Screaming Tribesmen
Encyclopedia
The Screaming Tribesmen was a band formed in Brisbane
by Mick Medew
, John Hartley & Murray Shepherd. After their I Don't Wanna Know
EP and a string of successful singles, including "A Stand Alone" and their first hit, "Igloo" which was penned by Medew and Died Pretty
frontman Ron Peno, the band moved base to Sydney, home of their label Citadel Records
.
After relocation to Sydney
, and a number of line-up changes the band settled on its most successful lineup of Medew, ex-Radio Birdman
& The Hitmen
guitarist Chris Masuak
, bass player Bob Wackley & drummer Warwick Fraser (ex-Feather
& Hoi Polloi
) who replaced Michael Charles after the recording of the Date With A Vampyre EP.
The Vampyre EP reigned at the top of the Australian independent charts for over 40 weeks, while the band toured constantly in support. The follow-up Top of the Town EP released on the boutique Rattlesnake Records label saw a change in direction for the band as it morphed into the sound of their first full length release Bones and Flowers.
The band toured the US on the strength of the album and at home they enjoyed a run of Australian Alternative #1 hits as well as gaining Stateside attention with regular airplay on the US College Radio circuit. Their 1988 single "I've Got a Feeling" featured heavily on US MTV's 120 Minutes, hitting #1 on the KROQ charts in LA and #7 on Billboard's modern rock chart.
Internal disputes after their US successful tour saw the lineup dissolve after a performance in front of 200,000 people at Sydney's Bondi Beach at a protest concert, 'Stop the Ocean Pollution'. Medew formed a new lineup featuring members of Melbourne band Radio Luxembourg, Jeff Silver and Ritchie Hine and former Kings of the Sun
guitarist Glenn Morris.
This line-up released two albums, a collection of covers "Take Cover" and "Blood Lust". Morris departed and was replaced by Brian Mann, while Ritchie Hine was replace by Celibate Rifles sticksman Paul Larsen.
Mick Medew
continued to tour, write and record with various line-ups until 1992, when he retired the name, re-emerging after a decade long hiatus as Mick Medew and the Rumours featuring ex-Screaming Tribesmen and Lost Boys Chris Dixon and Ash Geary, with bass player Paul Hawker.
In January 2011 Medew performed a set of Screaming Tribesmen songs in Sydney with former guitarist and songwriting partner Chris Masuak
.
In June 2011 it was announced the "Bones and Flowers" era line-up of Medew, Masuak, Wackley and Fraser would reform for a series of shows on the east coast of Australia beginning with The Gathering Festival in Brisbane on 17 September.
The band subsequently announced shows in Melbourne (23 September) and Sydney (24 and 25 September) on the back of CD re-issues of "Date With a Vampyre"/"Top of the Town" and "Bones And Flowers" through Australian label Grown Up Wrong.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
by Mick Medew
Mick Medew
Robert Michael "Mick" Medew is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted Screaming Tribesmen, which formed in Brisbane in 1981. Medew has written or co-written a number of independent hits, "Igloo", "Date with a Vampyre" and "I Got a Feeling", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot...
, John Hartley & Murray Shepherd. After their I Don't Wanna Know
I Don't Wanna Know
I Don't Wanna Know may refer to:* "I Don't Wanna Know", a song by Julian Lennon from the album Photograph Smile* "I Don't Wanna Know", a song by Katey Sagal on her album Well...* "I Don't Wanna Know"...
EP and a string of successful singles, including "A Stand Alone" and their first hit, "Igloo" which was penned by Medew and Died Pretty
Died Pretty
Died Pretty, sometimes The Died Pretty, were an Australian alternative rock band founded by mainstays, Ron Peno as lead singer and Brett Myers as lead guitarist and backing vocalist, in Sydney in 1983 – briefly as Final Solution. Their music started from a base of early electric Bob Dylan with...
frontman Ron Peno, the band moved base to Sydney, home of their label Citadel Records
Citadel Records
Citadel Records are an independent record label from Sydney, Australia. They were created in the early 80s by John Needham. Bands that released through Citadel include Died Pretty, Deniz Tek, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, The Trilobites, Johnny Thunders & Patti Palladin, Harem Scarem, New...
.
After relocation to 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...
, and a number of line-up changes the band settled on its most successful lineup of Medew, ex-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...
& The Hitmen
The Hitmen
Hitmen are an Australian Hard rock band. The group went through a large number of lineup changes in its short late 1970s and early 1980s run, then regrouped under a new name, Hitmen DTK, between 1989 and 1992. They reformed in 2007 and continue to play....
guitarist Chris Masuak
Chris Masuak
Chris Masuak is a Canadian-born Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter. He is as a member of the influential Sydney-based punk rock group Radio Birdman, which formed in 1974, and for his other outfits The Hitmen, and The Screaming Tribesmen...
