Exploding White Mice
Encyclopedia
Exploding White Mice were a punk-pop band from Adelaide, Australia in the 1980s.
Their name was taken from a scene in the film Rock 'n' Roll High School
, in which a laboratory mouse spontaneously explodes upon being exposed to the music of The Ramones, the band's foremost influence. Other major influences include Radio Birdman
.
Exploding White Mice got its start in 1983 in Adelaide when Paul Gilchrist (vocals) played a one-off show as a cover band
with Andy MacQueen (bass), Gerry Barrett (guitar) and Craig Rodda (drums) at a party. It was Paul's first band; Andy had previously been in the bands The Deviants and the Crunch Pets, and Craig drummed for the Screaming Believers. The show went well enough that the group decided to play together regularly. One of these shows was attended by Giles Barrow. He ended up joining the group on rhythm guitar. In 1984 they began playing regularly in Adelaide at the Cathedral Hotel; Gerry left near year's end and was replaced by former Spitfire and Tombstone Shadow member Jeff Stephens.
At this point in the group's history, they were primarily still a cover band, but soon after began working on originals. After adding former drummer of Zippy & the Coneheads, David Bunney, the group released an EP, 1985's A Nest of Vipers, on Australia's Greasy Pop Records. Sydney
rock publication RAM named the album the best Australian record of the year in 1986. The record saw release in the US on Bigtime Records, under the name In the Nest of Vipers, but despite selling several thousand copies there, the group received no royalties because Bigtime went out of business soon after. 1986 and 1987 saw the group touring regularly in major Australian cities and putting out 7" singles, and in 1988 they readied their debut LP, Brute Force and Ignorance, which had been recorded and engineered by Cran Wilton at Soundworks Studios in Kent Town Adelaide. Shortly before the release of the record, Giles Barrow left the group and was replaced by Dave Mason, formerly of Primevils, and in 1989 Jack Jacomos replaced Dave in turn.
In 1990 the group toured Europe and released a half-studio, half-live self-titled LP on Normal Records. Shortly after, Gilchrist left the group and Jeff Stephens took over on lead vocals; In the summer of 1991 they began recording again at Soundworks Studios. However, when the Greasy Pop label went out of business that year, they could not find a local distributor for the album, and ended up releasing the record on Normal Records in Germany and NKVD Records in the United States. David's brother Andrew Bunney ((Zippy and the) Coneheads and later Ramonettes) joined on rhythm guitar. The group's final release was 1994's We Walk Alone, on Au Go-Go, Lucky Records (US), Subway (Europe) and 12” LP Rock & Roll Inc 008 (Spain). In 1996 they toured Europe with German band, The Richies.
Their name was taken from a scene in the film Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rock 'n' Roll High School is a 1979 musical comedy film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Allan Arkush, and featuring the Ramones.The film starred P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, and Clint Howard...
, in which a laboratory mouse spontaneously explodes upon being exposed to the music of The Ramones, the band's foremost influence. Other major influences include Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia along with The Saints. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974...
.
Exploding White Mice got its start in 1983 in Adelaide when Paul Gilchrist (vocals) played a one-off show as a cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
with Andy MacQueen (bass), Gerry Barrett (guitar) and Craig Rodda (drums) at a party. It was Paul's first band; Andy had previously been in the bands The Deviants and the Crunch Pets, and Craig drummed for the Screaming Believers. The show went well enough that the group decided to play together regularly. One of these shows was attended by Giles Barrow. He ended up joining the group on rhythm guitar. In 1984 they began playing regularly in Adelaide at the Cathedral Hotel; Gerry left near year's end and was replaced by former Spitfire and Tombstone Shadow member Jeff Stephens.
At this point in the group's history, they were primarily still a cover band, but soon after began working on originals. After adding former drummer of Zippy & the Coneheads, David Bunney, the group released an EP, 1985's A Nest of Vipers, on Australia's Greasy Pop Records. Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
rock publication RAM named the album the best Australian record of the year in 1986. The record saw release in the US on Bigtime Records, under the name In the Nest of Vipers, but despite selling several thousand copies there, the group received no royalties because Bigtime went out of business soon after. 1986 and 1987 saw the group touring regularly in major Australian cities and putting out 7" singles, and in 1988 they readied their debut LP, Brute Force and Ignorance, which had been recorded and engineered by Cran Wilton at Soundworks Studios in Kent Town Adelaide. Shortly before the release of the record, Giles Barrow left the group and was replaced by Dave Mason, formerly of Primevils, and in 1989 Jack Jacomos replaced Dave in turn.
In 1990 the group toured Europe and released a half-studio, half-live self-titled LP on Normal Records. Shortly after, Gilchrist left the group and Jeff Stephens took over on lead vocals; In the summer of 1991 they began recording again at Soundworks Studios. However, when the Greasy Pop label went out of business that year, they could not find a local distributor for the album, and ended up releasing the record on Normal Records in Germany and NKVD Records in the United States. David's brother Andrew Bunney ((Zippy and the) Coneheads and later Ramonettes) joined on rhythm guitar. The group's final release was 1994's We Walk Alone, on Au Go-Go, Lucky Records (US), Subway (Europe) and 12” LP Rock & Roll Inc 008 (Spain). In 1996 they toured Europe with German band, The Richies.
Discography
- A Nest of Vipers (1985)
- "Blaze of Glory" b/w He's Gonna Step on You Again (7" single, 1987)
- "Fear (Late At Night)" b/w "Without Warning" (7" single, 1988)
- Brute Force and Ignorance (1988)
- "Make It" b/w "Ain't It Sad" (7" single, 1989)
- "I Just Want My Fun" b/w "First Time Is The Best Time" & "Do The Crunch" (7" single, 1990)
- Exploding White Mice (1990)
- Collateral Damage (1992)
- We Walk Alone (1994)
- Prepare to Die b/w 51st State / Zero (7" single 1996)