The Fauves are an Australian rock band formed in 1988. The band are known for their witty lyrics, melodic pop-rock and often satirical or evocative exploration of Australian themes.
In 2007, they played their 1,000th Show and in 2008 they celebrated their 20th Anniversary Gig at The Espy in Melbourne.
History
The Fauves were formed in 1988 by four students of Mt Eliza High School, Mornington Peninsula.[1] They were Andrew Cox on guitar and vocals; Andrew "Jack" Dyer on bass guitar; Philip Leonard on guitar, vocals and brass; and Adam Newey on drums.[1][2] According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, they "took their name from the short-lived French art movement, Fauvism, which was characterised by both its intensity and infatuation with colour."[1] Neither Cox nor Leonard had formal music lessons.[1]
Their first gig was on 23 July 1988, at a local football club, Cox later recalled "We learnt more about rock 'n' roll in that one night than the entire preceding 20 years. We sucked piss, made eyes at the cheap football tarts and bonded like four buckets of superglue. We also learnt how to compromise, how to sell out, and how to get fucked over. There was no rider, we were underpaid and no one got laid. It was a microcosm of an entire career."[3] McFarlane declared that the group's "early sound was an energetic distillation of garage-punk rock riffs and surreal lyrics."[1]
In March 1990, the band released their debut five-track extended play, This Mood Has Passed, on Timbertop Records.[1][2] It had been recorded in the previous year at Timbertop Studios, Ringwood, with Peter Carrodus producing.[4] McFarlane felt the EP "reflected the frantic, primal elements of early Hunters & Collectors or Moodists."[1] They followed in October with a 7" single, "Fireman 451", on Shock Records, produced by Doug Saunders.[1][2]
In 1991, they issued two singles, "When Luck Ran Out" and "Daughter Aboard".[1] In the following year two EPs, both with six-tracks, were issued on Shock Records, The Scissors Within (April) and Tight White Ballhugger (September), each was produced by Robbie Rowlands.[1][2] The EPs "kept up the experimental energy and humour."[1] In 1992 the Fauves featured on a split CD, Dress Ups (Shock Records), with other Melbourne bands The Glory Box and Pray TV with each band performing a track from the others' repertoire, as well as contributing one original track.
Nic Haygarth of The Canberra Times caught their gig in October 1992, he found "the bald heads of [Dyer] and [Leonard] give them a fiercer appearance, but nothing could be friendlier than the melody of 'Fracture in the Sky' and Leonard's trumpet on their best track 'Wilding'. The Fauves played strong material from The Scissors Within and quirky new stuff from latest EP Tight White Ballhugger, including mandolin tempered 'Archimedes' Crown'. Doomy distorted guitars powered their set, but the Fauves nearly lost their audience with a couple of extended thrash routines which not even the Brady Bunch theme could redeem."[5]
During a gig at Sydney's Annandale Hotel late in 1992 "they detoured into a freeform noise epic during which Cox washed Newey's hair with Vegemite and shampoo."[6]The Age's Craig Mathieson described their support slot on the Church's national tour, "They rehearsed extensively, mindful of the opportunity they had been given. The result? Church fans ignored them."[6]
The band came to wider attention when they appeared on the bill of the first Big Day Out tour in January 1993.[3] They signed to Polydor Records and, in October of that year, they released their debut long player, Drive Through Charisma.[1][3] It was produced by Rowlands, who had them "recorded in a mud-brick house in Daylesford."[1] The original version included a 22-track bonus disc featuring early demos and some live songs, which Mathieson felt were "often horrendous early recordings."[6] It was accompanied by a separate booklet, "22 Reasons Why a Band Shouldn't Put an Album Out in Its First Few Years", written by Newey who provided critical analysis for each track: Mathieson noticed he "ridiculed every song."[6]
The 1994 computer game Quarantine featured the band's song "The Driver Is You" on its soundtrack. Their second album The Young Need Discipline was released in 1994. In 1995 the band released a non-album single "Everybody's Getting a 3 Piece Together". The song was later included on the band's next album as a secret track.[citation needed]
The Fauves's most successful album to date Future Spa was released in July 1996. The album yielded considerable radio success with singles "Dogs Are the Best People" and "Self Abuser" coming in at No. 20 and No. 30 respectively in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996. Between the release of Future Spa and their album Lazy Highways, the band were filmed for Vanessa Stuart's one-hour documentary, The Fauves: 15 Minutes to Rock, which has since aired on SBS and was also screened at the Document Film Festival in October 2004.[7]
