The Spooky Men's Chorale
Encyclopedia
The Spooky Men's Chorale are a group of Australia
n male singers. Most reside in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales
, but some are from Western Australia
. Their repertoire consists largely of songs either written or arranged by their director (or 'spookmeister') Stephen Taberner, on topics ranging from power tools to covers of ABBA
songs. They also perform traditional Georgian music, a major influence on their compositions, harmonies and vocal style.
The group performs in a humorous, idiosyncratic manner that is informed by archetypical male behaviours and demeanour.
Uniting Church, Sydney. Taberner claims he called up every man he knew who could sing and "taught them 3 songs, and asked them to show up wearing black and with an interesting hat." The three songs were "Vineyard", a Georgian church song, "Georgia", a mock Georgian original, and "The Mess Song". The latter was an existential rumination on the aftermath of breakfast written by New Zealand’s Don McGlashan
and Harry Sinclair of The Front Lawn
.
In the first couple of years the group performed and rehearsed sporadically until the National Folk Festival
of Easter 2004, held in Canberra
, which effectively launched the group and where, thereafter, they became cult heroes. The gig at the National was also the debut of what would become the Spooky theme song ("We are the Spooky Men, We dream of mastodon
s…") which typified the brand of humour they were beginning to define. The attention received at the National Folk Festival
2004 gave rise to a series of opportunities to put their music before a wider audience. This included a wide range of festivals in Australia, appearances on the ABC
and regular annual tours of the United Kingdom.
In the words of Taberner, the Spooky Men's Chorale is still "a work in progress, and more than every so often we are no more than spectators to the pure spirit of manbooferie [sic] which inspires us."
and other similar events. Since 2006 the group have regularly toured in Britain
including gigs at various festivals such as the Sidmouth Folk Week, Shrewsbury Folk Festival
and the Towersey Village Festival
.
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 male singers. Most reside in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, but some are from Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. Their repertoire consists largely of songs either written or arranged by their director (or 'spookmeister') Stephen Taberner, on topics ranging from power tools to covers of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
songs. They also perform traditional Georgian music, a major influence on their compositions, harmonies and vocal style.
The group performs in a humorous, idiosyncratic manner that is informed by archetypical male behaviours and demeanour.
"It is not possible to state when the existence of the Spooky Men first came to light . Early settlers in the Blue Mountains reported attacks on livestock and evidence of scats and the occasional pawprint. It is only in recent years that sceptics have been disabused of the notion that the Spooky Men's Chorale is the stuff of fanciful legend."
History
The Spooky Men's Chorale were created by Stephen Taberner and made their first appearance in August 2001 as part of an evening called "This was nearly my life" at PaddingtonPaddington, New South Wales
Paddington is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Paddington is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Sydney and the Municipality of Woollahra...
Uniting Church, Sydney. Taberner claims he called up every man he knew who could sing and "taught them 3 songs, and asked them to show up wearing black and with an interesting hat." The three songs were "Vineyard", a Georgian church song, "Georgia", a mock Georgian original, and "The Mess Song". The latter was an existential rumination on the aftermath of breakfast written by New Zealand’s Don McGlashan
Don McGlashan
Don McGlashan is a New Zealand musician and songwriter who has been a member of bands such as The Plague, From Scratch, The Whizz Kids, Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, The Mutton Birds and, from 2009, The Bellbirds. He composed several pieces for the Limbs Dance Company...
and Harry Sinclair of The Front Lawn
The Front Lawn
The Front Lawn was a New Zealand musical/theatrical duo formed by Don McGlashan and Harry Sinclair. From 1989-90, they were joined by Jennifer Ward-Lealand. Their song Andy appeared at number 82 in the Top 100 New Zealand Songs...
.
In the first couple of years the group performed and rehearsed sporadically until the National Folk Festival
National Folk Festival (Australia)
The National Folk Festival - Australia’s premier folk festival event – is a colourful and diverse family orientated celebration attended by over 50,000 people.It is the best Easter week-end in Australia!...
of Easter 2004, held in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, which effectively launched the group and where, thereafter, they became cult heroes. The gig at the National was also the debut of what would become the Spooky theme song ("We are the Spooky Men, We dream of mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
s…") which typified the brand of humour they were beginning to define. The attention received at the National Folk Festival
National Folk Festival (Australia)
The National Folk Festival - Australia’s premier folk festival event – is a colourful and diverse family orientated celebration attended by over 50,000 people.It is the best Easter week-end in Australia!...
2004 gave rise to a series of opportunities to put their music before a wider audience. This included a wide range of festivals in Australia, appearances on the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
and regular annual tours of the United Kingdom.
In the words of Taberner, the Spooky Men's Chorale is still "a work in progress, and more than every so often we are no more than spectators to the pure spirit of manbooferie [sic] which inspires us."
Members
The Spooky Men's Chorale typically perform with between 12 to 16 singers, the exact number at any one time depending on the particular circumstances, locations and so on. When touring in the UK, the group are joined by some local singers. The past and present, full-time or part-time, members of the Spooky Men's Chorale are:| Graham Archer | Stirling Gill | Ryan Morrison | Dave Warren | |
| Nick Ashby | Ed Hall | David Poulier | Philip Weymouth | |
| Alex Wylie Atmore | Robin Janus | Andrew Pye | Philip Read (UK tour only) | |
| Richard Bates | Jerome Koh | Stewart Robinson | ||
| Warwick Bisset | Andrew Langley | Neville Ross | ||
| Tom Bridges | Peter Long | Nick Sabel | ||
| Nic Danta | Graham Mann | Chris Samuel (UK tour only) | ||
| Mark D'Astoli | Lenny Marks | Gary Stowe | ||
| Richard Delaney | John McNaull | Stephen Taberner (spookmeister) | ||
| Tony Eardley | Adrian Mealing (UK tour only) | Peter Vogel |
Albums
- Tooled UpTooled UpTooled Up is the debut album by The Spooky Men's Chorale. The album has sold over 4,000 copies since its release in January 2005, both at performances and through local and international internet sales...
(2005) - Stop Scratching It (2007)
- Urban Sea Shanties (2009) - Fred SmithFred Smith-In literature:*Frederick Smith, 3rd Earl of Birkenhead , British peer and author*Frederick E. Smith , British author*Frederick M. Smith , American religious leader and author-In medicine:*Frederick W...
& The Spooky Men's Chorale - Deep (2009) with DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
Touring
The group mainly performs in Australia, appearing regularly at the National Folk FestivalNational Folk Festival (Australia)
The National Folk Festival - Australia’s premier folk festival event – is a colourful and diverse family orientated celebration attended by over 50,000 people.It is the best Easter week-end in Australia!...
and other similar events. Since 2006 the group have regularly toured in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
including gigs at various festivals such as the Sidmouth Folk Week, Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England....
and the Towersey Village Festival
Towersey Village Festival
Towersey Village Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the village of Towersey in Oxfordshire, England. It has taken place every August bank holiday weekend since its founding in 1965....
.