The Scientists
Encyclopedia
The Scientists are an influential post-punk
band from Perth
, Australia, led by Kim Salmon
, initially known as Exterminators and then Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk
band of the late 1970s and the Sydney
/London
-based swamp rock band of the 1980s. The Scientists were much more influential than their minimal commercial success would indicate, lending their influence to artists such as Mudhoney and New York
's downtown indie scene
of the early 1990s.
band, the Cheap Nasties
, in August 1976. He left in December 1977 and the remainder, with Robbie Porritt joining as lead vocalist, continued as The Manikins
. Salmon replaced Mark Demetrius in the Exterminators, who then became known as the Invaders. The lineup included Roddy Radalj
(guitar, vocals), Boris Sujdovic (bass) and John Rowlings (drums).
from The Victims replaced John Rowlings. Sujdovic left the band in August 1978. The songwriting partnership that ensued, with Baker writing lyrics which Salmon would put to music, naturally favoured a melodic pop infused style of punk.
The band started playing again in January 1979 with Dennis Byrne on bass. This lineup recorded the band's first single, "Frantic Romantic"/"Shake (Together Tonight)", released in June 1979 on the DNA label.
Radalj and Byrne left in April 1979, to be replaced by Ben Juniper (guitar) and Ian Sharples (bass). This lineup recorded the band's second release, The Scientists EP (released February 1980) and did two tours of Melbourne and Sydney, in December 1979 and February/March 1980. In Melbourne, the band appeared on pop TV show Countdown, performing "Last Night" from the EP.
Juniper left the band in May 1980 and Salmon, Baker and Sharples continued as a three-piece. The band broke up in January 1981 after recording their album, The Scientists (commonly referred to as The Pink Album), released in August 1981. In Sydney, Baker had joined Radalj to form Le Hoodoo Gurus
with Dave Faulkner
(ex-The Victims) and Kimble Rendall
in January 1981.
Salmon then formed Louie Louie with Kim Williams (bass) and Brett Rixon (drums), though this band broke up in August 1981.
, which would later explode in Seattle, as well as incorporating the influence of bands such as The Cramps
, Suicide
, The Stooges
and Captain Beefheart
.
The band was signed by Au Go Go Records
, who released "This Is My Happy Hour"/"Swampland" (December 1982), the influential Blood Red River mini-LP
(September 1983) and "We Had Love"/"Clear Spot" (December 1983).
By the end of 1983, The Scientists were one of the most popular Australian independent bands. Deciding to move on to new horizons, they left Australia to move to London
in March 1984. In October 1984, the band supported The Gun Club on their European tour. Meanwhile, Au Go Go had issued the mini-LP This Heart Doesn't Run on Blood, This Heart Doesn't Run on Love mini-album (September 1984). By this time, the band's music had left the Cramps-like sound behind, becoming much darker and harsher and coming more uniquely into their own.
The band released a 12" EP, Demolition Derby, in Belgium in February 1985, and their first full overseas album, You Get What You Deserve, in the UK in July 1985 on their manager's Karbon label, followed by the "You Only Live Twice/If It's The Last Thing I Do" 7" in September. Owing to contractual disputes with Au Go Go, different mixes of some tracks appeared in Australia as the mini-album Atom Bomb Baby, with the 7" "Atom Bomb Baby/Backwards Man" and a compilation LP Heading For A Trauma (comprising Demolition Derby with rare, radio and live tracks) being released with it in July 1985.
Brett Rixon left the band in February 1985 to be replaced by Phillip Hertz, who was replaced in December 1985 by Leanne Chock. The band got a new deal with Big Time Records, who asked them to do a best-of compilation to introduce them to the market. The band rerecorded 11 of their songs with producer Richard Mazda
as Weird Love, released April 1986.
Sujdovic had to leave the UK after the recording owing to visa problems and was replaced by Rob Coyne of Silver Chapter. Coyne and Chock left in December 1986, Salmon shifted to bass and Nick Combe joined on drums. The Salmon/Thewlis/Combe lineup recorded the album Human Jukebox in December 1986.
