Radio Birdman was one of the first Australian independent bands to carry the punk label, along with the Saints. They were formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth.
The Saints are an Australian rock band originating in Brisbane in 1973. The band was founded by Chris Bailey, Ivor Hay (drummer), and Ed Kuepper (guitarist-songwriter). Contemporaneously with American punk rock band the Ramones, the Saints were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzz saw" guitar that characterised early punk rock. With their debut single, "(I'm) Stranded", in September 1976, they became the first "punk" band outside the US to release a record, ahead of better-known acts including the Sex Pistols and the Clash. They are one of the first and most influential groups of the genre.
Rob Younger is an Australian rock musician, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He is a founding mainstay of the punk rock group, Radio Birdman, and a pioneer of the local independent music scene. Radio Birdman, formed with Deniz Tek on guitar in November 1974, was one of the first punk rock bands ever formed in Australia, and is considered one of the most influential and crucial bands in Australian music history. Younger formed a short-term super-group, New Race, in 1981. He also formed New Christs in that year, who is still active today.
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.
New Race was a Detroit rock-styled super-group based in Sydney, Australia formed in April 1981. New Race was a concept band featuring three members of Radio Birdman: Deniz Tek, Rob Younger, and Warwick Gilbert, along with their inspirational mentors: Ron Asheton of The Stooges, and Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson of the MC5.
The First and Last is a live album released by the "once-only" supergroup band New Race. The First and Last is a collection of recordings from the various shows the band played along the East Coast of Australia in 1981. New Race contained members of the band Radio Birdman: Deniz Tek, Rob Younger, and Warwick Gilbert, along with guitarist from The Stooges- Ron Asheton, and MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson. The First and Last has often been hailed as one of the greatest live Punk rock albums of all time, though there is a dispute as to the true genre of the album. Birdman were often regarded as one of the integral influences of Australian punk rock but their style and sound is often compared to that of the MC5 Detroit sound, and the broad genre of Proto-punk, which includes bands such as The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, and The New York Dolls.
Living Eyes was the second studio album released by Sydney, Australia punk rock band Radio Birdman. It was the last recorded album by the band as they split up shortly after it was recorded in 1978. The album was recorded over a three-week period at the Rockfield Studios in Wales whilst the band was on its first overseas tour, supporting the Flamin' Groovies around Britain and Europe. The original master tapes disappeared before the album was released and as a result the album was mastered from a cassette recording of trial mixes, which impacted on the sound quality. Living Eyes sound was heavily influenced by the lead guitarist and producer Deniz Tek who had lived in Detroit before moving to Australia and been influenced musically by the "Motor City Rock" sound. The music of Birdman has been compared to that of The Stooges and MC5, but their sound is also comparable to that of 60's rock 'n' roll bands such as The Rolling Stones.
Radios Appear is the first full-length studio album by Australian punk rock band Radio Birdman. The album was recorded at Birdman's Trafalgar Studios, Sydney, during 1976 and 1977. Trafalgar initially distributed the album via mail order and by sales from the backs of friend's and band members' station wagons. This laid the groundwork for future DIY punk bands in Australia. Radios Appear was hailed by many as a breakthrough album in Australian rock and a decisive change from the uneventful early mid-seventies scene.
The Visitors were an Australian rock band formed in 1978 after the breakup of popular punk rock band Radio Birdman. The songs were written by Deniz Tek but unlike many other Tek bands, Tek did not sing vocals in The Visitors. Instead the vocals were sung by long-time friend of the band Mark Sisto. The addition of Sisto's vocal alongside a predominantly ex-Birdman lineup, created what many believed as the next generation of Birdman, with a vocal which mirrored that of The Doors. They played only 12 shows in the Sydney area starting in late 1978 and continuing into August 1979.
Australian musicians played and recorded some of the earliest punk rock. The Saints released their first single in 1976. Bands playing subgenres or offshoots of punk music, such as local hardcore acts, still have a strong cult following throughout Australia. Fans started to form bands, both punk and dissimilar in sound, beginning a distinct Brisbane punk scene, one of the first in the world. By 1977, other bands were starting to form in Sydney, under the influence of local and overseas punk acts. These bands and other Australian and overseas punk acts were strongly supported by public radio stations. The Young Charlatans had formed in Melbourne out of the ashes of earlier bands. During the late 1970s, former members of Radio Birdman contributed to several new Sydney bands. The Quick and the Dead, who played in Perth during 1979–81, pioneered a sound closely related to Oi!.
Phantom EP is the first release of Sydney punk group The Visitors. The Phantom EP was an emanation of an afternoons recording session at Palm Studios in Sydney on an 8-track recording system. The studio was booked by producer Charles Fisher for the band to record some demos, but the band set up the recording as if it where a live set and played through what was more or less their live set list. Phantom EP was a collection of what was considered to be the best recordings from the Palm Studio Sessions.
The Visitors is the self-titled studio album by the band The Visitors released in 1983. The album was originally recorded under the Radio Birdman label Trafalgar Music, and the tapes were left to sit for four years with no interest bar the Phantom EP release. The insistence of Citadel to make the material available convinced Trafalgar into agreeing to allow Citadel to finance the remixes. Deniz was available for the remixes that were done at EMI 301's eight-track studio. However, he was not available to assist with the artwork, and the process ultimately took longer than expected.
Visitation '79 is a compilation CD released by Red Eye Records of the Sydney punk-band The Visitors. Except for the improved repackaging and an extra track, the details for the Red Eye CD release are essentially the same as for the original Citadel release of the self-titled The Visitors (1983). The extra track, Skimp The Pimp, was an old TV Jones original and a staple of the Jones live set. It was done here tongue in cheek with ad-libbed humour from Sisto during the impromptu jam.
Scott Morgan is an American rock and roll and soul musician, most known for his work with the Sonic's Rendezvous Band, the Rationals, The Solution as well as his solo work.
The New Order was an American hard rock and protopunk band. The band was based in Los Angeles and existed from early 1975 to October 1976.
Bang Shang a Lang (BSL) are an Australian pub rock band. Four members were in other bands in the local music scene from the late 1970s through to the 1990s. Murray Cook on guitar and vocals and Mark Mulligan on guitar and lead vocals were previously members of Finger Guns in 1986, which issued a single, "Heartman Is Breathing", in that year. Bruce Carter, on drums, and Cook were both members of the Transistors. Keyboard player, Richard Stevens, hails from Leeds, England. Clyde Bramley, their bass guitarist, was a member of the Hitmen (1978), the New Christs (1980–81), the Angie Pepper Band and Hoodoo Gurus (1982–88).
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.
Bradley Mark "Brad" Shepherd is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially Hoodoo Gurus.
The Survivors were an Australian punk rock band that originally formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1976 as Rat Salad, a party band, The Survivors attained cult status in Australia by their acknowledged popular live performances and contribution to the Lethal Weapons punk compilation album. Original band members were Greg Williamson on guitar and vocals, Jim Dickson on bass guitar and vocals, Bruce Anthon on drums and vocals. David Nichols, from the Mess And Noise website, commented that, "The Survivors were legends in their home town of Brisbane, a highly popular and adept band whose sets were mainly cool ’60s covers."
Richard "Ric" J. Parnell is an English rock drummer. Notable for his work in the band Atomic Rooster, he is probably best known for his role as the ill-fated drummer Mick Shrimpton in the film This is Spinal Tap.