This section takes in detailed looks into the world of Self-Published Australian Underground Fanzines from the late 1970's into the early eighties. Some absolute GEMS here and of course as these are no longer readily available, places like this are a good spot to kick back and explore for an hour or so and see what these music mad creatives were doing as the blueprint of Punk was made on the fly. Awesome information was to be found amongst these pages along with killer graphics and photos so enjoy the rewind & will be adding to this section across this new year.
Scotti FMR (early 2019)
- See more Oz punk fanzines from the 1970s and 1980s HERE
So, here we go to Adelaide where we investigate one of the very early published works of veteran Australian Writer Stuart Coupe and his A3 Size Newspaper print fanzine STREET FEVER, published with his friend Donald Robertson. It cost all of 50 CENTS (years before it was later worth 'Fiddy') and along for the ride is the 'Layout Crew' of : Lloyd, David, Nick, ANDY VAGUE, David Crowe, CHUCKIE SUICIDE, Tracy, Alex, THE PHANTOM BANTAM, FESTERING MICK MALICIOUS, & Bo (who we are presuming is the office cat). Page One as you'll see is a cool MALCOLM FRASER image all graphed out, with two being your standard credits and thanks page with other Oz Punk fanzines name checked as well (PULP, SUICIDE ALLEY, ALIVE & PUMPING, & SPURT). Page 3 is a full page scrabbly ad for local Record Store MODERN LOVE SONGS, Page 4 is a great chat with under documented 1977 local punks MOIST with a fine accompanying photo of them in handmade shirts, badges etc.. and that's a classic shot right there which is worthy of higher exposure. The bands say they dig LOU REED , THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE MODERN LOVERS & X-RAY SPEX the most.
This fanzine was the precursor to the very cool ROADRUNNER magazine, which we'll hear more about later in 2019.
We get a glimpse of the Moist & their lyrical nous in songs like 'Do The Duck':
"Standing in a fishpond
You can get up and do it
Standing in a fishpond
There ain't nothing to it
Splash around algae,
Pick it up and chew it, If you get cold feet now
then you knew that you blew it
Do the Duck - Do the Duck "
This Int continues of Page 5, along with a Review of the STIFF 7" pic sleeve of 'Watching The Detectives' by Elvis Costello and a RADIO BIRDMAN Live Review from November 26th @ the Unley Town Hall by CHUCKIE SUICIDE which goes like this :
The support band The YOUNG MODERNS played to an audience of a single drunk swaying on the floor in time to the (music) ? I didn't like them either. The crowd displayed good taste in dress (even though there was the usual turnup of Adelaide Hills hippy cum Bikie cum Punks?) None of your mass produced punk here, a few great printed shirts showed up. Wait do I see SLAUGHTER & THE DOGS . Great (Available for $5.00 from MLS). Now to the good gear. BIRDMAN . They came on to play their (usual?) repertoire of excellence such as 'Do The Pop', 'Smith & Western', 'Tv Eye' etc. The second half hailed more great stuff, with Rob Younger wrecking himself to the point of exhaustion, and Deniz Tek again proving himself as the greatest guitarist in Australia. The police showed their faces and BIRDMAN greeted them with 'Hand of Law', during which a fight went un noticed by the pogoing crowd. The crowd climaxed to excited masturbation of the ear when BIRDMAN did a rare encore of 'Search & Destroy' and 'Monday Morning Gunk'. I freaked into spasmodic fits of bleeding & vomiting while being kicked into a pulp on the floor. LOOK OUT U.S.A.! (Thanks to Dave with the mirrored sunglasses for helping me over the stage).
Andy Vague finishes off this page with a wrap on a local PIZA haunt. Pages 6 and 7 is a fantastic insight to what it's like being in the U.K. in 1977 by Donald Robertson who strolls the street and catches an advert with news of an upcoming SEX PISTOLS gig (September 22nd at the Stowaway). On the night in question he sees 4 ratbags approaching whom he notices look very London and asks them if they are the Sex Pistols. One of them sneers "We Might Be", and off they go. He gets to the gig and sees people in bin liners, multi- colour spiky hair and safety pins etc.. and gets to see the entire gig, a portion of which reads like this :
The Pistols came on loose, played their Anarchy Rock and looked like they couldn't give a shit what you thought of them. The first number was 'Anarchy in the U.K.' The lyrics were inaudible but the sound fitted the title perfectly. The sheer aural assault was incredible. All eyes were on Rotten as he snarled, sneered and spat out his words. On his left, Steve Jones chopping out vicious chords and piercing leads. To the right Glen Matlock pumping out solid bass and behind them all Paul Cook thrashing seven bells out of his kit. The review is quite detailed and goes on to mention how they tackle their MONKEES and THE WHO covers and that was that. The cool thing about seeing this show at this point for Donald was that it predated the Bill Grundy TV interview and subsequent public furore and also predated their contract with EMI, so as he says.. they were still then a LIVE band on the verge of exploding or immolating so a right on time to see them to be sure.
