Died Pretty
Origin	Sydney, New South Wales Australia
Genre(s)	Rock, Psychedelic, Indie Rock
Years active	1984–2002
Label(s)	Citadel, Blue Mosque, Sony/Columbia
Associated acts	The 31st Screaming Tribesmen Darling Downs Noise And Other Voices
Website	http://www.diedpretty.com/
Former members
Ron S. Peno Brett Myers Frank Brunetti Jonathon Lickliter Colin Barwick Mark Lock Chris Welsh Steve Clark Stuart Eadie John Hoey Robert Warren Simon Cox

Died Pretty (sometimes The Died Pretty) was an Australian indie rock band centred around singer Ron Peno and guitarist Brett Myers. The band formed in Sydney in early 1984 and played their last shows in 2002. This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... “NSW” redirects here. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... For psychedelics, see psychedelic drug. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... The Screaming Tribesmen was a band formed in Brisbane by Mick Medew, John Hartley & Murray Shepherd. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... Ron Peno is an Australian rock singer, best-known for his work with the Died Pretty between 1984 and 2002. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... This article is about the year. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

Their music started from a base of early electric Bob Dylan with psychedelic influences. They were also notably influenced by The Velvet Underground and Television. This article is about the recording artist. ... Psychedelia in music (or also psychedelic music, less formally) is a term that refers to a broad set of popular music styles, genres and scenes, that may include psychedelic rock, psychedelic folk, psychedelic pop, psychedelic soul, psychedelic ambient, psychedelic trance, psychedelic techno, and others. ... This article is about the rock band. ...

They were managed their whole career by John Needham of Citadel Records, their label, and were to some degree the Citadel house band. John Turberville Needham (1713-1781) FRS, was an English biologist and Roman Catholic priest. ...

History

The band formed in early 1984 after vocalist Ron Peno's previous band, The 31st, had split. Music journalist and keyboardist Frank Brunetti had formed a band with Brett Myers, formerly of The End, and suggested Peno join as singer. After various temporary rhythm sections, Jonathan Lickliter and Colin Barwick from The End joined a month later on bass and drums respectively. Colin Barwick is a prolific Australian drummer who has played for The End, Youth Monster, Ruby My Dear, Fugitive Microbes, Ceramic Eggplants, The Wickermen, Died Pretty, Splat Acrobat, Vinyl and The Boundary Riders. ...

The band came quickly to the attention of the Australian independent music scene, with the first two singles "Out Of The Unknown" and the 12-minute psychedelic epic "Mirror Blues" (released split over a 7" in Australia and intact on 12" in the UK) and then the EP Next To Nothing starting their career with tremendous critical attention and three alternative chart #1 hits in a row. All three records also achieved "Single Of The Week" in UK music weekly Melody Maker, though the band never achieved any popularity or notice in the UK.

The first album Free Dirt and single "Stoneage Cinderella/Yesterday's Letters" followed in 1986. By this time, Mark Lock of the Phantom Agents was on bass and Chris Welsh of The 31st and the Screaming Tribesmen was on drums. The band spent the next few years touring Australia, Europe and the US. Free Dirt is Died Prettys first full-length album, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). ... Mark Lock (born 22nd September 1979) is a rugby union footballer for Leeds Tykes . ... Chris Welsh(born April 14, 1955 in Wilmington, Delaware) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and a current sportscaster for the Cincinnati Reds. ... The Screaming Tribesmen was a band formed in Brisbane by Mick Medew, John Hartley & Murray Shepherd. ...

The second album, Lost, was released in 1988 on the Blue Mosque label, a major-distributed offshoot of Citadel, and outside Australia through Beggars Banquet. This album achieved great chart success in Italy. Frank Brunetti left in April 1988 (his last recording with the band being the single "Everybody Moves" in 1989) and was replaced with John Hoey, of the Thought Criminals and the New Christs. Mark Lock was replaced on bass by Steve Clark. The third album, Every Brilliant Eye, was released on Blue Mosque in 1990. Recorded overseas in California, it featured a more polished production from Jeff Eyrich, who was pinned down by the band after they heard his work with The Gun Club and The Plimsouls. Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. ... The New Christs was an Australian indie rock band. ... The Gun Club were a rock band from Los Angeles in the 1980s led by the flamboyant singer, ex-rock critic Jeffrey Lee Pierce. ... The Plimsouls are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1978. ...

