Tex Perkins | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Gregory Stephen Perkins |
Born | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | 28 December 1964
Genres | Rock, folk blues, country |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1982–present |
Member of | Tex Perkins and the Fat Rubber Band The Beasts |
Formerly of | Beasts of Bourbon The Cruel Sea Tex, Don and Charlie Tex Deadly and the Dum-Dums Thug TnT Tex Perkins & His Ladyboyz The Ape Tex Perkins & The Band of Gold |
Website | texperkins |
Gregory Stephen Perkins (born 28 December 1964), better known by his stage name Tex Perkins, is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted the Australian rock band The Cruel Sea, but has also performed with the Beasts of Bourbon, Thug, James Baker Experience, The Butcher Shop, Salamander Jim, and Tex, Don and Charlie. He has also released many solo records. In 1997, a portrait of Tex Perkins by artist Bill Leak won the Packing Room award at the Archibald Prize.
Perkins started his musical career in Brisbane cowpunk outfit Tex Deadly and the Dum-Dums, [1] before moving to Sydney in 1982, garnering considerable attention in the Sydney independent music scene and also touring Melbourne, before the departure of guitarist Mark Halstead ended the band. [2]
He later formed Salamander Jim with Kim Salmon from The Scientists and Richard Ploog from The Church. Due to touring commitments for Ploog & Salmon, Perkins formed a different line up with Stu Spasm, Lachlan McLeod and Martin Bland. In 1985 this line-up recorded and released their only record, an EP titled Lorne Greene Shares His Precious Fluids on Red Eye Records.
Perkins and Peter Read formed Thug in Sydney in 1987 when Read's flatmate had a fascination for collecting and amassing electronic equipment. After using some of the gear on initial recordings in Read's home studio, Perkins was eager to take it to the stage. Thug's live sets would last twenty to twenty-five minutes, featuring dancers and theatrics. Thug released two studio albums Mechanical Ape / Proud Idiots Parade in 1987 and Electric Woolly Mammoth in 1988.
Beasts of Bourbon formed in Sydney in 1983. The original lineup comprised Perkins, Spencer P. Jones, James Baker, Kim Salmon and Boris Sudjovic. The band's first album, The Axeman's Jazz , was an underground success, but the group continued to be just a side project until 1988 when it reformed to record Sour Mash , followed by 1990's Black Milk and 1991's The Low Road. In 1993, the group toured extensively to support the double album From the Belly of the Beasts, then disbanded temporarily. It reformed to record Gone in 1997, which received lukewarm reviews, but produced a somewhat successful single, "Saturated".
In 2003, the group reformed again to record a live album, Low Life, released on Spooky Records. In December 2006 it was announced that Albert Productions had signed an exclusive worldwide recording deal with the band and on 23 April 2007, released a new album Little Animals . In August 2013 the band celebrated its 30th anniversary.
After toying with different band members, The Cruel Sea came into fruition in 1987 as Ken Gormley on bass, Jim Elliot on drums, Danny Rumour on guitars and James Cruikshank on keyboards and guitars. They took their name from a recording by the 1960s surf instrumental group, The Ventures. In 1989 Perkins (their then-lighting technician) started joining them onstage. This sparked an interest from Red Eye Records, and the band was signed and released a 1989 album Down Below . It received an ARIA Award nomination in 1993 following the release of a second album, This Is Not the Way Home in 1991. [3]
The group's third album, The Honeymoon Is Over , released in 1993, and its title song, won five ARIA Music Awards of 1994. [3] [4] [5] The Cruel Sea followed with a high-profile world tour. 1995 saw the release of the hugely successful Three Legged Dog album, which won the group another ARIA award. [6] In 1998, The Cruel Sea released Over Easy in 1997 and Where There's Smoke in 2001.
Tex, Don and Charlie is an Australian group formed by Tex Perkins, Don Walker from Cold Chisel and guitarist Charlie Owen. Their first album Sad But True was released in 1993. Their distinctively Australian country-blues cocktail was reflected in their live album of 1995, Monday Morning Coming Down... . In March 2005, Tex, Don and Charlie released their second studio album All is Forgiven and a third, You Don't Know Lonely in 2017. All four albums have charted in the ARIA top 100.