Page 8 features a half page JONATHAN RICHMAN ad taken from ZIG ZAG where he states all his influences up to that time, with a good wrap on the BESERKLEY label following. Page 9/10 is D.R. again, this time offering up a live review of a STIFF RECORDS showcase featuring ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS, WRECKLESS ERIC, NICK LOWE, IAN DURY etc... and sounds like it would of been a great ol' time with the encore of IAN DURY's "Sex & Drugs & Rock'n'Roll" seeing all the bands on the label and their backing band members come up on stage and party out. Some great memories there for him no doubt. Page 11 is a fantastic rare interview with Sydney's explosive and legendary PSYCHO SURGEONS, done over the phone before they were to come through and blitz the city of churches. Mark Taylor offers up a few choice moments, saying that their influences are: WILDNESS, LIFE, BLOOD, SEX & CHOCOLATE, and that the band currently has 14 originals in their set and do 3-4 covers to pad it out.
He says that Sydney sucks arse and that the band really wanna get to Melbourne and that besides RADIO BIRDMAN the only other band playing about is "Trendy Creeps" SIMON & THE DIAMONDS who play at places where Bald Headed Trendys go and show off. He talks about how their first gig was recorded, and how they've been playing parties and the like. The int is well layed out with a great painted logo (and one must remember that back in the day these folks could not send PDF files back and forth over email... if anything was to be added to a layout or an interview it was all done thru the post.
Page 12 coughs up a full page WRECKLESS ERIC photo whilst 13 ("Rock'n'Roll - No Future?") is a full page text spread (with cartoon) by DAVE CROWE about the commercialisation of Punk and to watch for the big bad wolf in major label clothing and the like. His point is that the good bands know how to hammer out great songs in a basic but powerful manner and to still have FUN, whilst underneath there lies another generation of imitators sent forth by record companies to fleece your dollar and bullshit your day. Page 14 is a Review of a PATTI SMITH Bootleg LP (Teenage Perversity & Ships in the Night) which is penned in a very in-depth and lively manner, summing it up as "An Illuminating combination of chaos, aggression, poetry, intimacy, decadence, expression and experience", along with a review of the 7" 'Terminal Stupid' by THE SNIVELLING SHITS, plus a top 10 singles list headed by the SEX PISTOLS & completed by RADIO BIRDMAN, with THE PORK DUKES smack bang in the middle, and a Top 20 Album list (SEX PISTOLS, THE RUBINOOS & centered by THE STOOGES).
The inside back page of 15 is a full page review of the IGGY POP album "Lust For Life" by Dave Crowe with two accompanying pics of the Igster reading the Times and one with his buddie Debbie Harry. We finish with a back page graphic of QUEEN ELIZABETH (God Saved The Queen) with safety pin, Razorblades along her hair and a skull earring. All up STREET FEVER is a really important underground print document not only for Adelaide itself, but for this Punk Breaking Year of 1977 in Australia. If, say there were ever a Arts Centre Exhibition of the History of Australian Punk in the year of 1977, it would be fully fucked if this fanzine were not part of it as it has depth, diversity, remembers to include graphics with it's text and is well written, so hat's off to it's editors and yeah, a rock solid document of it's day which holds up in 2010, 2015 and beyond!
2010 update chat with Stuart Coupe
Scotti - Hi Stuart, thanks for being a Stained Sheets/ Fantastic Mess Records Website trooper and we reckon ye olde STREET FEVER has really stood the test of time and scrubs up beaut on the rewind. Can you tell us whether this was your first venture in the printed public realm ? And from what point did you get involved in things a tad leftfield as the 1970's kicked along?
Stuart - I guess when I look back that my first sorta fanzine was in 1970 when I was 14! I talked my school English teacher into letting me do a 'school' publication - again - only one issue - called Labyrinth. It was basically because I wanted a forum to write about music I loved - and I tacked on some school news/sports results to get it through as a school project. It was pretty much my first - VERY formative - attempt to write about music and my efforts were very heavily (almost to the point of plagiarism!) influenced by the great unsung hero of 70s music writing in Australia - Rob Smyth - who used to write for Nation Review and shaped my attitude to music, writing and spirit. He turned my on to records I still listen to today. When I moved to Adelaide (from Launceston) in the mid 70s I became editor of Flinders University's magazine - Empire Times - and managed to get Johnny Rotten on one cover. I was pretty obsessed by punk rock - queued in the early morning outside Modern Love Songs (hello Bo who wrote for Street Fever) to get the first copies of Never Mind The Bollocks. I was aware of what Bruce Milne and Clinton (Cee) Walker were doing with Pulp and decided to start my own zine. I did that one issue and then decided to become a bit more adventurous and came up with the idea of Roadrunner - which I perceived as a semi-professional zine that competed with RAM and Juke. I'd become friends with Bruce and Clinton and, in a lovely moment of comradery they caught the train from Melbourne, stayed at my home and worked with me and the others on an early Roadrunner. I had a beard at the time which I think horrified Bruce - and certainly flew in the face of late 70s punk rock appearance stereotypes.
