LA FEMME

La Femme was a fascinating meld of late Seventies influences including punk, new wave, glam and hard rock. Formed from members of the violent 70's sharpie gangs of Melbourne, they started in 1978, with the lineup of Chane Chane (vocals), Peter Kidd (drums), Brett Walker (guitar) and Graham Schiavello (bass). The band played the inner-city scene alongside all the other new bands of the day like Models, The Boys Next Door, The Ears, Little Murders and the News. Led by a charismatic frontman in Chane, a flashy guitarist in Brett Walker, and supported by the thuggish rhythm section of Peter Kidd and Graham Schiavello, the band earned themselves a reputation for being confident, showy and popular in certain circles. As Bruce Mile has pointed out, La Femme had a strong rapport with audiences, and for that reason was readily accepted on the suburban pub circuit where many other bands of the day would have been despised. La Femme signed to Keith Glass's Missing Link label and issued the single ''Chelsea Kids / I Wanna Be Your Man''(July 1979), which contains many fine examples of the band’s confident, swaggering glam-infused punk-metal sound.

The band also scored an appearance on Countdown, (one of the first punk/ new wave bands to do so) but because the show's producers took exception to the lyrical content of ''Chelsea Kids'', the band went to air miming to their cover of Lennon and McCartney's ''I Wanna Be Your Man''. However, the band was to ultimately make six appearances on Countdown. In 1980 Missing Link also release a second single ''I Don't Want to Go Home''/''All Day and All Nigh't', as well as a debut album titled 'La Femme'. Keyboard player Bob Furst would join in 1980.

While many believe La Femme could have made it into the big league if they’d wanted to, in many ways they were their own worst enemies. An unwillingness to play the pop star game and serious drug addictions, among other things, perhaps ended up compromising the band’s drive. But despite their setbacks, La Femme toured constantly, built up a huge support base in the city's and suburban pub circuits all over the country, and scored several prestigious support gigs (including Iggy Pop & the Ramones). The band ended up having a few lineup changes and eventually broke up at the end of 1983.

Members

Chane Chane (vocals), Peter Kidd (drums), Brett Walker (guitar), Graham Schiavello (bass), Bob Furst (keyboards), Shaun Gardiner (guitar), Mark Gardiner (bass), Colin Trott (guitar), Grant McDonough (guitar), Andrew McDonough (bass)

SINGLES 
''Chelsea Kids (For All The Bayside Boys) / I Wanna Be Your Man'' 1979 Missing Link 
''I Don't Wanna Go Home / All Day And All Of The Night'' 1980 7 Records 
''Looking For A Laugh / No-One Talks'' 1981 EMI Custom Pressing 

ALBUMS 

'La Femme' 1979 7 Records

References

http://www.punkjourney.com/la-femme.php