THE SCREAMING ABDADS

In late 1977 in Sydney, Carmel Strelein and Ian Hartley, editor of punk zine Spurt! placed an ad looking for people to start a new punk band. Guitarist Bruce Tindale and drummer Richard Waddy answered the ad. Just like nobody can remember his surname, no one can quite remember how bass player Nick entered the fold, but a band was born and was soon working on a set of originals and covers. The Screaming Abdabs shone briefly but brightly in the city’s early punk scene. Singer Carmel was known for her wild individual style that included a shaved head, tattoos and outlandish customised clothing.

In their short time The Screaming Abdabs played a number of shows, including headlining the Paris Theatre on April 12, 1978, alongside The Press and Johnny Dole & the Scabs. Unfortunately, with the departure of Nick the band fell apart before the end of 1978. Richard adopted the name City Ram Waddy and Carmel moved to San Francisco, where she became involved in the drag and punk community and established a successful hair salon called the Pink Tarantula. Tragically, in 1997 Carmel was murdered in a contract killing instigated by her ex-husband. In 2016 Wallaby Beat released an album of live tracks recorded at the Paris Theatre in 1978.

Members

Carmel Strelein (vocals) Bruce Tindale (guitar) Nick (bass) Richard Waddy (drums)

ALBUMS

'The Screaming Abdabs / City Ram Waddy' 2016 Wallaby Beat

References

https://noisey.vice.com/en_au/article/r7pmeg/the-screaming-abdabs-we-dont-wanna-the-paris-theatre-tape-1978