Scotti - That's excellent! And great to have a music mentor who can help shape and form your paths of discovery. ROADRUNNER was indeed another important chapter, bringing together three like-minded and active individuals. Can you tell us what your experience was like over the course of the magazine to when you decided to move onto new horizons.
Stuart - Roadrunner was a bit more serious than Street Fever. I guess I had a fair bit of attitude and ambition. It was put together by a collective (hey, it was Adelaide, late 70s and when we weren't listening to music we were reading Marx, Engels and Mao - and still in a world where we though Stalin was a great leader of the people) of five. Donald Robertson was the other driving force - we needed someone organised and who cared about grammar and punctuation. Obviously in those days everything was typed on manual typewriters and pages glued together. The magazine was put together at my house and laid out by Allen Coop in a little garage/room at the back of the house. We all sold the advertising. We seriously thought we could take on RAM and Juke - but with what we thought was a street-wise/fanzine attitude to the writing and content. I'd started writing live reviews for RAM and used to write (no telex yet, certainly no fax) to RAM's editor Anthony O'Grady in Sydney, sending him the new issue and half-seriously telling him that RAM's time was up and that Roadrunner was taking over. In the end he phoned me and said "dear boy, how would you like to move to Sydney and work for a * real * music magazine." This was an opportunity I couldn't say no to as my desire to write and be read was, to be honest, greater than publishing a fledgling magazine. A week later I was in Sydney, taking Andrew McMillan's job. Anthony organised for the Angels road crew to transport my possessions to Sydney. My salary was $95 a week and I spent the first month literally sleeping under my desk as I didn't know anyone and didn't have a home. For a few weeks the staff were totally impressed by me being first to work every day - until they realised where I'd slept, had showered in the office on Glebe Point Road and started writing. I'd done five issues of Roadrunner. Donald continued editing and running Roadrunner and did a mighty job of it. I contributed for - I'm guessing now - the next five issues.
Scotti - An offer to good to refuse indeed ! So off you went, full speed ahead into the world of Music publishing. It must not of been too long then until you then penned (or co-penned) your first book ? Was that also a satisfying step up, to see a completed book be passed over for you to oogle? And on this subject, as the years have passed you have maintained a decent level of active publication. What has been your golden moment as an author?
Stuart - Writing for RAM was a pretty exciting time. My first assignment was going on tour with Graham Parker and the Rumour. Then I went back to Adelaide with Kiss - and after their show went to see Dr Feelgood at the Tivoli. I was considered the person who'd still do the punk/left field stories. I did the Tom Waits interviews the first times he came to Australia etc. But I was on staff at RAM for a short period. Anthony and I had a falling out over - of all things - a Redgum review. I loved their first album and did an 800 word review. He thought it was worth 100 words at best. I threw a tantrum and resigned. He rolled me two joints, told me to take care and I grabbed my leather jacket and walked out - but continued to write for the magazine for a few years. As fate would have it David Dale - who'd stepped in to edit RAM when Anthony was overseas - it was the issue when Keith Moon died - was working at the Sun Herald. That paper had decided that instead of having the motoring writer also do the rock column that they should employ someone who knew about music - so he called me. I did that for ten years - still - all power to the Sun Herald - writing predominantly about indie/punk artists - as well as freelancing for anyone who would pay me - and some that wouldn't. I'd met Glenn A Baker at the Third World Bookshop in Adelaide when he was managing Ol' 55. He suggested we do a rock encyclopedia together - and that was The New Music. Then we did The New Rock'n'Roll together. NOTHING beats the first time you see a book with your name on the cover - but I'm most proud of The Promoters as after editing/writing ten books this was the first one I'd done by myself. In terms of writing - I guess I'm most moved by people who I respect - like Dave Laing from Shock who tells me I turned him on to Big Star and Bernard Zuel at the Sydney Morning Herald saying I did the same for him with Bruce Springsteen - and legions of Dolly readers who have told me they bought Nick Cave, Go-Betweens and Triffids albums because of what I wrote for that magazine. And of course I went back into fanzine world with Mean Streets - my crime fiction mag.
Scotti - Yes, so so many colourful memories there all as a result of your mad passion for music and writing which saw you lead off into all kinds of magic moments of fandom and intrigue. And as we initially discussed your hook ups back in the late 70's with Bruce and Clinton, their journeys too can be traced in the public from Inner City Sound to The Bon Scott Bio to the Kill City Crime Bookstore to TV appearances and to of course Record Labels, both early 80's on through to the 90's where you had Laughing Outlaw imprint super active, Bruce was in Post Au-Go-Go mode across a few new labels and Clinton was reigniting his music loves from Punk /New Wave Post Punk reissues to Indigenous musics mainly buried for decades, so lessons learnt early in your youth would bode well later down the track. So the music itself....who for you still remains your most explosive and reliable half a dozen AUSTRALIAN bands that you can't do without ? and who from OVERSEAS has influenced your day to day and helped shape you as an individual?
