THE VISITORS

The Visitors were an Australian rock band formed in 1978 after the breakup of popular punk rock band Radio Birdman. The songs were written by Deniz Tek but unlike many other Tek bands, Tek did not sing vocals in The Visitors. Instead, the vocals were sung by long-time friend of the band Mark Sisto. The addition of Sisto's vocal alongside a predominantly ex-Birdman lineup, created what many believed as the next generation of Birdman, with a vocal which mirrored that of The Doors. They played only 12 shows in the Sydney area starting in late 1978 and continuing into August 1979.

The music was hard and heavy, while maintaining a melodic sense unusual in those immediate post-punk days. The band was crushingly loud, the guitar stage setup being two 100 watt Marshall Super Lead heads pushed through 16 twelve inch speakers. This in small clubs! But with the top end rolled off and compression applied, the overall effect was survivable for the audience. Sisto brought a strong Doors influence. Visually they were striking, combining black clothing and shades with various dada/surrealist accoutrements.

The band released its first EP in 1980 on the Phantom label. The only overdubs were some vocal parts. The quality of the live performance that day was such that Phantom Records wanted to put out an EP of the best cuts. That is what appears here. In 1983 the band released its debut album 'The Visitors' on the Citadel label. Most of the songs were written by Tek less two tracks written by Hoyle and Sisto. The group broke up when Tek formed New Race.

The Visitors reunited in 2005 with the principal members Deniz Tek, Pip Hoyle and Mark Sisto joined by Steve Godoy on drums and Art Godoy on bass, for a short run of concerts, including Newcastle (Great Northern), Sydney (Gaellic Club). This tour coincided with the re-release of the album, remastered, with a historical twelve page booklet, on Citadel Records. The songs included covers of the Rolling Stones "The last Time" and the Zager/Evans hit "In The Year 2525" as well as an ambitious Roy Orbison cover "It's Over", which featured the remarkable vocal range of Mark Sisto.

In 2008 The Visitors appeared in Sydney to open for The Hitmen and Niagara at The Crest in Sylvania, this time with Nik Rieth on drums, Andy Newman on bass, and Jack Shanley on saxophone. This lineup then went on to play a run of its own headline shows, including the now defunct Empire Hotel (Annandale), Wollongong and Melbourne. The setlist included the Tek/Asheton penned Radio Birdman clasic "Hit Them Again", Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally", the never-recorded tune "She Used To Know My Name", as well as all of the Visitors standards.

The last Visitors performance was 6 Dec 2013 at Sydney University's Manning Bar, headlining a fundraiser for the Ron Asheton Foundation. Sharing the bill were The Hoodoo Gurus, Rob Younger's New Christs, and others. The Visitors lineup was : Deniz Tek, guitar; Mark Sisto, vocals; Pip Hoyle, keyboards; Andy Newman, bass; and Gerard Presland, drums. In a striking return to near original form, they played faithful arrangements of almost the entire Visitors album, along with covers of the Stooges "Dirt", Radio Birdman's "Hand of Law" and Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music".

Members

Deniz Tek (guitar), Mark Sisto (vocals), Ron Keely (drums), Pip Hoyle (keyboards), Steve Harris (bass), Steve Godoy (drums), Art Godoy (bass), Nik Rieth (drums), Andy Newman (bass), Jack Shanley (sax), Gerard Presland (drums)

EPs

'The Visitors' 1980 Phantom

ALBUMS

'The Visitors' 1983 Citadel

References

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