The band was originally formed in 1981 by Johnnie Dee (vocals, guitar), Co-founder Brad Bent (keyboards, Vocals) and Mike Lengyell (drums, formerly with The Diodes). They took a hiatus after exhausting tours to sold-out crowds, great audience praise of the vocal pairings of Dee and Bent, rock solid Lengyell drumming and the overall unique originality of the band. By 1983, the line-up changed, with Dee (the only original remaining member) now on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, along with new recruits Derry Grehan on lead guitar and Dave Betts on drums. Grehan became the band's primary songwriter, and penned "New Girl Now," which won them an unsigned band contest put on by Toronto radio station Q107.
Various keyboard players and bassists came and left during this time, but on the strength of "New Girl Now," WEA Canada signed the band to the label. Ray Coburn was added as a permanent new member on keyboards as the sessions got underway for the group's debut LP, but the band still had no bass player so bassist Brian Brackstone was recruited as a session player. Brackstone played on the entire album; bassist Gary Lalonde (formerly with Rose and Toronto) was added to the line-up after the album was completed and appeared in the album's group photos and played with the band live.
The band's self-titled debut album, produced by Tom Treumuth, was released in June, 1984. The album featured four charting hits in Canada: a completely re-recorded version of "New Girl Now," "Burning In Love," "Wave Babies," and "Stay In the Light." All were written by Grehan. "New Girl Now" was also Honeymoon Suite's first single to reach the top-50 in the United States.
Download Batalion d'Amour - Discography (1998 - 2016)
Studio Albums
