NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Punk rock in Australia

Australian musicians played and recorded some of the earliest punk rock. Perhaps the most notable example were The Saints, who released their first single in 1976. Bands playing sub-genres or offshoots of punk music, such as local hardcore acts, still have a strong cult following throughout Australia. {{Infobox_band | band_name = The Saints | image = | years_active = 1974â€“present | origin = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | status = On tour, promoting their new album Imperious Delirium music_genre = Punk Alternative rock | record_label = Harvest Records Sire Mushroom Records | current_members = Chris Bailey Caspar Wijnberg Peter Wilkinson<br The Saints are an influential Australian punk band, formed in Brisbane... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... Hardcore punk is a punk rock sub-genre with a dedicated following in Australia. ...

Proto-punk, 1974-76

The earliest incarnation of The Saints was formed by Ed Kuepper (guitar) and Chris Bailey (vocals) in Brisbane, Queensland in 1973. They shared a background in immigrant families (Kuepper's Germanto get regular gigs, they played at a house in inner city Petrie Terrace, where they soon attracted unwanted attention. Police arrested fans for trivial offences, often in a brutal fashion, but their approach only created more interest in the punk scene. The Saints gigs' got bigger and their fans started to form bands, both punk and dissimilar in sound. Ed Kuepper is an Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter. ... Chris Bailey is a singer-songwriter for the Australian punk rock band, The Saints. ... This article is about the Australian city. ... â€œDeutschlandâ€ redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Brisbane central business district. ...

During 1974, Radio Birdman began to form in Sydney, led by another immigrant, a Detroit-born and bred medical student named Deniz Tek. They too shared an interest in The Stooges and MC5, albeit with a result arguably more akin to hard rock than punk. Their dynamic live shows soon gained a fanatical following at inner city venues. Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... Deniz Tek Deniz Tek is a guitarist/songwriter who is currently a member of Australian group Radio Birdman. ... â€œHard Rockâ€ redirects here. ...

Many art rock bands, like Melbourne's Boys Next Door, formed by Nick Cave and Mick Harvey at their school in 1974, later attended gigs by The Saints and Radio Birdman, and would adopt elements of their sounds. However, the Boys Next Door (later renamed The Birthday Party) are usually regarded as post-punk, rather than punk. Art rock is a term used by some to describe rock music that is characterized by ambitious or avant-garde lyrical themes and/or melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic experimentation, often extending beyond standard modern popular music forms and genres, toward influences in jazz, classical, world music or the experimental avant... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... The Birthday Party was an Australian post punk rock group, active from 1977 to 1983. ... Nicholas Edward Cave (born September 22, 1957) is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional actor. ... Michael John Harvey (born 29 September 1958 in Rochester, Victoria, Australia), is an Australian rock musician, composer, arranger and record producer. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock...

In Perth — a geographically-isolated city with social and political similarities to Brisbane — young musicians like Kim Salmon, Dave Faulkner and James Baker were also influenced by the Detroit bands, as well as New York protopunk figures like Lou Reed and the New York Dolls. Salmon led the Cheap Nasties, and then The Scientists, before embarking on a solo career (and is regarded as a pioneer of grunge). Baker was in a short-lived act called The Geeks, before forming The Victims with Faulkner in 1977. They recorded an acclaimed single, "Television Addict", before breaking up. Baker later joined The Scientists. Faulkner gravitated towards poppier sounds. (In 1981, he and Baker founded a highly successful retro rock act, the Hoodoo Gurus.) The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River This article is about the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... David Faulkner may refer to: Dave Faulkner (ice hockey player), from Canada Dave Faulkner (singer), Australian rock musician David Faulkner (field hockey player), from the U.K. David Faulkner (police officer), U.S.A. (allegedly killed by Mumia Abu-Jamal) Sir David Faulkner, U.K. criminologist Category: ... James Baker is a rock musician from Perth, Western Australia. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Protopunk is a term used to describe a number of performers who were important precursors of punk rock, or who have been cited by early punk rockers as influential. ... Lewis Reed[1] (born March 2, 1942) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... The New York Dolls are a rock band formed in New York City in 1971. ... The Manikins were a protopunk and new wave band from Perth, Australia. ... The Scientists was an influential indie rock band from Perth, Australia, led by Kim Salmon. ... Grunge music (sometimes also referred to as the Seattle Sound) is an independent-rooted music genre that became a commercially successful offshoot of hardcore punk, thrash metal, and alternative rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... The Victims were a punk band from Perth, Western Australia, active in 1977-79. ... Television Addict was the A-side of the debut single by The Victims, an early punk rock band from Perth, Western Australia. ... Retro is a term used to describe the culture of the past. ... 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. ...

