Dream Dates - Moans On The Phone b/w Heartattack Rhythm (picture sleeve)

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Moans on the Phone	02:40

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Heartattack Rhythm	02:51

Photos

Videos

No Video

Information/Write-up

The Dream Dates emerged from Hamilton’s late-1970s punk underground, a scene that also produced Teenage Head, Simply Saucer, and the Forgotten Rebels. Formed in 1979, the band began life under the name Bored Youth, before being rechristened The Dream Dates by Forgotten Rebels frontman Mickey DeSadist — a name delivered half-ironically, half-affectionately, and very much in keeping with the era’s sharp humour and bravado.

The core lineup featured Dikky Fix (vocals), Deemer (guitar), Lance Womanhandler (bass), and Beef Stu (drums). Fix and Deemer first connected in 1978, bonding over a shared obsession with early punk and raw rock ’n’ roll at a time when Hamilton and Toronto were still hostile territory for underage punks. By 1979, the band was active on stage, making an early live appearance opening for Toronto’s notorious Viletones, and quickly establishing a reputation for chaotic, high-energy performances.

Musically, The Dream Dates drew from a volatile mix of early rockabilly, mid-1960s garage punk, and the ferocity of contemporary bands like The Stooges, Dead Boys, and The Heartbreakers. Their songs were fast, lean, and confrontational, driven by Fix’s sneering vocals and Deemer’s stripped-down guitar attack. While rooted in Hamilton, the band spent much of their time playing Toronto venues, most notably The Turning Point, which effectively became their home base, alongside appearances at Larry’s Hideaway, the Hotel Isabella, and other short-lived but crucial punk spaces.

In November 1979, The Dream Dates entered Kill Studios in Hamilton to record a seven-song session engineered and produced by Richard Kill. Recorded on four-track equipment in Kill’s basement studio, the session captured the band at full intensity, pairing original material such as ‘Moans On The Phone’, ‘Heartattack Rhythm’, and ‘The Mess You’re In’ with explosive covers including ‘Search & Destroy’. Despite the strength of the recordings, the tapes went unreleased at the time and were largely forgotten as the band focused on live shows rather than studio work.

The Dream Dates continued gigging regularly through the early 1980s but never returned to the studio. As punk fragmented into new wave, rockabilly revival, and eventually hardcore, the band dissolved in 1982. Members went on to remain active within the underground, with Fix later fronting groups such as The Manglers, The Kimona Nails, The Chosen Few, and Zombie Sea Serpants of Love, while maintaining close ties to figures within the Forgotten Rebels orbit.

More than two decades later, the long-lost 1979 recordings were finally restored and issued by Ugly Pop Records, beginning with the EP Moans On The Phone. The release was dedicated to Crazee Harry (1957–1999), a beloved Hamilton punk fixture and early supporter of the band. The belated appearance of the recordings cemented The Dream Dates’ place as a vital but overlooked link between Canada’s first wave of punk and the harder underground that followed.

Though their recorded output was minimal, The Dream Dates remain remembered for their uncompromising live presence and for capturing, if only briefly, the raw spirit of Hamilton and Toronto punk at the moment it was still dangerous, unpolished, and very much alive.
-Robert Williston

Musicians
Greg Dick (aka Dikky Fix): vocals
Brian Deemer: guitar
Lance Womanhandler: bass
Beef Stu: drums

Production
Recorded at Kill Studios, Hamilton, Ontario in November 1979.
Produced by Richard Kill.

Notes
Ugly Pop thanks the Dream Dates, G-Style, Derek Emerson, Ryan Elinsky, Dan Lui, Lyanne Voskans, Jeff “Urotsukidoji” Richardson, Statics, Mickey DeSadist, Jonas, Ted Wong and Hannah Farrell.

The Dream Dates thank only themselves. They can be contacted through Ugly Pop.
Pressing - 601 Hand Numbered copies on black vinyl w/ Glossy black & silver fold-out picture sleeve
Original Recording Date - November 1979
Release Date - Nov. 9, 2000
Notes - Dedicated to "Crazee Harry"

Liner notes:
1979 wasn’t as dull as people made it out to be. We were too busy to be bored, because we were all looking for our next joint, our next bottle of booze, our next girl or our next show. Above all, we were looking for someone with a car to take us to all those places. Living in a luxurious north end Hamilton apartment, we gathered together to wait for Deemer to pick us up in his car. The future Dream Dates were sitting in my living room without a name, so we decided to have a few more drinks, listen to a few more records and find this band a name. We came up with all sorts that we eventually rejected, and finally I decided to christen them with a name I was planning to use myself for a side project. I said “call yourself the Dream Dates” — a name I thought of while looking at myself in the mirror. I even wrote them a song called “Evelyn Dick”, which they never got to record because the studio was consumed by a fire. Isn’t it ironic that I played 2nd guitar at their final show in Toronto? You shoulda been there.

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