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Radio Birdman
Origin Sydney, Australia
Genre(s) Punk rock
Indie rock
Garage
Protopunk
Years active 1974–1978
1996–2008
Label(s) Sire Records (1976–1978)
Crying Sun Records (1996–present)
Website Official website
Members
Rob Younger
Deniz Tek
Chris Masuak
Jim Dickson
Phillip 'Pip' Hoyle
Russell Hopkinson
Former members
Warwick Gilbert
Ron Keeley

Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Indie rock is genre of Alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent Underground music scene In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Sire Records Company is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros Crying Sun Records is the privately owned record company by Australian rock band Radio Birdman. Rob Younger is an Australian rock musician vocalist and songwriter Deniz Tek is a Singer, Guitarist and Songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up for the last Chris Masuak is an Australian rock musician guitarist and songwriter Rusty Hopkinson (Born Russell Keith Hopkinson in Fremantle is the drummer for Australian rock act You Am I. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974. Deniz Tek is a Singer, Guitarist and Songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up for the last Rob Younger is an Australian rock musician vocalist and songwriter Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Events January - The Ramones form January - Joni Mitchell releases her monumental album Court and Spark, supported The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and is now considered to be one of the most crucial bands to Australia's musical growth, but their main legacy was their towering influence over Australian indie rock in the 1980s. Johnson, Vivien (1990). Radio Birdman. Sydney: Sheldon Booth.  

Contents

Personnel

Original band members:

Current band members:

History

Origins

Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed Radio Birdman in mid-1974 in Sydney, having recently left their bands 'TV Jones' and 'The Rats' respectively. Rob Younger is an Australian rock musician vocalist and songwriter Deniz Tek is a Singer, Guitarist and Songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up for the last Chris Masuak is an Australian rock musician guitarist and songwriter Rusty Hopkinson (Born Russell Keith Hopkinson in Fremantle is the drummer for Australian rock act You Am I. The pair sought to begin a band that would have no commercial interest and break the norm at the time, so they recruited classical keyboard player Phillip 'Pip' Hoyle, drummer Ron Keeley and bassist Carl Rorke . Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music The band took their name from what sounds like "Radio birdman up above" in the Stooges song "1970". The Stooges are an American rock band that was active from 1967 to 1974 then reformed in 2003 (Lyric sources list this as "Radio burnin' up above", and the Damned's version of it uses that. The Damned are an English band formed in London in 1976 notable for being the first Punk rock band from England to release a single (" New Rose " an But, considering that "1970" shares the rhyme ". . . up above/. . . be my love" with Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me", which is about a radio birdman of sorts being up above, [in a "Flight DeVille" with its "hideaway wings" extended and "radio tuned to Rock'n'Roll"], "radio birdman" probably was not a mispronunciation in "1970", but rather, a tribute to that earlier flight of fancy. Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18 1926 in St )

After being rejected many times from various venues, Radio Birdman found a pub in Taylor Square, Sydney and eventually took over its management, naming it The Oxford Funhouse. Under their management, the Funhouse became a home to any and all groups with musical tastes similar to the band. Not long after the opening of this venue, Carl Rorke left the band and was replaced by long time friend of Rob Younger, Warwick Gilbert (also a former 'Rats' member). Also to temporarily leave the band would be Phillip Hoyle, and though his departure was short lived, this was how Radio Birdman came across guitarist Chris Masuak.

Soon, a culture of Radio Birdman was developing in the underground, people started to dress differently, followed the Birdman symbol and the Oxford Funhouse was their home. This was the beginnings of the Sydney punk scene. The punk subculture is based around Punk rock. It emerged from the larger Rock music scene in the mid-to-late-1970s in the United Kingdom, the United

Using the Funhouse as a base of operations, Radio Birdman recorded a crude, low budget EP, Burn My Eye. Burn My Eye was the debut EP recorded by Sydney Punk rock band Radio Birdman, in October 1976 Their first album Radios Appear at Trafalgar Studios in Annandale owed much of its style to Detroit bands of the late 1960s, such as The MC5 and The Stooges. Radios Appear was the first full length studio album by Sydney punk-rock band Radio Birdman. Annandale is a Suburb of Inner West Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The MC5 ( Motor City Five) was an American Hard rock band formed in Lincoln Park Michigan in 1964 and active until The Stooges are an American rock band that was active from 1967 to 1974 then reformed in 2003 Though the album was totally ignored by commercial radio, it was championed by Sydney station 2JJ (Double Jay). Triple J is a nationally-networked government-funded Australian radio station (a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) mainly aimed Sales of this album were initially limited due to the fact that they were recording using a private label. Shortly after initial release, WEA took on the album and gave it a wider release however sales remained limited due to a lack of commercial support. Promotion could have been also somewhat inhibited as some fans felt the recordings lacked the ferocity and immediacy of the live shows and did not represent their experience of the band.

