Fans of “The Office” will no doubt recall David Brent’s settlement-financed single – a cover of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” – but were you aware that Ricky Gervais himself was actually a member of synth-pop duo in the ’80s? True story…and God only knows how it’s taken this long to appear on my radar, given that I’m such a massive fan of ’80s synth-pop to begin with.

The band was called Seona Dancing…that’s pronounced Shawna Dancing, ta very much…and since you’re probably still wondering, no, this isn’t a joke. You can go to Gemm.com and find the band’s two singles available from several different vendors…or check out this photo here, from their unofficial MySpace page:

(That’s Ricky on the right.)

And even more oddly, the songs – which can all be downloaded at no charge here – are rather good. Personally, they remind me a bit of B-Movie. But for a few twist of fates here and there, we might well be listening to “More to Lose” or “Bitter Heart” on Flashback Lunches today.

Don’t hold your breath for a reunion tour, though. It’s clear from that this clip that Gervais can’t look back on these days without cringing.