Weddings Parties Anything
Encyclopedia
Weddings Parties Anything were an Australian folk rock
band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1998. Their name came from The Clash
song ("Revolution Rock") and musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the '70s
.
grew up in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, where he played in bush bands in his youth. In 1981 (at age 21) he moved to Melbourne and after a couple of years in Melbourne's pub rock
scene with bands like Where's Wolfgang and Trial, Thomas formed the first version of Weddings, Parties, Anything in late 1984. Thomas' idea behind Weddings Parties Anything was to combine that punk rock inspiration with his original love for the honest storytelling in folk music. The band was essentially based on a song he'd written, ""Away, Away"".
In early 1985 the group's original piano accordion player Wendy Joseph was replaced by Mark Wallace. Michael Thomas had placed an ad looking for an accordion player, but didn't receive any responses. He then looked through the phone book for music schools and lists of their past students. After four or five schools he came up with Mark "Wally" Wallace, who'd been playing in his dad's Scottish Club band. Wallace was also listening to rock bands such as The Violent Femmes and like Thomas he was keen to put the accordion into a modern context. Another inclusion to the line-up was guitarist Dave Steel (Strange Tenants and Fire Down Below).
With original drummer David Adams, it was this four piece Weddings Parties Anything which released a four track self-titled EP on the group's own Suffering Tram label. By the time they released their version of Tex Morton
's 'Sgt.Small' as a single, the line-up comprised Michael Thomas, Mark Wallace, Dave Steel, bassist Janine Hall (formerly of the band The Saints
) and drummer Marcus Schintler returning to work with Mick, after the two met at an audition as the rhythm section for Melbourne band Little Murders two years earlier. 'Sgt.Small' was written in the 1930s about the Queensland Railway Police, and was banned soon after its release in Australia.
. They recorded it as another independent release, but on the strength of the group's ever growing live following, the group ended up being offered a recording contract and the album was released by Warners. Janine Hall left the band following the release of the album, and was replaced by Peter Lawler, adding a mandolin
to the band's repertoire. It was that line-up that produced 1988's Roaring Days
. 1988 also saw Weddings Parties Anything winning its first ARIA award
for 'Best New Talent', which was followed by another ARIA in 1989 for 'Best Indigenous Release' (Roaring Days
). Dave Steel left the band following a tour of North America, citing exhaustion as the chief reason. He also noted in several interviews, at the time of his departure (1988), that he was feeling frustrated not getting a lot of his material on the Weddings Parties Anything albums. He released his debut solo album, through WEA in 1989. He was replaced by Richard Burgman (The Sunnyboys) for the band's 1989 release, The Big Don't Argue
, and accompanying tours. In 1989 the band won a third ARIA for Best Indigenous Release (The Big Don't Argue
), the second such award with the nomination causing the band to boycott the awards for the second year running. In 1990 Weddings Parties Anything parted company with Warners.
The band spent a great deal of time touring over the next three years, and managed to release only one EP in 1990, titled The Weddings Play Sports (and Falcons)
, featuring cover versions of the bands The Sports
, and Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons
. The band resurfaced, in 1992, with the release of Difficult Loves and yet another guitarist, Paul Thomas (Huxton Creepers
), replacing the departing Richard Burgman. It was only when the album was finished that at a new distribution deal was signed, with RooArt
. The single "Father's Day" reached number 42 on the ARIA charts
and was nominated for Single of the Year as well as winning Song of the Year at the 1993 ARIA awards
). This line-up (Michael Thomas, Paul Thomas, Mark Wallace, Marcus Schintler, and Peter Lawler) remained intact for another two years, producing another album, King Tide
in 1993. Following the world tour to promote that release, Marcus Schintler left the band for family reasons (later joining Sydney surf band The Wetsuits with Jon Schofield, Clyde Bramley, Stephen "Bones" Martin and Katrina Amiss), with Peter Lawler leaving a year later to pursue a solo career (later to work with Jimmy Barnes and Tim Rogers among others).
. The band now included Jen Anderson (violins, mandolin)(formerly of the band, The Black Sorrows
), Michael Barclay (drums), Stephen O'Prey (bass) (formerly of The Badloves
), as well as Michael Thomas, Paul Thomas and Mark Wallace. The music style shifted somewhat from folk to a more alternative country sound. The band decided at this time to concentrate on the Australian market, and did less touring outside of their native Australia.
