Electric Pandas
Encyclopedia
Electric Pandas were an Australian pop
-rock
band, fronted by vocalist, guitar
ist and songwriter
Lin Buckfield
, which formed in Sydney in 1983. Fellow founders were Warren Slater on bass guitar
, Mark Stinson on drums
and Tim Walter on guitar. Their first release was the single "Big Girls" in 1984 on Regular Records, which peaked into the Top 10 on the Sydney charts. It was followed up by an EP
, Let's Gamble. Electric Panda's only album Point Blank was released in September 1985, which peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Albums Chart. After Electric Pandas disbanded in 1987, Buckfield worked in television, eventually on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
's Four Corners from 2000.
on vocals and guitar, Tim 'Pretty Boy' Walter on guitar, Warren Slater on bass guitar and Mark 'Hips' Stinson on drums. Buckfield came up with the name as a reference to the English punk rock
outfit Exotic Pandas. Buckfield had known that band whilst living in the United Kingdom
during the late 1970s, and drew upon their sound to a degree Electric Panda’s early work.
The band were signed to the Regular Records label and their debut single, "Big Girls", written by Buckfield, was released in April 1984. The track was featured on commercial radio play lists and music commentator, Molly Meldrum, raved about Electric Pandas on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC) pop music show Countdown. "Big Girls" reached No. 8 in Sydney by May, and peaked at No. 18 on the Kent Music Report
for Australian singles charts by mid-year. A relentless touring schedule led up to the release of Electric Pandas' debut EP
, Let's Gamble, in December, 1984. The EP peaked at No. 81 on national charts. Prior to entering the studio to record their debut album, the band underwent significant changes with an entirely new line-up consisting of Buckfield, Craig Wacholz (Dee Minor and the Dischords), Marcel Chaloupka (Smith, Moving Parts), and Phillip Campbell on drums. Campbell and Wacholz both finished off recording tracks for the album with producer Charles Fisher
in Sydney. Prior to the album's release Buckfield issued a duet single, "R.O.C.K." / "Under My Thumb", with James Reyne
(Australian Crawl
) for the Freestyle label in April 1985, which peaked at No. 44 on the charts. The first single from the album, "Missing Me" was released in July, 1985 and reached No. 41 on the charts. In July 1985, Electric Pandas performed two of their hit songs, "Missing Me" and "Let's Gamble", for the Oz for Africa
concert (part of the global Live Aid
program). It was broadcast in Australia (on both Seven Network
and Nine Network
) and on MTV
in the US.
Electric Pandas released their debut album, Point Blank, in September 1985, which peaked at No. 22 on the Australian charts in November. "Italian Boys" was issued as the second single, but only reached No. 90. The line-up continued to change with Brad Holmes replacing Campbell, Neil McDonald replacing Chaplouka on bass guitar and the addition of Charlie Chan on keyboards expanding Electric Pandas to a quintet.
The new line-up filmed videos, guest-hosted an episode of Countdown, and toured Australia. However, they did not release any new material although they recorded an ad for Coca Cola in 1985. The jingle - concurrent with the "Coke is It!" campaign - was an English-language, rock-music remake of the Brazilian song "Águas de Março," and was used for TV spots and on RCA
/Columbia Pictures
/Hoyts
videos such as Ghostbusters
.
Electric Pandas disbanded in April 1987. Buckfield and Wacholz, formed indie band F.O.O.D with former Dee Minor and the Dischords bass player Spole. F.O.O.D released a self titled EP on Shock Records and then Burckfield formed another band, Happy House. They recorded another Fischer-produced EP, Passion, with the single "Whatuwannadothatfor" released whjich gained support from 2JJJ but did not achieve mainstream chart success. Buckfield and Wacholz continued their song writing partnership along with touring Happy House both around Australia and across the UK, Europe and North America.
Buckfield became a current affairs researcher with Australia’s Nine Network
, then a television reporter, eventually working on ABC-TV’s Four Corners. She played in another band called MisChalin, and then in a Sydney band, Bully Girls, with Wacholz joining on guitar for live performances.
Electric Pandas' keyboard player Charlie Chan signed as an artist with Sony Classical.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band, fronted by vocalist, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Lin Buckfield
Lin Buckfield
Linda Mary Buckfield is an Australian television producer, journalist and musician. Buckfield was lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for pop-rock group Electric Pandas during 1983–1987. Buckfield's television work commenced in 1990, she has won five Walkley Awards.-Music:Buckfield was the...
, which formed in Sydney in 1983. Fellow founders were Warren Slater on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Mark Stinson on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and Tim Walter on guitar. Their first release was the single "Big Girls" in 1984 on Regular Records, which peaked into the Top 10 on the Sydney charts. It was followed up by an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Let's Gamble. Electric Panda's only album Point Blank was released in September 1985, which peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Albums Chart. After Electric Pandas disbanded in 1987, Buckfield worked in television, eventually on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's Four Corners from 2000.
Biography
Electric Pandas were formed in Sydney in 1983 and comprised Lin BuckfieldLin Buckfield
Linda Mary Buckfield is an Australian television producer, journalist and musician. Buckfield was lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for pop-rock group Electric Pandas during 1983–1987. Buckfield's television work commenced in 1990, she has won five Walkley Awards.-Music:Buckfield was the...
on vocals and guitar, Tim 'Pretty Boy' Walter on guitar, Warren Slater on bass guitar and Mark 'Hips' Stinson on drums. Buckfield came up with the name as a reference to the English punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
outfit Exotic Pandas. Buckfield had known that band whilst living in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during the late 1970s, and drew upon their sound to a degree Electric Panda’s early work.