The band remained underground, but began to travel far from Sydney to perform their shows, it was at this time that keyboard player Phillip Hoyle returned to the band. When Sire Records president Seymour Stein came to Australia to sign up fellow punk band The Saints, he saw Radio Birdman play and immediately invited them to join his label. Sire Records Company is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros Seymour Stein (born 1942 in Brooklyn New York) is an entrepreneur in the music industry who has been a part of the business since getting his first job as a clerk for Billboard The Saints are an Australian Rock band, formed in Brisbane in 1974 Under this new label, Radio Birdman released a new version of Radios Appear featuring a mixture of re-mixed, re-recorded and some new material. Comparisons between the two versions of the album are disputed with some feeling that the second version is a more accurate reflection of the band's sound. Most fans however own both versions and simply treat them as two separate and different recordings.

With the commercial release of this new album, the underground punk scene Radio Birdman was a part of began to attract some groups with negative agendas; namely biker gang, Hells Angels. The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club ( HAMC) is a world-wide " one-percenter " motorcycle gang whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson With this new, more violent and rowdy crowd, the Funhouse was at the point of overflowing. The band was blamed for violent incidents occurring at the Funhouse, so in mid-1977, they left Sydney and took a break from music, instead pursuing educational goals.

The band returned half a year later and performed their most famous show to date at Paddington Town Hall alongside The Saints. Paddington is an area of the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Two thousand people supposedly packed into the venue (in fact film of the event suggests a few hundred at most) and tracks recorded from the show would later be included on numerous other Radio Birdman recordings. After this show, the band began their European tour, but their overseas success was short lived as Sire Records began having financial difficulties and were forced to drop Radio Birdman from their label. On the other hand, Tek has apparently claimed that Stein offered to support the band if he and Hoyle would defer their medical studies for five years, but that they both refused (see Vivian Goldman's biography of the band).

Breakup

Without a label, the band struggled to progress musically. As one last sendoff they recorded their second album 'Living Eyes' at Rockfield Studio in Wales which had a late release in the early 80s. Living Eyes was the second studio album released by Sydney, Australia Punk-rock band Radio Birdman. Radio Birdman played one last show at Oxford University, after which the band split up. The underground punk scene of Sydney was shocked by this, as the band had only been together for 4 years, but many felt that they had made their mark well enough on Australian musical history.

1978–1996

All six members went on to other bands. Younger's New Christs was more oriented towards hard-edged, blues-based rock and roll. The New Christs was an Australian rock and roll band led by Rob Younger, with various lineups through the 80s 90s Noughties Tek and Keeley with keyboardist Pip Hoyle formed The Visitors, and guitarist Chris Masuak and bass guitarist Warwick Gilbert's The Hitmen continued the Radio Birdman sound. The Visitors were an Australian rock band formed after the breakup of popular punk band Radio Birdman in 1978 Chris Masuak is an Australian rock musician guitarist and songwriter The Hitmen were an Australian Hard rock band The group went through a large number of lineup changes in its short late 1970s and early 1980s run then regrouped under Tek, Younger and Gilbert played in a one-shot touring band called New Race, with Dennis Thompson of the MC5 and Ron Asheton of the Stooges. New Race was a punk / Proto-punk band from Sydney, Australia formed in April 1981. The MC5 ( Motor City Five) was an American Hard rock band formed in Lincoln Park Michigan in 1964 and active until Ron Asheton (b July 17, 1948 in Ann Arbor Michigan) is guitarist and co-songwriter with The Stooges are an American rock band that was active from 1967 to 1974 then reformed in 2003 They released only one album, The First and Last. The First and Last is a live album released by the "once-only" supergroup band New Race. A non-musical LP, "Soldiers of Rock 'n' Roll", was released in 1982. This strange album, described by the record company as "an audio documentary of Radio Birdman", was released after Deniz had quit music for flying, and was assembled by the people at Trafalgar Records, like a soundtrack for a documentary movie which was never made.

