This was captured on their first single, "Leilani" released in October 1982, on Phantom Records. This told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly. They dropped the 'Le', to become Hoodoo Gurus, not long after the single's release. As the Hoodoo Gurus, they gave their first ever performance on a segment of the kids' TV program Simon Townsend's Wonder World; this was followed by a performance alongside a man and his singing dog, on The Don Lane Show. Rendall left in 1982 before the release of "Leilani", and went on to become an award-winning music video and film director. Rendall was Second Unit Director on the latter two Matrix films, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as I, Robot.
Rendall was effectively replaced by bassist Clyde Bramley (ex-The Hitmen, Super K). Radalj was not happy with Rendall's leaving or Faulkner's greater influence and left the Gurus. He was replaced by guitarist Brad Shepherd (ex-Fun Things), who had been Bramley's flatmate. Bramley and Shepherd had both been in The Hitmen and Super K. Faulkner wrote "I Want You Back" in response to Radalj's public dissatisfaction with the Gurus. 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.
Gurus new line-up (Baker, Bramley, Faulkner and Shepherd) recorded the band's first album in 1984, 'Stoneage Romeos'. The title came from a 1955 Three Stooges short Stone Age Romeos. The album was dedicated to characters from Get Smart, F-Troop and Petticoat Junction. They were awarded Best Debut Album of 1984 at the July 1985 Countdown Music Awards. When 'Stoneage Romeos' was released in America it stayed at #1 in the Alternative/College charts for seven weeks, becoming one of the most played albums for the year on the college network. Initially a cult inner-city act, their popularity expanded due to regular airplay on radio station Triple J and nationwide pop TV show Countdown from mid-1983.
Their breakthrough single "My Girl" was accompanied by a video clip featuring a dog trainer with his once champion greyhound. Members of Spiderbait described seeing the video for the first time as "a beautiful, classic pop song". Some viewers insisted the song was "written about a dog". This was closely followed by "I Want You Back", which featured animated plastic model dinosaurs. Both videos were aired frequently raising the group's profile around the country. Original drummer James Baker was sacked from the band in August 1984 and was replaced by Mark Kingsmill (ex-The Hitmen, New Christs, Screaming Tribesmen, Hellcats and Super K). Based on the success of the 'Stoneage Romeos' the Hoodoo Gurus, with their new drummer, then embarked on their first tour of the United States in late 1984. Following the US tour the Hoodoo Gurus went into the studio and recorded their second album, 'Mars Needs Guitars!' (1985).
The title was a twist on a Sci Fi B movie titled Mars Needs Women. The album's first single, "Bittersweet", had a more subdued regular-looking video. The Hoodoo Gurus played Europe and the United States including sell-out shows at London’s Hammersmith Palais and a two-month tour as special guests with The Bangles. 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 single "Poison Pen" (September 1986) in response to some of the critical articles in the music press written about Baker's departure. Another view was that it was about the replacement of their first manager, Stuart Coupe (journalist, writer, tour promoter), but according to songwriter Faulkner it was about a relationship that had turned bitter.
Gurus' peak of popularity was in the mid-to-late 1980s with the albums 'Mars Needs Guitars!', 'Blow Your Cool!' and 'Magnum Cum Louder'. The albums reached #140 (1986), #120 (1987) and #101 (1989) on the American Billboard 200 album charts respectively. The band's 1987 'Blow Your Cool' concert tour took them to 19 countries playing 204 venues. A concert from the Ritz in New York City was broadcast by MTV America. The 'Magnum Cum Louder' tour in 1990, with dates in Europe, America and Australasia; included Japan for the first time. Based on their extensive touring of America, the band gained a solid following in the U.S. with 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 1988 Richard Grossman (ex Matt Finish, Divinyls) replaced Clyde Bramley on bass.
