Throughout the 1980's, I played in a number of bands of varying
levels of success.
All these bands played a mix of Original Songs and Cover
versions. The covers gave us the opportunity to work consistently
and build a following. The originals gave us the creative
outlet, and fuelled our dreams of success. Another thing that
fuelled our dreams of success was being given the opportunity
on countless occasions to play support for all the more successful
bands as they toured through whatever town we were in at the
time. It was the halcyon days for live bands, and the rock
circuit was a breeding ground for so many great Australian
bands. Below is a list of all the acts I supported during
this era. Below that is a list of all the venues that we played
in.
If you have any comments or corrections to make about this
page, or if you have any of your own memories, please feel
free to email me stefan@cyrius.com.au
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Midnight Oil - What
a Mega Live Show! Oz Rock at it's best! A true inspiration.
Had a beer with Mr Garret once. I still have their first
two albums playing in my car. Rob Hirst used to pour water
on his drum skins for a huge finale of fountainous proportions.
I still have one of his drum sticks and one of their set
lists.
-
John Farnham - Awesome
voice, and the best band, musically. Had Greg Macainsh
ex-Skyhooks on bass. Greg has recently been a guest speaker
at a Songsalive! workshop.
-
Mi-Sex - Very polished
performance. Murray Burns went on to huge things. Met
him a couple of times at the Manzil Room back then, and
he was very affable. Had a great light show and hits like
"Computer Games" & "People" (are
you a clone???) They were one of the first bands we ever
supported, and we were so affected by the experience,
we threw about 7 MI-Sex songs into our repertoire! Steve
Gilpin moved to the Lismore area and ended up playing
with some local dudes that I knew until his unfortunate
demise in a car crash.
-
Jimmy Barnes - A mega
butt-kicking show at the Mansfield Tavern in Brisbane.
I think he had Mal Eastick on guitar. Very impressive.
Being support act usually meant I could hang side of stage,
which was pretty cool.
-
Dragon - Played with
them on a few occasions. Notably in Cairns at the Playpen
- a huge venue. Both Marc and Todd were very friendly,
and I seem to remember our guitarist sucking up to them
big time in some desperate attempt for himself to hit
the big time. Marc Hunter truly was a cool dude. Those
were our young years.
-
Sherbert - None other.
Played a couple of gigs with Daz and the Boys on their
farewell tour. I remember the bass player was totally
wasted all the time, but Daryl was very together and ready
to carry on his successful solo career, which of course
he did. Jammed with them in Toowoomba, they were really
great guys. Great memories of Rockhampton post-show helping
them celebrate their demise. Sherbert was one of my favourite
bands when I was about 10 years old, so being there amongst
them was a real treat. They played exceptionally well.
They always were top musicians..
-
Screaming Tribesmen
- All I remember is the road crew giving me a funny cigarette.
I don't remember the band at all! I think they sounded
OK from the dressing room of the Jet Club, Coolangatta's
coolest venue of the day.
-
John Paul Young -
Strictly Ballroom man in mid career, very good tight band,
he had. I remember the keyboard player using only one
keyboard. In those days every keyboard player HAD to have
at least three, and usually five or six. Surprisingly,
one was enough!
-
The Radiators - The
true showmen of Australian Rock and Roll. The mirror-ball
suit and gloves etc. Saw them a short time ago at the
Eastwood Hotel, and besides the keyboard player's absence,
they and their audience hadn't changed or aged a bit.
Supported them on numerous occasions throughout their
hectic touring schedules of the day.
-
The Models - Melbourne
underground band, who broke the big time in Australia,
after adding James Freud and James Valentine. Outta Mind
Outta Sight etc.. They were the kind of band we aspired
to, among others. I was surprised to see the lead singer
blow a joint before going on. I don't know how he remembered
the words.
-
Goanna - Great band
with cool outlook! Solid rock got played to death on the
radio, though you can never hear that song enough. Clean
cut and serious, were Goanna.
-
Dynamic Hepnotics
- Soul Kinda Feelin'!! Great band, really grooved! Got
on famously with the road crew in Rockhampton. (we often
had to get on with the road crews, in order to get a good
sound and be treated well) Supported them on a few occasions
right when the single was hot. The guitarist was very
adept, I remember.
