Featuring core band members Johnnie Dee (Lead Vocals), Derry Grehan (Guitars, keyboards, background vocals), Dave Betts (Drums), Gary Lalonde (Bass), and Peter Nunn (Keyboards), Canadian melodic rock band Honeymoon Suite has declared their intent to continue to create new music and tour year round thanks to a legion of loyal fans.
As evidence of that comes new single ‘Stay This Time’, and an accompanying video, courtesy of Frontiers Music.
“We had come to the end of the sessions for the new album and realised we still needed one more song,” recalled Grehan. “We found a rough demo of a track simply titled ‘HMS 5’ that we had forgotten about, and discovered it really had some potential. We all got excited about it.
“Johnnie and I were on a cruise ship at the time and, in my cabin, we finished writing the lyrics to the song which became ‘Stay This Time’. When we got home, Johnnie went straight into the studio and cut the vocal.”
You can stream/listen to ‘Stay This Time’ here and check out the video below.
Honeymoon Suite was originally formed in 1981 by lead vocalist and guitarist Johnnie Dee from Niagara Falls, Ontario. After the departure of the original lead guitarist, fellow Niagara Falls native Derry Grehan joined the band. Together, Dee and Grehan rebuilt the lineup, adding Dave Betts on drums, Ray Coburn on keyboards, and Gary Lalonde on bass. The band quickly hit the road, performing six nights a week and writing relentlessly with hopes of securing a record deal.
In 1983, they entered a demo of ‘New Girl Now’ into a homegrown contest hosted by Toronto rock station Q107. Winning the contest led to a multi-album deal with WEA Canada, signed by industry legend Bob Roper. Their debut self-titled album, released in July 1984, was an immediate success. With massive airplay, videos in heavy rotation on MTV and MuchMusic, and national touring, the album went on to sell over 300,000 units in Canada alone.
Since then, the band has released seven studio albums, with over 1 million units sold worldwide. They’ve produced a string of classic rock hits, including: ‘New Girl Now’, ‘Burning In Love’, ‘Wave Babies’, ‘Stay In The Light’, ‘Feel It Again’, and ‘What Does It Take’.
Among their accolades are a Juno Award for Group of the Year (1986), triple platinum sales in Canada for their first three albums, platinum sales for their 1989 greatest hits release, The Singles and a 2015 SOCAN award recognizing 100,000+ radio performances in Canada for multiple tracks.
They’ve toured extensively across Canada, the U.S., and Europe, sharing the stage with artists such as ZZ Top, Heart, Billy Idol, Journey, Bryan Adams, Saga, Loverboy, Jethro Tull, and .38 Special while their songs have appeared in major TV shows like Miami Vice and Bones, and films including Lethal Weapon and One Crazy Summer.
While the 1990s brought lineup changes, the early 2000s saw the reunion of the original members — Dee, Grehan, Lalonde and Betts — along with the addition of keyboardist Peter Nunn, a lineup that remains strong to this day.
In 2020, with a renewed creative spark and a catalogue of new songs, Dee and Grehan connected with acclaimed Canadian producer and songwriter Mike Krompass (Everybody Loves An Outlaw, Steven Tyler, Theory Of A Deadman, and Smash Mouth) who brought a fresh, modern edge to the band’s signature melodic rock style. His role as co-writer and producer was a key factor in shaping the sound of their highly anticipated eighth studio album.
The first single, ‘Tell Me What You Want’, dropped in October 2019 and was met with strong support from fans and radio. The follow-up single, ‘Find What You’re Looking For’, released in June 2020, became a Top 30 hit on Canadian Billboard AOR radio, marking Honeymoon Suite’s first chart appearance in 19 years.
Their 2023 release, Alive, confirmed that the band is still at the top of their game. Produced by Mike Krompass, the album blends soaring vocals, unforgettable guitar riffs, and tight production into a timeless collection of arena-worthy rock anthems.