This lineup returned to Australia in April 1987 for the Human Jukebox tour. Salmon moved back to Perth with his wife Linda Fearon (co-writer of "Blood Red River") and son. Human Jukebox was released on Karbon in October 1987. The band toured Australia in November 1987, with a lineup of Salmon, Thewlis, Combe on drums and Brett Rixon rejoining on bass. Their last show was at the Shenton Park Hotel, Perth, Saturday 27 November 1987.
with Brian Hooper
on bass and Tony Pola on drums. He lived in Perth until the early 1990s, playing live solo, with the Surrealists or with Kim Salmon's Human Jukebox, formed with Kim Williams and Tony Pola to promote The Scientists compilation Absolute released in 1991. He also played with the second incarnation of The Beasts of Bourbon from 1988 until 1993. Salmon's music continued in a similar direction to his work with the Scientists.
After The Scientists, Tony Thewlis formed The Interstellar Villains, going off in a musical direction much more rooted in '60s rock, psychedelia and surf music. He then joined Diggory Kenrick and Robert Coyne (again) in the innovative but underrated Venus Ray.
In October 2010, Blood Red River (1983) was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
.
to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties
(ATP) festival in the UK. They also supported Mudhoney at a performance at Shepherd's Bush
Empire in London on 11 May 2006. In 2007 a live recording of that performance, Sedition was released on the ATP Recordings
label. The same lineup of Thewlis, Salmon, Sujdovic and Leanne Chock played in London in April 2007 and at the ATP festival the same month. They supported Sonic Youth
for their Australian Daydream Nation shows, performing the album Blood Red River in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
-curated Don't Look Back
series.
The group played their first ever U.S. show at the ATP New York 2010
music festival in Monticello, New York in September where they performed Blood Red River in its entirety.
's part in the Foundation Skateboard Company's movie, That's Life, and the song, "We Had Love", was used in the movie RocknRolla
.
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 from Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Australia, led by Kim Salmon
Kim Salmon
Kim Leith Salmon is an Australian indie rock musician and songwriter, who attained fame in June 2004, when he was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Association Hall of Fame....
, initially known as Exterminators and then Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band of the late 1970s and the 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...
/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...
-based swamp rock band of the 1980s. The Scientists were much more influential than their minimal commercial success would indicate, lending their influence to artists such as Mudhoney and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's downtown indie scene
Indie music scenes
An independent music scene is a localized independent music-oriented community of bands and their fans. Local scenes can become a key role in musical history and lead to influential genres, for example No Wave from New York City, Madchester from Manchester and Grunge from...
of the early 1990s.
Formation
Kim Salmon had formed a protopunkProtopunk
Protopunk is a term used retrospectively to describe a number of musicians who were important precursors of punk rock in the late 1960s to mid-1970s, or who have been cited by early punk musicians as influential...
band, the Cheap Nasties
The Manikins
The Manikins were a protopunk and new wave band from Perth, Australia.-History:The band formed in August 1976 as the Cheap Nasties. Their debut gig was at The Rivervale Hotel in mid-1977. They lay claim to the title of Perth's first punk band...
, in August 1976. He left in December 1977 and the remainder, with Robbie Porritt joining as lead vocalist, continued as The Manikins
The Manikins
The Manikins were a protopunk and new wave band from Perth, Australia.-History:The band formed in August 1976 as the Cheap Nasties. Their debut gig was at The Rivervale Hotel in mid-1977. They lay claim to the title of Perth's first punk band...
. Salmon replaced Mark Demetrius in the Exterminators, who then became known as the Invaders. The lineup included Roddy Radalj
Roddy Radalj
Roddy Radalj is a rock musician and singer-songwriter who grew up in Perth, Western Australia...
(guitar, vocals), Boris Sujdovic (bass) and John Rowlings (drums).
Perth, 1978-1981
The Invaders became The Scientists in May 1978, when James BakerJames 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...
from The Victims replaced John Rowlings. Sujdovic left the band in August 1978. The songwriting partnership that ensued, with Baker writing lyrics which Salmon would put to music, naturally favoured a melodic pop infused style of punk.
The band started playing again in January 1979 with Dennis Byrne on bass. This lineup recorded the band's first single, "Frantic Romantic"/"Shake (Together Tonight)", released in June 1979 on the DNA label.
Radalj and Byrne left in April 1979, to be replaced by Ben Juniper (guitar) and Ian Sharples (bass). This lineup recorded the band's second release, The Scientists EP (released February 1980) and did two tours of Melbourne and Sydney, in December 1979 and February/March 1980. In Melbourne, the band appeared on pop TV show Countdown, performing "Last Night" from the EP.