The most stable line-up of Faulkner, Grossman, Kingsmill, and Shepherd saw Hoodoo Gurus from 1988 to the break-up in January 1998. After two albums under their new contract, 'Magnum Cum Louder' and 1991's 'Kinky', which reached #101 and #172 on the American Billboard 200 album charts respectively the band then released in 1992 two compilations at once, 'Electric Soup', which contained the band's hits and 'Gorilla Biscuit', which was made up of B-sides and rarities. 'Kinky' provided the single "Miss Freelove '69" which reached #19 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and #3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1991.
Another single of the same year "1000 Miles Away" reached #37 in Australia. It was adopted by the crew of Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Canberra as their 'anthem' in 1993, playing it whenever they left port. Hoodoo Gurus played a concert, including "1000 Miles Away", on-board HMAS Canberra during its last voyage prior to decommissioning in 2005. They followed 'Kinky' with 'Crank' in 1994. The Crank world tour took the Gurus through USA, Canada, Europe and included a one-month tour of Brazil. Faulkner also composed the soundtrack to Laurie McInnes' 1994 feature film Broken Highway. In 1995, the Gurus collaborated with The Masters Apprentices frontman Jim Keays on an updated rendition of "Turn Up Your Radio".
In 1996 they moved to Mushroom Records for the release of their next album, 'Blue Cave'. The band then undertook a national tour of Australian tour with US outfit The Posies and local band Drop City. Touring commitments were curtailed when Kingsmill severed tendons and nerves in his arm as a result of an onstage accident. Once Kingsmill recovered, the Gurus completed their Circus Maximus Australian tour by end of 1996. In January 1997, Faulkner announced that the band would be breaking up in December. The Gurus commenced their final Australian tour, the three-month 'Spit the Dummy' tour, in October 1997.
The tour coincided with the release of the double compilation album 'Armchair Gurus/Electric Chair', which made #29 on the national chart. The band played its final show in Melbourne on 11 January 1998. The show made up for dates missed during December 1997, when Faulkner was ill. In November 1998 Mushroom had issued the Hoodoo Gurus’ live album, 'Bite the Bullet'. The songs had been recorded during the band’s Spit the Dummy farewell tour. The standard, single album version was joined by a limited edition, triple CD version subtitled 'Director’s Cut'. It included the additional CDs, 'Doppelgänger' (a collection of live-to-air Broadcasts from between 1983–1996) and 'Bubble and Squeak' (a collection of outtakes and oddities).
Although Hoodoo Gurus officially split in 1998 they signed with Acadia Records, who released the band's career-spanning compilation 'Ampology in October 2000'. On 17 November 2003 EMI Records announced Hoodoo Gurus' reformation to record a new album, 'Mach Schau', they also released the track "White Night" as a radio-only single.
In January 2004 the band co-headlined the annual Big Day Out festival with Metallica and The Strokes. Proudly Australian – celebrate Australia Day 2004 which included "Nothing's Changing My Life" by Hoodoo Gurus was a four-track give-away CD. "Nothing's Changing My Life" (February 2004) was released as a single with 'Mach Schau' following in March. The 'Mach Schau' tour started in Perth late in March and was joined by Spiderbait from April to June. EMI reissued expanded/remastered editions of all Hoodoo Gurus albums (from February 2005); 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".
Hoodoo Gurus toured during 2007 including several US dates, kicking off at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas, performances in Europe, including the Azkena Festival (Spain). This was followed by a national tour of Australia called 'Clash of the Titans' with The Stems and Radio Birdman. Their tour poster depicts the three bands as 'Heavyweights' of the Australian music scene. Another solo tour started late in 2007 (including performances at the Apollo Bay Music Festival, Splendour in the Grass, Meredith Music Festival, and the St Kilda Festival) and continued into 2008.
