andrew Stafford

356 Pages·2010·43.03 MB·English

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andrew Stafford
From cult heroes the Saints and the Go-Betweens
to national icons Powderfinger and international
stars Savage Garden, Brisbane has produced more
than its share of great bands. But behind the music
lay a ghost city of malice and corruption.
Pressed under the thumb of the Bjelke-Petersen
government and its toughest enforcers - the police
- Brisbane's musicians, radio announcers and
political activists braved ignorance, harassment
and often violence to be heard.
Pig City maps the shifts in musical, political and
cultural consciousness that have shaped the city's
history and identity. This is Brisbane's story -
the story of how a city finally grew up.
pig city
THE UNIVERSITY
OF QUEENSLAND
Presented to the
Fryer Library
by
University of Queensland Press
on 26 October 2004

PlO CJllf
from the saints to savage garden
andrew Stafford
First published 2004 by University of Queensland Press
Box 6042, St Lucia, Queensland 4067 Australia
www.uqp.uq.edu.au
© Andrew Stafford
This book is copyright. Except for private study, research,
criticism or reviews, as permitted under the Copyright Act,
no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior
written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.
Typeset by University of Queensland Press
Printed in Australia by McPherson's Printing Group
111
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'2 Stafford, Andrew, 1971- . 5- Q Ul Q
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Pig city: from The Saints to Savage Garden.
a u IS o
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3 1. Rock music — Australia — 1971-1980 — History and li- ID z) cc cu IT
criticism. 2. Rock music — Australia — 1981-1990 — History
and criticism. 3. Rock music — Australia — 1991-2000 —
History and criticism. 4. Brisbane (Qld) — Songs and
music. 5. Brisbane (Qld) — Social life and customs — 20th
century. I. Title.
Includes index.
781.660994
ISBN 0 7022 3360 9
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders for reproduction purposes. In
the event of any omissions, please contact the publisher so that appropriate credit
can be attributed in future editions of this book.
Permissions
Song credits
p. 1 'Lee Remick' © Forster/McLennan (licensed by Festival/Mushroom
Publishing, obo Complete Music); p. 57 'Nights In Venice' 1977 ©
Kuepper/Bailey (Mushroom Music Publishing) p. 63 'Brisbane (Security
City)' © Kuepper/Bailey (Mushroom Music Publishing) p. 68 'Karen' ©
Forster/McLennan (licensed by Festival/Mushroom Publishing, obo
Complete Music); p. 79 'Don't Let Him Come Back' © Forster/McLennan
(licensed by Festival/Mushroom Publishing, obo Complete Music); p. 87
'Task Force (Undercover Cops)' © Burke/Razar (Control); p. 100 'Help' ©
Walsh (Control); p. 103 'Mr Somewhere' © Walsh (Complete Music); p.
122 'Cattle And Cane' © Forster/McLennan (licensed by Festival/Mush
room Publishing, obo Complete Music); pp. 128-129 'Pig City' © Kneipp
(Control); p. 135 'Brisbane Blacks' © Conlon (Control); p. 138 'Thou
Shalt Not Steal' © Carmody (Song Cycles); p. 140 'Black Deaths In Cus
tody' © Carmody (Song Cycles); p. 146 'Brisbane '82' © Kennedy (Con
trol); p. 146 'SEQEB Scabs' © de Hesse (Control); p. 148 'Too Much Acid'
© Pineapples from the Dawn of Time (Shoddy Productions); p. 172 'Cy
clone Hits Expo' © Choo Dikka Dikka (Control); p. 199 'Melody' ©
McCormack (Universal); p. 206 'I Want To Be Quiet' © Forster (licensed
by Festival/Mushroom Publishing, obo Complete Music); p. 214 'Fan
tastic Plastic' © McCormack (Universal); p. 235 'Music Is Sport' ©
Yeomans (EMI Music Publishing); p. 239 '1 Will Lick Your Arsehole' ©
Yeomans (EMI Music Publishing).
Text credits
Permission to quote from Andrew McGahan's Last Drinks kindly granted
by Allen & Unwin. Permission to quote from Clinton Walker's Stranded
kindly granted by Pan Macmillan.
VI PERMISSIONS
Cover
Front flap: Photo of Bernard Fanning, © David Anderson/Headpress
Front cover: Photo of Regurgitator © Tony Mott, reproduced courtesy of
Warner Music; photo of Steven Mee of Razar from the single sleeve of
'Task Force (Undercover Cops)'; single sleeve of 'Pig City' by The Para
meters
Back cover: Photo of The Saints from the album sleeve of {I'm) Stranded;
the single 'Pig City' by The Parameters
Back flap: Photo of Festival Hall © Tony Giacca
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction — Know Your Product 1
PINEAPPLES FROM THE DAWN OF TIME (1971-1979)
1. A Million People Staying Low 7
Brisbane (Security City)
2. Guerrilla Radio 20
The difficult birth of4ZZZ
3. The Most Primitive Band in the World 44
The Saints
4. The Striped Sunlight Sound 65
The Go-Betweens
5. Task Force versus the Brisbane Punks 79
Eariy punk on the Brisbane scene
6. Swept Away 95
The Riptides; The Apartments
UPS AND DOWNS (1980-1989)
7. Last of the Leather Age 107
The Fun Things; The 31st; The End; The Screaming Tribesmen
8. Everybody Moves 117
The bands leave home
vni CONTENTS
9. Brisbane Blacks 1^0
Aboriginal rock
10. Too Much Acid 141
Sydney or the bush
11. SS Brigade 153
The eviction of4ZZZ
12. Cyclone Hits Expo 171
The impact of the Livid Festival
AFFIRMATION (1990-2000)
13. Rock Against Work! 183
The Brisbane scene post-National Party
14. Spring Hill Fair 199
The Custard collective
15. Black Ticket Day 213
4ZZZ in the 1990s
16. The Human Jukebox 229
Regurgitator
17. New Suburban Fables 244
Powderfinger
18. Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World 257
Savage Garden
Epilogue — No, Your Product 270
Notes 277
Appendix A — Cast of Characters 287
Appendix B — Soundtrack 297
Bibliography 308
Index 317