The Moodists
Encyclopedia
The Moodists were an Australian post-punk
band that formed in 1980, when Dave Graney
, Clare Moore
and Steve Miller
of punk group The Sputniks moved from Adelaide
to Melbourne
. They added bass player Chris Walsh and later added guitarist Mick Turner
.
After recording two singles and a six track EP for Bruce Milne
and Greta Moon's Au Go Go
label in Melbourne they relocated to London
. This was at the behest of the Red Flame label who had released a compilation of their Australian releases. They then recorded the albums Thirstys Calling (1984) and Double Life (1985).
The band supported Public Image Limited on their 1984 tour of Australia, along with punk band Box of Fish.
They returned to Australia in 1985 for six months (Turner quit and reconvened his earlier group Fungus Brains; he would later form The Dirty Three) and then travelled again to the UK. During this time they toured extensively through Northern Europe and also made a short tour of the United States. In 1985 they recorded an EP for Creation Records
. In 1986 they released two EPs on the TIM label. All their recorded works from the time they first decamped to the northern hemisphere were produced by the band and Victor Van Vugt
(who went on to work with Nick Cave
, Beth Orton
and PJ Harvey
as well as many others) Their final gig was in London and the lineup by this time featured Dave Graney, Clare Moore and Steve Miller as well as former members of Scottish band Orange Juice
: David McClymont on bass and Malcolm Ross on guitar. (Malcolm Ross was later to play with Graney and Moore as part of the original Coral Snakes). After they disbanded in 1987, Dave Graney and Clare Moore formed the first of Graney's solo groups 'Dave Graney with the Coral Snakes'. This band featured Malcolm Ross, Gordy Blair on bass and piano player Louis Vause. They recorded an ep for Fire Records which was produced by Barry Adamson
.
In 2003 a retrospective CD Two Fisted Art was released on the W.Minc label (run by guitarist Steve Miller) and the band reformed for a limited number of live performances in Melbourne. In 2004 a DVD of a performance recorded for British television in 1984 was released by Umbrella Entertainment. The band were asked for any contributions and they reconvened for a filmed interview for the disc as well as providing footage from Mick Harvey
's private archives and also film of another, more raw performance at The Haçienda
in Manchester
.
Originally a 6 track ep on Au GoGo, later combined with the second Au GoGo single and released as an album on Red Flame Records in the UK (1983).
Recorded and mixed at Livingstone Studios in London with Victor Van Vugt
, who had travelled from Melbourne with the band as their live sound mixer. A reformed Yardbirds , known as Box of frogs, were working in the same studio at the time. The Moodists did a John Peel session as the album came out.
7' single "enough legs to live on/"can't lose her". Continued the Moodists knack of having the best songs as b-sides released late 1984. Another Victor Van Vugt production.
Again recorded at the same studio with Victor Van Vugt recording and mixing. A compilation of the "enough legs" single and b-side and unreleased material which was the beginnings of a new album. Never actually mixed, "Double Life" is the most focussed, dynamic and powerful song the band ever recorded. The last release on Red Flame.
Another John Peel session was done in 1985.
The last ep featured "someone's got to give" b/w "hey little gary", "somebody to love" and "it takes a thief". The band by this time featured former members of Orange Juice , David McClymont and Malcolm Ross. With their influence, the songs grew tighter and more ambitious and generally more arranged. The last session also included Mark Fitzgibbon on piano who later re surfaced in 2005 , working on the Dave Graney and Clare Moore cds, "Hashish and Liquor".
All were recorded and mixed by Victor Van Vugt who had by this time become a much in demand live and studio engineer. He later went on to work with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
for many years on the road. He also worked as producer for Beth Orton
, PJ Harvey
and, in a brief return to Australia, for "the soft'n'sexy sound" of Dave Graney 'n'the Coral Snakes.
One disc was a collection of their recorded work. The other disc was live and unreleased material from 1982 in Melbourne and 1984 in London.