Stuart - I'm kinda biased with some of my favourite Australian bands as I've ended up working with them - I was the first Hoodoo Gurus manager, back in the days of Stoneage Romeos which is still one of my favourite albums. Then I moved on to manage Paul Kelly through the Post, Gossip, Under The Sun era. Since 2005 I've been the label and manager for Perry Keyes and I'm notorious for being obsessed by his songwriting. Of the others - the Easybeats changed my life with Friday On My Mind, the first single I ever bought. Radio Birdman remain the most exciting Australian band I've ever seen. And the Dirty Three simply floor me on so many levels. Overseas - I have two words for you - 'Bob' and 'Dylan' - and two more - 'Neil' and 'Young'. And two more - 'Bruce' and 'Springsteen'. And whilst we're on the subject - 'Elvis' and 'Presley' The album that knocked me for six in 2009 was the Girls album called Album. I'm proud to have been a Grateful Dead obsessive for over thirty years. I could go on you know . . .
Scotti - All top notch bands and artists there,(and may have to investigate PK) and we here at STAINED SHEETS/FMR are especially enamoured with the Pre- Dave Faulkner/James Baker combo THE VICTIMS, whose cuts of Hi-Energy Buzzsaw Punk SPUZZ still blow us away to this day and sound as fresh as ever. So we've talked music and what about the written word ? The people who have chalked themselves on your bones the most from Oz and O/S would be....
Stuart - I've always read as much as I've listened. I learnt to write by reading other writers. I guess my favourite writers of all time are Raymond Chandler and Henry Miller - but I could go on for pages. Let's talk music writers. In Australia, Rob Smyth was my first inspiration and remains so. Anthony O'Grady helped teach me the craft of writing in ways I can never fully acknowledge. I'm pretty certain they don't make editors like him anymore. He's one of my best friends and even though I don't always agree with him I'll always read what Clinton Walker has to say. Richard Guilliat is a fine writer - period - and wrote some inspired rock journalism. Both Clinton and I often think that Frank Brunetti (later of Died Pretty)'s piece on Gary Glitter and his gig at Selinas in the early 80s (I was the publicist) which appeared in RAM was one of THE great pieces of rock journalism. The late Annie Burton was an amazing music writer. Robert Forster's criticism sometimes makes me go back and revisit albums I've dismissed - as all good rock writing should. I read and respect Patrick Donovan at the Age and Bernard Zuel at the SMH - but at the risk of offending people there's precious little Australian writing about music these days that can convince me I should hear an album or go see a band.
Overseas I rate all the obvious - Greil Marcus sometimes disappears up his own proverbial but Mystery Train changed my life and the anthology Stranded (and particularly his appendix) did the same - I literally went and found EVERY SINGLE GODDAM RECORD HE RECOMMENDED! I still have the copy where I ticked them off as I heard them. Lester Bangs - attitude, refusal to answer to anyone, Dave Marsh (deeply routed in the history of America - his 1001 Great Singles book is a must read, and ditto his first Springsteen book), Robert Christgau (often too emotionless but equally often great), Nick Tosches (fine, fine writing with occasional lapses into nonsense), Nick Kent is the finest British writer of this or any generation, Jon Landau was as good a writer as he is a manager - and the greatest compliment ever paid to me was Helen Thomas in the 3RRR mag in the early 1980s when she compared me to Ralph J. Gleason - a founder of Rolling Stone, and a beautiful writer about jazz. Peter Guralnick is scholarly without appearing to be, Stanley Booth captures the essence of the music he loves, Robert Gordon on soul, country and Memphis is unbeatable. Do you sense I could go on? And today - every single morning I wake up and read Justin Cage and his blog - Aquariumdrunkard.com is, for me, the best music writing going.
Thanks very much to Stuart Coupe for taking the time to chat with us here
- Article originally appeared in Stained Sheets - Issue 3.1 2010
Well back in 1977 this rag cost one a mere sixty cents ! And for me it's like a snapshot of time, a time capsule not widely distributed, discussed, or dissected and i guess that's just another thing i love about underground music fanzines from this era, the fact that the exist for one, and the fact that i can pore over it...not so much as a museum piece but as a remnant of something real and totally independent held together by two shitty and shabby 30+ year old staples. Subtitled 'This Stage in Time' this Brissy mag was helmed by the mysterious 'Helen' (where are you now?),Ed Kuepper's Brother Wolfgang,(i.e. Wolf Blank) Roxy, Billy Rebel, and Reggie Pure out of the suburb of Corinda. Page 2 has a half page booking ad for the very cool combo THE SURVIVORS, 3 is the intro/manifesto where they 'hope to do for Australia what Sniffin Glue did for the U.K.'... yep fair enuff! Page 4 is a basic run down on the history of The Saints (their debut was at Sherwood Services Club amongst 180 punters of which over three quarters left, leaving only 30 people to watch their set), The Damned and the Sex Pistols. Page 6 is a scribbly mess of texta with about 20 typical releases one would expect (tho' we must remember we are in a position to take it all fer granted and these records at these locations at this time was actually quite something).