, bass player Bob Wackley & drummer Warwick Fraser (ex-Feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
& Hoi Polloi
Hoi polloi
Hoi polloi , an expression meaning "the many", or in the strictest sense, "the majority" in Greek, is used in English to denote "the masses" or "the people", usually in a derogatory sense. Synonyms for "hoi polloi" include ".....
) who replaced Michael Charles after the recording of the Date With A Vampyre EP.
The Vampyre EP reigned at the top of the Australian independent charts for over 40 weeks, while the band toured constantly in support. The follow-up Top of the Town EP released on the boutique Rattlesnake Records label saw a change in direction for the band as it morphed into the sound of their first full length release Bones and Flowers.
The band toured the US on the strength of the album and at home they enjoyed a run of Australian Alternative #1 hits as well as gaining Stateside attention with regular airplay on the US College Radio circuit. Their 1988 single "I've Got a Feeling" featured heavily on US MTV's 120 Minutes, hitting #1 on the KROQ charts in LA and #7 on Billboard's modern rock chart.
Internal disputes after their US successful tour saw the lineup dissolve after a performance in front of 200,000 people at Sydney's Bondi Beach at a protest concert, 'Stop the Ocean Pollution'. Medew formed a new lineup featuring members of Melbourne band Radio Luxembourg, Jeff Silver and Ritchie Hine and former Kings of the Sun
Kings of the Sun
Kings of the Sun is a 1963 movie directed by J. Lee Thompson set in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest of Chichen Itza by Hunac Ceel. The story is about Mayan refugees who sail to the Mississippi River Valley and lay the foundation for the Mississippian culture complex...
guitarist Glenn Morris.
This line-up released two albums, a collection of covers "Take Cover" and "Blood Lust". Morris departed and was replaced by Brian Mann, while Ritchie Hine was replace by Celibate Rifles sticksman Paul Larsen.
Mick Medew
Mick Medew
Robert Michael "Mick" Medew is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted Screaming Tribesmen, which formed in Brisbane in 1981. Medew has written or co-written a number of independent hits, "Igloo", "Date with a Vampyre" and "I Got a Feeling", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot...
continued to tour, write and record with various line-ups until 1992, when he retired the name, re-emerging after a decade long hiatus as Mick Medew and the Rumours featuring ex-Screaming Tribesmen and Lost Boys Chris Dixon and Ash Geary, with bass player Paul Hawker.
In January 2011 Medew performed a set of Screaming Tribesmen songs in Sydney with former guitarist and songwriting partner Chris Masuak
Chris Masuak
Chris Masuak is a Canadian-born Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter. He is as a member of the influential Sydney-based punk rock group Radio Birdman, which formed in 1974, and for his other outfits The Hitmen, and The Screaming Tribesmen...
.
In June 2011 it was announced the "Bones and Flowers" era line-up of Medew, Masuak, Wackley and Fraser would reform for a series of shows on the east coast of Australia beginning with The Gathering Festival in Brisbane on 17 September.
The band subsequently announced shows in Melbourne (23 September) and Sydney (24 and 25 September) on the back of CD re-issues of "Date With a Vampyre"/"Top of the Town" and "Bones And Flowers" through Australian label Grown Up Wrong.
Albums
- Bones and Flowers - Survival (460120 1) (1988)
- Blood Lust - Survival/Rattlesnake (RAT 512 CD) (1990)
- High Time: A Collection - Rattlesnake (SUR507 CD) (1990)
- Formaldehyde - Survival (SUR527 CD) (1993)
- Anthology 1982-1993: All Hail the Tribesmen - Raven (RVCD-169) (2003)
- The Savage Beat of the Screaming Tribesmen - Savage (Savage002) (December 2003)
- Bones And Flowers - Grown Up Wrong
EPs
- Screaming Tribesmen - (1982)
- I Don't Wanna Know - EMI Custom (1983)
- Date With A Vampyre - CitadelCitadel RecordsCitadel Records are an independent record label from Sydney, Australia. They were created in the early 80s by John Needham. Bands that released through Citadel include Died Pretty, Deniz Tek, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, The Trilobites, Johnny Thunders & Patti Palladin, Harem Scarem, New...
(CITEP902) (1985) - Move a Little Closer - What Goes On (WHAT GOES 2T) (1985)
- Top of the Town - Rattlesnake (RAT1202) (1986)
- Take Cover - Survival (655147-6) (1989)
- Got You on My Mind - Survival (SUR 710 CD) (1992)
- Date With A Vampyre/Top Of The Town - Grown Up Wrong (2011)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 1983 | "Igloo" | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1984 | "A Stand Alone" | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1987 | "I've Got a Feeling" | - | 7 | - | - | Bones and Flowers |
| 1988 | "Casualty of Love " | - | - | - | - | Bones and Flowers |
| 1991 | "Ayla" | - | - | - | - | - |
External links
- Screaming Tribesmen Official Website
- Essay including MP3 on "Igloo" at Webcuts
- [ Allmusic biography]