-
Richard Clapton -
The legend, although his Road Manager at the time was
a bit of a jerk to support acts, I guess that's because
he was tour managing a legend. I was disappointed, because
I thought I was an upcoming legend, and how could this
guy not instantly recognise that?!
-
Hoodoo Gurus - Loved
their shows. Our bass player, Leroy, used to play in a
band with their guitarist, Brad Shepherd when they were
both about 16, so he was jealous as hell at his success.
Dave Faulkner had a fantastic charisma on stage.
-
Paul Kelly and the Coloured
Girls - great band, great guys, great songwriter.
Played Caringbah Hotel with them. They were very easy-going
and easy listening, while we were trying to be intense,
highly strung and "out there". I think there
could be a lesson here.
-
Rodney Rude - VERY
rude!!! Very funny!! Made the mistake of finding my seat
after his set started! Became the butt of some butt joke!
-
The Angels - The Legends
Still Live!!!! Our sound guy, Ian Taylor ended up working
for them as front of house and foldback. Ian used to get
the best drum sound around.!
-
Mental As Anything
- Excellent all round songs and live performers. I liked
Greedy and the guitarist, Mr Mambo. Very quirky performance,
just like the t-shirts. Martin Plaza is the nephew of
my very first boss, the Manager of the Commonwealth Bank
in Maclean from 1979.
-
Austen Tayshus - Australiana
was HUGE at the time, and this guy had plenty of other
material to get the audiences chuckling. Yes the comedians
used to go on tour just like the rock bands. Everyone
used to go out to pubs back then.
-
Mondo Rock - The legend
himself, Mr Wilson. Top musicians. I remember noticing
Ross's tubby look, and hoping I didn't end up like that
after too long playing rock and roll. mmm, well, I'm madly
hitting the Gym now!
-
Orchestral Manoeuvers In The
Dark - British band. Remember Enola Gay? Yes
their performance was rather. They seemed to be a band
that came from a studio situation, because they set up
the stage facing the side walls. It was kind of interesting,
though, after seeing so many other bands use the same
old staging set-up.
-
Motorhead - Satanic
manouevers in the Jet Club. 13 people turned up!!! I think
Lemmy was a bit upset.
Strange Tennants - ska??? remember that? I think it's
coming back.
-
Machinations - Great
front man! Very quirky dancer. Bit of a computer dude
these days, I hear. One of the more original bands of
the bunch. Funky too.
-
Party Boys - Rock
legends playing covers for love and money. Saw a couple
of different incarnations.
-
Dear Enemy - One Hit
Wonder, now what was the song?? Oh yes, "Computer
One" um, guys... MiSex just did that! A bit of a
contrived band, I think, with the local Melbourne hired
guns backing some session singer.
-
Uncanny X-Men - Brian
Mannix and the Boys. These guys were a truly entertaining
act. Lots of comedy, props and good old fashioned rock
and roll.
-
Little Heroes - One
or was it two hit wonder?? "One Perfect Day",
ah yeah.... The bass player from one of my bands ended
up songwriting with the dude.
-
Dr Feelgood - Stayed
backstage thru entire set. I think I was having groupie
trouble.
-
Real Life - "Send
Me An Angel". Keyboard player was a real cool dude.
Managed to do a lot of stuff with sequencing when they
had hardly been invented yet. They were the first band
I had seen to use a click track live.
-
Arms And Legs - Ignatius
Jones - what a performer!!. Experimental Dance Rock Theatre!
The whole band was set up around the edge of the stage
to allow Ignatius space to go nuts.
-
Blues Brothers Show -
Ooh, tribute band! Before they were invented. I think
we also supported a band called the Bleach Boys as well
at some stage.
-
The Frames - Perth
pretty boy local pop stars, who thought their West Australian
success could translate to international stardom......
um.......... well........... they certainly brained 'em
in Perth! The Eastern Seaboard couldn't quite relate to
their self proclaimed rock-god status. We had a similar
problem when we toured Sydney from Queensland. It's a
different story now, of course, when Brisbane has produced
such a large succession of hit bands.
