Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. They have had a notable influence on other Australian punk bands. The classic Rock magazine has described them as 'Australia’s first and most influential punk band'.
The New Christs are an Australian garage rock band formed in 1980 by founding mainstay, Rob Younger, on lead vocals. Younger was the lead singer for punk rockers, Radio Birdman, and in other hard rock groups, New Race, Bad Music, the Other Side, Nanker Phelge, and Deep Reduction. The New Christs line-up since 2011 is Younger with Jim Dickson on bass guitar, Dave Kettley on guitar, Paul Larsen on drums and Brent Williams on guitar and keyboards. Over their career the group have issued five studio albums, Distemper (1989), Lower Yourself (1997), We Got This! (2002), Gloria (2009) and Incantations (2014). Three former members have died: Stevie Plunder in January 1996, Mark Wilkinson in December 2012 and Christian Houllemare in June 2014.
Powder Monkeys were an Australian punk, indie rock band, formed in 1991. The founding mainstays, Tim Hemensley, on bass guitar and lead vocals and John Nolan on lead guitar were both ex-members of Bored!. Powder Monkeys released three studio albums, Smashed on a Knee, Time Wounds all Heels and Lost City Blues (2000), before they broke up in 2002. Tim Hemensley died on 21 July 2003, aged 31, of a heroin overdose.
Schnell Fenster were a New Zealand rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1986 by Noel Crombie on drums and percussion, Nigel Griggs on bass guitar and backing vocals, Phil Judd on lead vocals and guitar, and Eddie Rayner on keyboards and piano – who were all former members of New Zealand-formed rock group, Split Enz. Fellow founder, Michael den Elzen on lead guitar had worked with Tim Finn Band, another band formed by a Split Enz alumnus. Judd's band were briefly named The Wanx: but Rayner soon left and they changed their name to faux-German for "quick window", because it "appealed to [their] perversity". The group formed the core members of Noel's Cowards, a short-term ensemble, whose sole output was six tracks for the soundtrack of a feature film, Rikky and Pete, in 1988. Schnell Fenster released two studio albums, The Sound of Trees (1988) and Ok Alright a Huh Oh Yeah (1990), before disbanding in 1992. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989 they were nominated for Breakthrough Artist – Album for The Sound of Trees, Breakthrough Artist – Single for "Whisper" and Best Cover Art for Judd's graphic art.
The Screaming Tribesmen were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1981 by mainstay Mick Medew on lead vocals and lead guitar. With various line-ups they released three studio albums, Bones and Flowers, Blood Lust (1990) and Formaldehyde (1993), before disbanding in 1998. They reformed in 2011 for performances until June 2012. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described how they, "fashioned a memorable brand of 1960s-inspired pop rock that combined equal parts existential lyric angst, melodic inventiveness and strident guitar riffs."
Deniz Tek is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of Australian rock group Radio Birdman. He has played in many of the underground rock bands of the 1970s, including Australian bands The Visitors and New Race, but is most known for exerting his burning Detroit-style guitar influence over the punk rock genre in Australia.
For the American band with a similar name, see Blackeyed Susan.
The Celibate Rifles were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with a line-up that included mainstays Dave Morris on rhythm guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar; within a year they were joined by Damien Lovelock on lead vocals. They released their first album, Sideroxylon, in April 1983 on the Hot Records label. The band has toured both America and Europe extensively, and released their ninth studio album, Beyond Respect on 19 July 2004. In 1985 the group's style was described as post-Radio Birdman sound which is "a combination of fast, guitar-driven, hard rock and power pop". In November 1987 Sounds magazine's Roger Holland described their album, Roman Beach Party as showing the group's "sawn off rock potential all the way down to the bleached white of the bone, the lyrics reveal all the anger, insight and humour that makes [them] one of the most powerful rock bands in the world today". In April 1994 The Celibate Rifles issued Spaceman in a Satin Suit which according to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane "was [their] best studio album since Blind Ear". Lovelock undertook a solo career and issued two albums as well as becoming a TV sports presenter prior to his death in 2019.
The Dubrovniks were an Australian rock band which formed in August 1986 as The Adorable Ones. Early in 1987 they changed their name to The Dubrovniks in acknowledgement to the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia, which was the birthplace of two founding members, Roddy Radalj, and Boris Sujdovic. Both Radalj and fellow founder James Baker had previously founded Hoodoo Gurus in 1981. All three had earlier associations in the Perth punk scene of the late 1970s. The group issued four albums, before disbanding in 1995.
