Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman, Mark Kingsmill, and Brad Shepherd. Their popularity peaked in the mid- to late 1980s with albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder.
Hoodoo Gurus had a string of pop-rock singles including "Leilani", "Tojo", "My Girl", "I Want You Back", "Bittersweet", "Like Wow – Wipeout", and "What's My Scene?". After touring the United States from 1984 onward they gained popularity on the U.S. college rock circuit with the singles "Come Anytime" reaching no. 1 and "Miss Freelove '69" reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The Hoodoo Gurus' biggest Australian single was their 1987 top-3 song "What's My Scene?". The song was parodied for the National Rugby League 2000s theme "That's My Team".
The Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the Australia's 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame. The band's induction announcement stated that the Gurus were one of the most "inventive, lyrically smart and exciting" bands from Australia. From 1960s power pop and garage punk to hard rock and funky psychedelic kitsch, the group's music stood out from Sydney's Detroit-inspired bands.
History
1981–1983: Formation
Three Hoodoo Gurus founders were from Perth protopunk and punk bands: Dave Faulkner of The Legendary Manikins, who left after a fallout with frontman Robbie Porritt, James Baker of The Victims, who had also been with Roddy Radalj in The Scientists, and the third founding member, Kimble Rendall was formerly in Sydney punk rockers XL Capris. The three guitarists Faulkner, Rendall and Radalj met at an end-of-1980 New Year's Eve party and were joined by Baker to form Le Hoodoo Gurus.Le Hoodoo Gurus unorthodox line-up of three guitars and no bass player created a unique sound that fused pop melodies, punk guitars and an American trash culture ethic. This was captured on their first single, "Leilani", released in October 1982, on Phantom Records. This told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly. They dropped the 'Le', to become Hoodoo Gurus, not long after the single's release. As the Hoodoo Gurus, they gave their first ever performance on a segment of the kids' TV program Simon Townsend's Wonder World; this was followed by a performance alongside a man and his singing dog, on The Don Lane Show.
Rendall left in 1982 before the release of "Leilani", and went on to become a music video and film director. Rendall was second unit director on the latter two Matrix films, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as I, Robot. Rendall also directed the slasher film, Cut in 2000. Rendall was effectively replaced by Clyde Bramley from Sydney bands The Hitmen and Super K.
Radalj was not happy with Rendall's leaving or Faulkner's greater influence and left the Gurus. He was replaced by ex-Fun Things guitarist Brad Shepherd, who had been Bramley's flatmate. Bramley and Shepherd had both been in The Hitmen and Super K. Faulkner wrote "I Want You Back" in response to Radalj's public dissatisfaction with the Gurus. Radalj went on to perform with a number of other acts, including The Johnnys, Love Rodeo, The Dubrovniks and Roddy Ray'Da & the Surfin' Caesars. As Roddy Ray'Da, he released Lost, Lonely and Vicious in 1990, Orgazmatazz a year later and Mouthful of Chicken in 1993.
1983–1984: ''Stoneage Romeos''
Gurus new line-up recorded the band's first album in 1984, Stoneage Romeos. The title came from a 1955 Three Stooges short Stone Age Romeos. The album was dedicated to characters from Get Smart, F-Troop and Petticoat Junction. They were awarded 'Best Debut Album' of 1984 at the July 1985 Countdown Music Awards. When Stoneage Romeos was released in America it stayed at number 1 in the Alternative/College charts for seven weeks, becoming one of the most played albums for the year on the college network.Initially a cult inner-city act, their popularity expanded due to regular airplay on radio station Triple J and nationwide pop TV show Countdown from mid-1983. Their breakthrough single "My Girl" was accompanied by a video clip featuring a dog trainer with his once champion greyhound. Members of Spiderbait described seeing the video for the first time as "a beautiful, classic pop song". Some viewers insisted the song was "written about a dog". This was closely followed by "I Want You Back", which featured animated plastic model dinosaurs. Both videos were aired frequently raising the group's profile around the country.
Original drummer James Baker was sacked from the band in August 1984 and was replaced by Mark Kingsmill. Based on the success of Stoneage Romeos the Hoodoo Gurus, with their new drummer, then embarked on their first tour of the United States in late 1984.
