Torpedopop

As Easy As Can Be...

Formed around the time of Beatlemania the Easybeats appeared on the surface to be Australia's own answer to the 4 liverpudians. However the similarity ended with their boyish charm. Their stock and trade sound was rawer in energy and deliverance and in many ways more like the Kinks.

The song writing talents behind the Easybeats were the genius of Vanda and Young. Although from different backgrounds it was their love of the Beatles that brought them together. Stevie, Dick and Snowy at the Villawood migrant Youth Hostel joined them to form the Easybeats. After humble beginnings they became Australia's best loved band of this era.

The influence of the Easybeats and in particular the song writing talents of Vanda and Young, can not be underestimated in Australian popular music today. Not only did they produce many hits for the Easybeats, and later artists such as John Paul Young and AC/DC (of which Georges younger brother Angus is a pivotal member) they brought Australian pop music to world attention.

With nothing left to topple in Australia, the Easybeats relocated to the UK 1966. They arrived in London at a time when the Beatles were re-inventing themselves however there was still a strong mod scene about town.

It is here the band perhaps penned their best powerpop anthem Friday On My Mind. It was their crowning moment. From there they dabbled in flowerpower, balladry and generally lost their identity as a great rock'n' roll band.

After their final tour back in Australia in 1969 the band called it quits. During the Easybeats UK residency Australian music did not lay idle. In fact there were some great bands that continued in the tradition of the Easybeats.

Many could not be considered straight out exponents of powerpop but the likes of MPD Limited, The Vibrants, The Cherokees, and The Allusions to name a few all had elements of powerpop in their delivery.

Like the Pebbles series, a lot of Australian pop music from this era has been well documented on a number of compilation records, mainly through Glenn A Baker's Raven Records and re-issued material from the Go! Label. What appeared to be a strong pop circuit in the late sixties soon disappeared.

Livin' In The Seventies...

What was this? Bands like Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs who were pop pin ups of the sixties suddenly grew their hair and played hard rock. Boogie r'n'b groups such as Ross Wilson's Daddy Cool were having number one hits with the lazy blues of Eagle Rock.

A guy called Michael Gudinski starts a little blues label Mushroom Records which later becomes the biggest independent label in Australia. But who's this guy Rick Springfield and his band Zoot? Adelaide band Zoot were perhaps Australia's best representation of 70's powerpop spearheaded by the likes of Raspberries and Badfinger.

Stylistically powerpop of this period had incorporated the improvement in production techniques available however it still milked the influences of sixties icons such as the Beatles and Beach Boys.

Zoot were an interesting mix. Although at times delving into hard rock and ballads they still maintained a melodic powerpop sense.

This is demonstrated on tracks such as One Time, Two Times, Three Times, Four, Flying and the Raspberry-ish Mr Songwriter.

Zoot were relatively successful in Australia however their only bonafide hit was a revved up version of Eleanor Rigby.

After there demise around 1972 Rick Springfield set about establishing himself as solo artists.

He released a couple of solo albums in Australia which followed in the similar vein as Zoot. Later as many know, Rick relocated to the United States where he became rather successful. There, apart from appearing on soaps such as Day Of Our Lives (Urk!) he still wrote a couple of powerpop gems including the excellent I've Done Everything For You.

By the mid seventies, the powerpop that Zoot were chasing in Australia had all but taken a back seat to just about every other form of music at the time. The period saw artists such as Sherbet, Skyhooks and John Paul Young (JPY) rise to prominence on the charts. JPY had several hits some of which were written by Vanda and Young, such as Yesterdays Hero's (later covered by The Bay City Rollers) which was almost powerpop but suffered with production.

This was also the time a truly Australian phenomenon was beginning to take shape. Pub Rock. It was not to be confused with the also named pub rock scene developing in the UK. There pub rock groups such as Eddie and the Hot Rods were still using powerpop as a stepping stone.

In Australia pub rock appeared as a combination of hard rock such as Led Zeppelin and r'n'b. Firstly seen as an outlet to tired American soft rock and disco dominating the airwaves, it began to dominate the Australian local music scene. It reached it's peak in the late seventies and early eighties, but could probably be traced back to AC/DC.

After starting inconspicuously in 1974 with the single Can I Sit Next To You Girl the band almost single handedly invented riff - a - rama rock with their debut LP High Voltage. Bands such as the Angels and Cold Chisel followed, cementing pub rock as an institution. These bands developed enormous followings in Australia but could not match the international impact of AC/DC.

What Me Punk!

If the early to mid seventies provided no joy for pop enthusiasts in Australian then the start of 1976 should have been no different. Two bands, one influenced by the Detriot rock of the MC5 and the Stooges, and another by the punk of the Ramones would reinstall the do - it - yourself (DIY) to Australian music.