In mid-1976, The Saints recorded and distributed copies of their single "(I'm) Stranded", which met with almost no response in Australia. In the UK, however,Sounds magazine received a copy, and declared it: "single of this and every week". As a result, the band was signed to a three-album contract with EMI. Later the same year they recorded their first LP, which was also called (I'm) Stranded. Hampered by poor production and the indifference of radio stations, the LP failed commercially. In December The Saints moved to Sydney. Radio Birdman released an EP ("Burn My Eye") and an album (Radios Appear) with better production values, but with similar commercial results to The Saints' endeavours. (Iâ€™m) Stranded is the first song released by pioneering Australian punk rock band The Saints. ... Sounds was a British music magazine, published weekly from October 10, 1970 â€“ April 6, 1991. ... First album by Australian rock group The Saints. ... Burn My Eye was the debut EP recorded by Sydney punk rock band Radio Birdman. ... Radios Appear was the first full length studio album by Sydney punk-rock band Radio Birdman. ...

Punk takes off, 1977-80

By 1977, other bands were starting to form in Sydney, under the influence of local and overseas punk acts. Among the first was The Last Words, from Liverpool in Sydney. (They recorded their first single "Animal World/Wondering Why" in 1978.) Other Sydney bands in 1977 included the Hellcats (featuring Ron Peno), the Psychosurgeons (later known as the Lipstick Killers), Johnny Dole & The Scabs and the Thought Criminals. The Last Words - Malcolm Baxter (vocals), Andy Groome (guitar), Leigh Kendall (bass), John Gunn (drums) - were one of the first Australian punk bands. ... Liverpool is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Ron Peno is an Australian rock singer, best-known for his work with the Died Pretty between 1984 and 2002. ... Lipstick Killers - The Mercer Street Sessions 1972 is a 1981 album by the New York Dolls. ...

These bands and other Australian and overseas punk acts were strongly supported by public radio stations, especially 2JJ. Public broadcasting (also known as public service broadcasting or PSB) is the dominant form of broadcasting around the world, where radio, television, and potentially other electronic media outlets receive funding from the public. ... For other uses, see JJJ. Triple J is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station (a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), mainly aimed at youth (defined as those between 12 and 25). ...

Fully-fledged punk bands like The Reals (featuring Ollie Olsen) and The Babeez (later known as The News) were also being formed in Melbourne. Ollie Olsen was born in 1958 in Melbourne, Australia. ...

In Brisbane, The Survivors (who showed a 1960s influence), The Leftovers (diverse influences), Razar (contemporary British punk) and The Fun Things (Detroit rock) all followed in the wake of the Saints.

After the British punk scene took off in 1977, both The Saints and Radio Birdman moved to the UK. This proved to be disastrous for both bands. Neither of them fit in with, or were inclined to adjust to aspects of the London scene at the time, such the now-established punk fashion in clothes. Radio Birdman were dumped when their record company got into financial difficulty, and soon broke up. Later recordings saw The Saints adopt soul, blues and jazz influences, although their most successful single, "This Perfect Day" — which reached number 34 in the UK pop charts — was typical of the band's musical style. After another acclaimed single, "Know Your Product", and second and third albums failed to make an impression, EMI dropped The Saints. (Kuepper left in 1979 and Bailey began to pursue a more mainstream musical direction.) Last Words later followed their predecessors to the U.K. and also failed to make a strong impression. Punk fashion is the styles of clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. ... This Perfect Day is a single by punk band The Saints . ... Know Your Product is a song written by Ed Kuepper and Chris Bailey for Australian rock band The Saints. ...

By the end of 1977, the "supergroup" Young Charlatans had formed in Melbourne out of the ashes of earlier bands. Ollie Olsen, Rowland S. Howard (guitar, later in The Birthday Party), Jeff Wegener (drums, former member of The Saints, later in the Laughing Clowns) and Janine Hall (later in The Saints). The band recorded the first version of the Howard song "Shivers" (made famous by the Boys Next Door and hard rockers Screaming Jets). In Sydney, a Birdman offshoot, The Hitmen, had started to gig and Ian Rilen formed the longevitous X. Rowland Stuart Howard (born 1960) is an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his use of electric guitar audio feedback in the post-punk group The Birthday Party (with Nick Cave) and his collaborations with Lydia Lunch and Nikki Sudden. ... Laughing Clowns were an Australian rock and roll band fronted by vocalist and guitarist Ed Kuepper and backed by drummer Jeff Wegener. ... The Screaming Jets are a band from Newcastle (New South Wales, Australia) from 1989 until 2001. ... The Hitmen were an Australian indie rock band. ... Ian Rilen was an Australian musician, most noted for his work with Rose Tattoo and X. Other bands he was in included Ian Rilen and the Love Addicts and Sardine v. ... X is an Australian punk rock band with a cult following, formed in Sydney in 1977 and led by the versatile and gifted Ian Rilen. ...

