Great Lost Albums
Radio Birdman
Radios Appear (Trafalgar, 1977)
The freshest forgotten albums of yesteryear. Not the usual fawned over suspects but albums that ‘net-trawlers and second hand record shop aficionados may come across and should snap up now.
This month Guy Oddy goes wild for…
Guitarist Deniz Tek and singer Rob Younger formed Radio Birdman in Sydney in 1974 with the expressed intention of shaking things up. This they did, in spades. In a cultural landscape dominated, in the live arena, by insipid boogie bands in the image of Bad Company and, on the airwaves, by watered-down disco and soft rock, Radio Birdman pretty-much kicked-started the Sydney punk rock movement. Not bad for a band that weren’t really punks at all.
Radio Birdman took some time to find their feet but, from its birth, the band demonstrated peculiar traits that were not usual among Australian bands of the time. All members played raw, full-throttle, rock’n’roll, yet the unit as a whole was able to develop a sound with minimal structure that was allowed to go in any direction, at any time. This might also include elements of theatre, dance and poetry recitals. No two performances were ever the same.
The Sydney music establishment reacted in a predictable manner. Gigs were frequently cancelled after the first song, often with the threat of physical violence, as bouncers were turned loose on the group. Radio Birdman, refusing to compromise their vision, put on their own shows in community halls until they found a pub, the Oxford Tavern, which allowed them to perform without restrictions. Eventually, the band took over the management of the venue, renamed it the Oxford Funhouse, and opened the doors to fellow travellers who had similarly been denied access to an audience. The Sydney punk scene had found its first real home.
At this point, the line-up of Radio Birdman stabilised around Tek, Younger, bassman Warwick Gilbert, drummer Ron Keeley, keysman Pip Hoyle, and second guitarist Chris Masuak. In addition, the wilful experimentation and performance art were jettisoned in favour of a high-octane sound, reminiscent of the Ramones, filtered through the late-‘60s Detroit scene of the Stooges and the MC5. This was soon demonstrated on the EP ‘Burn My Eye’ and album ‘Radios Appear’. Both were low budget recordings, made piecemeal between paying clients, at Sydney’s Trafalgar studios.
‘Radios Appear’, especially, was a rollercoaster ride that included tunes such as ‘New Race’, ‘Anglo Girl Desire’, ‘Murder City Nights’, and a spirited cover of the Stooges’ ‘TV Eye’. Not everything was played at break-neck speed, however, as the album also featured ‘Love Kills’ and ‘Man With Golden Helmet’. Neither could be described as ballads, as such, but ‘Love Kills’ does feel akin to Lou Reed’s mellower moments, with more than a hint of menace.
‘Radios Appear’ was critically acclaimed by the Australian media at the time, but it was self-released and distributed, to reduce costs and price. Without the push of mainstream marketing and traditional distribution sales were therefore limited. However, when Seymour Stein was in Australia to sign Brisbane’s The Saints to Sire, he saw a Radio Birdman show at the Oxford Funhouse and was so impressed that he licensed ‘Radios Appear’ for international distribution and signed an international deal with the band.
Radio Birdman wanted to make changes to the original album and, with Sire’s blessing, they returned to Trafalgar, to re-record tracks such as ‘New Race’ and ‘Anglo Girl Desire’, and to replace others with newer material such as their homage to TV show Hawaii 5-0, ‘Aloha Stev and Danno’ (“Book him Danno, murder one. Awlright!”), ‘Non Stop Girls’ and a Thirteenth Floor Elevators-on-amphetamines version of ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’.
The publicity that the Sydney punk scene was gaining at this point, was now also beginning to attract violence and fringe elements with unpalatable agendas. ‘Radio Birdman’ took this cue to go walkabout and, after a successful tour of Australia, they took off for Europe. Despite headlining gigs and dates with the Flamin’ Groovies, the group found itself back at square one in an England that was just seeing off the last of the punk movement. In addition, financial problems forced Sire to drop Radio Birdman and all but four of their acts when the band was mid-tour. They soldiered on but the album they were supposed to be supporting, the revised ‘Radios Appear’, didn’t. Thousands of copies were left abandoned in warehouses, later to be destroyed or to turn up in record shop bargain bins across the world.
Radio Birdman recorded a follow-up to ‘Radios Appear’ in 1978, called ‘Living Eyes’, mainly because Sire had neglected to cancel the sessions. The writing was on the wall, however, and after a final gig, at Oxford University, Radio Birdman finally gave up the ghost. ‘Living Eyes’ was released posthumously in 1981.
All the members of Radio Birdman went on to play with other bands. Most notably Rob Younger and Warwick Gilbert formed New Race with Dennis Thompson, of the MC5, and the Stooges’ Ron Ashton. They released one album, ‘The First And Last’.
During the ‘80s and ‘90s, just as with their spiritual forefathers, The Stooges and the MC5, the influence of Radio Birdman began to make itself felt to a much greater extent than when the band was functioning, especially within Australia. This influence was clearly part of bands such as the Birthday Party and the Died Pretty, but it could arguably even be recognised in far younger groups of today like Jet. Encouraged by this belated appreciation, Radio Birdman reformed in 1996 for occasional tours. However, in 2006 the group became a full-time project again with the release of a new album, ‘Zeno Beach’, and extensive touring throughout Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the USA.
When they were released both versions of ‘Radios Appear’ were essential listening. In fact, they only had five tracks in common. The first version was a reflection of the band during the time when they were very much an underground phenomenon, but their unconventional recording sessions meant that some tunes didn’t get the production that they deserved. The second, or ‘overseas’ version of the album was actually a hybrid of the best of the earlier recordings and the best of the newer live material. For years, this meant finding both versions. In 1995, however, the whole package was re-released and remastered with all fifteen tracks from the two sets and for those that like their rock’n’roll influenced by the likes of the Stooges, the Ramones and those that play with a certain raw power, ‘Radios Appear’ proved itself more than able to banish all memories of Antipodean sludge such as INXS.