The band finished 1997 with a new release, Riveresque
on a new label (Mushroom
/Sony), and by 1998, the band decided to take a break and work on several solo projects, including Michael Thomas's musical Over In The West.
Weddings Parties Anything initially gained a reputation as a hot new band through their constant touring in their early days, however they never really became a commercial success. They did however, form a fanatical supporter base, known as the "Wedheads" that continued to sustain the band for years. Upon the conclusion of the band several members continued on to other projects, with Mick Thomas
embarking on a solo career and eventually settled with a new band 'The Sure Thing', which went through many different lineups. He also established Croxton Records with friend Nick Corr
. Thomas has also written or co-written plays Over in the West and The Tank and is an accomplished music producer and engineer.
Jen Anderson has composed live music for the black and white silent movie Pandora's Box
and to accompany The Sentimental Bloke
for the Melbourne International Film Festival
. Anderson has toured with Tiddas
, Paul Kelly
and Archie Roach
, and she has also composed the soundtracks for Clara Law
's film The Goddess of 1967
and the TV mini-series Simone de Beauvoir
's Babies. She has performed on albums for Dave Graney
, Hunters and Collectors, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
, and has produced recordings by Ruby Hunter and the Waifs
.
Football
match on July 2005 and also performed at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne as a warm-up show two nights prior. The band reformed again later the next year for a one off performance at the Queenscliff Music Festival
in November 2006.
In January 2008, Weddings Parties Anything announced the March/April dates for the bands Ten Year Reunion Tour 2008, including an international performance at the Astoria (formally The Mean Fiddler) in London on April 25 (ANZAC Day
). They sold out four consecutive shows at Melbourne venue The Corner Hotel, adding a 5th to surpass the record previously held by the Hilltop Hoods
from 2004.
, a cannibal
in the convict days of Tasmania
. Fans would traditionally have their coins ready to throw at the band as they sang the chorus of "Ticket in Tatts", while shielding their eyes. This was in reference to the lyrics concerning being "ten cents short of a dollar".
Also known for the especially legendary Christmas shows which grew from one night on Christmas Eve to a full week of live shows at the Central Club Hotel in Richmond
. The 1998 show was recorded and released as a double live album, They Were Better Live, which was nominated for an ARIA award
in 1999 for 'Best Blues & Roots Album'). The last performance was also the basis of a play, A Party in Fitzroy, by Victorian playwright Ross Mueller.
’ band. The audience for the band was close to a mainstream rock crowd, their folk credentials were further evidenced by Celtic influences and an affinity for traditional Australian songs ("Streets of Forbes", "Sergeant Small"), plus original songs by Thomas which drew upon a similar repository of colonial folklore ("A Tale They Won’t Believe"). Canadian commentator Jeremy Mouat, concluded that their "music is largely concerned with the connections between past and present, whether it be the bond of memory or an identification with tradition". They led what later became known as the alt-country scene in Melbourne
. The band were often compared to The Pogues
, though the two bands were actually contemporaries rather than one following the other; the two bands toured Australia together in the early '90s.
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1998. Their name came from The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
song ("Revolution Rock") and musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the '70s
Living in the Seventies
Living in the 70's was the debut album released by Melbourne band Skyhooks in October 1974 on the Mushroom Records label. Initially charting in Melbourne only in 1974, by early 1975 the rest of the nation began to catch on...
.
Formation and early years
Mick ThomasMick Thomas
Michael James Thomas is an Australian singer-songwriter.Mick Thomas was born in Yallourn, 7 February 1960, the middle child of three. His father, Brian Thomas, was an electrical engineer with the old State Electricity Commission. His father's family were from Tasmania and his mother, Margaret, was...
grew up in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, where he played in bush bands in his youth. In 1981 (at age 21) he moved to Melbourne and after a couple of years in Melbourne's pub rock
Pub rock (Australia)
Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music today....
scene with bands like Where's Wolfgang and Trial, Thomas formed the first version of Weddings, Parties, Anything in late 1984. Thomas' idea behind Weddings Parties Anything was to combine that punk rock inspiration with his original love for the honest storytelling in folk music. The band was essentially based on a song he'd written, ""Away, Away"".
