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Hoodoo Gurus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hoodoo Gurus | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genre(s) | Rock, New Wave, College rock |
| Years active | 1981–1998 2004–Present |
| Label(s) | Big Time, A&M Elektra, RCA Chrysalis, BMG Zoo/Volcano, Mushroom Evageline, EMI |
| Website | Hoodoo Gurus Official website |
| Members | |
| Dave Faulkner Mark Kingsmill Brad Shepherd Richard Grossman |
|
| Former members | |
| Kimble Rendall Roddy Radalj James Baker Clyde Bramley |
|
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981. Three of the four original members, Dave Faulkner, Roddy Radalj and James Baker were from Perth. Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame.[1][2] Sometimes referred to as the Gurus, they are recognised for their 1987 hit song "What's My Scene?" or, as modified for the National Rugby League 2000s theme, "That's My Team".
Contents |
Hoodoo Gurus had its origins in Perth protopunk and punk bands. Faulkner and Baker were members of The Victims in 1977-79.[3] Both Baker and Radalj (aka Roddy Ray'Da)[4] were members of The Scientists.[5] The fourth founding member, Kimble Rendall was formerly in Sydney punk rockers XL Capris.[6]
Originally Le Hoodoo Gurus, they soon dropped the "Le", and were notable for having three guitars and no bass player, creating a distinctive, layered sound. This was captured on their first single, "Leilani" (October, 1982), which told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly.
Hoodoo Gurus gave their first ever performance on a segment of the kids' TV program Simon Townsend's Wonder World, they then backed a man and his singing dog on The Don Lane Show.
Rendall left in 1982, just prior to the release of "Leilani", and went on to become a noted music video and film director. Rendall was Second Unit Director on the latter two Matrix films and I, Robot and he directed Cut (2000).[7] Rendall was effectively replaced by Clyde Bramley (bass guitar, backing vocals) from Sydney bands The Hitmen and Super K.[8]
Radalj was not happy with this outcome and left the band to be replaced by ex-Fun Things guitarist Brad Shepherd, who had been with Bramley in previous bands.[9] Radalj went on to perform with a number of other acts, including The Johnnys, Love Rodeo, The Dubrovniks and Roddy Ray'Da & the Surfin' Caesars.[4] As Roddy Ray'Da, he released Lost, Lonely and Vicious (1990), Orgazzamatazz (1991) and Mouthful of Chicken (1993).[10]
Gurus new line-up (Baker, Bramley, Faulkner and Shepherd) recorded the band's first album, Stoneage Romeos (1984). The title came from a Three Stooges short. The album was dedicated to characters from 'Get Smart', 'F-Troop' and 'Petticoat Junction'.
With a repertoire of strong original compositions usually written by Faulkner, Hoodoo Gurus' sound combined elements of sixties power-pop, bubblegum pop, Beatle-esque harmonies, psychedelia and grungy garage rock, highlighted by the impressive guitar work of Shepherd. Hoodoo Gurus were their best on their string of widely acclaimed pop-rock singles including "Leilani", "Tojo" (1983), "My Girl" (1983), "I Want You Back" (1984), "Bittersweet" (1985), "Like Wow Wipeout" (1985), and "What's My Scene?".
Initially a cult inner-city act, their popularity rapidly expanded thanks to regular airplay on Triple J and particularly after their distinctively quirky music video clips began to air on the nationwide pop show Countdown.
Original drummer James Baker was replaced in 1985 by Mark Kingsmill (like Bramley and Shepherd had also been in bands The Hitmen and Super K).[8] Kingsmill's brother Richard Kingsmill is an on-air presenter for the Triple J network. Hoodoo Gurus went into the studio with Kingsmill and recorded another album, Mars Needs Guitars! (1985). This time the title was a twist on a B Grade Sci Fi movie title Mars Needs Women.