-
The Beatnix - Very
accurate renditions and looks with Frank Seckold adding
keys side of stage. His DX7 broke down, so I lent him
mine. When we bumped into each other about ten years later,
he hadn't forgotten. He is now in Le Club Nerd.
-
Sekret Sekret - um...
who? oh yeah.... at the Italo Club in Lismore....um, they
had a strong positive attitude and a good sound. That's
about all I can remember. It was 1981..
-
Mr Meaner - Queenslanders
with a reputation of Kicking Butt live. I was chasin girls
after the support, so missed the main act!
-
Avion - Christian
hard rock band. Very good, really, and great guys to boot!!!
Our drummer Peter Clarke, now with Lee Kerneghan, bumped
into an ex-Avion dude in Nashville, of all places.
-
Allnighters - Woah......Montego
Bay! I tried to crack onto the cute blonde lead singer,
I was doing quite well, but the roadies scared me off!
-
Kids In The Kitchen
- The industry darlings for one or two weeks. Craig Harnath
went on and did "Frontline's" music I think...among
other things. Apparently Craig put the good word in with
Michael Gudinski, because we heard that we had been put
on a list of 'bands to watch'.
-
No Nonsence - No,
can't really remember.... more ska??
-
Pseudo Echo - We all
thought our band was better....... but, hey, they were
from Melbourne!! Their haircuts were maybe one or two
notches above ours.
-
Bear Garden - All
I remember is that the keyboard player had blonde dreadlocks,
and that one of their roadies let me steal his DX7 sounds.
Not that I ever used them. They had one minor hit, I think.
Another haircut band of the day.
-
Idol Minds - Paul
Smart's mastermind. Inspired my band to no end with their
slick presentation and quirky ways. Nearly joined them
a couple of times. Did quite well, really.. many line-up
changes.. wonder where you are, Paul? (I know now, thanks
to the Internet, Paul contacted me, yay! Gotta love the
power of the search engine!)
-
Comedy Store Tour
- Very funny and a bit of a future who's who of Australian
comedy. Anthony Akroyd, Gary Who, some others..
-
Ol '55 - Frankie J
and the lads. At the time, 50's music was kind of 'out'
so the gig wasn't great. The band was certainly a good
stepping stone for some of it's members, though. I'll
always be grateful to Wilbur Wilde, who judged a Battle-of-the-Bands
we won. Grateful also for the funny cigarette he passed
to me.
-
The Promise - Queensland
band showed lots of promise, just like our band, and they
did well, too, for a while, having scored themselves management...
one thing we never did.. They moved to Sydney, and I believe
they all moved on to bigger and better things. Their sound
guy became a keyboard player, and eventually ran his own
totally happening MIDI studio. I was jealous.
-
The Cockroaches -
Very popular live act back then. A couple of members are
now Wiggles. Come to think of it, they were not that dissimilar
in their presentation.
-
The Johnnys - mmmmm
nup, don't remember them much. Country Rockabilly?? Punk
and Western? Cajun Garage? dunno...
-
Deckchairs Overboard
- They still around??
-
Celibate Rifles -
They still around??? Think their singer, Mr Lovelock has
managed to find himself a bit of a media profile.
-
Chain - classic blues
rock outfit - excellent. Phil Manning, Matt Taylor, drummer
was pretty sick at the time, but rocked on anyway in between
oxygen mask inhalations.
-
The Party Girls -
Did we Party, girls?
-
Electric Pandas -
One, or was it two hit wonder?? Our bass player, Leroy,
joined them for a while.
-
Black Coffee- Melbourne
legends, I think the Bull Sisters, Vika and Linda were
in that... Was Kate Cerebrano involved too?
-
Do Re Mi - At their
peak. Good performance, but in those days hardly any band
had females in them. It was a bit confronting for everyone,
I think. Oh my god, a woman on stage rockin! Nowadays,
who wants to see dudes? Nobody! Tits and Ass is much more
pleasing to the eye.
-
Africa - from Africa???
I really can't remember.
-
Roy Buchannan - I
left before his set even started. I think it was a girlfriend
thing.
-
The Dropbears - My
memory is fading......
