Spoons continue fun-loving journey
On April 8, 1967, music history was made in Hofburg, Vienna, during the Eurovision Song Contest, which has been running since 1956.
British singer Sandie Shaw, known for singing in her bare feet, sang fun-loving hit “Puppet on a String” and won the contest. It was the U.K.’s first win, and “Puppet on a String” remains an all-time ESC favourite.
Gord Deppe of Canada’s iconic new wave sci-fi synth-popsters Spoons, who was living in Germany at the time, listened to Shaw’s 45 single all the time thanks to his mother who loved the song.
“That little melody stuck with me, along with “Lara’s Theme” from “Doctor Zhivago.” Those were the first songs I remember and they haunted my brain,” notes Deppe with a laugh. “I was born in Canada and then moved to Germany for a good chunk of my early years,” he notes, adding his time overseas is likely the reason he gravitated towards British and European bands in the ’80s.
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Spoons singer/composer/guitarist, from Burlington, says music has been in his life for as long as he can remember. It began with trips across North America.
“I come from a musical family, and I know that sounds cliché, but seriously, we would go on these Griswold vacation trips,” says Deppe, an avid film buff, referring to National Lampoon comedy “Vacation” starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold.
“The whole family would travel across America. We would go and see the Grand Canyon and the final destination just like (“Vacation’s”) Wally World,” says Deppe, adding his family would hold music jams in hotel rooms at the end of the day featuring guitar, shakers and recorder. “I am surprised we never got kicked out,” says Deppe, who picked up guitar at age 11.
Thanks to another film classic “Some Like it Hot,” Deppe chose saxophone for his Aldershot High School music program. That’s where he met Spoons’ bassist/singer Sandy Horne, who played the trumpet.
“We sat beside each other,” said Deppe. “There I was . . . the nerdiest quietest kid in school. I had a mullet and side burns, and a mustache. That was one thing I left out of my book (2014’s “SpoonFed — My Life with The Spoons”). I thought I cannot put that in . . . it was just ridiculous. I was a loser and ended up sitting beside probably the cutest girl in school. She was 14 at the time. But we talked and she was really nice to me. We connected because of the music,” he says.
During a field trip on a school bus, Deppe, who brought his guitar, taught Horne, barely 15, how to play low notes like a bass on her own guitar.
“We put a little band together within the school band. It was like a pop band and that is how it went from there. The rest is history,” states Deppe.
“Other bands used objects as names,” he adds “The Cars, Martha and the Muffins, etc. We wanted to take something everyday and give it new meaning. Over lunch one day, having soup, there it was right in front of us — Spoons,” he says.
Thanks to his dad’s sci-fi/paranormal library, Deppe “soaked up sci-fi like a sponge” as a kid. “Nova Heart” comes from the 1953 Arthur C. Clarke classic novel “Childhood’s End.” Deppe also loved English sci-fi TV shows like “The Prisoner” and “Doctor Who.”
Hence the Spoons sound — trying to figure out the modern world in love and life through a quirky savvy cosmic synth sci-fi vibe.
In 1980, the Spoons opened for The Diodes (“I’m Tired of Waking Up Tired”).
The first band line-up included Rob Preuss, on keys, and drummer Derrick Ross.
Other members included keyboardist Scott MacDonald and drummer Steve Kendry, (“Bridges over Borders” (1986), Vertigo Tango” (1988), plus current members, veteran drummer Chris McNeill (Glass Tiger), and Toronto’s Casey MQ on keys.
The Spoons have many hits including “Nova Heart,” “Arias and Symphonies,” “Old Emotions,” “Red Light,” “Talk Back” and “Romantic Traffic.”
Debut album “Stick Figure Neighbourhood” (1981) was produced by a young Daniel Lanois (Peter Gabriel, U2) at Hamilton’s Grant Ave Studios.
Arias & Symphonies” (1982) was produced by John Punter (Roxy Music) recorded at George Martin’s Air Studios in London, England. “Talk Back” (1983) was produced by Nile Rodgers (David Bowie, Madonna). More albums and tours followed as the Spoons became an internationally acclaimed band. They played (Ontario’s) Police Picnic (with The Police) to 60,000 people in addition to sharing stages with Culture Club and Simple Minds.
It was also the golden age of video, the internet, and YouTube — perfect for a young band, with a cute girl and “un-rock and roll sound” — both then and now.
Through it all, the “Nova Heart” (pun intended) of this venerable group remains Deppe and Horne. Thanks to retro ’80s channel “Much More Music” and a new video-driven generation, the Spoons, never missing a drum machine beat, began touring again.
“Collectible Spoons” (1994) was followed by more albums including 2011’s “Static in Transmission” and single “You Light Up” produced by Jeff Carter of electronic quartet Puncturevine. In 2012, the Spoons re-issued 30th anniversary copies of “Arias and Symphonies” and “Nova Heart” with a 30th anniversary reissue of “Romantic Traffic/Tell No Lies” in 2015.
Deppe has two other fun bands — The Lost Boys (for 1987 Keifer Sutherland horror comedy movie and Peter Pan) plus Five Star Fall.
He also works with kids — as program director of production company Nexus 4 Entertainment’s Youth Engagement Program; in addition to SickKids, and SongStudio student showcase with Triumph’s Rik Emmett. The kids love hearing about a shy, awkward, nerdy kid from Germany who knew no English, yet found a place to fit in Canada through a life and legacy in music.