In early 1985 the group's original piano accordion player Wendy Joseph was replaced by Mark Wallace. Michael Thomas had placed an ad looking for an accordion player, but didn't receive any responses. He then looked through the phone book for music schools and lists of their past students. After four or five schools he came up with Mark "Wally" Wallace, who'd been playing in his dad's Scottish Club band. Wallace was also listening to rock bands such as The Violent Femmes and like Thomas he was keen to put the accordion into a modern context. Another inclusion to the line-up was guitarist Dave Steel (Strange Tenants and Fire Down Below).
With original drummer David Adams, it was this four piece Weddings Parties Anything which released a four track self-titled EP on the group's own Suffering Tram label. By the time they released their version of Tex Morton
Tex Morton
Tex Morton was a pioneer of Australian country music.-Early life:At age 14 he left home to launch himself into show business...
's 'Sgt.Small' as a single, the line-up comprised Michael Thomas, Mark Wallace, Dave Steel, bassist Janine Hall (formerly of the band The Saints
The Saints (band)
The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. Founders were Chris Bailey , Ivor Hay , and Ed Kuepper . Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups...
) and drummer Marcus Schintler returning to work with Mick, after the two met at an audition as the rhythm section for Melbourne band Little Murders two years earlier. 'Sgt.Small' was written in the 1930s about the Queensland Railway Police, and was banned soon after its release in Australia.
First albums and success
In 1987 Weddings Parties Anything released its first album, Scorn of the WomenScorn of the Women
Scorn of the Women is the debut album by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The band originally recorded it as an independent release, but on the strength of the group's ever growing live following, the group ended up being offered a recording contract and the album was released by...
. They recorded it as another independent release, but on the strength of the group's ever growing live following, the group ended up being offered a recording contract and the album was released by Warners. Janine Hall left the band following the release of the album, and was replaced by Peter Lawler, adding a mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
to the band's repertoire. It was that line-up that produced 1988's Roaring Days
Roaring Days
Roaring Days is the second studio album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The title of the album was based on the poem, "Roaring Days", by Henry Lawson.-Track listing:All songs written by Mick Thomas, except where noted...
. 1988 also saw Weddings Parties Anything winning its first ARIA award
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
for 'Best New Talent', which was followed by another ARIA in 1989 for 'Best Indigenous Release' (Roaring Days
Roaring Days
Roaring Days is the second studio album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The title of the album was based on the poem, "Roaring Days", by Henry Lawson.-Track listing:All songs written by Mick Thomas, except where noted...
). Dave Steel left the band following a tour of North America, citing exhaustion as the chief reason. He also noted in several interviews, at the time of his departure (1988), that he was feeling frustrated not getting a lot of his material on the Weddings Parties Anything albums. He released his debut solo album, through WEA in 1989. He was replaced by Richard Burgman (The Sunnyboys) for the band's 1989 release, The Big Don't Argue
The Big Don't Argue
The Big Don't Argue is the third studio album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The album was produced by Memphis legend Jim Dickinson, who had worked with Big Star and the Rolling Stones."A Tale they won't Believe" relates to a tale from Australia’s colonial past, a...
, and accompanying tours. In 1989 the band won a third ARIA for Best Indigenous Release (The Big Don't Argue
The Big Don't Argue
The Big Don't Argue is the third studio album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The album was produced by Memphis legend Jim Dickinson, who had worked with Big Star and the Rolling Stones."A Tale they won't Believe" relates to a tale from Australia’s colonial past, a...
), the second such award with the nomination causing the band to boycott the awards for the second year running. In 1990 Weddings Parties Anything parted company with Warners.
The band spent a great deal of time touring over the next three years, and managed to release only one EP in 1990, titled The Weddings Play Sports (and Falcons)
Weddings Play Sports and Falcons
Weddings Play Sports is a mini-album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything of cover songs of two Australian bands, The Sports and The Falcons....
, featuring cover versions of the bands The Sports
The Sports
The Sports were a popular Australian rock group that performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981.Based in Melbourne, Victoria, the group released a number of successful singles and albums. Their sound fitted well with both 1970s British pub rock bands and British New Wave...
, and Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons
Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons
Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons were an Australian blues and rock music band which featured singer, songwriter and saxophonist, Joe Camilleri . The band was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had several Australian chart hits, including "Hit and Run", "Shape I'm In" and "All I Wanna Do"...