-
Moving Pictures -
About three years after their peak...it was sad to see,
they were slipping down the star ladder, but they cooked
as much as ever. Must have been a record company contract
thing. I recently saw the keyboard player playing at a
backpacker bar in Kings Cross. How times change.. or stay
the same, whichever way you look at it.
-
Geisha - Yet another
One Hit Haircut band. There were a lot of haircut bands
in the 80's. Duran Duran are solely to blame - or was
it Flock of Seagulls?
-
Ayres Rock - A musician's
delight. Very competent. Inspirational. I actually practiced
for a few days after seeing them.
-
Dave Warner from the Suburbs
- A punter's delight. Funny, great concept - self deprecating
suburban white trash humour.
-
Gold Rush - Featuring
Phil and Tommy Emmanuel duelling guitars and even sharing
the same guitar! Impressive stuff.
-
Sharon O'Neill - A
gorgeous babe and a very polished live performance. Our
guitarist claimed to have seen her naked in the dressing
room. I never believed him.
-
Kevin Borich - The
closest thing we can get to an original rock legend guitar
hero.
-
INXS - What can you
say? Bloody hot and tight!!! They had such combined energy
on stage. Three brothers in the band would have helped,
I guess. The keyboard player always blew me away with
his sounds. Every band I have been in since supporting
them, did at least one INXS cover, usually more. Once
upon a time, they offered to take my young band "The
Units" under their wing to become their permanent
support act and come to Sydney to live. Someone in the
band said "NO"!! Can you believe it?? That was
the defining moment in my non-career in the music business.
-
The Church - Great
band, but the Roadies threw us off stage, coz we were
sounding too good for a support band! They let me use
their effects, though, at first, that's very gracious.
I met Steve Kilby many years later. We shared the same
Shiatzu masseusse in Balmain. He actually remembered the
incident and apologised on behalf of his road crew!
-
Broderick Smith -
the Big Combo. Cookin'! Funky and groovy, although at
the time I remember thinking that they were a bit "old
fashioned".
-
The Sunny Boys - Tweed
Heads greatest rock export!! Our lighting guy knew them
very well, so we had good gigs. Apparently one of the
Boys has a restaurant in Newtown?
-
The Reels - Very innovative,
very cool, ahead of their time. The only band at the time
to tour with a "Bose" speaker system. they were
doing all kinds of taped and sequenced things. Early techno?
Cutting edge, man...
-
The Swingers - I'm
counting the beat, 2,3,4,5.... Bones Hillman now with
Midnight Oil.
-
Matt Finish - I was
very impressed with the drummer, and the songsmith. Socialised
with them a little in Lismore when the local party organiser
(every town has one) invited them back to his home after
the gig. This used to happen quite a lot.
-
Brenton Roberts Band -
No memory... I'm sure they remember their gigs as being
totally amazing.
-
The Dugites - Fell
in love with Linda Nutter on stage when I was about 18.
Met her years later and rehearsed a jazz duo with her,
but never happened coz she was acting, and I was getting
too much work as a soloist. It was sounding quite good,
though.
-
James Freud and Berlin
- Ultra early 80's synthy stuff, and great front man,
who later hit it with The Models. My band was very similar
in style, so were were impressed young dudes at all the
gear they carted around - and how loud they were.
-
Doug Parkinson - Excellent
singer and band. My baptism of live music in the club
scene at Grafton Golf Club. Still got a recording of the
gig from 1980!! I might put an audio file of it up soon.
Thank you Mr Soundman.
-
The 88's - another
one hit, one album band, great guys, really got on with
them, I bought the album!! Good catchy songs.
-
Danfango - My first
exposure to a real band!! They gave us heaps of gigs,
and later Jack Eyles, their guitarist became our sound
guy, and went on to start the world's first Roadie Course
at Lismore College. He then went on to become a teacher
at my old high school! I still keep in touch with Jack.
He is still rockin out in a very successful local band
and he is one of the coolest dudes around.
-
Ted Mulry Gang- A
true party band. Saw Ted drinkin' at a piano bar I was
playing at more recently in Cremorne, Minsky's. I'm still
there, but unfortunately he isn't. He was a legend in
Roy and HG's show. Jump In My Car would have to be one
of those all-time classic songs.