Page 7 is a Pistols full page of text, whilst page 8 really fires up with KILLER info on one of Brisbane's least documented late 70's bands THE GRUDGE. Info such as this is golden for future reference & it's inside these kinds of pages only that you'll come across this kinda goop. Raw and gutsy in the same vein as the saints with their first gig at Qld Uni on Oct 16th 1977. A bad audience saw them do it tuff on the nite and a boring old hippy from 4ZZZ gets a serve as a disliker of New Wave. Their 7 song set consisted of 3 originals (a stray cassette anyone?), 2 Saints, one Iggy an the Stooges, and a Sex Pistols song. The lead vocalist is discussed as having 'an unreal deadpan unemotional voice and amazing'. They had a song about Uranium ('Advance Australia Fair'), and one titled 'You really make me puke' (now i really wanna hear that !). They were previously known as SOUR BRUCE and had fellow pals on board watching their back from THE TRASH & THE PATIENTS. Page 9 is a downer article about people getting attacked at punk gigs and the tension and the boredom of being young in the late 70's. Page 10/11 tackle THE DAMNED with ye olde' typewriter being replaced by handwriting and a short Q&A.
Page 12 /13 features more text GOLD with a neat Brisbane scene wrap and mention of The Bad Twists (my first hearing of that band), the previously mentioned bands from page 8 along with the more well known bands like THE SURVIVORS & THE LEFTOVERS (was wondering when they were gonna get a guernsey), and it has fab mini-quotes from both bands.. The Leftovers are interviewed outside Import Store Discreet Records where they talk about a fight between their fans and the Saints fans. They reckon they are 'the best Australian band since the EASYBEATS' & as the int concludes they burn tickets to the local disco...PUNK ROCK ALL THE WAY PAL !. They quote their influences as THE HENCHMEN, HEARTBREAKERS & the RUNNING JUMPING STANDING STILL ( Post - THE MISSING LINKS from 1966 in Melbourne and from all accounts one of our WILDEST groups EVER ! with shitloads of feedback & sweaty live mayhem to accompany each show). They sneer that 'The Saints are boring', 'The Clash are Reggae' and Radio Birdman is heavy mental in disguise...but The Damned are good'. They profess their love of The Stooges but say The Velvet Underground are the true shit and genius.
The Survivors chat about their High School hook ups in a band called TINTIN ABBEY and they discuss their love of Hi-Energy Rock'n'Roll and their dozen song set list along with being highly influenced by THE KINKS, THE WHO, & THE MONKEES. They also mention a recent Sydney trek where they played with 'John Kaines and the Casino' (who would no doubt be of course JOHNNY KANNIS) and 'The Babiez' (Melb's own THE BABEEZ). Page 14 gives up more local info on SAME 13 (name change from 'The Trash' and feat: Wolfgang on Vocals), and more in-depth wraps on THE PATIENTS, both of whom sound well worth hearing! This page concludes with reviews of the Sex Pistols, The Clash & Generation X. The Inside back page is a great two column piece on THE SAINTS where the FATAL label 7" is discussed ('Only 500 were made so if you have one hang onto it it'll be valuable one day and all you farts who threw yours away will realize what Blockheads you are'),and the fanzine finishes up on the back page with more classic 1970's typewriter appeal and small wraps on U.K. bands THE CORTINAS, THE USERS, & THE VIBRATORS. And that is that!
This HAS to be this town's very first Punk Rock Fanzine, as Issue # 1 was released in 1976 and it predated both Bruce Milne & Clinton Walker's involvement in the classic PULP fanzine (which existed for 4 issues 1977-1978). The first thing you notice is that it's oversized , clocking in a whopping 34cm high (that's about 4 cm bigger than a A4 sheet don'tcha know) and it's printed on an old RONEO machine as we're talking Pre-Photocopier here...y'know the purple ink that looks like a rubber stamp effect....Anyway, I've never seen Issue # 1 so let's dissect Issue # 2 and paint a picture of what these local underground music nuts were churning out in late 70's Melbourne & DIY-ING themselves into fanzine royalty. Page 3-6 has a NEW YORK DOLLS hand written history, followed by a MODERN LOVERS wrap with Discog & Cartoons (all of which have faded into unreadaternity over time).After that there is a full page entitled Funhouse which tells us to venture forth to page next for some New Wave Snakes & Ladders ! The next two pages in box form could end you up on such panels as Get a Job as a Junior Clerk in case you don't make it and Find an Uncensored Copy of Kick Out The Jams Motherfuckers or how about You meet an Addict, a Grave Digger & a Dog.... Form a Group or Punch a Wimp Rock Journalist all good harmless fun indeed...Next up is the Singles Review Section where the MONO /ORK 7" of TELEVISION's Little Johnny Jewel is reviewed, followed by the Modern Lovers 'Road Runner' 7",a EDDIE & THE HOT RODS EP, PATTI SMITH 7", & the SEX PISTOLS 'Anarchy in the U.K.' (and what decent fanzine of the day wouldn't be adding this in huh?).