1985–1993: ''From Mars'' to ''Kinky''
Following the US tour the Hoodoo Gurus went into the studio and recorded their second album, Mars Needs Guitars!. The title was a twist on a Sci Fi B movie titled Mars Needs Women. The album's first single, "Bittersweet", had a more subdued regular-looking video. The Hoodoo Gurus played Europe and the United States including sell-out shows at London's Hammersmith Palais and a two-month tour as special guests with The Bangles.Baker's firing upset some fans and critics. Despite subsequent fan speculation about the single "Poison Pen”, songwriter Faulkner said it was not about band issues but rather about a relationship that had turned bitter. Baker had been involved with The Beasts of Bourbon as a side project from 1983 and now concentrated on their 1984 album The Axeman's Jazz, subsequently he founded James Baker Experience and The Dubrovniks, Novakill and eventually The Painkillers.
Gurus' peak of popularity was in the mid-to-late 1980s with the albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder. The albums reached no. 140, no. 120 and no. 101 on the American Billboard 200 album charts respectively. The band's 1987 'Blow Your Cool' concert tour took them to 19 countries playing 204 venues. A concert from the Ritz in New York City was broadcast by MTV America. The 'Magnum Cum Louder' tour in 1990, with dates in Europe, America and Australasia; included Japan for the first time. Based on their extensive touring of America, the band gained a solid following in the U.S. with regular exposure on US college radio and even developed a big fan base in Brazil. 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 some songs. Then, Hoodoo Gurus decided to opt out of its record contract, tying up the group in legal wranglings for more than a year. In 1988 Richard Grossman replaced Clyde Bramley on bass. The most stable line-up of Faulkner, Grossman, Kingsmill, and Shepherd saw Hoodoo Gurus from 1988 to the break-up in January 1998.
After two albums under their new contract, Magnum Cum Louder and 1991's Kinky, which reached no. 101 and 172 on the American Billboard 200 album charts respectively the band then released in 1992 two compilations at once, Electric Soup, which contained the band's hits and Gorilla Biscuit, which was made up of B-sides and rarities.
Kinky provided the single "Miss Freelove '69" which reached no. 19 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and no. 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1991. Another single of the same year "1000 Miles Away" reached no. 37 in Australia. It was adopted by the crew of Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Canberra as its unofficial anthem in 1993, playing it whenever its ships left port. Hoodoo Gurus played a concert, including "1000 Miles Away", on-board HMAS Canberra during its last voyage prior to decommissioning in 2005.
Crank through to the Bullet (1994–1998)
They followed Kinky with Crank in 1994. The 'Crank' world tour took the Gurus through USA, Canada, Europe and included a one-month tour of Brazil. Faulkner also composed the soundtrack to Laurie McInnes' 1994 feature film Broken Highway. In 1995, the Gurus collaborated with The Masters Apprentices frontman Jim Keays on an updated rendition of "Turn Up Your Radio". The song was included on a new Masters' Best of album, as well as being issued as a single.In 1996 they moved to Mushroom Records for the release of their next album, Blue Cave. The band then undertook a national tour of Australian tour with US outfit The Posies and local band Drop City. Touring commitments were curtailed when Kingsmill severed tendons and nerves in his arm as a result of an onstage accident. Once Kingsmill recovered, the Gurus completed their 'Circus Maximus' Australian tour by end of 1996. In January 1997, Faulkner announced that the band would be breaking up in December. March saw the Gurus undertake another tour of Brazil, where they played a concert in front of 40,000 people. The Gurus commenced their final Australian tour, the three-month 'Spit the Dummy' tour, in October 1997. The tour coincided with the release of the double compilation album Armchair Gurus/''Electric Chair, which made no. 29 on the national chart. The band played its final show in Melbourne on 11 January 1998. The show made up for dates missed during December 1997, when Faulkner was ill.
In November 1998 Mushroom issued the Hoodoo Gurus' live album, Bite the Bullet. The songs had been recorded during the band's 'Spit the Dummy' farewell tour. The standard, single album version was joined by a limited edition, triple CD version subtitled Director’s Cut. It included the additional CDs, Doppelgänger and Bubble and Squeak.
Although Hoodoo Gurus officially split in 1998 they signed with Acadia Records, who released the band's career-spanning compilation Ampology'' in October 2000.