. The band resurfaced, in 1992, with the release of Difficult Loves and yet another guitarist, Paul Thomas (Huxton Creepers
Huxton Creepers
The Huxton Creepers were an Australian rock band from Melbourne. They formed in 1984, three years after they left high school, and split in 1989...
), replacing the departing Richard Burgman. It was only when the album was finished that at a new distribution deal was signed, with RooArt
RooArt
rooArt was an Australian independent record label, founded in 1988 by INXS's then-manager, Chris Murphy. The label's roster included several well-known Australian bands and artists such as Crow, Ratcat, Screaming Jets, You Am I, Wendy Matthews, The Hummingbirds, The Trilobites and Amanda Brown...
. The single "Father's Day" reached number 42 on the ARIA charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
and was nominated for Single of the Year as well as winning Song of the Year at the 1993 ARIA awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
). This line-up (Michael Thomas, Paul Thomas, Mark Wallace, Marcus Schintler, and Peter Lawler) remained intact for another two years, producing another album, King Tide
King tide
King tide is the popular name for an especially high tide. The phrase is used mostly in Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific nations.In the lunar month, the highest tides occur roughly every 14 days, at the new and full moons, when the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun are in line...
in 1993. Following the world tour to promote that release, Marcus Schintler left the band for family reasons (later joining Sydney surf band The Wetsuits with Jon Schofield, Clyde Bramley, Stephen "Bones" Martin and Katrina Amiss), with Peter Lawler leaving a year later to pursue a solo career (later to work with Jimmy Barnes and Tim Rogers among others).
Reformation in 1996 with new lineup
Thomas reformed the band, and by 1996, the new Weddings Parties Anything lineup was ready for its first release, the independently produced Donkey SerenadeDonkey Serenade
Donkey Serenade is an independent album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything comprising four cover versions , four new songs written or co-written by Michael Thomas and a couple of old songs re-recorded, "Nothing...
. The band now included Jen Anderson (violins, mandolin)(formerly of the band, The Black Sorrows
The Black Sorrows
The Black Sorrows are an Australian band founded by Joe Camilleri, the group's only constant member. Founded in 1983, The Black Sorrows are still active today, and are best remembered for their top 40 Australian hits of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including "Hold On To Me", "Chained To The...
), Michael Barclay (drums), Stephen O'Prey (bass) (formerly of The Badloves
The Badloves
The Badloves is an Australian band that formed in 1990, dissolved in 1997 and reformed in 2008.-1990:The Badloves were formed by frontman Michael Spiby in Melbourne during January 1990 under the name DC3. The band consisted of Spiby , his brother John Spiby , John Housden , Stephen O'Prey and...
), as well as Michael Thomas, Paul Thomas and Mark Wallace. The music style shifted somewhat from folk to a more alternative country sound. The band decided at this time to concentrate on the Australian market, and did less touring outside of their native Australia.
The band finished 1997 with a new release, Riveresque
Riveresque
River'esque is the ninth studio album by Weddings Parties Anything and the first on their new record label, Mushroom Records, it was released October 21, 1997...
on a new label (Mushroom
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...
/Sony), and by 1998, the band decided to take a break and work on several solo projects, including Michael Thomas's musical Over In The West.
Weddings Parties Anything initially gained a reputation as a hot new band through their constant touring in their early days, however they never really became a commercial success. They did however, form a fanatical supporter base, known as the "Wedheads" that continued to sustain the band for years. Upon the conclusion of the band several members continued on to other projects, with Mick Thomas
Mick Thomas
Michael James Thomas is an Australian singer-songwriter.Mick Thomas was born in Yallourn, 7 February 1960, the middle child of three. His father, Brian Thomas, was an electrical engineer with the old State Electricity Commission. His father's family were from Tasmania and his mother, Margaret, was...
embarking on a solo career and eventually settled with a new band 'The Sure Thing', which went through many different lineups. He also established Croxton Records with friend Nick Corr
Nick Corr
Nick Corr is co-founder, with Mick Thomas of Australia's Croxton Records. Founded in 1999, the label provides a home for a select group of acts, with the house ethos a mixture of country and roots, folk and rock...
. Thomas has also written or co-written plays Over in the West and The Tank and is an accomplished music producer and engineer.
