GOD

God was formed in Melbourne in 1986 as a punk rock quartet by Sean Greenway (AKA Sean Scorpion) on guitar and vocals; Tim Hemensley (AKA Meatcleaver Boy) on bass guitar, drums and vocals; Joel Silbersher (AKAJoel Rock'n'Roll) on guitar and vocals; and Matthew Whittle (AKA Matty Mustang) on bass guitar, drums and vocals. All four were 15-16 at the time. Hemensley had been a member of Royal Flush (with Roman Tucker, later of Rocket Science), Greenway and Whittle were members of Foot and Mouth, and Silbersher was a DJ on community radio, 

Bruce Milne of Au Go Go Records, who also ran a shop front to sell recordings, met the group's members. He signed them to his label, which issued their debut 7" single, "My Pal", in January 1988. It was written by Silbersher, and received favourable reviews, which sold in the thousands to become, "an enduring Australian underground classic." Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, observed, "they had an alternative #1 hit on their hands before they were even old enough to get beer riders at their gigs! 'My Pal' was the third biggest selling alternative single for 1988."

Andrew Stafford, writer of Pig City: from the Saints to Savage Garden, listed "My Pal" at #24 of his "Australian Songbook" in December 2011. He described how, "Silbersher had this song's circular five-note riff in his head for years before one day, in the shower, the lyric came in a rush: 'You’re my only friend / You don't even like me!' Recorded when most of the band were 17 (the video above captures Silbersher with braces still on his teeth)." Stafford felt, "it was such a towering feat that, unfortunately, it overshadowed everything else they ever did." Cover versions were recorded by several artists: Magic Dirt (1997), Violent Soho, Peabody, Bored!, A Death in the Family, the Hollowmen, and Bum (from Canada). Andrew Mueller of The Guardian declared, "it started out as an obscure 7" single and ended up revered as a garage band classic, the Aussie equivalent of 'Wild Thing'."

God released an eight-track extended play, 'Rock Is Hell', in December 1988, it appeared in four different cover designs, one by each band member, due to the members' inability to agree on a cover. McFarlane felt, "it suffered from slop-bucket production values, but was another statement in God's quest for the ultimate so-bad-its-good trash ethic." 

Their full-length studio album, 'For Lovers Only', appeared in December 1989, via Au Go Go Records which, "boasted stronger production and songs." Although God had disbanded by that time, it was released on vinyl in Europe. The band's last gig was at the Central Club on 30 July 1989. Au Go Go later released, 'For Lovers Only', on CD with "My Pal" and most of Rock Is Hell, as bonus tracks.

"My Pal" appeared on the Underbelly soundtrack for the TV series of the same name. It was used on the Australian TV film, Underground – The Julian Assange Story. God's self-titled double CD reissue was released on Afterburn Records in February 2010. BMA Magazine's correspondent described the group, "they sounded like a ten train smash-up in Tin Railroad Town. They were trying to encapsulate stadium rock and their ‘monster riffs’ often sounded like a playgroup had broken into the bottle recycling bin combined with that siren song of crap amps buzzing and wheezing you sometimes hear just before they blow up." Sean Greenway died of a heroin overdose in 2001, aged 30. Tim Hemensley died of a heroin overdose in 2003. 

Members

Joel Silbersher (guitar, vocals), Tim Hemensley (bass, vocals), Sean Greenway, (guitar, vocals), Matthew Whittle (drums, vocals)

 

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_(Australian_band)