Dave Graney and Clare Moore resided and worked in London from late 1983 to late 1988. They toured Europe extensively and made one tour to the United States
.
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band that formed in 1980, when Dave Graney
Dave Graney
David John "Dave" Graney is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter from Mount Gambier, South Australia. Since 1979, Graney is generally accompanied by drummer, Clare Moore...
, Clare Moore
Clare Moore
Clare Christina Moore is an Australian musician, songwriter, arranger, producer and performer whose principal instrument is the drums. She has also performed as a keyboard player, singer and vibraphone player...
and Steve Miller
Steve Miller
Steve or Steven Miller may refer to:*Steve Miller , President and CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association*Steve Miller , CEO of Delphi Corporation*Steven L...
of punk group The Sputniks moved from Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
to 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...
. They added bass player Chris Walsh and later added guitarist Mick Turner
Mick Turner
Mick Turner is an Australian musician and painter best known as the guitarist for Dirty Three.Prior to his work with Dirty Three, Turner was a member of several Melbourne-based rock bands: Sick Things , The Moodists , Fungus Brains , and Venom P...
.
After recording two singles and a six track EP for Bruce Milne
Bruce Milne
Bruce Milne is an Australian music entrepreneur closely linked to the Melbourne post-punk scene. He founded the independent record label Au-Go-Go in 1979....
and Greta Moon's Au Go Go
Au Go Go Records
Au Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label.It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and is now operated by Greta Moon....
label in Melbourne they relocated to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This was at the behest of the Red Flame label who had released a compilation of their Australian releases. They then recorded the albums Thirstys Calling (1984) and Double Life (1985).
The band supported Public Image Limited on their 1984 tour of Australia, along with punk band Box of Fish.
They returned to Australia in 1985 for six months (Turner quit and reconvened his earlier group Fungus Brains; he would later form The Dirty Three) and then travelled again to the UK. During this time they toured extensively through Northern Europe and also made a short tour of the United States. In 1985 they recorded an EP for Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
. In 1986 they released two EPs on the TIM label. All their recorded works from the time they first decamped to the northern hemisphere were produced by the band and Victor Van Vugt
Victor Van Vugt
Victor Van Vugt is an award-winning music producer, mixer and engineer. An Australian based in New York, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with the likes of P.J...
(who went on to work with Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
, Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
and PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
as well as many others) Their final gig was in London and the lineup by this time featured Dave Graney, Clare Moore and Steve Miller as well as former members of Scottish band Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
: David McClymont on bass and Malcolm Ross on guitar. (Malcolm Ross was later to play with Graney and Moore as part of the original Coral Snakes). After they disbanded in 1987, Dave Graney and Clare Moore formed the first of Graney's solo groups 'Dave Graney with the Coral Snakes'. This band featured Malcolm Ross, Gordy Blair on bass and piano player Louis Vause. They recorded an ep for Fire Records which was produced by Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
.
In 2003 a retrospective CD Two Fisted Art was released on the W.Minc label (run by guitarist Steve Miller) and the band reformed for a limited number of live performances in Melbourne. In 2004 a DVD of a performance recorded for British television in 1984 was released by Umbrella Entertainment. The band were asked for any contributions and they reconvened for a filmed interview for the disc as well as providing footage from Mick Harvey
Mick Harvey
Michael John Harvey , is an Australian rock musician, composer, arranger and record producer. He is best known for his long-time collaboration with the singer and songwriter Nick Cave...
's private archives and also film of another, more raw performance at The Haçienda
The Haçienda
Fac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Discography
- 7 single, "where the trees walk downhill" b/w "I should have been here" on Au GoGo 1980
- 7" single "Gone dead"/"Chad's car" on Au GoGo 1981
- Engine Shudder (1982)
Originally a 6 track ep on Au GoGo, later combined with the second Au GoGo single and released as an album on Red Flame Records in the UK (1983).