The Dark Horses band arose from the writing, recording and touring for the Dark Horses album (Slick/Grudge, 1592612). Members were initially Charlie Owen, Joel Silbersher, Murray Paterson and Jim Elliott. Later members include Richard Needham, Gus Agars, James Cruikshank and Steve Hadley.
Sweet Nothing (Slick/Grudge, 0384961) credited to Tex Perkins' Dark Horses, was released in 2003 followed by Tex Perkins & The Dark Horses (Dark Horse Records/Inertia DHR001) in 2011. Everyone's Alone (Dark Horse Records/Inertia DHR002) was released in 2012 and Tunnel at the End of the Light (Dark Horse Records/Inertia DHR003) in 2015.
In 1996, Perkins released his first solo studio album, Far Be It from Me , which peaked at number 43 on the ARIA Charts. [7] In 2000, Perkins released his second solo studio album, Dark Horses which peaked at number 24 on the ARIA Charts. [7] In 2003, Sweet Nothing was released which was credited to Tex Perkins' Dark Horses and peaked at number 34 on the ARIA Charts. [7]
In 2006, Perkins worked with Tim Rogers and released the album My Better Half and credited it TnT. The album peaked at number 31 on the ARIA Charts.
In 2008, Perkins released the album No. 1's & No. 2's, credited to Tex Perkins And His Ladyboyz. In 2009, with Dr Murray Paterson, he wrote the soundtrack to the Australian drama film Beautiful Kate . The album received an ARIA nomination for Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album for the soundtrack at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009. [8]
In 2010 and 2011, Tex Perkins and The Tennessee Four (Shannon Bourne, guitar; Shane Reilly, guitar; Steve Hadley, bass; Dave Folley, drums) performed a series of shows in Australia and New Zealand, titled The Man in Black – The Johnny Cash Story, the show featured two hours of Johnny Cash’s music interwoven with the story of his rise to stardom, his fight for survival and his eventual redemption. Tex Perkins (a baritone, as was Cash) and Rachael Tidd (as Cash's wife June Carter Cash), performed faithful renditions of Cash's songs while telling Cash's story in the third person between songs. During the show, Tex humorously emphasises the name of Cash's guitarist Luther Perkins. Tex Perkins and The Tennessee Four performed a further series of shows in 2013 and 2014.
On 10 June 2011, Tex Perkins & The Dark Horses released a new, self-titled album which peaked at number 73. [9] Everyone's Alone was released in 2012 followed by Tunnel at the End of the Light in July 2015 and peaked at number 52. [10]
In 2012, Perkins wrote and performed "Jesaulenko You Beauty" exclusively for The Marngrook Footy Show . [11] [12]
In 2015, Perkins collaboration with The Steel Springs on "One Minute's Silence", released on Anzac Day, to commemorate the centenary of the landing at Anzac Cove. The track, written by author Matthew Hardy, features The Welsh Choir and a spoken word performance by Australian rules football legend Ron Barassi.
Perkins has a cameo role in the 1998 Australian film, Praise . He appeared on Battle of the Choirs on the Seven Network in Australia in 2008. He has hosted RocKwiz numerous times. He voiced a cartoon shark in the 2011 Movie Extra animated series Shaaark.
