THE HONEYS

Heard of the Honeys? Unless you were among those who witnessed the flowering of Australian indie music in the late '80s, it's highly unlikely. The heyday of the Honeys was during that time when independent music was finding its feet. While commercial rock from the likes of 1927 and Icehouse was topping the charts, the Honeys were resident artists at pubs with sticky carpets such as Surry Hills's Evening Star or Glebe's Harold Park Hotel.

They toured the country in an old Holden HG and did not make much money from it. Originally from Perth, the band came to Sydney after being signed to Waterfront Records, run out of the back room of the Sydney retailer of the same name. (Waterfront is rich in music history. It signed Australian indie artists Ratcat, the Hard-Ons and Tumbleweed.) The lineup was Andrea Croft on vocals, Bruce Begley on guitar, Grant Shanahan on bass/keyboards, Michael Dalton on guitar/harmonica and Phillip Rawlinson on drums. Rawlinson would be replaced by Brett Thomson after their debut album.

Indie radio, also in its infancy, loved the Honeys' debut album, 'Goddess' however their rise was all-too brief. With only one album and a couple of singles released, the Honeys disbanded; Croft, Shanahan and drummer Brett Thomson deserted Begley to start a new act called Catherine Wheel. In 2007 Shanahan, Begley and Croft reformed to release the album 'Star Baby'. Craig Smith of Webcuts described the album ''as was one of the quietly released highlights of 2007. A gorgeous mix of country-tinged rock and roll, it made short work of a long absence and found the three old friends from Perth creating what could confoundedly be seen as the definitive Honeys document''.

Members

Andrea Croft (vocals), Brett Thomson (drums), Bruce Begley (guitar), Phillip Rawlinson (drums),

Grant Shanahan (bass keyboards guitar), Michael Dalton (harmonica slide guitar),

References

http://www.smh.com.au/news/gig-reviews/the-honeys/2008/02/08/1202234114372.html