By the end of 1999, however the band was dropped from Polydor after the label's merger with Universal. Following their departure from the major label, the band wrote two songs, "Bigger Than Tina" and "Bigger Than Tina II", for the Australian movie Bigger Than Tina which were released as a single on Festival. Since then the group has released seven albums independently. They had further success on the Triple J Hottest 100 with "Bigger Than Tina" at No. 50 in 1999, and "Give Up Your Day Job" at No. 58 in 2000.[citation needed]
The Fauves released their ninth studio album, When Good Times Go Good, on 6 September 2008. It was recorded with longtime collaborator Wayne Connolly, who has worked on five of the band's nine albums, and co-produced by Jim Moginie from Midnight Oil. A video-clip was made of the "Underwhelmed".[citation needed]
After a three-year break the band debuted tracks from their tenth album Japanese Engines on 10 November 2011 in Geelong. The album was followed only five months later by an eight-track EP German Engines launched at The Toff in Town. Andrew Cox announced on stage: "Japanese Engines was kind of the poppier record. German Engines has a much darker soul, it's a bit heavier, it's a bit rougher."[citation needed]
A double album, titled Driveway Heart Attack, was released in 2019, their 12th studio album.[9]
In July 2022, the band headlined a Melbourne show. The press releases labeled it "last show till the next one", the "first show since the last one."[10]
On 1 September 2023, the Fauves reissued their first two EPs as they were originally intended to be, a full-length album titled Faematronic.[11]
The band released their 13th album, Tropical Strength, on 1 November 2024. They recorded the album in Indonesia and in the accompanying press, they explained: "Very few Australians have ever been to Bali so we relished the sense of outpost exoticism and a culture completely untouched by Western influence. Here we could work in relative anonymity, far from the complete anonymity that tracks our every move at home."[12]
Band Members
Andrew "Coxy" Cox– vocals, guitar (1988–present)
Phil "The Doctor" Leonard– vocals, guitar, keyboards (1988–present), trumpet (1988–1994)
Adam "Doug" Newey– drums (1988–present)
Terry "Ted" Cleaver– live mixing (1994–2000), bass (2000–present)
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
Spiderbait is an Australian alternative rock band from Finley, New South Wales, formed in 1989 by bass guitarist and singer Janet English, drummer and singer Kram, and guitarist Damian Whitty. In 2004, the group's cover version of the 1930s Lead Belly song "Black Betty" reached number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. They have five top 20 albums: The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley Lake (1995), Ivy and the Big Apples (1996), Grand Slam (1999), Tonight Alright (2004), and Greatest Hits (2005). The group have won two ARIA Music Awards with the first in 1997 as 'Best Alternative Release' for Ivy and the Big Apples and the second in 2000 as 'Best Cover-Art' for their single "Glockenpop". In November 2013, the band released its first studio album in nine years, Spiderbait.
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.
Ratcat are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney who formed in 1985. The band is fronted by mainstay vocalist and guitarist, Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop song writing and energetic punk-style guitar rock won them fans from both the indie and skate-punk communities. They found mainstream success with their extended play, Tingles, album Blind Love and the single, "Don't Go Now" (April), which all reached No. 1 on the ARIA Charts during 1991. The band released two subsequent albums that did not match their earlier chart success. Ratcat ceased performing live regularly in the late 1990s; however, they continue to perform sporadically. During their career, much of Ratcat's albums and singles artwork was created by Simon Day.
Juice were an Australian funk rock band formed in 1991 by brothers: Amarnath and Krishna Jones both on guitar and vocals, Lucius Borich on drums; and David Kyle on bass guitar. They released their debut album, Wine of Life, in 1994 which peaked in the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994, their debut extended play, Movin' On, was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Independent Release.
Sidewinder were an Australian indie pop group founded in 1990 in Canberra by Pip Branson on guitar, Martin Craft on bass guitar and backing vocals, his brother Nick Craft on lead guitar and vocals, and Giri Fox on drums. Early in 1994 Shane Melder replaced Fox on drums and in the next year the group relocated to Sydney. Sidewinder were staples of the Australian alternative rock scene in the 1990s and released two studio albums, Atlantis and Tangerine. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described them as "an accessible brand of distortion-drenched, harmony-driven, indie guitar power pop." Sidewinder released two albums and three EPS between 1992 and 1998, all of which were critically acclaimed and received solid Triple J and commercial airplay. These albums ‘traversed a broad sonic terrain, from Beatlesesque psychedelia to eardrum shattering ballsy rock’. Sidewinder were one of the ‘best loved live acts of this decade [1990s]’. had regular spots on festival bills, including the Big Day Out and played every Homebake from 1996 to 1998.