The sacking of Baker upset some die-hard fans and critics who felt that the group was losing touch with its "indie" roots, and Faulkner is said to have written the song "Poison Pen" in response to some of the critical articles in the music press written about Baker's departure. Baker subsequently joined The Beasts of Bourbon, James Baker Experience, The Dubrovniks (latter two included Radalj) and Novakill.[11]
Gurus' peak of popularity was in the mid-to-late 1980s with the albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! (1987), and Magnum Cum Louder (1989), although they continued producing music through the mid to late 1990s. They toured America extensively several times, gained a solid following in the U.S. through regular exposure on US college radio (and later MTV's 120 Minutes) and even developed a big fan base in Brazil. The third album Blow Your Cool! let go of some of the peripheral quirkiness and just concentrated on the band's pop power. Members of their international peer group The Bangles and Dream Syndicate contributed backing vocals to some songs. Then, Hoodoo Gurus decided to opt out of its record contract, tying up the group in legal wranglings for more than a year. In 1987 Rick Grossman (ex Matt Finish, Divinyls)[12] replaced Clyde Bramley on bass. This is the line-up which saw Hoodoo Gurus from 1987 to the end in 1998.
After two albums under their new contract - Magnum Cum Louder and Kinky (1991) - the band released two compilations at once, Electric Soup (1992) contained the band's hits and Gorilla Biscuit (1992) was made up of B-sides and rarities. They followed with Crank (1994) and in 1996 they moved to Mushroom Records for the release of their next album, Blue Cave.
Hoodoo Gurus officially split in 1998, but reformed occasionally for concerts; the career-spanning compilation Ampology was issued in 2000. In 2002, members Faulkner, Shepherd, and Kingsmill joined with bassist Kendall James and recorded an EP entitled Mr. Tripper under the name Persian Rugs. Persian Rugs later went on to record an album Turkish Delight (2003), setting the stage for an eventual reunion of Hoodoo Gurus.
'The Persian Rugs was me doing a complete ‘60s revival sort of thing. Also, in a funny way, it was my own sort of version of retaliating at all the critics who always harped on the Gurus’ ‘60s influences: ‘You want to hear what I do when I do ‘60s? Here it is!’ But I also had a whole lot of songs after the Gurus broke up, and though I rehearsed them with different musicians, they just couldn’t seem to get the flavor of what I was trying to do. It became obvious to me that there was only one band that could play these songs the way I wanted to hear them. So Mach Schau, far from us coming back and being ‘middle aged’ and writing for an older fan base, we just wanted to make a hard rocking record that out-did anything we’d ever done. We really blew a gasket on that one—it’s our Presence, like Led Zeppelin.' - Dave Faulkner [13]
By 2003 Gurus had re-formed to record "That's My Team" for a CD (released September 2003 see "What's My Scene?"), the promotional theme for the National Rugby League between 2003 and 2007. The original film clip of "What's My Scene?" included shots of band members in Wests and Cronulla jumpers. In 2004, reunited with Grossman on bass, Hoodoo Gurus released a new album, Mach Schau and started touring again. Following the release of Mach Schau, in 2005, the Australian division of EMI Records reissued expanded/remastered editions of all Hoodoo Gurus albums; also released was Tunnel Vision (2005), a two-DVD set compiling every Gurus video, never-before-seen live material and a retrospective documentary, "Be My Guru". In 2005 the band co-headlined the annual Big Day Out festival with Metallica and The Strokes.
"Come Anytime" (1989) is the theme song to Australian TV show Thank God You're Here (2006-present). They performed "That's My Team" live in the pre-match ceremony to the 2006 NRL Grand Final, and again in the 2007 NRL Grand Final to conclude its promotional use.
In 2006 James Baker was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Hall of Fame.
Hoodoo Gurus toured during 2007 including several US dates, kicking off at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX, performances in Europe, including the Azkena Festival (Spain) followed by a national tour of Australia, with The Stems and Radio Birdman.
According to the band's official website, the band is recording material for a 2007 studio release.[14]
They were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame on 18 July 2007 at the Plaza Ballroom, Melbourne.[1] "For two and a half decades the Hoodoo Gurus have consistently been one of the most inventive, lyrically smart and exciting rock'n'roll bands Australia has ever produced... along the way they've influenced an entire generation of bands which explains why the likes of You Am I, The Living End, Dallas Crane, Grinspoon and many others queued up a few years back to pay tribute to the band's 1984 debut album, Stoneage Romeos."[1]
- Dave Faulkner - vocals, guitar, keyboard (1981-1998, 2004-present)
- Mark Kingsmill - drums (1984-1998, 2004-present)
- Brad Shepherd - guitar, vocals, harmonica (1982-1998, 2004-present)
- Richard Grossman - bass, backing vocals (1988-1998, 2004-present)
- Kimble Rendall - guitar, backing vocals (1981-1982)
- Roddy Radalj - guitar, backing vocals (1981-1982)
- James Baker - drums (1981-1984)
- Clyde Bramley - bass, backing vocals (1982-1988)
Albums:
Stoneage Romeos
|
Mars Needs Guitars!