The next 2.5 pages are taken up by a cool RADIO BIRDMAN live review from a show at Martini's where they open with 'Do The Pop' and cut into a set of rip roaring originals along with covers of 'Tv Eye' & Search & Destroy' along with a bit of JAN & DEAN ( 'Surf City') with Deniz Tek dowing his axe and going forth on lead vocals. Rob Younger was also in Mascara Mode and at the tail end of T.V. Eye knocked the mic stand to the floor & writhed around amongst beer and broken glass, freaking out the squares in the process & bringing joy to those who were up for the good times of the Birdman live experience from the get-go. At the business end of the fanzine we have Bruce raving about an old Sun Records 7" ( WARREN SMITH ). Now for me the next two pages are the veritable BEES KNEES of this-ish, as they have managed to publish the Only Ever Interview with one of Melbourne's Beyond Obscure bands who have not been documented anywhere else by anyone since....which is pretty rugged really as their line-up was significant for all sorts of reasons, with ties to bands we all know and love... Yep it's TATROC !!!!!!, or TOOTHO & THE RING OF CONFIDENCE. This band grew out of the fertile Swinburne Community School in 1974 & featured Simon McLean (Tootho), Graham Pitt, Clint Small (and in mid 1975 a Mr. Rowland S. Howard joined on Guitar, Saxophone & vocals with Paul Kelly later taking on Drum duties). So let's look at this lineage here and see what a pioneering little bunch of 70's scruffians we are dealing with...Rowland, Graham & Simon would later end up in The OBSESSIONS, with Clint Small recording a couple of early Au-Go-Go 7"s as well as playing Guitar in the LITTLE MURDERS. Graham Pitt was also in FICTION (feat: Rob Griffiths -Pre -Little Murders), as well as PIERRES WORLD & the late '76 'Party Band' ANTENNAE & THE KIDS with Bruce Milne & the core of THE BABEEZ (Gavin Quinn & Jarryl Wirth ).Rowland S. Howard would of course move onto the YOUNG CHARLATANS (who themselves featured Jeffrey Wegener ( Original SAINTS Drummer, then LAST WORDS & LAUGHING CLOWNS), and into THE BOYS NEXT DOOR and THE BIRTHDAY PARTY etc...TATROC songs included 'Let's Brush Again' ( 'Let's Twist Again'), 'Born To Brush' & other heavy dental music ! They get compared to the VELVETS & THE STOOGES and talk about listening to 'tapes' of their own shit (if anyone is hoarding these let's give 'em up to the public as a community service in 2009 thank you).
So yeh, yet another Melbourne band severely under documented and another piece for the puzzle of Australia's Punk /New Wave Roots'n'Toots that was the fertile breeding ground of the mid/ late 1970's scene (however fragmented and disjointed it may of been). The rest of this fanzine takes in a Crossword and a quickie SAINTS Review of '(I'm) Stranded ' (the EMI reish, not the FATAL orig, but maybe that got some pen time in Issue # 1 ?),and that's about that. Next Issue we move on up to Brisbane and take a look at Wolfgang Kuepper & Co's 1977 first offering of THE RAT, but until then dig what's here and in the now and watch for some kind of fandom listing of these issues in 30 years or so as the wheel turns and the midnight oil burns. And yes, this is PRINT, you can hold it, keep it, smell it, flick it, it ain't a USB stick nor a scratchy CD-R, with thumbnails... it exists as nature intended... it comes from trees (and let's think Pine plantation over yer classic ye olde Tassie Hardwood shall we...) this is a fanzine, a 30 plus year update to the world of Plastered Press and just like those smudgy purple pages these sheets will continue to be stained.
As promised last-ish, we journey back in time to Melbourne circa 1982 when the first edition of this local fanzine was produced. Noticeable straight up for it’s hand texta coloured sleeve, this was put together by three ladies (for a welcome change), Anita Del Medico, Sandra Rigon, & Kelly Flynn.
It’s one of those fanzines which drives me batty to a degree, as I have an inherent dislike to the underground press produced from the late 70’s to the early 80’s which have each left hand side page blank ! Coming from one whose fanzine experiences lived & fried by the rule of ‘packed in info, font reduction & treating each page as a work unto itself, seeing each flip come up as white nothingness sends shivers down my spine... BUT the benefit of the doubt is of course given as at least they published it & got it out there .Which is more than no doubt many others from this time who talked the talk but never delivered the goods at the days ends, which is why there is scant reference really from this time of fanzines from the early 80’s, maybe a dozen at best ?..Not good enough I’m afraid but we’ll take what we can get & move forward.
