love Can Be A Stranger could have had their day in the sun. But more than any, Spaces was probably buried the deepest, so much so that I didn't recognize it as our own when I first found it. So long had it been sleeping under the dead leaves. The instrumental section near the end is my favourite moment on the whole album.

Most of these songs were recorded after Romantic Traffic and Tell No Lies, in a tiny, hidden away studio in Oakville, Ontario. We were about to embark on a whole new chapter in our musical lives that would leave these old ideas forgotten, to slowly weather over time and eventually fade into the earth.

So, in a way, this album truly was almost never made. Fortunately, never is just a word."

Listen to Spoons ... again, or for the first time ... and join in the retro 80s fun.

For more information about the Spoons please visit their website.

Unexpected Guest at a Cancelled Party

Static in Transmission