|
Blow Your Cool!
|
Magnum Cum Louder
|
Kinky
|
Electric Soup
|
Gorilla Biscuit
|
Crank
|
Blue Cave
|
Hoodoo Voodoo
|
Electric Chair
|
Armchair Gurus
|
Bite The Bullet
|
Ampology
|
Mach Schau
|
- Tunnel Vision EMI (2005)
- Electric Soup (1992)
- More Electric Soup Mushroom Records (1996)
- Electric Soup - The Complete Video Collection Mushroom Records (1999)
- Best of The Cutting Edge Vol. 1 MTV/Rhino (1987)
- 1993 ARIA Award - 'Best Cover Art' by Paul McNeil & Richard All for - Electric Soup/Gorilla Biscuit[15]
- 1996 ARIA Award nominee - 'Best Video' by John Witterton for - "Waking Up Tired"[16]
- 1996 ARIA Award nominee - 'Best Pop Release' - Blue Cave[16]
- 1997 ARIA Award - 'Producer of the Year' Charles Fisher for (amongst other productions) - Down on Me[17]
- 2005 ARIA Award nominee - 'Best Music DVD' - Tunnel Vision[18]
- 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame inductee[1] [2]
- ^ a b c d ARIA Awards 2007: About Hall of Fame. ARIA Awards. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ a b ARIA press release: http://www.amcos.com.au/news/industry/news/070507_ARIA-HallofFame.pdf (PDF)
- ^ Australian Rock Databse entry on The Victims (2006-09-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ a b Australian Rock Database entry on Roddy Radalj. Magnus Holmgren (2007-02-21). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ Australian Rock Database entry on The Scientists. Magnus Holmgren (2006-09-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ Australian Rock Database entry on XL Capris. Magnus Holmgren (2006-09-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ Internet Movie Database entry on Kimble Rendall. IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ a b Australian Rock Database entry on Hoodoo Gurus. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ Australian Rock Database entry on Brad Shepherd. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ Radalj, Roddy (November 2005). "Reflections on Perth's punk beginnings by Roddy Radalj". Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ Australian Rock Database entry on James Baker. Magnus Holmgren (2006-09-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ Australian Rock Database entry on Rick Grossman. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ Harp Magazine (February 2007)
- ^ Hoodoo Gurus website
- ^ 1993: 7th Annual ARIA Awards. ARIA.
- ^ a b 1996: 10th Annual ARIA Awards. ARIA. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ 1997: 11th Annual ARIA Awards. ARIA. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ 2005: 19th Annual ARIA Awards. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- Hoodoo Gurus' Official Homepage
- Hoodoo Gurus' Official MySpace website
- AMO artist profile - Hoodoo Gurus
- Hoodoo Gurus Lyrics
- Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop article
| Hoodoo Gurus |
|---|
| Dave Faulkner | Mark Kingsmill | Brad Shepherd | Richard Grossman | Kimble Rendall | Roddy Radalj | James Baker | Clyde Bramley |
| Discography |
| Studio Albums |
| Stoneage Romeos | Mars Needs Guitars! | Blow Your Cool! | Magnum Cum Louder | Kinky | Crank | Blue Cave | Mach Shau |
| Compilation Albums |
| Electric Soup | Gorilla Biscuit | Electric Chair | Armchair Gurus | Bite The Bullet | Ampology |
| EPs |
| Hoodoo Voodoo |
| Singles |
| Leilani | Tojo | My Girl | I Want You Back | Bittersweet | Like Wow - Wipeout! | Death Defying | Poison Pen | What's My Scene? | Middle Of The Land | Good Times | The Generation Gap | Come Anytime | Another World | Axegrinder | Miss Freelove '69 | 1000 Miles Away | A Place In The Sun | Castles In The Air | The Right Time | You Open My Eyes | Less Than A Feeling | Nobody | Turn Up Your Radio | Big Deal | If Only... | Waking Up Tired | In Blue Cave | Down On Me | The Real Deal | That's My Team | Nothing's Changing My Life |
| DVD/Videos |
| Electric Soup | More Electric Soup | Electric Soup - The Complete Video Collection | Best of The Cutting Edge Vol. 1 | Tunnel Vision |