(Edited to add the above picture and a few asides. Just read the whole thing again, okay?).
Unlike pretty much anyone I now know, aside from David M., I have actually eaten Gorgo.
Back in the 1980's, as a suburban teen and an aspiring (if infrequent) participant in the Vancouver scene, after seeing a No Fun sponsorship spot for the "delightful lime-green toffee chew bar" known as Gorgo on Soundproof, I sought out a bar. We had it at the Maple Ridge 7-11 where I once worked, and I remember that my big-haired Goth female friend and I both tried it. As I recall, we agreed that it was kind of revolting - one of those "is this food?" foods, screaming its artificiality with every bite - but it was definitely lime-flavoured, unique, and a challenge to chew. We presumed at that time, after trying the stuff, that any appreciation No Fun had for Gorgo was ironic; I am no longer so sure, since irony and sincerity are complex matters when it comes to No Fun. If one is ironic about an ironic gesture, for instance, does that produce a double negative and make one sincere again, or does it merely result in a meta-irony? (And if one can be meta-ironic, can one be meta-meta ironic? What about meta-meta-meta irony? This seems a perilous path to tread, so I try not to think on such matters at length).
In any case, Gorgo disappeared, as far as I know, before the decade was out, not just here but worldwide, so one of the amusing things about seeing David M's solo Chapters gigs (when I still lived in Vancouver a few years ago) was that, well into the 21st century, some twenty-plus years after the worldwide demise of Gorgo, he was still doing the odd Gorgo spot (often by request). One of the top things on my list when my girlfriend and I went to the first of the Werewolf T-shirts records garage sale events the other week was to get David to show her his Gorgo.
As you might imagine, after so much time and use, David's surviving Gorgo is not in great shape. Green and black slime appears to have oozed out of the packaging of his few remaining bars, then hardened again - I am not sure by what chemical process such things happen - and the wrap is quite wrinkly, making it hard to see the lime-green monster cartoon that graces it.
But here's the news: I am delighted to learn that David, in planning his move, has discovered an apparently mint-condition cache of Gorgo, wrapped and secreted away by his late Mom. So rooted in obscurity and lost in time is Gorgo that no other image of it can be found online; the above display was newly assembled by David M., and marks the internet debut of the green Gorgo monster (who bears no resemblance to the prehistoric Godzilla-ripoff that is his apparent namesake). Yes, you saw it here first -- unless you're connected to the David M. or No Fun Facebook pages, in which case, you saw it there first.
Personally, I think, this calls for a No Fun reunion and Gorgo-thon, where a few of the remaining bars can be auctioned off to the highest bidder along with a limited edition CD of No Fun Gorgo spots. I would go to that. These may be some of the LAST REMAINING BARS OF GORGO IN THE WORLD - which is kinda appropriate, when you think of it, for a candy named after a movie about a resuscitated dinosaur. Surely there is someone out there who would pay big money for a bite of Gorgo again, even if it has been unrefrigerated and subject to untold chemical processes for twenty-odd years...?
Those unfamiliar with No Fun's Gorgo spots are directed to Youtube, for this clip.... There is a wealth of other No Fun material on Youtube now, though I have yet to stumble across another Gorgo ad... Pico singing a narcotized version of "Smoke On The Water" (while David plays "Sweet Jane," I think) is pretty special, though... I remember Pico...
For more, see "Gorgo Slumbers (and Awakens!)" on Facebook...
12 comments:
In 1986, when we played 2 shows at Xerox International Theatre during Expo 86, before Slow ruined things for everyone else, we did Gorgo ads in both shows, and I threw Gorgo bars into the audience after each ad. People came RUNNING down for them. Did they know, or sense the future of Gorgo?
I LOVED Gorgo as a kid. I still crave it. Had it here in Kelowna BC as a kid in the late 80's. Every time I go in a retro candy shop I look for it. I LOVED IT!!! The green like. The black candy in it. The airhead taffy kind of gives me the nostalgic taste but I want Gorgo again so bad.
My favorite candy ever from the lakeshore drive red rooster store in kelowna! I've been searching for it ever since I was a kid!
Lol. I used to buy cases of Gorgo abd sell them for a buck a bar back in high school. I made a small fortune off them! Thanks for the pic. Afyer all these yeqrs i was beginning to wonder if the memory was just some toxic flashback form all those drugs consumed and washed down with Gorgo.
Finally some people who remember it. We used to get it from Wally's store in Vernon BC, it's lakeview market now. No one knows what I'm talking about when I reminisce about this candy but they all nod when I talk about shovelling quarters into the old arcade games there. Were the candies in the green taffy black? I remember them being silver and kinda fizzy sour? Great article and awesome find, thanks so much!
It wasn't just in BC. I remember buying it as an 80s kid in Toronto and liking it's unique taste. Had trouble remembering the name as I tried finding it online; describing it to a co worker and of course, this blogspot is the only image I found once I finally remembered it as "Gorgo". I also seem to recall that it was in and out of my local convenience store rather quickly in the late 80s. I miss it. I wonder what it's worth now
OMG! Gorgo! I could NOT remember the name of that candy forever! I LOVED it - I would pay good money for a freakin case of that stuff TODAY! Thanks for sharing :)
The first time I tried Gorgo was at a Gowan concert in Calgary at Calaway Park c. 1985. I actually dug the taste but I especially remember the texture - green sticky toffee with those dark crunchy bits that looked like lava rock. Whenever I’ve mentioned Gorgo since then I usually get apathetic shrugs or sympathetic skepticism like I’ve lost my mind. This has given me validation - thank you! I was remembering it as “gorgon” which steered me down the wrong path.
Oh my gosh i thought i was alone in my Gorgo reminisces!! I’m pretty sure that stuff made my teeth the mess they are now but it was worth it!! Thanks for bringing it back to life, amazed some bars still exist, how amazing! I grew up in North Vancouver, BC. Got it at the old Jack n Jill market there. Yum!!
My young daughter and I used to buy this in Burnaby at Hilltop Market on Douglas Road. We nicknamed it snotrock. Would love to try it now all these years later.
I remember buying these for .25 cents at the old Becker’s in Uxbridge, Ontario. That’s north of The Big Smoke and way east of The Big Wet. Thanks for validating my crazy candy memories. Nobody remembers this stuff but it was the best. I get sour mouth flashbacks just thinking about it.
You'll be pleased to know that a recording of the very Gorgo ad you remember Pico singing in on the Gorgo CD in the new Atomic Werewolf "NO FUN Must Pass" 3 CD set.
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