Mars Needs Guitars! was iconic Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n 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...

 group Hoodoo Gurus

Hoodoo Gurus

Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman , Mark Kingsmill , and Brad Shepherd...

' second album. The title is a reference to the 1967 science fiction film

Science fiction film

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...

, Mars Needs Women

Mars Needs Women

Mars Needs Women is an American International Pictures made for TV science fiction film filmed in 1966 and released in 1967 which features Tommy Kirk, Yvonne Craig, and Byron Lord. it was shot during a two week period in Houston and Dallas, Texas...

. Singles from the album were "Bittersweet

Bittersweet (Hoodoo Gurus song)

"Bittersweet" was a single by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus which reached #10 on the Melbourne Record Charts. It was released on Big Time Records in June, 1985; and was written by Dave Faulkner....

" (1985) (reached #10 on Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 Record Charts), "Like Wow – Wipeout" (1985, #28), "Death Defying

Death Defying

"Death Defying" was a single by iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released on Big Time Records in February, 1986; and was written by Dave Faulkner. "Turkey Dinner" , was also written by Faulkner....

" (1986) and "Poison Pen

Poison Pen (song)

"Poison Pen" was a single by iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released on Big Time Records in September, 1986; and was written by Dave Faulkner....

" (1986). Mars Needs Guitars! reached No. 140 on the American Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 album charts in 1986.

The title track, "Mars Needs Guitars" (also B side of "Bittersweet" single), was written by all five Gurus and lead vocals were by Brad Shepherd

Brad Shepherd

Brad Shepherd is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially the Hoodoo Gurus...

. All other tracks were written and featured lead vocals by Dave Faulkner

Dave Faulkner (musician)

Dave Faulkner is an Australian rock musician who also performed as Dave Flick. Faulkner is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist; he has performed with several bands, but is best known as a member of Hoodoo Gurus...

. Hayride to Hell

Hayride to Hell

Hayride to Hell is a 1995 Australian short subject directed and written by Kimble Rendall. It tells the story of salesman George Weygate, who comes across a girl begging for his help. Only shown in late night art houses, the film has never been widely released...

(1995) is a short film written and directed by former Gurus member Kimble Rendall

Kimble Rendall

Kimble Rendall is an Australian director, musician and writer mostly known for his Second unit direction of Matrix Reloaded , Matrix Revolutions , I, Robot , Casanova and Ghost Rider...

.

"When we commenced the sessions for Mars Needs Guitars! we had a brand new drummer, Mark Kingsmill who altered our lives forever with his distinctive explosive style." - Dave Faulkner.

The song "Bittersweet" was used in the video game MVP Baseball 2004.

The album was re-released by EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 on the 22 February 2005 with five bonus tracks, a fold out poster and liner tracks by Wally Kempton (Even

Even (band)

Even are an Australian indie rock three-piece fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Ashley Naylor, with Matthew Cotter on drums and Wally Kempton on bass and backing vocals...

/The Meanies

The Meanies

The Meanies are an indie Australian punk rock band, formed in 1989. The current band members include Link Meanie , Ringo Meanie and Wally Meanie . The Meanies had a hiatus in the mid-late 1990s, but began performing again in 1998...

). Three of the bonus tracks (13 to 15) were recorded live at Selina's, 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...

, in 1986. In October 2010, it was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums

100 Best Australian Albums

100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...

, with their previous album, Stoneage Romeos

Stoneage Romeos

Stoneage Romeos was iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus' first album and saw them receive record sales to complement their already strong reputation for live performances. The album name is from a Three Stooges short film...

at No. 28.

Original release

All written tracks by Faulkner unless otherwise indicated.

1. "Bittersweet
   Bittersweet (Hoodoo Gurus song)
   "Bittersweet" was a single by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus which reached #10 on the Melbourne Record Charts. It was released on Big Time Records in June, 1985; and was written by Dave Faulkner....
   
   " – 3:44
2. "Poison Pen
   Poison Pen (song)
   "Poison Pen" was a single by iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released on Big Time Records in September, 1986; and was written by Dave Faulkner....
   
   " – 4:09
3. "In the Wild" – 3:07
4. "Death Defying
   Death Defying
   "Death Defying" was a single by iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released on Big Time Records in February, 1986; and was written by Dave Faulkner. "Turkey Dinner" , was also written by Faulkner....
   
   " – 3:21
5. "Like Wow – Wipeout" – 3:09
6. "Hayride to Hell" – 3:15
7. "Show Some Emotion" – 2:56
8. "Other Side of Paradise" – 3:31
9. "Mars Needs Guitars" (James Baker
   James Baker (musician)
   James Baker is a rock musician from Perth, Western Australia. He has drummed with, and was instrumental in the founding of several influential Australian bands including The Scientists, Le Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon, and The Dubrovniks.-Early days:Baker has named Ronnie Bond of The Troggs as...
   
   , Clyde Bramley, Faulkner, Mark Kingsmill, Brad Shepherd
   Brad Shepherd
   Brad Shepherd is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially the Hoodoo Gurus...
   
   ) – 2:52
10. "She" – 3:28

2005 re-release

Songwriters same as above, with additional tracks by Faulkner unless indicated.

1. "Bittersweet
   Bittersweet (Hoodoo Gurus song)
   "Bittersweet" was a single by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus which reached #10 on the Melbourne Record Charts. It was released on Big Time Records in June, 1985; and was written by Dave Faulkner....
   
   " – 3:44
2. "Poison Pen
   Poison Pen (song)
   "Poison Pen" was a single by iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released on Big Time Records in September, 1986; and was written by Dave Faulkner....
   
   " – 4:09
3. "In the Wild" – 3:07
4. "Death Defying
   Death Defying
   "Death Defying" was a single by iconic Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released on Big Time Records in February, 1986; and was written by Dave Faulkner. "Turkey Dinner" , was also written by Faulkner....
   
   " – 3:21
5. "Like Wow – Wipeout" – 3:09
6. "Hayride to Hell" – 3:15
7. "Show Some Emotion" – 2:56
8. "Other Side of Paradise" – 3:31
9. "Mars Needs Guitars" – 2:52
10. "She" – 3:28
11. "Bring the Hoodoo Down" - 2:54
12. "Turkey Dinner" - 4:14
13. "Death Ship" (live) (Faulkner, Roddy Radalj
    Roddy Radalj
    Roddy Radalj is a rock musician and singer-songwriter who grew up in Perth, Western Australia...
    
    , Alan Sharples) - 2:42
14. "In the Wild" (live) - 3:29
15. "Teenage Head" (live) (Cyril Jordan, Roy Loney) - 3:02

Hoodoo Gurus

• Clyde Bramley — bass, backing vocals
• Dave Faulkner
  Dave Faulkner (musician)
  Dave Faulkner is an Australian rock musician who also performed as Dave Flick. Faulkner is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist; he has performed with several bands, but is best known as a member of Hoodoo Gurus...
  
   — lead vocals (except track 9), guitar, keyboards
• Mark Kingsmill — drums, cymbals
• Brad Shepherd
  Brad Shepherd
  Brad Shepherd is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially the Hoodoo Gurus...
  
  — lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (track 9), harmonica (mouth harp)

Additional credits

• John Bee — Engineer
• Richard Allan — Illustrations
• Charles Fisher — Producer (except track 11)
• Don Bartley — Mastering (remastering)
• Hoodoo Gurus — producer (track 11)