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Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and is now considered to be one of the most crucial bands to Australias musical growth, but their main legacy was their towering influence over Australian indie rock in the 1980's. Image File history File links Rb_group2. ...
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, and since its opening it has become an international symbol of Sydney Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia. ...
A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ...
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. ...
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. ...
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that enjoyed its original period of wide success in the United States and Canada from 1963 to 1967. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Sire Records Company is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Brothers Records The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. ...
The Crying Sun Records logo. ...
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. ...
Deniz Tek Deniz Tek is a guitarist/songwriter who is currently a member of Australian group Radio Birdman. ...
Rob Younger is an Australian rock musician, vocalist and songwriter. ...
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, and since its opening it has become an international symbol of Sydney Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia. ...
See also: 1973 in music, other events of 1974, 1975 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // Events January - The Ramones form. ...
This is a list of bands and musicians from Australia who released recordings independently between 1976 and 1992. ...
Personnel The members of Radio Birdman did not refer to themselves as such, they instead called themselves "personnel."
Original band members:
- Rob Younger, vocals
- Deniz Tek, guitar
- Chris Masuak, guitar
- Warwick Gilbert, bass
- Phillip 'Pip' Hoyle, keyboards
- Ron Keeley - drums
Current band members: Rob Younger is an Australian rock musician, vocalist and songwriter. ...
Deniz Tek Deniz Tek is a guitarist/songwriter who is currently a member of Australian group Radio Birdman. ...
- Rob Younger, vocals
- Deniz Tek, guitar
- Chris Masuak, guitar
- Jim Dickson, bass
- Phillip 'Pip' Hoyle, keyboards
- Russel Hopkinson, drums
History
Origins Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed Radio Birdman in mid-1974 in Sydney, having recently left their bands 'The Rats' and 'TV Jones' respectively. The pair sought to begin a band that would have no commercial interest and break the norm at the time, so they recruited classical keyboard player Phillip 'Pip' Hoyle, drummer Ron Keeley, bassist Carl Rorke and named themselves from a misheard lyric in the Stooges song, "1970" (The actual line being "Radio burnin'"). The Stooges are an American rock band that was first active from about 1967 to 1974, and then reformed in 2003. ...
After being rejected many times from various venues, they found a pub in Taylor Square, Sydney and eventually took over its management, naming it The Oxford Funhouse. Under their management, the Funhouse became a home to any and all groups with musical tastes similar to the band. Not long after the opening of this venue, Carl Rorke left the band and was replaced by long time friend of Rob Younger, Warwick Gilbert (also a former 'Rats' member). Also to temporarily leave the band would be Phillip Hoyle, and though his departure was short lived, this was how Radio Birdman came across guitarist Chris Masuak.
Soon, a culture of Radio Birdman was developing in the underground, people started to dress differently, followed the Birdman symbol and the Oxford Funhouse was their home. This was the beginnings of the Sydney punk scene. The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, and since its opening it has become an international symbol of Sydney Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia. ...
A group of punks at a music festival. ...
Using the Funhouse as a base of operations, Radio Birdman recorded a crude, low budget EP, 'Burn My Eye.' Their first album 'Radios Appear' at Trafalgar Studios in Annandale owed much of its style to Detroit bands of the late 1960s, such as The MC5 and The Stooges. Though the album was totally ignored by commercial radio, it was championed by Sydney station 2JJ (Double Jay). Sales of this album were limited due to lack of commercial support and the fact that they were recording using a private label. Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Wayne County, Michigan Founded Incorporated July 24, 1701 1815 County Wayne County Mayor...
The outrageously crowded Woodstock festival epitomized the popular antiwar movement of the 60s. ...
MC5 wearing White Panther Party buttons. ...
The Stooges are an American rock band that was first active from about 1967 to 1974, and then reformed in 2003. ...
Triple J (JJJ) 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). ...
The band remained underground, but began to travel far from Sydney to perform their shows, it was at this time that keyboard player Phillip Hoyle returned to the band. When Sire Records president Seymour Stein came to Australia to sign up fellow punk band The Saints, he saw Radio Birdman play and immediately invited them to join his label. Under this new label, Radio Birdman re-recorded and released Radios Appear. Sire Records Company is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Brothers Records The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. ...
The Saints are an influential Australian rock and roll band, formed in Brisbane in 1972 (see 1972 in music). ...
With the commercial release of this new album, the underground punk scene Radio Birdman was a part of began to attract some groups with negative agendas; namely biker gang, Hell's Angels. With this new, more violent and rowdy crowd, the Funhouse was at the point of overflowing. The band was blamed for violent incidents occuring at the Funhouse, so in mid-1977, they left Sydney and took a break from music, instead pursuing educational goals. Hells Angels (without an apostrophe) is the motorcycle club Hells Angels (with an apostrophe) was a World War II flying squadron in the American Volunteer Group Flying Tigers Hells Angels (movie) is the 1930 aviation movie directed by Howard Hughes This is a disambiguation page, a list of...