They achieved Australian chart success in the early 1990s with their fourth album Doughboy Hollow and its singles "Godbless", "D.C." and "Sweetheart." This album was notable for its strong pop melodicism. After the recording of the album, Robert Warren replaced Clark on bass. Robert Warren played bass in various Australian bands in both Brisbane and Sydney from 1985 to 2002, including - The Closest Thing, Dementia 13, The Egyptians, Sanity Assassins, The Reptile House, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Died Pretty, Lodestar, Hissy Fit, Mr Blonde, and Hawce. ...

After the success of Doughboy Hollow, their next two albums, Trace (1993) and Sold (1995), were released worldwide by Sony Music. During this period they also supported R.E.M. on the Australian leg of their Monster tour, in early 1995. Although Trace had been their biggest-selling record to date (debuting at #11 on the Australian mainstream chart), sales were insufficient for Sony and the band were dropped by the label. Soon after the release of Trace, long-time drummer Chris Welsh left the band, and Sold was recorded with two guest drummers - Shane Melder of Sidewinder and Nick Kennedy of Big Heavy Stuff, before Simon Cox signed on as full-time drummer. ... REM or R.E.M. is an acronym for: Rapid Eye Movement, a phase during sleep U.S. rock music band R.E.M., formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 Roentgen equivalent man, a unit for measuring levels of exposure to radiation. ... Sidewinder was a sucessful rock band founded in 1991 by brothers Nick and Martin Craft in the Australian capital Canberra. ... Big Heavy Stuff is a Sydney-based Australian indie rock band with a unique style. ...

The band returned to their original home, Citadel, and released a four-track EP, Deeper, notable for featuring a guest appearance from Hoodoo Gurus guitarist Brad Shepherd, and Ron Peno's only instrumental contribution to a Died Pretty record (harmonica on the opening track "You Need Wings"). Hoodoo Gurus are a rock band from Sydney, Australia, although three of the original members Dave Faulkner, Rod Radalj and James Baker were originally from Perth. ...

Their last two albums, Using My Gills As A Roadmap (1998) and Everydaydream (2000) show the band moving away from basic guitar rock and making greater use of electronics. They also released a comprehensive best-of, Out Of The Unknown (1999), on Citadel.

Long-time bassist Robert Warren departed the band temporarily in December 2001 due to tinnitus problems. Myers and Peno began demoing songs for a new album, but in May 2002 it was announced they would be disbanding and embarking on a final farewell tour around Australia. Their final release was a three-track farewell single, "My Generation Landslide."

Ron Peno joined forces with Kim Salmon in 2005 under the name Darling Downs. They recorded an album titled How Can I Forget This Heart Of Mine? This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Ron and Brett came together again in 2007 and recorded an album under the name NOISES And Other VOICES. It comprises material that was originally slated for Died Pretty's final album.

The Died Pretty song 'Everybody Moves' has been covered by Weddings Parties Anything. Weddings Parties Anything is an Australian rock/folk band formed by Mick Thomas in 1985 and continuing until 1998. ...

Albums

• Next To Nothing EP (1985)
• Free Dirt (1986)
• Pre-Diety (1987)
• Lost (1988)
• Every Brilliant Eye (1990)
• Doughboy Hollow (1991)
• Trace (1993)
• Days EP (1994)
• Sold (1995)
• Deeper EP (1996)
• Using My Gills As A Roadmap (1998)
• Out Of The Unknown - the best of (1999)
• Everydaydream (2000)
• My Generation Landslide EP (2002)

References

• Died Pretty (Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop by Ian McFarlane)
• Died Pretty Discography (Australian Rock Database)

Categories: Stub | Australian music ... Ian McFarlane is an Australian music journalist. ...

External links

• Died Pretty Official Site
• Died Pretty's MySpace