Jen Anderson has composed live music for the black and white silent movie Pandora's Box
Pandora's Box (film)
Pandora's Box is a 1929 German silent melodrama film based on Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora . Directed by Austrian filmmaker Georg Wilhelm Pabst, the film stars Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, and Francis Lederer...
and to accompany The Sentimental Bloke
The Sentimental Bloke
The Sentimental Bloke is an Australian silent film based on the 1915 poem The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C.J. Dennis.The film, from the Southern Cross Feature Film Company of Adelaide, was made by Raymond Longford and Lottie Lyell, at that time the best known partnership in Australian cinema...
for the Melbourne International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
. Anderson has toured with Tiddas
Tiddas
Tiddas are a three piece all-girl folk band from Victoria, Australia.-Biography:Originally the three women, Amy Saunders , Lou Bennett and Sally Dastey combined their vocal talents as backing singers for Aboriginal band Djaambi, led by Saunder's brother Richard Frankland in 1990...
, Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
and Archie Roach
Archie Roach
Archie Roach is an Australian musician. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, he survived a turbulent upbringing to develop into a powerful voice for Indigenous Australians, a storyteller in the tradition of his ancestors, and a nationally popular and respected artist.- Biography :In his own words,...
, and she has also composed the soundtracks for Clara Law
Clara Law
Clara Law is a Hong Kong Second Wave film director, now having relocated to Australia before the 1997 Hong Kong handover....
's film The Goddess of 1967
The Goddess of 1967
The Goddess of 1967 is a 2000 Australian film directed by Macau-born Australian Clara Law, who wrote the script with her husband Eddie Ling-Ching Fong....
and the TV mini-series Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...
's Babies. She has performed on albums for 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...
, Hunters and Collectors, 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 :...
, and has produced recordings by Ruby Hunter and the Waifs
The Waifs
The Waifs are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by Josh Cunningham , and sisters Vikki Thorn and Donna Simpson...
.
Further reformations
Weddings Parties Anything reformed for the Community CupCommunity Cup
The Community Cup is an annual charity event held in Melbourne which features an Australian rules football match. It is noted for its cult following, celebrity appearances and media profile....
Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
match on July 2005 and also performed at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne as a warm-up show two nights prior. The band reformed again later the next year for a one off performance at the Queenscliff Music Festival
Queenscliff Music Festival
Queenscliff Music Festival is a live music festival held in the town of Queenscliff, located on the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. The festival began in 1997 and is held annually on the last weekend of November.- External links :* * *...
in November 2006.
In January 2008, Weddings Parties Anything announced the March/April dates for the bands Ten Year Reunion Tour 2008, including an international performance at the Astoria (formally The Mean Fiddler) in London on April 25 (ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
). They sold out four consecutive shows at Melbourne venue The Corner Hotel, adding a 5th to surpass the record previously held by the Hilltop Hoods
Hilltop Hoods
The Hilltop Hoods are an ARIA Award winning Australian hip hop group, from Adelaide, South Australia. Their members are MCs Suffa , MC Pressure , DJ Debris and formerly DJ Next. They have been at the centre of the Australian hip hop scene for the better part of two decades, originally forming back...
from 2004.
Live performances
Renowned for their energetic live shows, Weddings Parties Anything had a handful of live songs that were nearly always guaranteed to push the mosh pit into a frenzy, particularly "A Tale They Won't Believe", the story of Alexander PearceAlexander Pearce
Alexander Pearce was an Irish convict who was transported to Van Diemen's Land for theft. He escaped from prison several times, but eventually was captured and was hanged and dissected in Hobart for murder....
, a cannibal
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
in the convict days of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. Fans would traditionally have their coins ready to throw at the band as they sang the chorus of "Ticket in Tatts", while shielding their eyes. This was in reference to the lyrics concerning being "ten cents short of a dollar".
Also known for the especially legendary Christmas shows which grew from one night on Christmas Eve to a full week of live shows at the Central Club Hotel in Richmond
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
. The 1998 show was recorded and released as a double live album, They Were Better Live, which was nominated for an ARIA award
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
in 1999 for 'Best Blues & Roots Album'). The last performance was also the basis of a play, A Party in Fitzroy, by Victorian playwright Ross Mueller.
