The Scientists are a post-punk band from Perth, Western Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as the Exterminators and then the Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydney/London-based swamp rock band of the 1980s.
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd. Their popularity peaked in the mid- to late 1980s with albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder.
The Bo-Weevils are a psychedelic rock band blending psychedelic music, pop music, garage rock and rock music which formed in early 1985. Their early garage incarnation was a lot easier to classify and won fans easily, but the band evolved away from these roots from the late 1980s into more cerebral and accomplished directions. They released four studio albums, Where Particular People Congregate (1988), Destroyer of Worlds (1990), Reap (1992), and Burn (1994) before they semi-retired in 1999. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane described the group as "one of the first Australian bands of the 1980s to play wild, 1960s-inspired garage-punk".
Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums, Spencer P. Jones on guitar, Tex Perkins on vocals, Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris Sujdovic on bass guitar. Except for mainstays Jones and Perkins, the line-up changed over time as the group splintered and reformed several times. Their debut album, The Axeman's Jazz was released in July 1984. Their debut single, "Psycho", was a cover version of the Leon Payne original. The group disbanded by mid-1985 and each member pursued other musical projects.
The Johnnys are an Australian pub rock band from Sydney forming in 1982 and still active today that combines country and punk musical styles. Members are Graham Hood, Billy Pommer Jr and Slim Doherty and have included founder, Roddy Ray'da and Spencer P. Jones.
The Victims were an Australian punk band from Perth, Western Australia, active from 1977 to 1979. The founding mainstay members were James Baker on drums, Dave Flick on guitar and vocals, and Rudolph V on bass guitar. Their debut single, "Television Addict", was issued in April 1978 and was followed by a five-track extended play, The Victims, in August of that year. The group disbanded early in the next year. In 1989 Timberyard Records released a compilation album, All Loud on the Western Front, of their material. In late 2014 and early 2015 Baker and Faulkner were joined by Ray Ahn as the Television Addicts to perform the Victims material. The 2014 and 2015 shows were so well received that the trio assumed the band name The Victims and played sold-out shows at Rosemount Hotel and Mojo's Bar.
Matt Finish are an Australian rock band formed in mid-1979 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Moffitt (1956–2003) and drummer, composer and producer John Prior. The 1981 line-up of Moffitt, Prior, Richard Grossman on bass guitar and Jeff Clayton on rhythm guitar recorded their debut album, Short Note, which peaked at No. 14 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. The title song, "Short Note", peaked at No. 33 on the related Singles Chart and became a standard on Australian radio stations. Grossman was later a member of Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus. On 13 August 2003 Moffit died in his sleep, aged 46. From 2006 Prior has continued Matt Finish with various line-ups.
Nick Sheppard is an English guitarist. He played lead guitar for The Clash from 1983 until the band's breakup in 1986.
The Flairz were an Australian garage rock band from Perth. They were formed as a trio in late 2003 by pre-teens, Dion Mariani on guitar, bass guitar and vocals, his cousin, John Mariani on guitar, bass guitar and vocals, and Scarlett Stevens on drums and vocals. Late in 2006 Georgia Wilkinson-Derums joined on bass guitar. The group issued a studio album, Black Fox, and two extended plays, Rock and Roll Ain't Evil and Bullseye. The group disbanded in November 2009 with Stevens forming an indie pop band, San Cisco.
The Someloves were an alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia which formed in 1986. They were led by Dom Mariani, on guitar and lead vocals; and Darryl Mather on lead guitar. The group's sole album, Something or Other, was released in April 1990 and reached the Top 100 on the ARIA Albums Chart. They were noted for their 1980s power-pop underground style. Various personal issues and problems with the idea of touring led to the group disbanding by the end of 1990.
Originally from Perth, Western Australia, Kryptonics were a melodic pop punk band that were active between 1985 and 1992. Kryptonics were contemporaries of notable Perth bands The Stems, The Triffids & The Bamboos, and released a series of 7" singles and 12" vinyl EPs on a number of Australian independent record labels.
James Lawrence Baker is an Australian musician, best known as the drummer of various rock and punk rock groups, including the Victims, the Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon, and the Dubrovniks. In 2006 Baker was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Hall of Fame. The following year, Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
The Chevelles are a power pop band from Perth, Western Australia. They formed in 1989 and have toured Australia, Europe, the United States and South America.
At First Sight, Violets Are Blue is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock group, The Stems, released in August 1987 through Mushroom Records' White Label on vinyl. The title track "At First Sight" gained mainstream airplay and a position on the Young Einstein sound track. "At First Sight" became the band's signature track and the album is still rated as one of the best Australian guitar pop releases. In the early nineties Rolling Stone included it in the top 100 Australian releases of all time.
Mushroom Soup: The Citadel Years is an anthology album from the Stems, released in 2003 through Citadel Records. It is a collection of all the band's singles, songs from their debut EP, Love Will Grow - Rosebud Volume 1, previously unreleased demos and alternative song versions and a video for "Tears Me in Two".
Sunnyboys were an Australian power pop band formed in Sydney in 1979. Fronted by singer-songwriter/guitarist Jeremy Oxley, the band began performing on the city's pub circuit – where, according to music historian Ian Mc Farlane, they "breathed some freshness and vitality into the divergent Sydney scene". Their first two albums, Sunnyboys and Individuals, both appeared in the Top 30 of the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart.
Dom Mariani is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Mariani has been a member of several bands since the early 1980s, including The Stems, The Someloves, DM3, Datura4 and instrumental side project The Majestic Kelp. The Stems is the best-known and most successful of Mariani's projects. Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described the power pop group as "one of the best live bands on the Australian scene".
The Fergusons were a five piece alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia, formed in late 1999/early 2000 with members Al Nistelberger, Mike Bruce, Wayne Beadon (guitar), Grant Joyce (bass), and Matt Wheeler (drums). The band gained momentum after their debut gig in March 2000 and went on to release their first EP, "Hurting the Washing Machine," in June 2001, which received local chart success and airplay on Triple J. Notable achievements include winning WAMI awards, signing a deal with Australian independent record label Dew Process in 2003. Despite lineup changes, successful performances, and recording efforts for a debut album, financial constraints led to the severance of ties with Universal Records in 2004. The band officially disbanded in 2005 after playing a farewell gig. Post-split, members pursued other projects, with Nistelberger, Joyce, and Beadon forming the Bipolar Bears. A brief reunion for an acoustic performance occurred in 2007. The Fergusons' debut album, however, remained incomplete.
Rodney John "Roddy" Radalj is a Croatian-born Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He has provided guitar, bass guitar and vocals in several influential Australian bands starting with Perth punk bands in the late 1970s before relocating to Sydney to become a founder of the Hoodoo Gurus in 1981 and of Dubrovniks in 1988. Since 1989, as Roddy Ray'Da he has released a number of solo albums, including Guns Girls & Guitars in 2005.
Tall Tales and True were an Australian rock band formed in 1983 by Matthew de la Hunty on lead vocals and guitar and Paul Miskin on bass guitar, backing vocals and guitar. They released three studio albums, Shiver (1989), Revenge! and Tilt (1995). They disbanded in 1995.