Named after the famous London U.K. market on Portobello Road (this Road itself has been referenced numerous times in song by everyone from Blur to Caetano Veloso) and in existence since the early 1900’s, it sure can lay claim to being famous…The Intro to our lil’ PM rag name checks Sniffin’ Glue, Ripped & Torn & Alternative Ulster followed by a quote from Joe Strummer from the Oz music paper RAM (Rock Australia Magazine) from Feb 26 1981 about DIY and the importance of time & being able to appreciate that it ain’t forever. The page finishes with two ads, one from important Book/Record shop Gaumont @ 123 Little Collins (in which future Au-Go-Go staffer/From the Vault magazine creator / Vicious Sloth Records proprietor Glenn Terry spent his earlier youth behind it’s counter, and is now part of the GRAND HYATT hotel complex, along with an ad for Gibbys Food shop at 263 Little Collins which is now a clothes shop outlet area.
Page 2 bags out new fanzine Editorial Chaos and it’s Corporate Body interview for it’s apparent dodgy politics and what not, with repro’d SLF lyrics to back up their claim. Page 3 features 7 examples of Melb Punk Street Graffiti of the day (all U,K, bands and U.K. inspired of course). Page 4 is a James Dean fan piece, Page 5 are quite detailed reviews on Angelic Upstarts and the V/A: Strength Through Oi ! comp. Page 6 is their ‘Alternative Charts’ feat: lots of U.K. listings of faves of the day, along with a 3PBS-FM Pure Punk Show chart from DJ Stephen Swirgoski. Seven is a full page wrap on the Rude Boy film which was getting a screening at the fab Valhalla Cinema. Eight is an update on previously mentioned Corporate Body.
With brief ‘where are they now’ pieces on each member as the band had imploded and members had moved onto other projects (and history states that some of these ‘other projects’ were THE ZORROS, WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING OLYMPIC SIDEBURNS etc..).Page 9-11 is a three page chat with the above mentioned radio cat from PBS but is a tad dull as he’s doing the stations main Punk show of the day but says that he doesn’t go out and see any bands live !! (sounds like me circa 2009) but loves punk...well one would of thought that seeing Punk Bands in Melbourne in 1982-1983 would of still been pretty damn ok & sounds like he’s missing out on what would of then been the heartbeat of the local scene as it’s at a time when it wasn’t commercialized to the point that we see now & still held an edge of grit & grime. But the same could be written in 20 years time about people seeing killer bands in 2009 -2010 & how there were still many bands playing locally who existed well under the radar of many eyes and ears & who knew how to make a fine ruckus. There is some ok quotes in this interview all the same and a few decent O bands get name checked such as PUBLIC NUISANCE, CORPORATE BODY, THE ZORROS, THE SICK THINGS, THE MESS and FISH. Now I’m familiar with all them bar fish and have no fucking idea who they were or if they were any good or not (anyone care to enlighten us?). The back page is wasted on crappy handwriting (10 lines on a whole A4) & that is that.
Issue # 2 is a funny ol looking beast & perhaps the longest fanzine I’ve seen as it measures thirty six cm instead of your regular 30 which makes it look quite odd. I like Issue # 2 as it prints on both sides of every sheet & is full of ye olde’ typewriter text and letraset which I dig looking at and can appreciate, having used both before electric typewriters specifically for these purposes & it really does make you feel like you’re creating something as you get sore fingers & spend ages scribbling thru Letraset sheets and underlining stuff to balance your text etc.. We kick off page 2 with a decent intro, repro’d in part here : ‘There is such a lack of cohesion in the so-called musical factions at the moment, that one wonders –is there a scene at all ?. If it’s not the Rockabilly Rebels it’s the Oi ! Boys or Rude boys or Modrockers or the Arty-Intellectuals or whatever’ Aah that old chestnut of scene politics huh…labels and sub-genres and rah rah rah...the same shit we’ve been hearing since the late 70’s BOYS NEXT DOOR crowd V the straight up Rock’n’Roll crowd…they had the exact same crap to contend with…
Pages 3 & 4 are some solid letters which have streamed in since Issue # 1, which is great to see that people have been set into gear & put pen to paper such as ‘Bad Ronald’ who wants more local content as well as something on JELLO BIAFRA. The reply is cool as it makes mention of the formation of one of Melbourne’s best Psychobilly Bands , the mighty CORPSE GRINDERS & their monikers before they settled on that handle (THE PLEBCATS & JETT GUNGE & THE MUDMEN, both names of which I myself hadn’t heard bandied around before. The next letter is a biggie from ‘Anarchy & Peace’ & he or she kicks off by calling the PBS bloke from Issue #1 a FUCKWIT as they say how in friggin’ hell can THE ZORROS be called punk ? And this paragraph gem : "Also his comment which said that Punk today is now Hippies with spiked hair, what fucken shit ! Punk now has 100% more relevance than it did in ‘76/77. Look at the state of the world now and then, it hasn’t gotten any better, it’s got worse. Punk bands now like CRASS (altho’ they were around then), FLUX OF PINK INDIANS, DEAD KENNEDYS, POISON GIRLS etc.. are far better than any ‘76/77 punk band. Bands like THE EXPLOITED make me sick. Wattie thinks that just because he’s got a Mohican he’s a punk. They EXPLOIT punk music! They give themselves away by doing things like playing 'Top of the Pops’...how fucked for a band who is supposed to be anti-system. I don’t know how anybody could be conned by them."
