THE VICTIMS

The Victims were a punk band from Perth, Western Australia, active in 1977-79. The band's members were Dave Flick [Dave Faulkner] on guitar and vocals, James Baker (drums) and Rudolph V [Dave Cardwell] on bass. In 1977, The Victims released their debut single, "Television Addict / I'm Flipped Out Over You" of which only 1,000 copies were pressed. The following year they released an EP entitled simply 'The Victims' (also known as 'No Thanks to the Human Turd'), which included five tracks: "I Understand", "Open Your Eyes", "TV Freak", "High School Girls" and "Disco Junkies". Baker was one of the writers of these songs; the identity of his co-composer is disputed, with some sources claiming that it was Faulkner and others Buncle. Only 500 copies of the EP were released. Some versions had hand-drawn sleeves, which musicologist Ian McFarlane described as "ultra-rare and highly prized collector's items."

Their performance at Hernando's Hideaway in Perth in January 1978 was recorded: it was issued on the live album, 'Culture Shock', in 2014 on Japanese label 1977. By mid-1978 the Victims had disbanded, they briefly reunited in early 1979 to provide a farewell gig. Baker was a founder of The Scientists (1978–81). Flick reverted to using his surname, Faulkner, and briefly joined Midget and The Farrellys. In late 1979, he joined Mannikins. Baker and Faulkner reunited in January 1981 and founded the Hoodoo Gurus in Sydney. Rudolph V became a member of Love Assassins with Mark Hutchinson on guitar, John Rowlings on vocals and Marc Siddall on drums.

In December 1989 the Victims material was issued as a compilation album, 'All Loud on the Western Front', on Timberyard Records. This included all the tracks from their first single and EP, as well as a previously unreleased track, "Perth Is a Culture Shock". It was re-issued on CD in 2005. The 2011 compilation, 'Sleeping Dogs Lie', was issued by Japanese label 1977 Records and distributed in Australia by the Fuse label. In addition to the tracks on 'All Loud on the Western Front' it added two demo songs.

Members

Dave Flick [Dave Faulkner] (guitar, vocals), James Baker (drums), Rudolph V [Dave Cardwell] (bass)

SINGLES 

''Television Addict / (I'm) Flipped Out Over You'' 1978

EPs 

'No Thanks To The Human Turd' 1978

 

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Victims_%28Australian_band%29