In June 2008 The Age newspaper commemorated 50 years of Australian rock 'n' roll (the anniversary of the release of Johnny O'Keefe's "Wild One") by selecting the Top 50 Australian Albums, with 'Stoneage Romeos' coming in at #5 on the list. The Hoodoo Gurus performed at the Glastonbury Festival in the United Kingdom on 29 June 2008. Hoodoo Gurus performed on 14 March 2009 for Sound Relief at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Sound Relief was a benefit concert for victims of the Victorian Bushfire Crisis and the Queensland Floods. Appearing with Hoodoo Gurus at the Sydney concert were, Coldplay, Eskimo Joe, Icehouse, Jet, Josh Pyke, Little Birdy, The Presets, Wolfmother, You Am I and additional artists.
In March 2009 the Hoodoo Gurus also signed a new recording contract with Sony Music Australia, the deal includes the band's back catalogue as well as a new album, the band's ninth and the first since the release of 'Mach Schau' in 2004. Brad Shepherd said it had the potential to be "a career defining record". During the process of writing the album Dave Faulkner said in reference to the eclectic mix of songs ready for the album that "rather than stopping myself writing something, I just didn't artificially force myself to write in any direction". The album was originally scheduled for release in September 2009 but they were not happy with the final mix. Hoodoo Gurus then sent their songs off to Durango, Colorado, where Ed Stasium, who worked on the band's previous albums 'Kinky' and 'Crank' worked with Faulkner. Faulkner flew to the US after Hoodoo Gurus performed in Japan, their first performances there in over 20 years.
On 6 May 2009, Faulkner was inducted into the Western Australian Music Industry (WAM) Hall of Fame. In August 2009 it was revealed that Shepherd had been diagnosed with cancer and was recovering from recent surgery. It was his second cancer diagnosis, having had a melanoma removed five years earlier. The first single from their new album, "Crackin' Up", was released in December 2009 and received some airplay on Australian radio stations. The album, 'Purity of Essence', was released on 16 March 2010 in Australia and internationally on 11 May 2010. On 3 October 2010, Hoodoo Gurus toured to London, UK, performing at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire.
In April 2012 the band played a series of concerts titled Dig it Up! in Australian capital cities, to celebrate 30 years since the release of their debut single "Leilani". At the concerts, the band performed the whole of their debut album 'Stoneage Romeos' and other hits. Also playing as part of the Dig It Up! tour were Australian bands Died Pretty and The Hard Ons, as well as international bands such as Redd Kross, The Sonics and The Fleshtones.
The band headlined the 'A Day On The Green' concert series in March 2016, with Sunnyboys, Violent Femmes Died Pretty, and Ratcat. In early 2018, the group announced a vinyl reissue campaign called the Hoodoo Gurus Record Club, entailing the reissue on coloured vinyl of their back catalogue up to Purity of Essence, which also included the album the group recorded as the Persian Rugs in 2000. The first release through the campaign was 'Stoneage Romeos' on 1 June 2018, with a general public release on 7 September.
On May 26, 2018, the group held a benefit concert for the Tatra bushfire with artists The Badloves,1927 and local talents Daniel Champagne, Corey Legge, The Figmentz, Erin McMahon, and Melanie Horsnell. The 'Band Together' concert sold out and ticket sales helped raise over half of the $250,000 target towards helping residents affected by the bushfire in March 2018. We all saw the terrible fires and what they did to people’s lives. We are people with empathy and wanted to do what we could.— Dave Faulkner
On January 13, 2019, Hoodoo Gurus headlined the 'Under the Southern Stars' concert tour of five states starting off at Hastings, Victoria, with performances in Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia scheduled throughout January. Appearing with Hoodoo Gurus at the Hastings concert were Eskimo Joe, You Am I, The Superjesus, British India, The Getaway Plan and Scott Darlow. In July 2020, the band released the single "Hung Out to Dry". The song features on the vinyl version of the Gurus' tenth studio album, 'Chariot of the Gods', released in March 2022.
