Hoodoo Gurus

The Hoodoo Gurus were a wonderful hybrid of trash pop culture, infectious songs, and great live performances. Maybe in the beginning they were a bit of a novelty, but a string of memorable singles changed that, and they became a band everyone was happy to have around. They just made life and music a lot more entertaining and colourful.

It started when three relocated Perth musicians saw in the New Year of 1981 at a rooftop party in Sydney and decided to form a new group with Sydney musician Kimble Rendall. Initially they called themselves Le Hoodoo Gurus, and gave their first ever performance on a segment of the kids' TV program 'Simon Townshend's Wonderworld'. Then they backed a man and his singing dog on the national Don Lane TV show. Hardly the beginning for a rock band desperate for musical credibility. But definitely the beginning of a band with a sense of humour and no pretentiousness.

What music fans noticed about them when Le Hoodoo Gurus started doing 'real' gigs was that the group didn't have a bass player - just three guitars and drums. That grabbed people's attention. The songs did the rest. The music echoed all the cartoon rock from the Troggs through the Ramones to The Cramps. The lyrics were like scenes from B-grade movies. Their first single 'Leilani' told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly.

Just before the single came out Rendall left to concentrate on a film career. Ringleader and main songwriter Dave Faulkner upset a lot of people by bringing in a bass player, Clyde Bramley. Guitarist Roddy Radalj was one of those upset, and he left to form the Johnnys. He was replaced by Brad Shepard, who had been with Bramley in a bubblegum music tribute band, and they dropped the awkward 'Le' in front of their name to become simply the Hoodoo Gurus.

This new line-up recorded the band's first album, 'Stoneage Romeos'. The title came from a Three Stooges short. The album was dedicated to characters from 'Get Smart', 'F-Troop' and 'Petticoat Junction'. What really mattered was the succession of happy, witty, entertaining singles which flowed from the album - 'Tojo', 'My Girl', 'I Want You Back' (YouTube). Almost as good as the songs were the clever, goofy videos that came with them. The Hoodoo Gurus would have seen the humour in the Countdown Awards cameras focusing on another band when they were announced winners of the debut album of the year award. They were a people's band.

When drummer James Baker was sacked in August 1984 there was nearly a revolution. Fans of the band's live performances thought it was the end. But the Hoodoo Gurus just went into the studio with Mark Kingsmill and recorded another album, 'Mars Needs Guitars'. This time the title was a twist on a B-grade sci fi movie title.

Almost from the beginning the Hoodoo Gurus cast their eyes to America, source of many of their music's kitsch fascinations. Dave Faulkner had been there on his way from Perth to Sydney. Now he went back as part of the Hoodoo Gurus, and saw both the group's albums top the college charts. These pockets of support in America (and Europe too) maintained the group throughout the rest of their career. Towards the end they found themselves with a fanatical following in Brazil. Because of the international standing the Hoodoo Gurus were never in a position where they had to be desperate for success in Australia. They could be themselves without compromise.

The third album 'Blow Your Cool' let go of some of the peripheral quirkiness and just concentrated on the band's pop power. Members of their international peer group The Bangles and Dream Syndicate contributed backing vocals to several songs. Then, Hoodoo Gurus decided to opt out of its record contract, tying the group up in legal wranglings for more than a year. In the meantime Rick Grossman replaced Clyde Bramley on bass. This is the line-up which saw the Hoodoo Gurus from 1989 to the end in 1997.

After two albums under their new contract - 'Magnum Cum Louder' and 'Cranky' - the band released two compilations at once. 'Electric Soup' contained the hits. 'Gorilla Biscuits' was made up of B-sides and rarities. In 1996 the band moved to Mushroom for 'Blue Cave'. Perhaps the single from the album, 'Waking Up Tired' said it all. In January 1997 Dave Faulkner announced the band was breaking up, after 16 years and a quarter of a million album sales worldwide, leaving behind a legacy of idiosyncratic pop songs. Gone, but not completely. Dave Faulkner and the boys remained actively involved in keeping the catalogue alive, whenever they felt like it they've still done a gig here and there, and some of the Gurus spirit lives on in splinter group The Persian Rugs. In 1998 Dave Faulkner and Kim Salmon of the Surrealists realized a long-held plan to work together by recording an album as part of eclectic group Antenna.

Finally at the end of 2003, Hoodoo Gurus confirmed they were returning to the studio. The result was 2004's 'Mach Shau'. The title means "make show", the instructions given to the Beatles before their legendary pre-fame Hamburg performances.