- Thirsty's Calling (1984)
Recorded and mixed at Livingstone Studios in London with Victor Van Vugt
Victor Van Vugt
Victor Van Vugt is an award-winning music producer, mixer and engineer. An Australian based in New York, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with the likes of P.J...
, who had travelled from Melbourne with the band as their live sound mixer. A reformed Yardbirds , known as Box of frogs, were working in the same studio at the time. The Moodists did a John Peel session as the album came out.
7' single "enough legs to live on/"can't lose her". Continued the Moodists knack of having the best songs as b-sides released late 1984. Another Victor Van Vugt production.
- Double Life (1985)
Again recorded at the same studio with Victor Van Vugt recording and mixing. A compilation of the "enough legs" single and b-side and unreleased material which was the beginnings of a new album. Never actually mixed, "Double Life" is the most focussed, dynamic and powerful song the band ever recorded. The last release on Red Flame.
Another John Peel session was done in 1985.
- 12' single "justice and money too" b/w "take us all home" and "you've got your story" released on Creation Records in 1985. Recorded and mixed by Victor Van Vugt. Featured Mick HarveyMick HarveyMichael John Harvey , is an Australian rock musician, composer, arranger and record producer. He is best known for his long-time collaboration with the singer and songwriter Nick Cave...
on piano and Adam Peters (at the time working with the Triffids as well) on viola. - two four track 12" vinyl eps released on Tim/Abstract in 1985/86. One featured "Take the red carpet out of town" (with horns by Louise Elliott of the Laughing Clowns), b/w "everybody don't tell her" and the traditional "jack of diamonds".
The last ep featured "someone's got to give" b/w "hey little gary", "somebody to love" and "it takes a thief". The band by this time featured former members of Orange Juice , David McClymont and Malcolm Ross. With their influence, the songs grew tighter and more ambitious and generally more arranged. The last session also included Mark Fitzgibbon on piano who later re surfaced in 2005 , working on the Dave Graney and Clare Moore cds, "Hashish and Liquor".
All were recorded and mixed by Victor Van Vugt who had by this time become a much in demand live and studio engineer. He later went on to work with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :...
for many years on the road. He also worked as producer for Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
, PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
and, in a brief return to Australia, for "the soft'n'sexy sound" of Dave Graney 'n'the Coral Snakes.
- Two Fisted Art (2005) (Retrospective double CD, featured only one track from the last two eps)
One disc was a collection of their recorded work. The other disc was live and unreleased material from 1982 in Melbourne and 1984 in London.
- A film of the Moodists was made in 1984 and this was broadcast on ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. This film, The Moodists live in London was released on DVD in Australia in 2004. The original footage of their live show (shot by several cameras and a 24 track mobile studio at the Camden Palace) was the main part of the DVD but there was also an interview with the band in 2004 (conducted by David Nichols) as well as another complete show of the band playing at The HaçiendaThe HaçiendaFac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...
club in ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Dave Graney and Clare Moore resided and worked in London from late 1983 to late 1988. They toured Europe extensively and made one tour to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Albums
- Engine Shudder mini-album (Au Go Go RecordsAu Go Go RecordsAu Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label.It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and is now operated by Greta Moon....
, 1983) - Thirsty's Calling LP (Red Flame/Virgin RecordsVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, 1984)(Virgin Records Australia 1984) - Double Life UK only mini-album (Red Flame/Virgin Records, 1985)
- Two Fisted Art retrospective double CD (W.Minc, 2003)
Singles and EPs
- "Where The Trees Walk Down Hill" (Au Go Go Records, 1981)
- "Gone Dead" / "Chad's Car" (Au Go Go Records, 1982)
- "The Disciples Know" (Red Flame/Virgin Records, 1983)
- "Runaway" (Red Flame/Virgin Records, 1984)
- "Enough Legs To Live On" (Red Flame/Virgin Records, 1985)
- "Justice And Money Too" (Creation RecordsCreation RecordsCreation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
, 1985) - "Take The Red Carpet Out Of Town" (TIM Records,1986)
- "The Moodists" (TIM Records,1986)