Juniper left the band in May 1980 and Salmon, Baker and Sharples continued as a three-piece. The band broke up in January 1981 after recording their album, The Scientists (commonly referred to as The Pink Album), released in August 1981. In Sydney, Baker had joined Radalj to form Le 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...
with 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...
(ex-The Victims) and 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...
in January 1981.
Salmon then formed Louie Louie with Kim Williams (bass) and Brett Rixon (drums), though this band broke up in August 1981.
Sydney and London, 1982-1987
In September 1981, Salmon and Boris Sujdovic (ex Rockets) reformed the band, with Brett Rixon on drums and Tony Thewlis (ex Helicopters) on guitar, and prepared to move to Sydney. For this version of the band, the musical direction of the band turned more towards psychedelic-tinged rock'n'roll that became better known as grungeGrunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
, which would later explode in Seattle, as well as incorporating the influence of bands such as The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
, Suicide
Suicide (band)
Suicide is an American electronic protopunk musical duo, intermittently active since 1970 and composed of vocalist Alan Vega and Martin Rev on synthesizers and drum machines. They are an early synthesizer/vocal musical duo....
, The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
and Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
.
The band was signed by Au Go Go Records
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....
, who released "This Is My Happy Hour"/"Swampland" (December 1982), the influential Blood Red River mini-LP
Mini-LP
A Mini-LP or Mini-album is a short album, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered "full-length".-History:...
(September 1983) and "We Had Love"/"Clear Spot" (December 1983).
By the end of 1983, The Scientists were one of the most popular Australian independent bands. Deciding to move on to new horizons, they left Australia to move 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...
in March 1984. In October 1984, the band supported The Gun Club on their European tour. Meanwhile, Au Go Go had issued the mini-LP This Heart Doesn't Run on Blood, This Heart Doesn't Run on Love mini-album (September 1984). By this time, the band's music had left the Cramps-like sound behind, becoming much darker and harsher and coming more uniquely into their own.
The band released a 12" EP, Demolition Derby, in Belgium in February 1985, and their first full overseas album, You Get What You Deserve, in the UK in July 1985 on their manager's Karbon label, followed by the "You Only Live Twice/If It's The Last Thing I Do" 7" in September. Owing to contractual disputes with Au Go Go, different mixes of some tracks appeared in Australia as the mini-album Atom Bomb Baby, with the 7" "Atom Bomb Baby/Backwards Man" and a compilation LP Heading For A Trauma (comprising Demolition Derby with rare, radio and live tracks) being released with it in July 1985.
Brett Rixon left the band in February 1985 to be replaced by Phillip Hertz, who was replaced in December 1985 by Leanne Chock. The band got a new deal with Big Time Records, who asked them to do a best-of compilation to introduce them to the market. The band rerecorded 11 of their songs with producer Richard Mazda
Richard Mazda
Richard Mazda is a record producer, writer and musician. In later life he also became an actor and director.-Music career:Mazda was one of the co-founders of Poole punk/mod band Tours, singing and playing lead guitar. They signed to Virgin Records in 1979 after selling large quantities of their...
as Weird Love, released April 1986.
Sujdovic had to leave the UK after the recording owing to visa problems and was replaced by Rob Coyne of Silver Chapter. Coyne and Chock left in December 1986, Salmon shifted to bass and Nick Combe joined on drums. The Salmon/Thewlis/Combe lineup recorded the album Human Jukebox in December 1986.
This lineup returned to Australia in April 1987 for the Human Jukebox tour. Salmon moved back to Perth with his wife Linda Fearon (co-writer of "Blood Red River") and son. Human Jukebox was released on Karbon in October 1987. The band toured Australia in November 1987, with a lineup of Salmon, Thewlis, Combe on drums and Brett Rixon rejoining on bass. Their last show was at the Shenton Park Hotel, Perth, Saturday 27 November 1987.
After The Scientists
In Perth between the 1987 tours, Salmon formed Kim Salmon and the SurrealistsKim Salmon and the Surrealists
Kim Salmon and the Surrealists were an Australian indie rock band formed by Kim Salmon in 1987 when he was living in Perth between the final two tours by The Scientists...
with Brian Hooper
Brian Hooper
Brian Roger Leslie Hooper in Sheerwater, Woking, Surrey is a former British Olympic pole vaulter, athletics coach and winner of the 1982 World Superstars Championship.-Athletics:...
on bass and Tony Pola on drums. He lived in Perth until the early 1990s, playing live solo, with the Surrealists or with Kim Salmon's Human Jukebox, formed with Kim Williams and Tony Pola to promote The Scientists compilation Absolute released in 1991. He also played with the second incarnation of The Beasts of Bourbon from 1988 until 1993. Salmon's music continued in a similar direction to his work with the Scientists.
