THE SHARP

In 1991 The Sharp was formed as a three-piece rockabilly, pop group in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood by Allan Catlin on double bass and lead vocals, Piet Collins on drums and Charlie Rooke on guitar and lead vocals. Rooke had formed 59 Sharp, a "good-time bar-band", in 1988; he was later joined by Catlin, and alternating drummers Danny Simcic (also a member of Real Life, a new wave-synth pop band) and Tony Day (ex-Broderick Smith Band). They played 1950s rock'n'roll and rockabilly covers to a hardcore Melbourne following.

Piet Collins, who was writing Neighbors episodes at the time, joined on drums in 1991 due to other commitments for both Day and Simcic. The group were renamed as the Sharp, which according to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane "Boasting double bass, stand-up drums, rockabilly-tinged guitar licks and musicians dressed in all black... they presented a united front and an interesting twist on 1990s pop... their aesthetic push incorporated frisky pop melodies, tight arrangements, strong harmonies and grungy guitar riffs." For the Sharp Catlin and Rooke wrote original tracks, both individually and jointly. The group acknowledged the influence of the Kinks, the Beatles and the Easybeats.

In June 1992 they issued their debut CD three-track extended play, 'Love Your Head', on Mushroom Distribution Services. It was produced by Nick Mainsbridge (The Triffids, Tall Tales and True, Ratcat). They were signed to East West Music/Warner Music Australasia later that year. Their first hit single, "Talking Sly" (from the 'Spinosity' EP), was written and sung jointly by Rooke and Catlin, which received plenty of radio support and high critical acclaim. It reached the ARIA Singles Chart top 30. Their third EP, 'Train of Thought', which appeared in May that year, was co-produced by Mainsbridge with Peter Farnan (of Boom Crash Opera).

The Sharp released their debut album, 'This Is the Sharp', in September 1993, which was co-produced by Farnan, Mainsbridge and the group. It peaked at #13 on the ARIA Albums Chart. They promoted the album with an Australian tour as a support act for United States group, Spin Doctors. At the ARIA Awards of 1993 the Sharp received two nominations for "Talking Sly", Breakthrough Artist – Single and Best Video (directed by Chris Langman).

The Sharp singles/EPs which appeared in the top 50 of the ARIA Singles Chart include 'Train of Thought' (May 1993), "Scratch My Back" (October), and Yeah I Want You (November). The latter EP had five tracks with an original, "Yeah I Want You", followed by four cover version of work by The Cure ("The Love Cats"), Blondie ("Hangin' on the Telephone"), Lou Reed ("Vicious") and The Violent Femmes ("Add It Up"). Collins explained "We've been playing these songs in our live set on and off for the past two years and we've created our own versions of them."

A world tour followed in 1994 across the US, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany. 'This Is the Sharp' was released in 14 international territories, and their live shows received favourable reviews. At the 1994 ARIA Awards they received two further nominations, Breakthrough Artist – Album for 'This Is the Sharp' and Engineer of the Year for its tracks, "Scratch My Back", "Yeah I Want You" and "Train of Thought" by Mainsbridge and Kalju Tonuma.

'Sonic Tripod', the band's second album, was released in August 1994, which also reached #13 and was co-produced by Farnan, Mainsbridge and the group. Jacqueline Fuller of The Canberra Times felt it was "a foray into the new lyrical themes of social comment and psychological turmoil rather than The Sharp's typical love and party songs." It provided their highest charting single "Alone Like Me", which peaked at #20. The group were known for their image of black high neck skivvies, and energetic live shows, including Catlin balancing on his double bass while playing, and Rooke leaping off the drum kit mid-guitar solo.

Early in 1995 Adam May replaced Collins on drums, however in August the group announced their proposed disbandment due to burn out. Rooke explained to Liz Armitage of The Canberra Times in that month how the Sharp had decided to break up: "It was a round-table discussion. A lot of people like to think there was (a conflict) but there wasn't, otherwise, we wouldn't be doing a tour." Rooke reflected on their legacy "I think people will remember us for being a bit different... I'm sticking with the simplicity... I seemed to go for that vibe in the first, and I've always believed in it. I think you can do so much with that approach, but most groups these days are into bigger production." According to Armitage "Both Catlin and Rooke are expected to release something (separately) at the start of next year."

A compilation album, 'Single File (The Best of the Sharp)', was released in September. They performed their last gig on 22 October 1995 at the Hallam Hotel. The label issued a posthumous collection, 'Skeletons in the Closet', of previously unreleased studio tracks, in 1996. Caitlin formed a group, the Rush Effect and wrote music for ads; Collins took up a career in journalism and writing; Rooke formed a group, Earlobe. Rooke was later a studio session guitarist for Cezary Skubiszewski. In 2000 the Sharp performed a sole reunion gig in Melbourne, and in July 2010 they reunited for a series of shows playing in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Members

Allan Catlin (double bass, vocals), Charlie Rooke (guitar, vocals), Piet Collins (drums, vocals)
Adam May (drums)

SINGLES

Talking Sly ["Spinosity" EP]

25 OCT '92

#28

Train of Thought

9 MAY '93

#32

Scratch My Back

15 AUG '93

#40

Yeah I Want You

21 NOV '93

#44

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sharp

https://www.top100singles.net/