Musical style
Musically, Weddings Parties Anything were a combination of Australian indie and garage rock, sixties folk, punk and (later) country and are usually described as being a ‘folk rockFolk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
’ band. The audience for the band was close to a mainstream rock crowd, their folk credentials were further evidenced by Celtic influences and an affinity for traditional Australian songs ("Streets of Forbes", "Sergeant Small"), plus original songs by Thomas which drew upon a similar repository of colonial folklore ("A Tale They Won’t Believe"). Canadian commentator Jeremy Mouat, concluded that their "music is largely concerned with the connections between past and present, whether it be the bond of memory or an identification with tradition". They led what later became known as the alt-country scene in 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...
. The band were often compared to The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
, though the two bands were actually contemporaries rather than one following the other; the two bands toured Australia together in the early '90s.
Members
- Mick ThomasMick ThomasMichael James Thomas is an Australian singer-songwriter.Mick Thomas was born in Yallourn, 7 February 1960, the middle child of three. His father, Brian Thomas, was an electrical engineer with the old State Electricity Commission. His father's family were from Tasmania and his mother, Margaret, was...
(vocals, guitar, mandolin) 1984-1998, 2006, 2008 - Mark Wallace (piano accordion, keyboards, vocals) 1985-1998, 2006, 2008
- Paul Thomas (guitar, pedal steel) 1989-1998, 2006, 2008
- Michael Barclay (drums, vocals) 1993-1998, 2006, 2008
- Stephen O'Prey (bass guitar, guitar, vocals) 1993-1998, 2006, 2008
- Jen Anderson (violin, mandolin, guitar, vocals) 1992-1998, 2006, 2008
Former members
- Dave Adams (drums) 1984-1986
- Richard Burgman (guitar, mandolin, tin whistle, vocals) 1988-1989
- Paul Clarke (guitar) 1984-1985
- Janine Hall (bass guitar, vocals) 1986-1987
- Wendy Joseph (violin) 1984
- Peter Lawler (bass guitar, vocals) 1987-1993
- Marcus Schintler (drums, stubbie, melodica, vocals) 1986-1993
- Dave Steel (guitar, vocals) 1985-1988
Albums
- Scorn of the WomenScorn of the WomenScorn of the Women is the debut album by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The band originally recorded it as an independent release, but on the strength of the group's ever growing live following, the group ended up being offered a recording contract and the album was released by...
- WEAWarner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
(1987) #52 AUS - Roaring DaysRoaring DaysRoaring Days is the second studio album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The title of the album was based on the poem, "Roaring Days", by Henry Lawson.-Track listing:All songs written by Mick Thomas, except where noted...
- WEAWarner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
(1988) #46 AUS - The Big Don't ArgueThe Big Don't ArgueThe Big Don't Argue is the third studio album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The album was produced by Memphis legend Jim Dickinson, who had worked with Big Star and the Rolling Stones."A Tale they won't Believe" relates to a tale from Australia’s colonial past, a...
- WEAWarner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
(1989) #63 AUS - No Show Without PunchNo Show Without PunchNo Show Without Punch is a mini-album released in the United Kingdom by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. It was released on Billy Bragg's Utility label, and comprises material from their first album, Scorn of the Women, and the EP, Goat Dancing on the Tables...
- (Utility Records - UK release) (1990) - The Weddings Play Sports (and Falcons)Weddings Play Sports and FalconsWeddings Play Sports is a mini-album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything of cover songs of two Australian bands, The Sports and The Falcons....
- 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...
(1990) #95 AUS - Difficult Loves - rooArtRooArtrooArt was an Australian independent record label, founded in 1988 by INXS's then-manager, Chris Murphy. The label's roster included several well-known Australian bands and artists such as Crow, Ratcat, Screaming Jets, You Am I, Wendy Matthews, The Hummingbirds, The Trilobites and Amanda Brown...
(1992) #26 AUS - King TideKing Tide (album)King Tide is the fifth studio album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. Billy Bragg provides the vocals with Mick Thomas on "Island of Humour"...
- rooArtRooArtrooArt was an Australian independent record label, founded in 1988 by INXS's then-manager, Chris Murphy. The label's roster included several well-known Australian bands and artists such as Crow, Ratcat, Screaming Jets, You Am I, Wendy Matthews, The Hummingbirds, The Trilobites and Amanda Brown...