The band returned half a year later and performed their most famous show to date at Paddington Town Hall alongside The Saints. Two thousand people packed into the venue and tracks recorded from the show would later be included on numerous other Radio Birdman recordings. After this show, the band began their European tour, but their overseas success was short lived as Sire Records began having financial difficulties and were forced to drop Radio Birdman from their label. The Saints are an influential Australian rock and roll band, formed in Brisbane in 1972 (see 1972 in music). ...
Sire Records Company is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Brothers Records The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. ...
The Break Up Without a label the band struggled to progress musically. As one last send off they recorded their second album 'Living Eyes' in Wales which has had a late release in the early 80s. Radio Birdman played one last show at Oxford University, after which the band split up. The underground punk scene of Sydney was shocked by this, as the band had only been together for 4 years but many felt that they had made their mark well enough on Australian musical history.
 A poster for the Paddington Town Hall concert. Image File history File links RaBiposter. ...
Image File history File links RaBiposter. ...
1978–1996 All six members went on to other bands. Younger's New Christs was more oriented towards hard-edged, blues-based rock and roll. Tek and Keeley and keyboardist Pip Hoyle's band, The Visitors, and guitarist Chris Masuak and bass guitarist Warwick Gilbert's The Hitmen continued the Radio Birdman sound. Tek, Younger and Gilbert played in a one-shot touring band called New Race, with Dennis Thompson of the MC5 and Ron Asheton of the Stooges. A non-musical LP, "Soldiers of Rock 'n' Roll", was released in 1982. This strange album, described by the record company as "an audio documentary of Radio Birdman", was released after Deniz had quit music for flying, and was assembled by the people at Trafalgar Records, like a soundtrack for a documentary movie which was never made. The New Christs was an Australian indie rock band. ...
The Visitors were an Australian rock band formed from members of Radio Birdman after the popular band broke up in 1978. ...
MC5 wearing White Panther Party buttons. ...
Not to be confused with The Three Stooges. ...
The Stooges are an American rock band that was first active from about 1967 to 1974, and then reformed in 2003. ...
Reunion In a huge surprise for fans, all six members of Radio Birdman reunited for the Big Day Out tour in 1996 and again in 1997. Since then Radio Birdman have continued to perform sporadically. In 2002 Warwick Gilbert was replaced by Jim Dickson who had previously played with the New Christs, Louis Tillett, the Passengers, the Barracudas and Deniz Tek. Drummer Ron Keely left the band in 2004 after the band's performance at the Azkena Festival in Spain, and was temporarily replaced by Nik Reith, formerly of the Celibate Rifles, the New Christs and the Deniz Tek Group. He was replaced after six shows by You Am I drummer Russell Hopkinson. The Big Day Out (BDO) is an annual music festival that tours Australia and New Zealand. ...
1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...
1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The New Christs was an Australian indie rock band. ...
Deniz Tek Deniz Tek is a guitarist/songwriter who is currently a member of Australian group Radio Birdman. ...
The New Christs was an Australian indie rock band. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
A series of shows across Australia took place in February 2006, and there was an unsuccessful movement to have them added to the bill of the 2006 Big Day Out festival, which was headlined by kindred spirits the Stooges. The Big Day Out (BDO) is an annual music festival that tours Australia and New Zealand. ...
The Stooges are an American rock band that was first active from about 1967 to 1974, and then reformed in 2003. ...
2006 The year 2006 has seen much movement by Radio Birdman including the completion of a new album entitled Zeno Beach, set for release in Australia on June 24th, 2006 via the band's own Crying Sun Records. It will see a US release via Yep Roc Records on August 22nd. Supporting tours in both the US and Australia are planned. Zeno Beach was recorded in Sydney in December of 2005, produced by guitarist Deniz Tek and engineer Greg Wales. Carl Rorke, one time Radio Birdman bassist, died the year of the new albums scheduled release, and it was completed in his memory. In March, Radio Birdman hosted an Australian rock history exhibition in Sydney, featuring many artworks inspired by Radio Birdman. Many of the bands memorabilia, including guitars, were auctioned on the opening night. Album cover for Zeno Beach. ...
Yep Roc Records is an American record label. ...
Other
Lyrics The band's lyrics reference US-born guitarist/main songwriter Deniz Tek's home state of Michigan, with lyrics from tracks such as "Murder City Nights" referring to Woodward Avenue in Detroit: "Cruising down Woodward gotta find me some action/Looking for a lover with a power reaction."
Many of their other songs, such as "Hand Of Law" & "Descent Into The Maelstrom" deal in apocalyptic images of war and violence, but these are more than balanced by the lighter pop culture references of tunes such as "Aloha Steve & Danno", an ode to the TV show Hawaii 5-0. "Man With Golden Helmet" (which Tek wrote in high school) is one of their most cryptic efforts: "Man with golden helmet/drinks water from the faucet... plays with tiny children/on his way home from work... he's the top man/in the language department." ? Hawaii Five-O ran for twelve seasons on CBS television network. ...