Now the next letter is kinda gold for me as it’s from a young grasshopper called KING PUNK who, as it turns out is TEN YEAR OLD TIM HEMENSLEY!
And this is Pure Tim as you can see that even at such an incredibly young age here he is writing in to voice his opinions and better than that, actually finding the fanzine in the first place ! That is genius & we see how he became so involved (by being an outsider in an outsider scene) & went onto do his own shit , beginning with the great ROYAL FLUSH (of whom you can hear 2 tracks from on the Melbourne 1984 compilation EAT YOUR HEAD which is such a brill document from manic punk (like CIVIL DISSIDENT), to prime era VICIOUS CIRCLE to scuzz DIY punk (END RESULT) to jokey demented drunk punk ( I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVY) to Popped out Punk (CHARRED REMAINS) to memorable Punk (THE BODIES featuring DAVE THOMAS who, many years later would play in BORED! With Tim), to beefcake suburban punk (but good) like PERMANENT DAMAGE and Goth tinged spuzz under appreciated punk (MAD FLOWERS) & more excellent tracks from SCUM & MURDER MURDER SUICIDE..it really is one of the best Aussie Punk compilations ever put forth).
‘King Punk’ states : I saw your zine at the Comic Shop and bought it (for 60c you can’t miss). I was pleased to find it opened to different & interesting things (thought the page on CORPORATE BODY was good & enjoyed the PBS interview). But now I’d just like to tell you about me and my activities. I’m one of the youngest punk rockers in the world –I’m 10 & somehow am alienated from the Punk scene. The only gigs I ever go to are either afternoon gigs by bands like 2D (at ‘The Spotted Dog’) & Afri-Jah (Reggae) or Shitty F.E.I.P. (although I saw THE EDITIONS at the St Kilda Festival). Even the Pure Punk Show got in on the act and said (on air) that I couldn’t join the SEX PISTOLS appreciation club because I was ‘Too Young”. I know they have reasons for it, but I was so pissed off with the “Stupid Young Kid” attitude that I have even criticised them in my fanzine. I feel I’m pretty out of everything, so I started my own scene and formed a band called ROYAL FLUSH. Hopefully we’ll get better in the future. We do songs such as 'Society Blues', 'Coppers round the Corner', “'Angel Dust', 'Fuckin’ Punk' etc.. Apart from that if you’d like to publish my review of Oi –the Album you will find it in here. Yours King Punk
How good is that ? I’ve said things like before in my tributes to Tim that one has to remember...the guy was TEN YEARS OLD !!! and he’s penning coherent, smart letters discussing live band shows, punk radio, fanzines, and rehearsing punk bands ! It’s quite incredible and for the PBS guy to leave him out of the Pistols appreciation club…man what a shitty thing to do to a Ten Year Old with wide eyed excitement, passion and attitude !!!! He should have been encouraged every single step of the way, but as it turned out, and as he says.. it’s like well fuck you, you don’t wanna support and encourage me, I’ll start my own fucking scene !!!! Just fantastic & as I say...pure Tim Hemmo, he remains such a big inspiration to me and this is yet another cool little contribution from him which adds another piece to the puzzle of his life & broad involvement to Melbourne’s Underground music.
Page 5-6 of Issue #2 is a very odd and uninformative attempted interview with the BOOTBOYS, 7 is a full page on Marilyn Monroe, page 8 is a MOD CHASE with the Corpse Grinders lads chasing down Scooter Mods through the streets of Carlton (with accompanying Cartoon), Nine is 2 film Reviews (Reds and Punk Rock), 10-11 is a Karl Marx piece with a funny Missing Link ad, whilst 12-13 is a good old fashioned Crossword with local and overseas content of the day. 14 continues the PBS interview, whilst page 15 is a great look in to Melbourne Live bands playing, with quite a few that I’d never heard of (and I like to be obsessive about this kinda thing), such as FOREIN ACCENT, ODIOUS COMPARISON ( who do a RUTS cover on this nite), along with some Mod stuff (5:15), some Oi ! (BOOTBOYS), some Ska (OFFBEATS /NO NONSENSE) along with local faves CORPORATE BODY (again).
The back page is a wrap on the last ZORROS show (8/7/82) and Tim’s review of ‘Oi The Album’, which is hard to read as the typed text has kinda faded out a tad. But on the whole this Second issue of PORTOBELLO MARKET is a real treat and has a real spark to it. Whether there exists anymore after this I am unsure, so we shall see.
- This article originally appeared in Stained Sheets Fanzine 3.2