Formed in 1980, an intrepid young band from Burlington Ontario would soon make "Spoons" a different kind of household word...
Together with Derrick Ross and Rob Preuss, Gord Deppe and Sandy Horne would help define the sound of pop and New Wave in the 80's, with hits including "Nova Heart", "Romantic Traffic", "Old Emotions" and "Tell No Lies". Their album "Arias & Symphonies" would go on to be named one of the 20 Most Influential Albums of The 80's by "the Chart" Magazine, and their song "Nova Heart" was recently included in Bob Mersereau's book "the Top 100 Canadian Singles of All Time"...
...Not bad for a bunch of kids from Burlington, Ontario...
Their first album, "Stick Figure Neighbourhood", was recorded in 1981 at Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, Ontario, with a then unknown engineer by the name of Daniel Lanois. The album garnered rave press reviews and reached the #1 slot on college radio. But it wouldn't be until the release of their song "Nova Heart", produced by John Punter of Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry fame, that the Spoons became a household name...
The Arias & Symphonies album, recorded at George Martin's famous Air Studios in London, England, solidified the Spoons' presence on the new wave music front. With the commercial radio success that followed, the band saw themselves opening for such acts as the Police, Culture Club, and Simple Minds. A little TV show called MuchMusic had also just been launched, and the young Spoons were tailor-made for a whole new video-driven generation. In fact, the very first episode of the show began with, "Welcome to MuchMusic. Coming up we have brand new videos by Duran Duran, Howard Jones and the Spoons." A new era was launched with those words.
In 1983, Ready Records brought on Nile Rodgers (Chic, David Bowie, Madonna, and most recently Daft Punk's “Get Lucky”) to produce their follow-up album Talkback. More radio hits emerged, including Romantic Traffic, Old Emotions and Tell No Lies. The Spoons continued to build their fan base around the world. The video for Romantic Traffic, shot in the subways of Toronto, remains as one of the most iconic Canadian videos of all time. A soundtrack for Ron Mann's movie "Listen To The City" followed, as well as two more studio albums.
Under the wing of Rush's manager Ray Danniels, and with the added talents of keyboardist Scott MacDonald and drummer Steve Kendry, the Spoons recorded the "Bridges Over Borders" and "Vertigo Tango" albums on Anthem Records. The resulting singles, "Bridges Over Borders", "Be Alone Tonight", "Rodeo", "When Time Turns Around", and "Waterline", kept the band touring until the end of the 80's.
A lot of people believed that this marked the end for all things 80's... But they couldn't have been more wrong. Something that would soon be known as "the Retro 80s movement" was looming just around the corner.
The Spoons greatest hits package, "Collectible Spoons", was released in 1994, on MCA/Universal Music, and it led to one of the band's most successful tours ever. The old fans were hungry for the music they grew up on, and new ones were eager to give the 80's a second listen. Spoons songs were being played more and more frequently, as many radio stations featured "all-80's" shows, and a new offshoot of MuchMusic, called "MuchMoreMusic", was reviving the best of the old 80's videos.
In 2010, Gordon and Sandy, along with producer and keyboard player Jeff Carter, the Spoons released "Static In Transmission", their first collection of new songs in over two decades, with a modern twist on the classic Spoons sound. The singles "You Light Up" and "Escape with You" proved that the band remained inexplicably current. John Sakamoto of the Toronto Star included it in his prestigious "Anti-Hit List", the week of its release.
In 2012, Sparks Music and Ready Records celebrated the 30th anniversary of one of the band's most successful releases, with a special "Nova Heart Anniversary E.P.". The package contained the quintessential 1982 album cut, plus two remixes, including Jeff Carter's electronic "Singularity Mix". The Nova Heart 30th Anniversary E.P. also includes a rare demo recording from 1981, and a live recording mixed by the legendary John Punter himself, at Barrymore's in Ottawa in 1982.
A special 30th Anniversary edition of the "Arias and Symphonies" album followed, released by Sparks/Ready Records/Universal Music, complete with extensive liner notes, historical photos, and live tracks. It also saw the reunion, after twenty-six years, of the original band line-up, for an incredible sold-out release party in Toronto.
In 2013, the Spoons won the Music Express Magazine "Back In The Spotlight Award", and a remastered version of their debut album "Stick Figure Neighbourhood" was released, followed by a 30th Anniversary CD of their popular "TalkBack" album.
Gord has published a book on the Spoons story, titled "Spoon Fed", released through Manor House Publishing.
In 2019, Spoons released a bold new album, “New Day New World”, the first studio project in over eight years, once again produced by Jeff Carter. Four video singles were released: For the First & Last Time, All the Wrong Things (In the Right Places), Landing Lights, and the title track, New Day New World.
In 2020, Spoons released a new Greatest Hits Collection: "Repeatable: 1980-2020", on both CD and double-vinyl LP, covering the entire span of Spoons' music.
In 2021, Spoons released "Echoes", a collection of new music recorded by other incredible artists from around the world, covering their favourite Spoons songs in their own unique way. Proceeds from the Echoes CD go toward the Unison Fund, helping professional musicians and live music technicians recover financially from the repercussions of Covid-19 on the music industry.
Now, in 2026, Spoons are releasing their 8th, epic, full-length album, "Nightlife" on CD, download, and 180 gram RED vinyl! Nightlife slips into a world where the night lives, where the truth lies between the shadows; all set to infectious drum machine beats and relentless synth melodies. Nightlife time travels back to the Nova Heart era, four decades later, now seen with new eyes, and new perspective. Songs like Take The World, Better Late Than Never Did It and Doomed have already become concert favourites.
Produced by Jeff Carter, and featuring Vocals and Guitar by Gord Deppe, Bass and Vocals by Sandy Horne, Keyboards by Scott Macdonald, Jeff Carter and Mathew Deppe, and Drums by both of Spoons' live drummers, Chris McNeil and Tony Ferraro, Nightlife is the first Spoons album released independently of a Record Company, with full creative control.
The retro 80s movement, now almost a decade old, shows no signs of slowing down. Not one bit. And as far as Sandy, Gord, the entire band, and a lot of fans are concerned, that is a very good thing indeed.