The Canadian new wave hit that was a trifle uncool

Martha And The Muffins : Echo Beach

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In January of 1980 Martha and The Muffins, a Canadian new wave band made up of art schoolers, released "Echo Beach", a U.K. Top 10 hit and co-winner of the Juno Award for best Canadian single ( along with Anne Murray's "Could I Have This Dance").  Despite the map on the cover of the 45 and the album Metro Music, there was no Echo Beach.  Today there is a concert venue by that name. Guitarist Mark Gane wrote the song, inspired by his own dull office job checking wallpaper for printing faults. He imagined spending his time on Sunnyside Beach, outside Toronto. In a video below he says he and friend smoked some dope, looked out across the skyline and it noted the surrealistic sight.

This was the band's only international hit. There would be four more albums before the band changed its name to M+M and released the Daniel Lanois produced Mystery Walk, featuring "Black Stations/White Stations" in 1984. That was a minor hit I remember playing on my college radio show. 

Here's Mark Gane in Toronto talking about the song, the fourth tune he ever wrote, and the only Candadian tune to make MOJO's 100 Singles You Must Own.

The song has been covered by quite a few artists. My Seattle band played a cover version called "Alki Beach" ( from which you can see the city) and The Go-Betweens's Robert Forster included a version on his album of covers called I Had a New York Girlfriend.