After The Scientists, Tony Thewlis formed The Interstellar Villains, going off in a musical direction much more rooted in '60s rock, psychedelia and surf music. He then joined Diggory Kenrick and Robert Coyne (again) in the innovative but underrated Venus Ray.
In October 2010, Blood Red River (1983) 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...
.
Reformation shows
The first version of The Scientists, as the Salmon/Baker/Sharples/Juniper lineup, reformed for a one-off show in Perth on 10 February 1995. There have been other reformation shows of both versions of the band. In May 2006 the band were invited by MudhoneyMudhoney
Mudhoney is an American alternative rock band. Formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988 following the demise of Green River, Mudhoney's members are vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison, and drummer Dan Peters. Original bassist Matt Lukin left the...
to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
(ATP) festival in the UK. They also supported Mudhoney at a performance at Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
Empire in London on 11 May 2006. In 2007 a live recording of that performance, Sedition was released on the ATP Recordings
ATP Recordings
ATP Recordings is a record label that was started in 2001 by London concert promoter Barry Hogan of Foundation/All Tomorrow's Parties. It was originally created to bring out a compilation cd after the Tortoise-curated All Tomorrow's Parties event...
label. The same lineup of Thewlis, Salmon, Sujdovic and Leanne Chock played in London in April 2007 and at the ATP festival the same month. They supported Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
for their Australian Daydream Nation shows, performing the album Blood Red River in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
-curated Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (concert series)
Don't Look Back is a yearly series of concerts in which London based promoters All Tomorrow's Parties ask artists and bands to play one of their seminal albums live in its entirety...
series.
The group played their first ever U.S. show at the ATP New York 2010
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
music festival in Monticello, New York in September where they performed Blood Red River in its entirety.
Use in film
The song "Last Night" was used in Corey DuffelCorey Duffel
Corey Duffel is a skater from Walnut Creek, California. He was born on April 11, 1984 as William Corey Duffel to Steve and Sharon. He is known for his fast-paced skating style, skating big gaps, rails, stairs, riding big wall ride gaps, and any large obstacles like the freeway gap in Cataclysmic...
's part in the Foundation Skateboard Company's movie, That's Life, and the song, "We Had Love", was used in the movie RocknRolla
RocknRolla
RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton...
.
Singles
- "Frantic Romantic" (1979) Bomp
- "Last Night" (1980) WhiteRider
- "This Is My Happy Hour" (1982) Au-Go-Go
- "We Had Love" (1983) Au-Go-Go
- "When World's Collide (live)" (1983) Au-Go-Go
- "You Only Live Twice" (1985) Karbon (#11)
- Demolition Derby EP (1985) Soundwork
- Heading for a Trauma (1985)
Albums
- The Scientists (The Pink Album) (1981) Easter
- Blood Red River mini-LP (1983) Au-Go-Go
- This Heart Doesn't Run on Blood, This Heart Doesn't Run on Love (1984) Au-Go-Go (#10)
- Atom Bomb Baby mini-LP (1985) Au-Go-Go (#24)
- You Get What You Deserve (1985) Karbon (#9)
- Weird Love (1986) Karbon (#24)
- The Human Jukebox (1987)
- Scientists (1989)
- Absolute (1991) Red Eye
- Blood Red River: 1982-1984 (2000)
- Human Jukebox: 1984-1986 (2002)
- Pissed on Another Planet (2004)
- Sedition (2007) ATP RecordingsATP RecordingsATP Recordings is a record label that was started in 2001 by London concert promoter Barry Hogan of Foundation/All Tomorrow's Parties. It was originally created to bring out a compilation cd after the Tortoise-curated All Tomorrow's Parties event...
External links
- ATP Recordings Page
- Kim Salmon interview (Noise For Heroes)
- www.perthpunk.com, which contains an extensive history of the earliest Perth punk rock scene, including references to The Cheap Nasties, Kim Salmon, Victims, Geeks, Manikins, Dave Warner and Pus, and written contributions by Rod Radalj and Mark Demetrius.
- www.fromthearchives.org, which has a complete discography.