Reunion

In a huge surprise for fans, all six members of Radio Birdman reunited for the Big Day Out tour in 1996 and again in 1997. The Big Day Out ( BDO) is an annual Music festival that tours Australia and New Zealand which originated in Sydney in 1992 Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Since then Radio Birdman have continued to perform sporadically. In 2002 Warwick Gilbert was replaced by Jim Dickson who had previously played with the New Christs, Louis Tillett, the Passengers, the Barracudas and Deniz Tek. The New Christs was an Australian rock and roll band led by Rob Younger, with various lineups through the 80s 90s Noughties Deniz Tek is a Singer, Guitarist and Songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up for the last Drummer Ron Keely left the band in 2004 after the band's performance at the Azkena Festival in Spain, and was temporarily replaced by Nik Reith, formerly of the Celibate Rifles, Tumbleweed, the New Christs and the Deniz Tek Group. The New Christs was an Australian rock and roll band led by Rob Younger, with various lineups through the 80s 90s Noughties He was replaced after six shows by You Am I drummer Russell Hopkinson. You Am I is an Australian Alternative rock band fronted by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Tim Rogers.

The year 2006 has seen much activity by Radio Birdman, spearheaded by the completion of a new album entitled Zeno Beach, released in Australia on June 24, 2006 via the band's own Crying Sun Records, and in the US via Yep Roc Records on August 22nd. Zeno Beach is a rock album by Australian band Radio Birdman released in June 2006 Yep Roc Records is an independent International Record label based in Haw River North Carolina and owned by Redeye Distribution. Named for the closing track, a surf-rock tune written by Hoyle, Zeno Beach was recorded in Sydney in December of 2005, produced by guitarist Deniz Tek and engineer Greg Wales. Carl Rorke, one time Radio Birdman bassist, died the year of the new albums scheduled release, and it was completed in his memory.

Following a February tour of Australian capital cities, dates in support of Zeno Beach for Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US have been announced, commencing 27 July 2006 in Sydney, and ending on 7 October, in Spain. Many Australian dates feature LA soul/punk band The Bellrays as support act. The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) are an American group that combines Garage rock music with soul singing styles In March 2006, Radio Birdman hosted an Australian rock history exhibition in Sydney, featuring many artworks inspired by Radio Birdman. Many of the bands memorabilia, including guitars, were auctioned on the opening night.

In July 2007 the band were inducted into the ARIA(Australian Recording Industry Association) Hall of Fame (in an interview, vocalist Rob Younger indicated the band had previously declined an invitation to join the Hall of Fame). [1]

The induction saw all original members plus current members attend the ceremony, except for Phillip Hoyle whose son sadly passed away around this time.

Daniel Johns of Silverchair gave the induction speech, which was followed by the band playing a short but energetic set which saw the audience giving them a standing ovation. The three guitarists (Tek, Masuak and Dickson) also participated in what appeared to be an uncharacteristically rehearsed stage move, each holding up their guitars and saluting the drums as the song New Race ascended into auditory chaos. On a side note, Mark Kingsmill sat in on drums for this occasion, as then-drummer Russell Hopkinson was touring with You Am I. You Am I is an Australian Alternative rock band fronted by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Tim Rogers.

In September 2007 the band featured in the Clash of the Titans tour alongside The Stems and Hoodoo Gurus which launched in Sydney at the Enmore Theatre and included dates in Melbourne and Brisbane. The Stems formed in Perth Western Australia in 1983 and played music that was heavily influenced by 1960s Garage rock and 1970s Power pop. Hoodoo Gurus (referred to as the Gurus by fans are an Australian Rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981 by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 The Enmore Theatre is one of Sydney 's oldest operating entertainment venues Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland

Disintegration

Although there was no official announcement by management, the band called it a day in May 2008 with the resignation of Rob Younger to continue work with the latest line-up of the New Christs.

