Spdfgh
Encyclopedia
Spdfgh were an all-female rock band
from Sydney
, Australia
in the 1990s. The founding members were
The band's name would be familiar to a student of chemistry. The letters (spdfgh...) are used when determining the number of electrons in the shells
of an atom (the letters denote the first six states of orbital angular momentum in atomic physics
). TV Week
magazine called it "the dumbest name in Australian rock".
The original members got started playing together at St. Patrick's College (Campbelltown
, south-west of Sydney
).
In their early days to get noticed they would travel to Sydney, sneak into sound checks of bands they liked and just start playing.
The band had songs included on the soundtracks of the films Love and Other Catastrophes
and The Well
.
Since breaking up, the members have pursued new projects.
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
from 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...
, 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...
in the 1990s. The founding members were
- Kim Bowers (as Wikky Malone) (guitarGuitarThe 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...
, vocals) - Liz Payne (as Rosy Glo, Lou Marvel, Belle) (guitarGuitarThe 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...
, vocals) - Tania Bowers (as Tania May) (bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals) - Melanie Thurgar (as Finnius) (drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s)
The band's name would be familiar to a student of chemistry. The letters (spdfgh...) are used when determining the number of electrons in the shells
Electron shell
An electron shell may be thought of as an orbit followed by electrons around an atom's nucleus. The closest shell to the nucleus is called the "1 shell" , followed by the "2 shell" , then the "3 shell" , and so on further and further from the nucleus. The shell letters K,L,M,.....
of an atom (the letters denote the first six states of orbital angular momentum in atomic physics
Atomic physics
Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. It is primarily concerned with the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and...
). TV Week
TV Week
TV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...
magazine called it "the dumbest name in Australian rock".
The original members got started playing together at St. Patrick's College (Campbelltown
Campbelltown, New South Wales
Campbelltown is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campbelltown is located 51 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Campbelltown.- History :Campbelltown...
, south-west of 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 their early days to get noticed they would travel to Sydney, sneak into sound checks of bands they liked and just start playing.
The band had songs included on the soundtracks of the films Love and Other Catastrophes
Love and Other Catastrophes
Love and Other Catastrophes is a quirky 1996 Australian romantic comedy film featuring Frances O'Connor, Radha Mitchell, Alice Garner, Matthew Dyktynski, Matt Day and Kym Gyngell...
and The Well
The Well (1997 film)
The Well is a 1997 Australian film, based on the novel by Elizabeth Jolley.-Synopsis:The film is about a young girl named Katherine and her older friend Hester who live on an isolated farm run by Hester and her father Francis. Katherine works as a maid and wants to leave because there's too much work...
.
Since breaking up, the members have pursued new projects.
- Kim Bowers recorded some electronic tracks under the name of 'Deep In Sound', which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1999 Australian film, Fresh Air. Most recently she has been working with her sister Candy Bowers on hip hop group / theatrical performers Sista She.
- Tania Bowers went on to Godstar, contributed songs to the 'Fresh Air' soundtrack under the name of 'Sunday', and has since released an album under of the name Via TaniaVia TaniaVia Tania is an Australian-born, Chicago-based musician named Tania Bowers. Tania originally started performing in Sydney during the 1990s with her sister Kim Bowers in noise outfit named Spdfgh....
- with help from her husband, sound engineer Casey Rice.
- Payne went on to Rocket and Sonic Emotion Explosion, both with former GerlingGerlingGerling were an alternative guitar and electronic act from Australia. They formed in 1993, and are based in Sydney.-History:The band formed in 1993 with the line-up of Darren Cross , Presser and Brad Herdson...
guitarist, Brad Herdson. The duo has since renamed themselves to Little Sky and turned into a fully fledged band.
- As of 2009 Thurgar is drumming in Sydney based Hard Rock outfit Death By Proxy.
Discography
- "In Me" on Eddie Magazine compilation CD (1993)
- Nighttime 7" (Dirt Records, 1994)
- Grassroots EP (Dirt Records, 1995)
- "Sweet" on Gay Pride split 7" EP with ChumbawambaChumbawambaChumbawamba is a British musical group who have, over a career spanning nearly three decades, played punk rock, pop-influenced music, world music, and folk music...
and Pansy DivisionPansy DivisionPansy Division is an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California in 1991. Featuring primarily gay musicians and focusing mostly on gay-related themes, Pansy Division is one of the more melodic-oriented bands to emerge from the "queercore" movement that began in the 1980s.-Early...
; Rugger Bugger Records (1995) - Wikky's Ode Single (Half A CowHalf A CowHalf a Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton.- History :In 1987 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Glebe called Dalton's Books...
, 1995) - Leave Me Like This LP (Half A CowHalf A CowHalf a Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton.- History :In 1987 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Glebe called Dalton's Books...
, 1995) - 1/2 Small Mercy EP (Half A CowHalf A CowHalf a Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton.- History :In 1987 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Glebe called Dalton's Books...
, 1995) - Give Me Time Single (Half A CowHalf A CowHalf a Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton.- History :In 1987 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Glebe called Dalton's Books...
, 1995) - The Pseudo Blues Single (Half A CowHalf A CowHalf a Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton.- History :In 1987 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Glebe called Dalton's Books...
, 1996) - Hide, as Liz Payne and Spdfgh, on Half A CowHalf A CowHalf a Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton.- History :In 1987 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Glebe called Dalton's Books...
promotional compilation Heard It Through The Bovine