Entrepreneurs began to realise the potential of the growing scene and Michael Gudinski launched the Melbourne-based Suicide Records, which in May 1978 released a compilation, Lethal Weapons. The album included tracks by the Boys Next Door, Teenage Radio Stars (featuring future Models members Sean Kelly and James Freud), JAB (ex-experimental rockers from Adelaide, featuring Bohdan X and sythesizer player Ash Wednesday), The Survivors and X-Ray-Z (former pub rockers from Adelaide). However the royalty rate offered by Suicide was low and both The News and Young Charlatans decided not to get involved. Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (born August 22, 1950) is a Melbourne-based entrepreneur and businessman who is a leading figure in the Australian music industry, mostly known for forming the highly successful Australian record company Mushroom Records in 1972 through whom Gudinski signed several generations of Australian musicians and performers... A compilation album is an album (music or spoken-word) featuring tracks from one or multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources (such as studio albums, live albums, singles, demos and outtakes. ... Models were an alternative rock group from Melbourne, Australia, formed in August 1978 and splitting in 1987. ... James Freud (born Colin McGinchley on June 29, 1959) is an Australian rock singer. ... A jab A jab is one of the four main punches used in boxing, the three others being the uppercut, the hook and the cross. ... Experimental rock or Avant rock is a type of art music based on rock and roll which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, and/or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique. ... For other uses, see Adelaide (disambiguation). ... Bohdan X is a former punk rock singer in the bands JAB and Bohdan and the Instigators, both features of the emerging punk rock scene in Melbourne, Australia in the late 1970s. ... Ash Wednesday is an Australian musician. ... Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s and still influencing contemporary Australian music today. ... Royalty may refer to either: the royal family of a country with a monarchy royalties the payment made to the owner of a copyright, patent, or trademark, for the use thereof This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same...

Australian chart success eluded all of these bands in the late 1970s. Radio programmers were conservative and unenthusiastic about punk. The above artists who eventually found success either did so overseas, or after a remove of several years in Australia, and/or in different bands. Kent Music Report front cover 11 October 1976 The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by a music enthusiast, David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998. ...

Hardcore since 1981

Hardcore punk is a punk rock sub-genre with a dedicated following in Australia. ...

Punk revival since 1991

By the early 1990s, the success of stayers like Bad Religion and The Offspring, punk revival bands like Rancid, as well as local bands like Frenzal Rhomb, led to the formation of punk-influenced bands such as The Living End, Jebediah, Bodyjar and 28 Days. Punk revival scenes began in various cities around Australia. Bad Religion is a seminal American punk rock band, formed in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass), Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitars) and Jay Ziskrout (drums). ... For other uses, see Offspring (disambiguation). ... Rancid is a punk band, formed in 1991 in Albany, California, by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Jebediah is an alternative/pop rock band from Perth, Western Australia. ... Bodyjar is an Australian punk rock band based in Melbourne, which has been together since 1994, when they changed their name from Helium. The groups album, How It Works, reached the top 20 on the Australian ARIAnet albums chart in 2000. ... 28 Days are a punk rock band from Frankston, Australia. ...

The later success of melodic and Pop punk at the turn of the twenty-first century helped produce successful Australian punk acts such as Mere Theory and The Hot Lies. Mere Theory are a South Australian alternative rock band. ... The Hot Lies are an alternative rock band from Adelaide, South Australia. ...

References

External links

Categories: Articles with sections needing expansion | Australian punk rock groups | Australian styles of music Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Argentine punk is punk rock from Argentina. ... // Bands Back Lavatory (Namur) Cell 609 (1978 - ...) Chainsaw (1977 - Brussels) Classy Punk (1978 - ...) Contingent (1979 - ...) Crapule De Luxe (1981 - ...) DD Mac Off (...) De Brassers (...) De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig (...) Definitivos (...) Elton Motello (...) Fame (Brussels) Hubble Bubble (Brussels) Neo (...) Onion Dolls (...) P.I.G.Z. (...) Pinchers (...) Plastic Bertand (Brussels) Plastichke (...) Raxola (...) Revenge... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... List of British punk bands Contents: Top - 0â€“9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The 4-Skins 999 Action Pact The Adicts Angelic Upstarts Anti-Nowhere League Anti-Pasti... The California punk scene is a regional punk music scene that started in the late 1970s and still exists today. ... Celtic punk (also known as Paddybeat, Celtcore, Jig punk, or Rock and Reel) is a music genre typically associated with Irish punks or punks from the Irish diaspora; although other Celtic nationalities, such as Scottish, Manx and Welsh people are also represented. ... French punk is punk-rock from France. ... Punk rock and punk subculture have created a popular scene in Germany since punk music became popular in the 1970s. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Punk (music). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Malaysian music is influenced by neighboring Indonesian and Thai forms, as well as Portuguese, Filipino and Chinese styles (Munan, 175). ... Scandinavian hardcore often refers to a a style of hardcore punk that originated in the 1980s that is somewhat associated with D-beat. ... Although Uruguayan punk rock seems to be born in the recent years - between the 80s and 90s decades - when talking about Uruguayan rock and roll lots of earlier bands must be placed in history. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

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