Underground Lovers are an Australian pop-rock band whose sound encompasses elements of indie rock, electronic and shoegaze. Founding members Glenn Bennie and Vincent Giarrusso formed the group GBVG in 1988. By May 1990 they became Underground Lovers with Richard Andrew (drums), Maurice Argiro, and Philippa Nihill joining. At the 1992 ARIA Music Awards the group won Best New Talent for their debut self-titled album from March 1991. Their highest charting studio album, Dream It Down, reached the ARIA albums chart top 60. After released seven studio albums, they disbanded in 2002. They reformed in 2009 and subsequently issued three more studio albums. Richard Andrew died in October 2024, after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
Painters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1982.
Drive Through Charisma is the 1993 debut album by the Australian rock band The Fauves, released on Polydor.
Exploding White Mice were an Australian punk-pop band from Adelaide which formed in 1983 with Paul Gilchrist on vocals, Andy MacQueen on bass guitar, Gerry Barrett on guitar, Craig Rodda on drums and Giles Barrow on rhythm guitar. In 1984 Barrett was replaced by Jeff Stephens on guitar – later also on lead vocals. In 1985 Rodda was replaced on drums by David Bunney. The group released four studio albums, Brute Force and Ignorance, Exploding White Mice (1990), Collateral Damage (1992) and We Walk Alone (1994). The band toured Europe twice before disbanding in April 1999.
Horsehead are an Australian hard rock band which formed in late 1991 with Scott Kingman on guitar (ex-Cattletruck), Cameron McKenzie on guitar, Andy McLean on vocals, Mick Vallance on bass guitar and Craig Waugh on drums. They toured nationally and internationally as well as supporting United States group, Metallica, on the Australian leg of their April 1998 tour. The band issued three albums, Horsehead (1993), Onism (1996) and Goodbye Mothership (1999) before disbanding in 2000. According to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, their style of "stadium rock mixed a Led Zeppelinesque bottom-end kick with gut-thumping Faith No More-styled riffs. Nothing subtle or innovative, but everything delivered with great force and conviction".
When Good Times Go Good is the ninth album by Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne indie band The Fauves. It was recorded in the Sydney harbourside suburb of Neutral Bay with regular Fauves producer Wayne Connolly and Midnight Oil's Jim Moginie; the latter also contributed piano, electronic keyboard and extra guitar to several songs. The album title was conceived in a swimming pool in Thailand.
Nervous Flashlights is the eighth studio album by Australian indie rockers, The Fauves, which was issued in June 2006 on Shock Records and was co-produced by the group with Wayne Connolly. Eleven of its twelve tracks were written by the band's vocalist and guitarist, Andrew Cox.
Future Spa is the third album by Australian rock band The Fauves. It was released in August 1996.
Lazy Highways is the fourth studio album by Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne indie band The Fauves. The album has been described as the band's Australiana-album.
Thousand Yard Stare is the fifth studio album by Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne indie band The Fauves.
Footage Missing is the sixth studio album by Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne, Australia indie band The Fauves.
Rushall Station is the fourth album by Australian indie rock/electronic band Underground Lovers, released in 1996. It was named after Rushall railway station, located near the home of band member Vincent Giarrusso in Clifton Hill in Melbourne.
"Happy Man" is a song by Australian power pop band, Sunnyboys. It was written by lead singer-guitarist, Jeremy Oxley, and was the first single released in June 1981, on Mushroom Records, from their self-titled debut album, which followed in September. The studio tracks were produced by Lobby Loyde and engineered by Colin Freeman at Alberts Studios, Sydney. "Happy Man" reached No. 26 on the Kent Music Report singles chart. The live tracks were recorded at the Bombay Rock, Brunswick.
Driveway Heart Attack is the twelfth studio album by Australian indie rock band, The Fauves, which was released on 31 May 2019 as a double album via Shock Records. To promote the album they supported Regurgitator on the latter's 25th anniversary tour in October–November 2019.
"Dogs Are the Best People" is a single by Australian rock band the Fauves, the second from the album Future Spa. It reached number 20 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996.
↑ This Mood Has Passed (booklet). The Fauves. Ringwood, Victoria: Timbertop Records. 1990. TT006, TT008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
↑ Haygarth, Nic (22 October 1992). "Good Times: Chilis spice 'Sydney Beans'". The Canberra Times. Vol.67, no.21, 011. p.19. Retrieved 6 October 2016– via National Library of Australia.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