Ronald Stephen Peno', who also performed as Ron S. Peno and Ronnie Pop, was an Australian rock singer and songwriter who fronted Died Pretty from 1983 to 2002. Before that, he was a member of the punk band The Hellcats (1976–77), followed by hard rock band The 31st and The Screaming Tribesmen (1981). In his later years, after relocating to Melbourne, Peno formed the alt-country duo The Darling Downs with Kim Salmon and finally his own band, Ron S. Peno & The Superstitions which he co-founded with Cam Butler.
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.
Christopher William Masuak is a Canadian-born Australian musician, guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He joined the punk rock group, Radio Birdman, then the hard rockers, the Hitmen, and the Screaming Tribesmen (1984–89). Masuak has also been a member of New Christs (1983–84), the Juke Savages (1992–96), the Raouls (1996–97), and Klondike's North 40 (2002–08). He currently plays with The Viveiro Wave Riders in his adopted country of Spain. He has released material as Chris Boy King and as Klondike. Radio Birdman were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in July 2007.
Simon Carter Holmes was an Australian musician who served as the singer and lead guitarist for the indie rock bands, The Hummingbirds (1986–93) and Her Name in Lights (2003–05).
Love Will Grow – Rosebud Volume 1 is the debut extended play by Australian alternative rock group, The Stems. It was produced by Rob Younger, vocalist of Radio Birdman, and Alan Thorne. The EP was released in February 1986 through Citadel Records, the EP has never been released on a CD format. The EP reached No. 72 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.
The Hitmen are an Australian hard rock band formed in November 1977 by long-term members, Johnny Kannis on lead vocals and Chris Masuak on lead guitar as Johnny and the Hitmen. The group went through numerous line up changes in its first run from 1977 to 1984. They regrouped under a new name, Hitmen DTK, between 1989 and 1992. They have issued three studio albums, Hitmen, It Is What It Is and Moronic Inferno. The Hitmen reformed in 2007; Masuak left in 2015.
Charles Lothian Lloyd "Charlie" Owen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer. He has been a member of The New Christs (1987–90), Louis Tillett and His Cast of Aspersions (1990), Tex, Don and Charlie, Tendrils (1994–99) and Beasts of Bourbon. His solo album, Vertigo and Other Phobias, was released in 1994 on Red Eye/Polydor.
Sean Patrick Kelly is an Australian singer, guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the bands Models, Absent Friends and The Dukes.
Christopher Mark Bailey was an Australian bass guitarist and vocalist. He was a member of various rock groups including Headband (1971–1974), The Angels, GANGgajang (1984–2013), and The Stetsons. Bailey died of throat cancer, aged 62.
The Plunderers were an Australian band which formed in May 1984 in Canberra. The group's founding mainstays were Nic Dalton on bass guitar and vocals and Stevie Plunder on guitar and vocals. The group issued three mini-albums, Trust Us, Sarah's not Falling in Love, and Home Movie (1992); a live album, 13.7.91 Live! Live! Live! (1991); and three albums, No Era Is Safe (1986), Half A Cow (1986), and Banana Smoothie Honey (1992). Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described their sound as "a punky brand of power pop that mixed frantic guitar riffs, sharp harmonies and diamond-hard pop melodies" before starting to "explore a more tripped-out kind of psychedelic revivalism". In 1989 Dalton and Plunder and their drummer, Geoff Milne, formed a side project, Hippy Dribble, playing their more psychedelic songs. In December 1990 the trio also formed Captain Denim to play "more laid-back songs mostly ... influenced by the likes of Buffalo Springfield, Country & Western and folk rock". Both these groups issued material including a split album, Silver Apples/Fade in 1994. In 1992, Dalton joined US band The Lemonheads and former Plunderers' keyboard player Andy Lewis and Plunder formed The Whitlams with Tim Freedman. Plunder died on 25 January 1996, at the age of 32 years and Lewis died on 12 February 2000, at the age of 33 years.
Mark Adrian Kingsmill is an Australian rock musician. He has drummed with several bands including the Hitmen (1979–84), New Christs (1983–84), the Screaming Tribesmen (1984) and Hoodoo Gurus. He is the older brother of Richard Kingsmill, former music director and presenter on Triple J.