Musical style

Lyrics

The band's lyrics reference US-born guitarist/main songwriter Deniz Tek's home state of Michigan, with lyrics from tracks such as "Murder City Nights" referring to Woodward Avenue in Detroit: "Cruising down Woodward gotta find me some action/Looking for a lover with a power reaction. "

Many of their other songs, such as "Hand Of Law" & "Descent Into The Maelstrom" deal in apocalyptic images of war and violence, but these are more than balanced by the lighter pop culture references of tunes such as "Aloha Steve & Danno", an ode to the TV show Hawaii 5-0. Hawaii Five-O is an American Television series that starred Jack Lord and James MacArthur as detectives for a fictional Hawaii "Man With Golden Helmet" (which Tek wrote in high school) is one of their most cryptic efforts: "Man with golden helmet/drinks water from the faucet. . . plays with tiny children/on his way home from work. . . he's the top man/in the language department. " The Man with Golden Helmet painting by Rembrandt hung above a tap and sink outside the modern languages staffroom of Sydney Boys High School in the 1970s when some members were believed to have attended. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15 1606 &ndash October 4 1669 was a Dutch painter and etcher. Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective Secondary school for boys located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales

In one song, "I-94", Eskimo pies are a prominent subject of the chorus, possibly due to their relation with Klondike bars or to guitarist Chris 'Klondike' Masuak's Canadian origins. Eskimo Pie is a brand name for a Chocolate -covered vanilla Ice cream bar wrapped in foil the first such dessert sold in the United States. " Klondike " is a brand name for a Dessert generally consisting of a Vanilla Ice cream square coated with a thin layer of Chocolate -flavored The Klondike or Clondike is a region of the Yukon Territory in northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border

Genre

Radio Birdman's music does not fit specifically with the punk rock genre, nor do the band like this label (as they saw it as degrading to their intelligence)—though their independence and originality has put them in this position. A fitting genre would be alternative punk, or as the band called it, 'Sub-Pop'. Fans of the band often classed the music as the Detroit sound, similar to bands such as MC5. The MC5 ( Motor City Five) was an American Hard rock band formed in Lincoln Park Michigan in 1964 and active until

Graphics

The Radio Birdman Logo.
The Radio Birdman Logo.

With professional graphic artist Warwick Gilbert as part of the band, Radio Birdman had a unique and artistic feel to their albums and posters. The term graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation The band wanted to be unlike any other band in the modern way of presenting their image. Such examples as the cover of the bands third release, 'Living Eyes' show the style of design Radio Birdman often employed.

The band symbol, however, was not created by Gilbert. Lead guitarist and songwriter, Deniz Tek, created the logo after much time trying to think of a symbol for himself. Deniz Tek is a Singer, Guitarist and Songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up for the last He created it by accident while scribbling on some paper when he was with one of his early bands, T. V. Jones; later bringing the logo with him when he formed Radio Birdman.

The symbol was held by some as something to follow, many fans getting the symbol tattoo'd on their bodies, while others saw it as something extreme- the call sign of a forming cult. A tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of Skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons Tek has denied this: "Just because we wore a uniform and had a symbol - it's automatically Nazi. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German " One example given by Tek was a crazed woman who tore down one of the band's banners at a concert, screaming about the Jewish people. A clip on Youtube.com http://youtube.com/watch?v=6dL7f72CfFs looks, comically, into the issue of the band's perceived "fascism". YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology

Discography

Studio albums

Cover Title Release
Burn My Eye EP 1976
Radios Appear LP 1977
Death by the Gun EP (bootleg) 1978
Living Eyes LP 1981
Alone in the Endzone 45' 1981
Ring Of Truth EP (bootleg) 1988
Zeno Beach CD 2006

Live albums

Cover Title Release
More Fun! EP 1988
Ready to Burn CD 1996
Ritualism CD 1996
Radios On! Ritualism - The Reunion 1996 LP (bootleg) 1997
Murder City Nights CD (bootleg) 1976
Surfin' at 2JJJ EP (bootleg) 1976

Compilations

Cover Title Release
Eureka Birdman EP (bootleg) 1977
Rock'n'Roll War 1976-1978 LP (bootleg) 1978
Soldiers of Rock'n'Roll: An Audio Documentary of Radio Birdman CD 1982
Under the Ashes CD/LP 1988
Live in Sydney, 1976 - Double Jay Studio CD (bootleg) 1990
The EPs CD 1992
Rock'n'Roll War 1976-1978 LP (bootleg) 1998
The Essential Radio Birdman CD 2001
Living Eyes/More Fun CD 2005

Singles

Cover Title Release
New Race/TV Eye 1977
Aloha Steve and Danno/Anglo Girl Desire 1978
What Gives?/Anglo Girl Desire 1978
Alone in the Endzone/Breaks My Heart 1981
Hungry Cannibals/Rock Bottom 2006

Further reading

External links

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