This was the beginning of a true Australianindependent guitar music scene. The Saints from the suburban sprawl of Brisbane defined everything that was punk. In fact it could be said that punk or DIY music in Australia pre-dated some of the similar scenes that had started throughout the world during the mid to late seventies. A reaction to the pompous music dominating FM radio at the time.

Similarly in Sydney it was Radio Birdman who reacted against the establishment. Formed by ex US resident Denis Tek the Birdman sound and appearance was more akin to the two great US bands the Stooges and MC5.

Over their somewhat brief existence, they and their numerous spinoffs represented the core of independent music in Sydney. After a couple of LP's and a brief stint in the UK the band split. However their influence, particularly in Sydney, could be felt for the next decade.

Sydney and Brisbane were not the only places that the punk and DIY revolution took hold. Elsewhere in Australia other scenes began to evolve. In somewhat a unique circumstance to Australia the independent scenes that evolved all developed their own distinct sound.

This is most likely due to the large distances between populations in Australia and a lack of money that independent scenes needed to cover expenses to travel.

The roll call of the so called independent music from this era is impressive. The Scientists, The Victims, The Hitmen, The Lipstick Killers, Boys Next Door, Fun Things through to the more obscure sounds of the Go-Betweens just to name a few.

In Australia powerpop did not take off in the same way. However with major labels re-gaining interest in signing new bands, a couple of powerpop bands managed to slip into the category of “New Wave”.

Two of the best were The very “Rubinoo-ish” Innocents (formerly Beathoven) of Tasmania and The Clones of Sydney. Both these bands released great powerpop singles but, as fortune would tell, these made little impact on the charts.

Raven Records put together an Innocents/Beathoven compilation LP of the their only two singles plus some demo's in 1986 called Here We Come.

These included the first two Scientists EP's containing the excellent Nerves-ish tracks Last Night and Frantic Romantic. There were also a couple of great powerpop singles from Perth band the Manikins and Young Modern.

Originating from Adelaide the Young Modern were part of the new wave powerpop that included acts like The Numbers (later the Riptides) and Melbourne groups Little Murders and the Aliens.

Interestingly Young Modern relocated to Sydney but soon split, finding it difficult to break into the scene still dominated by the “Radio Birdman” sound. Later Young Modern vocalist John Dowler went on to form the Zimmermen who released the aptly named track Don't Go to Sydney.

Yet even in Sydney groups like Cheek, who covered the Vanda and Young penned Do You Have a Soul (released in the US on Voxx!), and later, excellent singles from the Lonelyhearts and Sunnyboys showed powerpop had it's place.

Paisley Shirts, Winklepickers And The Like…

New Wave in Australia appeared to open the door for powerpop to become a powerful force in music once more. However the continued dominance of pub rock and the synthetic development of new wave meant there was no room for powerpop to take hold. Or was there..

During the height of pub rock in 1981, Mushroom signed the Sunnyboys and released their self titled debut LP. At the time most punters saw them as part of the pub rock movement. However, although not truly a powerpop band they were different to other “pub rock” outfits at the time.

Whereas the majority of pub rock bands used influences of 70's rock to base there sound upon the Sunnyboys were firmly entrenched in 60's garage music as there influence.

They dressed in winklepickers and striped shirts and songs like the classic Alone With You and Tunnel Of Love pay homage to 60's powerpop. The album was moderately successful however it took the emergence of another band before 60's pop would fully re-emerge.

After the demise of seminal Perth punk band the Victims lead vocalist Dave “Flick” Faulkner briefly appeared with Manikins before forming Le Hoodoo Gurus.

After cutting one single the band re-located to Sydney and hired Brad Shepherd formerly of the Hitmen. In doing so the Hoodoo Gurus combined the powerpop element that was and still is a feature of Perth music with the Radio Birdman influenced Sydney scene.

(Lets All) Turn On

It was 1984. During the late seventies and early eighties, riding on the punk movement, a number of small independent record stores had opened throughout Australia.

Many such as Augogo, Missing Link, White Rider, Suicide and Phantom had also released a number of great singles from local bands. It was slow but the rumblings of an independent record scene had started.

Whether by coincidence or because of the release of Hoodoo Gurus Stoneage Romeo's, this, in some ways signalled the golden era of Australian independent music.

The first to impact was the Sydney label Citadel. Between 1984 and 1986 it released a swag or great singles mostly by bands that were influenced by the Radio Birdman such as the New Christs, The Screaming Tribesmen and Died Pretty.

Later, the label made the sixties garage pop sound all it's own with releases from the Lime Spiders, Inner Sleeves and the Stems. It was infectious and soon other labels followed such as Waterfront and Red Eye.

Sydney was not the only place where independent labels were popping up. In Melbourne, Augogo and Missing Link records were expanding and pop based labels Rubber and Summershine emerged.