The band were signed to the Regular Records label and their debut single, "Big Girls", written by Buckfield, was released in April 1984. The track was featured on commercial radio play lists and music commentator, Molly Meldrum, raved about Electric Pandas on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC) pop music show Countdown. "Big Girls" reached No. 8 in Sydney by May, and peaked at No. 18 on the Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
for Australian singles charts by mid-year. A relentless touring schedule led up to the release of Electric Pandas' debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Let's Gamble, in December, 1984. The EP peaked at No. 81 on national charts. Prior to entering the studio to record their debut album, the band underwent significant changes with an entirely new line-up consisting of Buckfield, Craig Wacholz (Dee Minor and the Dischords), Marcel Chaloupka (Smith, Moving Parts), and Phillip Campbell on drums. Campbell and Wacholz both finished off recording tracks for the album with producer Charles Fisher
Charles Fisher (producer)
Charles Fisher is an Australian record producer. Often referred to as the song doctor. He is widely known as the producer of Savage Garden's eponymous album which yielded 10 ARIAs in 1997. "I Want You", a single from the aforementioned album also won a Channel V award in India...
in Sydney. Prior to the album's release Buckfield issued a duet single, "R.O.C.K." / "Under My Thumb", with James Reyne
James Reyne
James Reyne is an Australian rock musician and singer/songwriter both as a member of the iconic 1980s band Australian Crawl and solo work.. He is a successful singer/ songwriter and prolific artist...
(Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne , Brad Robinson , Paul Williams , Simon Binks and David Reyne in 1978. David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough...
) for the Freestyle label in April 1985, which peaked at No. 44 on the charts. The first single from the album, "Missing Me" was released in July, 1985 and reached No. 41 on the charts. In July 1985, Electric Pandas performed two of their hit songs, "Missing Me" and "Let's Gamble", for the Oz for Africa
Oz for Africa
Oz for Africa was an Australian concert held on 13 July 1985 at the Sydney Sports and Entertainment Centre. It was broadcast locally and internationally as part of the worldwide Live Aid performances to raise money for famine relief in Africa. The concert featured 17 bands performing some of their...
concert (part of the global Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
program). It was broadcast in Australia (on both Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
and Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
) and on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in the US.
Electric Pandas released their debut album, Point Blank, in September 1985, which peaked at No. 22 on the Australian charts in November. "Italian Boys" was issued as the second single, but only reached No. 90. The line-up continued to change with Brad Holmes replacing Campbell, Neil McDonald replacing Chaplouka on bass guitar and the addition of Charlie Chan on keyboards expanding Electric Pandas to a quintet.
The new line-up filmed videos, guest-hosted an episode of Countdown, and toured Australia. However, they did not release any new material although they recorded an ad for Coca Cola in 1985. The jingle - concurrent with the "Coke is It!" campaign - was an English-language, rock-music remake of the Brazilian song "Águas de Março," and was used for TV spots and on RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
/Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
/Hoyts
Hoyts
The Hoyts Group is an Australian company consisting of Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Distribution and Val Morgan.Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand cinema complexes; making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the...
videos such as Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
.
Electric Pandas disbanded in April 1987. Buckfield and Wacholz, formed indie band F.O.O.D with former Dee Minor and the Dischords bass player Spole. F.O.O.D released a self titled EP on Shock Records and then Burckfield formed another band, Happy House. They recorded another Fischer-produced EP, Passion, with the single "Whatuwannadothatfor" released whjich gained support from 2JJJ but did not achieve mainstream chart success. Buckfield and Wacholz continued their song writing partnership along with touring Happy House both around Australia and across the UK, Europe and North America.
Buckfield became a current affairs researcher with Australia’s Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, then a television reporter, eventually working on ABC-TV’s Four Corners. She played in another band called MisChalin, and then in a Sydney band, Bully Girls, with Wacholz joining on guitar for live performances.
Electric Pandas' keyboard player Charlie Chan signed as an artist with Sony Classical.
Members
- Lin BuckfieldLin BuckfieldLinda Mary Buckfield is an Australian television producer, journalist and musician. Buckfield was lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for pop-rock group Electric Pandas during 1983–1987. Buckfield's television work commenced in 1990, she has won five Walkley Awards.-Music:Buckfield was the...
– vocals, guitar (1983–1987) - Warren Slater – bass (1983–1984)
- Mark Stinson – drums (1983–1984)
- Tim Walter – guitar (1983–1984)
- Phillip Campbell – drums (1985–1986)
- Marcel Chaloupka – bass (1985–1986)
- Craig Karl Wacholz – guitar (1985–1987)
- Charlie Chan – keyboards (1986–1987)
- Brad Holmes – drums (1986–1987)
- Neil McDonald – bass (1986–1987)
Albums/EPs
- Let's Gamble – Regular (December 1984) AUS No. 81
- Point Blank – Regular (September 1985) AUS No. 22
Singles
- "Big Girls"/"TV Dogs" – Regular (April 1984) AUS No. 18
- "Missing Me"/"20 Revolutionaries" – Regular (July 1985) AUS No. 41
- "Italian Boys"/"Johnny" – Regular (October 1985) AUS No. 90