To capitalise on winning the band competition, The Simpletons decided to tour in early 1994 and put out their debut EP. Six tracks were recorded for 'Smother' in Lismore, January 1994. Darren Hanlon joined as guest guitarist for the recording and ended up staying for years to come. His catchy jangly guitar work would become a familiar trademark for the band. The Simpletons toured all around the country in a rented van and then manager Amanda. They impressed crowds instantly with their catchy acoustic pop songs. 'Smother' sold extremely well at shows and became an instant classic. After the tour they continued to base themselves in Lismore, playing a lot locally and making regular trips to Brisbane where their following was quickly growing. One of the more bizarre shows was playing in front of what would be their biggest crowd at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre supporting Willie Nelson. In no way was the band slightly country, so Darren played as many cheesy country licks as possible.
The follow-up to 'Smother' was a great leap forward called 'Nod' released October 1994. They lost the derivative Billy Bragg overtones and found their own sound. 'Nod' featured some great co-writing between Cheyne and Steve in the shape of ''Tall Poppies'' and ''Cooking Claret'' (two Simpletons classics). To support the release of 'Nod' they did their second National tour, again to enthusiastic audiences all around the country. Triple J (Australia's National Radio Station) got the band in to play live on the OzMusic Show. They liked ''Tall Poppies'' so much they added it to their general playlist. Highlights at the end of 1994 came in the form of playing their first Weddings, Parties, Anything Christmas show and the Byron Bay Festival.
The 'Matter' album was recorded in Newtown, Sydney and produced by Rob Clarkson. The band relished recording the album as it gave them scope to show what they could produce with 15 tracks. They experimented with rock in the form of ''Occupation'' and stripped things back with ''Solitaire'' and ''Postcard''. Popular songs like ''I Do'' and ''Tall Poppies'' were reworked and given a new lease of life. April/ May saw the band tour yet again to huge crowds whether they went. 'Matter' was an instant success amongst fans. It had enough similar ingredients of the first two EPs and then went further. Lyrically the album was amazing, full of clever wordplay and great imagery.
A copy of 'Matter' made its way into the hands of Billy Bragg. Chris ran in to Billy at Glastonbury 95 where he mentioned how much he loved the album, especially the lyrics. Billy promised next time he came to Australia he worked try to get The Simpletons a support spot. Naturally the band were over the moon hearing such high praise from the man that was an early inspiration. The extended break served the band well and they hit the road again in November for the Nice To Be Home tour. Despite the break no one had forgotten them, and their live shows were packed. Good news followed this tour when they picked up the national support for Weddings, Parties, Anything Christmas Tour. Famous for their huge tours and big nights, the Weddings tour was one of the best times the Simpletons had on the road.
Early 1996 was another boom period for the band. They played the Byron Bay Festival and Sydney Fringe Festival and true to his word, Billy Bragg gave The Simpletons the support for his Sydney Enmore Theatre show. It was one the best Simpletons shows ever, making themselves right at home on the big stage. Meeting Billy and playing support act was a great highlight for everyone involved. At the end of the tour The Simpletons lost Steve Meldrum as their drummer. He was a huge loss to the band not only because of his great drumming but the great songs he bought to the band.
The follow-up album 'Tandem' was recorded in Sydney by David Trump (producer for Pollyanna, Big Heavy Stuff). Doug Threlfall (ex-Cartoon) played guest drums on the album. This album took things a lot further than 'Matter' ever did. At the forefront was a bigger guitar sound. The acoustic influences were still there but placed on the second half of the album to give more consistency. All the strengths of the band feature on 'Tandem', but again pushing their limits. ''Soup'' had a dance beat, ''Loot'' was virtually punk and ''These Days'' could easily be one of the best modern folk songs. Ryan James was recruited from Lismore to play drums for the Tandem tour in August/September. He fitted in extremely well and the tour went off without a hitch.
1997 heralded another boom period for the group. It started off in fine fashion when they played at the Gold Coast Big Day Out. ''Light A Candle'' was released and it became another hit on Triple J. Huge news came in the form of the national support for They Might Be Giants. The band flew and drove everywhere to do the shows for a band they held in very high esteem. Straight after the Giants tour and their own tour for Light A Candle, came the news that the Clouds were splitting up. The Simpletons were proud to do the Sydney and Brisbane final Clouds shows. The regular touring and recording regime continued. Back in the studio to record the next EP called 'F'. Due to time constraints 'F' was only recorded solo for 'Tandem'. This time they wanted to record it with the band, how they originally intended.
At the end of the year the band put out their third and final EP from the 'Tandem' album. 'Till The Sky' was released with four news songs tilting back again to their acoustic roots. The band re-recorded ''Till The Sky'' as they were never truly happy with the album version. The new version more represented how they were playing it live. To wrap up an incredible year the band also supported Juliana Hatfield for her Sydney show. On their final tour for 1997, Chris their manager decided to call it quits. After all the work and pressures, he simply had enough. Shortly afterwards Brad Cheers (bass) and Darren Hanlon (guitar) also decided to leave. Although Darren would appear on the next Simpletons single ''Eight''. So, after all the highs and lows of The Simpletons a big core of the band decided to pursue other things. Their loss was big a blow to the band and although The Simpletons name continued the spirit and heart of the group was gone. Cheyne and Ryan continued, recruiting new members for the third album 'Popcore'. The album again combined some of the Simpletons trademarks, great lyrical pop songs. After a nine-month absence on the live scene, the band emerged for a live tour for the new line-up. The shows were indeed different and then infrequent. Now finished for good.
Cheyne Gelagin (vocals, guitar), Darren Hanlon (guitar), Brad Cheers (bass),
Stephen Meldrum (drums), Ryan James (drums), John Lattin (bass),
References
http://members.tripod.com/john_gelagin/shane/id8.html
http://members.tripod.com/john_gelagin/shane/id8.html
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