Perkins is a supporter of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League. [13] He invented the sport of zoneball, a cross between Australian rules football and tennis. According to AFL player Bob Murphy, "Tex is to zoneball what Tom Wills is to footy ... The creator, the maestro, the master of ceremonies." [14]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
AUS [15] | ||
Far Be It from Me |
| 43 |
Dark Horses |
| 24 |
Sweet Nothing (with Dark Horses) |
| 34 |
My Better Half (with Tim Rogers) (AKA TnT) |
| 31 |
No. 1's & No. 2's (with & His Ladyboyz) |
| – |
Tex Perkins & The Dark Horses (with Dark Horses) |
| – |
Tex Perkins & The Band of Gold (with The Band of Gold) |
| – |
Everyone's Alone (with Dark Horses) |
| – |
Tunnel at the End of the Light (with Dark Horses) |
| 52 [10] |
Tex Perkins and the Fat Rubber Band (as Tex Perkins and the Fat Rubber Band) |
| – |
Other World (as Tex Perkins and the Fat Rubber Band) |
| – |
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Live At Northcote Social Club (with Charlie Owen) |
|
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Beautiful Kate (with Murray Paterson) |
|
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
AUS [16] | ||
The Best of Tex Perkins |
| 95 |
Title | Details | Certification |
---|---|---|
The Man In Black: The Johnny Cash Story |
|
|
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Tex Perkins & The Fat Rubber Band | Best Independent Country Album or EP | Nominated | [18] [19] |
The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | "This Monin'" (Tex Perkins & The Fat Rubber Band) | Song of the Year | Shortlisted | [20] |
"Brand New Man" by Tex Perkins and the Fat Rubber Band | Most Performed Blues & Roots Work | Pending | [21] |
The ARIA Music Awards are annual awards, which recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Sad But True | Best Male Artist | Nominated |
"The Honeymoon Is Over" (written by James Cruickshank, Tex Perkins, Dan Rumour) | ARIA Award for Song of the Year | Won | |
"Black Stick" (written by James Cruickshank, Tex Perkins, Dan Rumour) | Nominated | ||
1996 | "You're Too Beautiful" | Best Male Artist | Nominated |
1997 | Far Be It from Me | Best Male Artist | Nominated |
2001 | Dark Horses | Best Male Artist | Nominated |
2003 | Sweet Nothing | Best Male Artist | Nominated |
2009 | Beautiful Kate (with Murray Paterson) | Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album | Nominated |
2011 | The Man in Black | Best Music DVD | Nominated |
Tex Perkins & the Dark Horses | Best Independent Release | Nominated |
The EG Awards (known as Music Victoria Awards since 2013) are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2009 [22] | Tex Perkins | Best Male | Unknown |
Alexander Lloyd is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, Black the Sun, Watching Angels Mend, Distant Light and Alex Lloyd, released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA charts. Lloyd has also won the ARIA Award for Best Male Artist on three occasions.
Rogue Traders is an Australian electronic rock band formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 2002 by mainstay James Ash on keyboards. In 1989, Ash met fellow original member Steve Davis in London while both were working as DJs. Before forming Rogue Traders, the pair had worked together on many projects, including the dance music act Union State, which relocated to Melbourne in 1992. The group's name comes from the 1999 drama film, Rogue Trader. They were joined in 2004 by soap opera actress, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, on lead vocals, Cameron McGlinchey on drums and Tim Henwood on guitar. Davis continued as a behind-the-scenes member, contributing to the songwriting process but not making any public appearances with the group.
The Cruel Sea are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney, New South Wales formed in late 1987. Originally an instrumental-only band, they became more popular when fronted by vocalist Tex Perkins in addition to Jim Elliott on drums, Ken Gormly on bass guitar, Dan Rumour on guitar and James Cruickshank on guitar and keyboards. Their albums include The Honeymoon Is Over (1993), Three Legged Dog (1995) and Over Easy (1998). Some of their best-known songs are "Better Get a Lawyer", "Takin' All Day", "The Honeymoon Is Over" and "Reckless Eyeballin'" – an instrumental track from their debut album Down Below that became the theme of Australian TV police drama, Blue Heelers. The band has won eight ARIA Music Awards including five in 1994 for work associated with The Honeymoon Is Over.
Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa and Pressure, who were joined by DJ Debris after fellow founder, DJ Next, left in 1999. The group released its first extended play, Back Once Again, in 1997 and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" albums and three DVDs.
Russell Norman Morris is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recognised Morris' status when he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
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.
Tex, Don and Charlie are an Australian supergroup formed by Tex Perkins, Don Walker and Charlie Owen. Their first studio album Sad but True was released in 1993, two others were released in 2005 and 2017.