In one song, I-94, Eskimo pies are a prominent subject of the chorus, possibly due to their relation with Klondike bars or to guitarist Chris 'Klondike' Masuak's Canadian origins. Eskimo Pie is a brand name for a chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar wrapped in foil, the first such dessert sold in the United States. ...
The Klondike bar is a brand name for a dessert generally consisting of a vanilla ice cream square coated with a thin layer of chocolate. ...
Hunker Creek Valley, Klondike The Klondike is a region of the Yukon Territory in northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border. ...
Genre Radio Birdman's music does not fit specifically with the punk rock genre, nor do the band like this label (as they saw it as degrading to their intelligence)—though their independence and originality has put them in this position. A fitting genre would be alternative punk, or as the band called it, 'Sub-Pop'. Fans of the band often classed the music as the Detroit sound, similar to bands such as MC5. 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. ...
Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Wayne County, Michigan Founded Incorporated July 24, 1701 1815 County Wayne County Mayor...
MC5 wearing White Panther Party buttons. ...
Graphics With professional graphic artist Warwick Gilbert as part of the band, Rdio Birdman had a unique and artistic feel to their albums and posters. The band wanted to be unlike any other band in the modern way of presenting their image. Such examples as the cover of the bands third release, 'Living Eyes' show the style of design Radio Birdman often employed. Image File history File links Birdmnlogo. ...
Image File history File links Birdmnlogo. ...
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...
The band symbol, however, was not created by Gilbert. Lead guitarist Deniz Tek created the symbol after much time trying to think of a symbol for himself. He created it by accident while scribling on some paper when he was with one of his early bands 'The Rats', he brought the logo with him when he formed Radio Birdman. Deniz Tek Deniz Tek is a guitarist/songwriter who is currently a member of Australian group Radio Birdman. ...
The symbol was held by some as something to follow while others saw it as something extreme as the call sign of a forming cult. Tek has denied this: "Just because we wore a uniform and had a symbol - it's automatically Nazi." One example given by Tek was a crazed woman who tore down one of the bands banners at a concert screaming about the Jewish people. National Socialism redirects here. ...
Trivia - Lead guitarist Deniz Tek is a trained ER doctor and navy pilot.
- Tek's navy codename 'Iceman' was appropriated by visiting screenwriters for a character in the hit movie Top Gun.
- Original Radio Birdman bassist, Warwick Gilbert is an animator for Walt Disney.
Top Gun is a 1986 American film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer in association with Paramount Pictures. ...
For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ...
Discography | Cover | Title | Release | | | Burn My Eye EP | 1976 | | | Radios Appear LP | 1977 | | | Living Eyes LP | 1981 | | | Alone in the Endzone 45' | 1981 | | | Ritualism CD | 1996 | | | The Essential Radio Birdman CD | 2001 | | | Zeno Beach CD | 2006 | | | Eureka Birdman (bootleg) | n/a | Image File history File links Download high resolution version (733x718, 30 KB) Summary photo Licensing This image is of a music album or single cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the album or the artist(s) which produced the music or...
See also: 1975 in music, other events of 1976, 1977 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // Events January-February January 7 - Kenneth Moss, a former record company executive, is sentenced to 120 days in the Los Angeles County Jail and four years probation for...
Image File history File links RaBi2. ...
See also: 1976 in music, other events of 1977, 1978 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // Events Queens Bohemian Rhapsody is named The Best Single Of The Last 25 Years by BPI. In this year, the St. ...
Image File history File links RaBi3. ...
See also: 1980 in music, other events of 1981, 1982 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 10 - Revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadways Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith February 14...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (721x706, 25 KB) Summary photo Licensing This image is of a music album or single cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the album or the artist(s) which produced the music or...
See also: 1980 in music, other events of 1981, 1982 in music, 1980s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 10 - Revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadways Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith February 14...
Image File history File links RaBi10. ...
See also: 1995 in music, other events of 1996, 1997 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 8 - Madonnas stalker, Robert Hoskins is found guilty and convicted on 5 charges of assault, stalking, and threatening to kill her. ...
Image File history File links RaBi7. ...
See also: 2000 in music, 2001 in music (UK), other events of 2001, 2002 in music, 2000s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 1 - Comeback of Guns N Roses in House of Blues January 1 - Hum disbands. ...
Image File history File links RaBi5. ...
Album cover for Zeno Beach. ...
// Events January- James Nicholl, drummer of Pay*Ola (Band) became ill and was admitted to hospital. ...
Image File history File links RaBi6. ...
Sources - Vivien Johnson, Radio Birdman Biography (paperback).
- Shock Records biography [1].
- Radio Birdman Story - Greg Bowen [2]
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External links - Radio Birdman official website.
- Zeno Beach The new Zeno Beach website, includes reviews, tour dates, interviews etc. The most current source of information on the band's plans.
- The Sydney-based online bar/magazine I94 Bar provides excellent coverage and news of Radio Birdman and related bands, as well as other Australian punk & garage rock acts, including reviews of several Birdman live shows in January & February 2006.
- The Birdman Pages are a complete source of all things to do with Radio Birdman and affiliates.
- Divine Rites is another fansite in the Birdman fan ring.
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