Similarly in Perth it was Easter Records and in Adelaide Greasy Pop Records. Add this to the growing number of bands self-financing their own releases and suddenly the Australian Independent scene was flourishing. Many of the labels developed there own sound and therefore their own individual scenes which were usually confined to a particular city.

The abundance of interest in the independent scene at the time flowed over to powerpop. If there was any particular places that powerpop emerged as a force within the independent scene it was in Adelaide and, in particular, Perth.

The development of the powerpop sound in Perth can be traced back as far as the late seventies with the Manikins and Scientists. However it wasn't until the Stems that it really took hold.

There signing to a major label and their large following prompted many Perth bands to follow suit including the Marigolds, the Summer Suns and a Stems offshoot band The Someloves.

The Someloves were purely powerpop, later becoming a full time recording outfit for Dom Mariani (Stems) and Darryl Mather (from Lime Spiders), releasing Know You Now probably the best powerpop song written in Australia during the eighties.

Easy Come Easy Go?

It's hard to pinpoint the reasons behind the slow demise of the great independent scene of the mid eighties which had all but disappeared by 1990. Perhaps in the age of video technology the independents simply could not compete. Or maybe the wealth of talent had dried up .

Most likely it was the independent labels had to work to tighter budgets and therefore were reluctant to take on new acts preferring “established” independents.

Pop Bites Back

For much of the early 1990's the “new band” powerpop cupboard remained bare as the emergence of bands like Nirvana and the whole Seattle grunge thing had a profound impact on new bands on the Australian scene.

Many of the artists remaining loyal to the powerpop sound had been around since the mid to late eighties and had become somewhat unappealing to youthful audiences.

In defence of the grunge movement it did rock the industry similar to the punk movement of the late seventies. In doing so it has once again sparked renewed interest in signing unknown bands to major labels. The negative effect on powerpop was not obvious until every major label johnny was pre-occupied with signing the next Nirvana wannabees.

But perhaps since 1994 the pendulum has again swung and powerpop is again making waves. Its not just an Australian phenomenon. All over the world people appear tired of corporate rock and bored with grunge.

It's the likes of Green Day, Redd Kross, the Posies and Matthew Sweet who spearhead nineties powerpop giving the genre its biggest commercial successes since the first Knack record.

For now there is no Australian band milking the same influencesthat could lay claim to similar successes. However, there are changes in the wind. Popular groups like You Am I, who at the beginning of their career forged their reputation on indie rock, have re-directed their sound back to the sixties, wearing influences like the Kinks and the Who firmly on their sleeves (right down to Tim Roger's Pete Townsend impersonations!).

Similarly, Rail, Knievel, Even, Header and Pollyanna have re-vamped a stale indie rock scene by re-discovering how potent the use of melody is. The success of these types of bands has given new impetus to Australian powerpop.

While the above mentioned bands all convey a strong powerpop ethic there is a more true underground powerpop explosion that is perhaps more exciting for purists. This scene is a combination of two distinct periods of Australian Music.

The renewed interest in powerpop, mainly through young groups such as Flanders, St Jude, Jericho, Roadstar, Jack and the Beanstalk and the Tune Bureau has given the likes of more seasoned 80's pop specialists such as DM3 (who released the Badfinger inspired Road to Rome in 1996), Rosebuds, Summer Suns and Ice Cream Hands (formerly mad Turks) a new audience for their craft to reach.

While the more seasoned groups still draw influences from classic power pop from the sixties and seventies the newer groups are influenced by groups like DM3, Stems and Hoodoo Gurus. The renewed interest in Australian Power pop has not been confined to the shore of this Great Southern Land.

Recent Australian only power pop compilations put out by Bomp! Pop on Top (USA) and Bam Balam Australian Power Pop Explosion (Spain) confirm that an exciting Australian powerpop scene is taking shape.

Also DM3, The Chevelles and the Pyramidiacs have built good followings in Spain, Sweden and France in particular, releasing a whole swag of new material as well as touring extensively in those countries over the past 5 years.

Now new groups like the Early Hours are now following their example by touring and getting product released like their awesome Greatest Hits Vol 1 LP (Twang) in Europe.

There is also interest in Sweden. Recently Jack And The Beanstalk's debut CD And Other Stories CD was re-released as Serial through new Swedish pop Label Torpedo.

Groups like DM3 have previously toured through Sweden and appeared on compilations like Pop Under the Surface on Swedens Yesterday Girl Records.

Curiosity...

While there isn't a grand master plan for a large scale assault on the minds on all powerpop nuts worldwide Australia is no doubt proving a strong force in the new mid nineties edition of the power pop story.

So a word of advice for any aspiring or already addicted power popper is to check out what's available, past and present, from Down Under next time you go to your local record store.

Powerpop has proved an enduring music force in Australia over the past 30 years.