...ish is the debut album by Australian pop rock band 1927, released on 14 November 1988, which peaked at number one for four weeks in early 1989 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album remained in the top 50 for 46 weeks and reached No. 2 on the 1989 ARIA Year End Albums Chart. The album was awarded 5× platinum certification – for shipment of more than 350,000 copies. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, 1927 won 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ...ish. At the 1990 ceremony the group won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoff Barter. In 1999 rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described the album as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems". As of 2002, it was in the top 10 of the most successful debut albums by Australian artists.
Night of the Wolverine is the third album by Dave Graney 'n' the Coral Snakes. The album was released in April 1993 on Mercury Records. With Graney on vocals, the Coral Snakes line-up included his wife Clare Moore on drums and percussion; Robin Casinader on keyboards, violin and mandolin; Rob Hayward on lead guitar; and Andrew Picouleau on bass guitar. Tex Perkins of tour mates, The Cruel Sea, guested on lead vocals for "Night of the Wolverine II" with Amanda Mitchell on backing vocals. The title track and "You're Just Too Hip, Baby" reached No. 48 and No. 59, respectively, on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 1993. Night of the Wolverine earned an ARIA Award nomination for 'Best Alternative Release' at the 1994 ARIA Music Awards.
Birds of Tokyo are an Australian alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia. Their debut album, Day One, gained them domestic success, reaching number three on the AIR Independent Album charts and spending a total of 36 consecutive weeks in the top ten.
Donald Hugh Walker is an Australian musician and songwriter who wrote many of the hits for Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel. Walker is considered to be one of Australia's best songwriters. In 2012 he was inducted into the Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
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.
The Honeymoon Is Over is the third studio album by Australian indie rock band The Cruel Sea, which was released in May 1993. The album was produced by the band, Tony Cohen and Mick Harvey for Red Eye Records. It peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart and has sold over 140,000 copies. Its lead single, "Black Stick" was released ahead of the album in March 1993 and peaked at No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. The title song, "The Honeymoon Is Over", was released in July 1993 as a single and reached the Top 50. It was followed by a cover of Tony Joe White's 1969 song, "Woman with Soul", in October which peaked at No. 64. The final single from the album, "Seems Twice", was issued in February 1994 and peaked at No. 90.
Husky are an indie folk band from Melbourne, Australia. They have opened for Neil Young, Devendra Banhart, Gotye, The Shins.
DMA's are an Australian rock band formed in 2012 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band is composed of lead vocalist Tommy O'Dell, lead guitarist Matt Mason, and rhythm guitarist Johnny Took. They originally gained popularity for their debut single "Delete" and for their self-titled EP, which were both released in 2014. The band have since gone on to release four studio albums: Hills End (2016), For Now (2018), The Glow (2020) and How Many Dreams? (2023). All four albums have peaked within the top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart, with the latter two also reaching the top five in the UK and Scotland.
Cookin' on 3 Burners are an Australian funk trio from Melbourne, consisting of Jake Mason, Dan West and Ivan Khatchoyan. Their 2009 song "This Girl" was remixed by French DJ and record producer Kungs and released in February 2016. It became a massive hit, peaking at number one in France, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Latvia, Scotland and number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sweet Nothing is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Tex Perkins, and first credited to Tex Perkins' Dark Horses. The album was released in July 2003 and peaked at number 34 on the ARIA Charts.
The Teskey Brothers are an Australian blues rock band from Melbourne, named after the two brothers who formed the group in 2008: Josh Teskey and Sam Teskey. In 2019, they signed with Glassnote Records and Ivy League Records. They have released three albums: Half Mile Harvest (2017), Run Home Slow (2019) and The Winding Way (2023). At the 2019 ARIA Music Awards, The Teskey Brothers were nominated for seven awards. They won three categories for the album, Run Home Slow, Best Group, Best Blues and Roots Album and Engineer of the Year.
Josh Teskey is an Australian blues musician, best known for his work with the Teskey Brothers. Teskey released the collaborative studio album, Push the Blues Away with Ash Grunwald, on 13 November 2020, which peaked at number 8 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Sam Teskey is an Australian blues musician, best known for his work with the Teskey Brothers. Sam won the ARIA Award for Engineer of the Year in 2019.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)