The Survivors (Australian band)
Encyclopedia
The Survivors were a Brisbane punk rock
band that formed in 1976 as a party band, which attained cult status in Australia
by their acknowledged popular live performances and contribution to the Lethal Weapons punk compilation album. According to David Nichols, (1) “The Survivors were legends in their home town of Brisbane
, a highly popular and adept band whose sets were mainly cool ’60s covers.”
’s "Paranoid
" single. They changed their name in 1977 to The Survivors still playing mostly parties or occasionally hiring a hall, until the Curry Shop venue began supporting local punk acts in the heart of Brisbane on Sundays.
Whilst known for their energetic versions of other group’s songs, they managed to release one stamped sleeve seven inch single on the Real label. The A-side Baby Come Back flirted with 1960s music but also had a strong stylistic sense of original New York
punk. They encountered condemnation from punk
circles for being to close to Sixties covers music as Jim Dickson recounts, “Criticism was often levelled at the Survivors for their lack of original material. The band were able to exist in those punksnobbery times because their energy was equal to anyone's and purely dedicated to the music which transcended the transient social commitments of the time.”(2)
Mushroom Records
subsidiary label Suicide Records reissued the seven inch single and added both songs onto the Lethal Weapons compilation album in 1978. This was the extent of their output when they were still in existence. The band broke up in late 1978 but did manage to do shows in Sydney later on. They also managed an album well after they disbanded in 1988 called Worse than Perfect.
In 1979 Jim Dickson went on to record with Sydney
act The Passengers, whose singer was Angie Pepper later known for The Angie Pepper Band
and the single Frozen World. Drummer from The Survivors, Bruce Anthon, went on to play with numerous other groups, including bands that did jazz or blues.
Real - RR100, 1977
Suicide - 103181, 1978
Tracks on the compilation
1. Baby Come Back
2. Mr Record Man
Suicide - VXLI407, 1978, some on limited white vinyl.
Grown Up Wrong - WRONG3
Brisbane punk rock
The Brisbane punk rock scene between 1975 and 1984 is generally regarded as producing “some of the most anarchistic bands of the Australian punk rock era”...
band that formed in 1976 as a party band, which attained cult status in 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...
by their acknowledged popular live performances and contribution to the Lethal Weapons punk compilation album. According to David Nichols, (1) “The Survivors were legends in their home town of Brisbane
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...
, a highly popular and adept band whose sets were mainly cool ’60s covers.”
History
The Survivors, a southern suburbs Brisbane band, had a mutual admiration for 1960s music but originally they named their band Rat Salad after the B-side of Black SabbathBlack Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
’s "Paranoid
Paranoid (song)
"Paranoid" is a song by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, featured on their second album Paranoid . It is the first single from the album, while the B-side is the song "The Wizard". It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" single. They changed their name in 1977 to The Survivors still playing mostly parties or occasionally hiring a hall, until the Curry Shop venue began supporting local punk acts in the heart of Brisbane on Sundays.
Whilst known for their energetic versions of other group’s songs, they managed to release one stamped sleeve seven inch single on the Real label. The A-side Baby Come Back flirted with 1960s music but also had a strong stylistic sense of original 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...
punk. They encountered condemnation from 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...
circles for being to close to Sixties covers music as Jim Dickson recounts, “Criticism was often levelled at the Survivors for their lack of original material. The band were able to exist in those punksnobbery times because their energy was equal to anyone's and purely dedicated to the music which transcended the transient social commitments of the time.”(2)
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
subsidiary label Suicide Records reissued the seven inch single and added both songs onto the Lethal Weapons compilation album in 1978. This was the extent of their output when they were still in existence. The band broke up in late 1978 but did manage to do shows in Sydney later on. They also managed an album well after they disbanded in 1988 called Worse than Perfect.
In 1979 Jim Dickson went on to record with 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...
act The Passengers, whose singer was Angie Pepper later known for The Angie Pepper Band
The Angie Pepper Band
The Angie Pepper Band was a band formed in Sydney, Australia, which centralised around the artist Angie Pepper. Angie Pepper first came to notice as vocalist for the post punk independent Sydney band the Passengers, who produced one single on the Phantom label...
and the single Frozen World. Drummer from The Survivors, Bruce Anthon, went on to play with numerous other groups, including bands that did jazz or blues.
Personnel
- Bruce Anthon – Drums and Vocals
- Jim Dickson – Bass and Vocals
- Greg Williamson – Guitar and Vocals
Discography
- Baby Come Back / Mr Record Man - 7" 1977
Real - RR100, 1977
Suicide - 103181, 1978
- Lethal Weapons (various artists compilation) 1978
Tracks on the compilation
1. Baby Come Back
2. Mr Record Man
Suicide - VXLI407, 1978, some on limited white vinyl.
- Worse Than Perfect – L.P. 1988
Grown Up Wrong - WRONG3
External links
- http://www.messandnoise.com/articles/1301167, Lethal Weapons 30 years on - David Nichols, 2007
- http://www.divinerites.com/b_surviv.htm The Survivors - Jim Dickson