(1993) - Donkey SerenadeDonkey SerenadeDonkey Serenade is an independent album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything comprising four cover versions , four new songs written or co-written by Michael Thomas and a couple of old songs re-recorded, "Nothing...
- Weddings Parties Anything/Oz (1995) - River'esqueRiveresqueRiver'esque is the ninth studio album by Weddings Parties Anything and the first on their new record label, Mushroom Records, it was released October 21, 1997...
/Garage Sale - Mushroom RecordsMushroom RecordsMushroom 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...
(1997) - Trophy Night: The Best Of Weddings Parties AnythingTrophy NightTrophy Night : The Best of Weddings Parties Anything is a compilation album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. It comprises songs from the band's seven studio albums together with two new tracks: "Anthem" and "Traffic Goes By", together with a cover of The Triffids' "Wide...
/ Benched - Mushroom RecordsMushroom RecordsMushroom 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...
(1998) - They Were Better LiveThey Were Better LiveThey Were Better Live : Live at the Central Club Christmas, 1998 is a double live album released by Australian rock band Weddings Parties Anything. The recording was of the band's series of live shows at the Central Club Hotel in Richmond. It was released after the band disbanded and was the...
- Mushroom RecordsMushroom RecordsMushroom 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...
(1999)
Singles/EPs
- Weddings Parties Anything (EP) Suffering Tram (1985) - 1,000 copies
- "Sergeant Small"(live)/"Go! Move! Shift!"(live) Suffering Tram (1986) - 600 copies
- "Away, Away"/"Bourgeois Blues" WEA (1987) #92 AUS
- "Hungry Years"/"The Swans Return" WEA (1987)
- "Shotgun Wedding"/"Australia Goodnight"/"The Bells of RhymneyThe Bells of Rhymney"The Bells of Rhymney" is a song first recorded by folk singer Pete Seeger, using words written by Welsh poet Idris Davies. The lyrics to the song were drawn from part of Davies' poetic work Gwalia Deserta, which was first published in 1938...
" WEA (1987) - Goat Dancing on the TablesGoat Dancing on the TablesGoat Dancing on the Tables is the second EP/12-inch single released by Australian folk/rock band Weddings Parties Anything."Laughing Boy" is a cover of Paul Kelly's Brendan Behan tribute, taken from the band's second album, Roaring Days...
(EP) WEA (1988) - "Say The Word"/"Bright Lights Tonight" WEA (1988)
- "Tilting At Windmills"/" Misfits" (Kinks cover) WEA (1988)
- "Darlin' Please" (1989)
- "Streets Of Forbes"/"Missing In Action" WEA (1989)
- "The Wind And The Rain"/"Marie Provost" WEA (1989)
- "Reckless"/"The Great North West" Virgin (1990)
- "Father's Day" (1991) #35 AUS
- "Monday's Experts" (1992)
- "Step In, Step Out"/"Shores of AmericayThe Shores of Amerikay"The Shores of Amerikay", also known as "The Shores of America", is a traditional Irish song. The song's narrator is emigrating from Ireland to America, and the song is both a meditation on this and a statement of purpose....
"/"Wrapped Up and Blue"/"Over in the West" rooArt (1992) #60 AUS - "The Rain In My Heart"/"Chewin' On Her Fingernails"/"Everybody Moves"/"All Over Bar the Shouting"/"Everywhere I Go" rooArt(1993)
- "Island Of Humour"/Bring 'em Home" rooArt (1994)
- "Luckiest Man"/"Lights Of Devonport"/"Reason To Believe"/"Sweet Thames Flow Softly" Mushroom Records (1996)
- "Don't Need Much" (1997)
- "Anthem"/"Traffic Goes By" Mushroom Records (1998)
DVD/Video
- Live in Richmond/Christmas at the Central Club VHS - 18 song live recording at the Central Club in Melbourne, 1993. The video also contains interviews with members of the band in between songs.
- Into Time On VHS - 20 song recording of the band playing at the Metropolis Nightclub in PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth 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....
on Friday, October 16, 1998. - Siren VHS - Live recording of the band's last official performance at the Belvoir Amphitheatre in Perth, in January 1999.
- Long Time Between Drinks DVD/CD - Recorded live at the Queenscliff Music Festival, November 2006. Extras include Music Videos & Roaring Days film. Released in December 2007.