Dave Faulkner (vocals, guitar), James Baker (drums), Kimble Rendall (guitar, vocals), Roddy Radalj, (guitar), Brad Shepherd (guitar), Clyde Bramley (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), Rick Grossman (bass), Nik Rieth (drums)
''Leilani / Leilani II (I. Prologue, II. My Love Is A Red Rock)'' 1982 Phantom
''Leilani / Leilani II (I. Prologue, II. My Love Is A Red Rock)'' 1982 Big Time
''Tojo (#80) / (Let's All) Turn On'' 1983 Big Time
''My Girl (#35) / Be My Guru'' 1983 Big Time
''I Want You Back (#68) / Who Do You Love?'' 1984 Big Time
''Bittersweet (#16) / Mars Needs Guitars'' 1985 Big Time
''Like Wow - Wipeout (#15) / Bring The Hoodoo Down'' 1985 Big Time
''Death Defying (#43) / Turkey Dinner'' 1986 Big Time
''Poison Pen (#76) / In The Wild / Teenage Head'' 1986 Big Time
''What's My Scene (#3) / Heart Of Darkness'' 1987 Big Time
''Good Times (#36) / Hell For Leather (Live)'' 1987 Big Time
''In The Middle Of The Land (#79) / Hayride To Hell II (The Showdown)'' 1987 Big Time
''The Generation Gap (#50) / Jungle Bells'' 1988 RCA
''Come Anytime (#27) / Cajun Country'' 1989 RCA
''Axegrinder (#60) / Spaghetti Western'' 1989 RCA
''Another World (#85) / Lover For A Friend'' 1989 RCA
''Miss Freelove '69 (#19) / Stomp The Tumbarumba'' 1991 RCA
''1,000 Miles Away (#37) / I Think You Know'' 1991 RCA
''A Place In The Sun / The Doctor Is In / Hipbone'' 1991 RCA
"Castles in the Air" 1991 RCA
"The Right Time" (#41) 1993 RCA
"You Open My Eyes" (#43) 1994 RCA
"Less Than a Feeling" (#26) 1994 RCA
"Nobody"1994 RCA
"Turn Up Your Radio"[with Masters Apprentices] 1995 EMI
"Big Deal" 1996 Mushroom
"Waking Up Tired" (#60) 1996 Mushroom
"If Only..." 1996 Mushroom
"Down on Me" (#97) 1997 Mushroom
"The Real Deal" 1997 Mushroom
"That's My Team" 2003 EMI
"Nothing's Changing My Life" 2004 Capitol
"When You Get to California" 2004 Capitol
"Crackin' Up" 2009 Sony
"I Hope You're Happy" 2010 Sony
"What's in It for Me?" 2010 Sony
"Use-By Date (Remixed Version)" 2012 Sony
"Answered Prayers" 2019 Big Time
"Hung out to Dry" 2020 Big Time
"Get out of Dodge" 2020 Big Time
"World of Pain" 2021 Big Time
"Carry On" 2021 Big Time
'Hoodoo Voodoo' 1997 Mushroom
'Gravy Train' 2014 Sony
'Stoneage Romeos' (#8) 1984 Big Time
'Mars Needs Guitars!' (#5) 1985 Big Time
'Blow Your Cool!' (#2) 1987 Big Time
'Magnum Cum Louder' (#13) 1989 RCA
'Kinky' (#8) 1991 RCA
'Crank' (#2) 1994 BMG
'Blue Cave' (#18) 1996 Mushroom
'Mach Schau' (#67) 2004 Capitol
'Purity of Essence' (#16) 2010 Sony
'Chariot of the Gods' (#7) 2022 Big Time
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_Gurus
http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/
Back To The Stoneage tour in December. I can only hope Bramley, Faulkner, Shepard & Baker will grace the stage & tear through Romeos. Even if only for one track...Baker & Bramley. Afterall, James & Dave buried the hatchet, resurrected the Victims with legend Ray Ahn. Whether the 'near' original line-up takes the stage, Stoneage Romeos in full + then some, will be a night of rockin' & awesome fun. From album cover to content on the disc, Stoneage Romeos is a near perfect garage album that I still enjoy to this day. .
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