This week sees the release of I'm Sorry Sir, That Riff's Been Taken, the brand new album from Aussie legends the HARD-ONS. It's the first to feature new singer Tim Rogers.
To celebrate, we asked guitarist Peter Black to go through YouTube and give us a Top 10....
X - SUCK SUCK
Fuck, this was a big album for us... what am I saying?! It still is!
Nothing sounds like this and nothing ever will... they reformed when we were still youngsters and played an infamous show at an abandoned site called Alpha House (apartments todays) was INSANE... terrifying and exhilarating, over run by skinheads, we were hiding up the back... left alone cause we were still in our diapers practically! We would take turns pushing our way up the front while it seemed the whole place was having a punch-up and X played along at ear splitting level. Lost count of the times we saw 'em after that... no-one will ever bass like Ian Rilen did... can't describe it 'cause words like Savage, Powerful, Nuclear, Fatal just doesn't come close! The album Aspirations was reportedly recorded in five hours... don't you just LOVE THAT?!!
THE LEFTOVERS - CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL
There is this book called Inner City Sound - Punk And Post-Punk In Australia, came out in 1982 (recently reissued) that we read cover to cover... each story and the wild photos inside were so inspirational that we would hunt every record / band that was mentioned... one band in particular,The Leftovers, sounded proper scary! Couldn't wait to hear this and fuck-en-hell didn't disappoint...!
BABEEZ - HATE
Another favourite... and another 'what the fuck am I listening too??', its barely held together and all the more powerful because of it! I wanted to cover it, or at least try to, but it's not always 'just the song' but the 'performance' as well... only these four nutters could sound like this...
SICK THINGS - COMMITTED TO SUICIDE
In keeping with the tradition of pristine Aussie hi-fidelity comes this mind blower! Freaking insane... we covered this with the wonderful Neil Hamburger... members went on to Venom P Stinger and Dirty Three and lucky for youse guys, pretty sure this has been reissued not that long ago.
THE ELOIS - BY MY SIDE
Pretty soon, being the music nerds we were, we started hearing and reading about '60s Punk'... WTF?? When you first hear it there's no turning back...' enthralled by all the Pebbles, Nuggets, and Flashback series of records we found an album called Ugly Things put out by Raven Records, by rock historian Glenn A Baker and this is one of the greatest records ever full stop! Every song is killer... How many of these songs we tried to cover when we were jamming? Ha! Lost count... I know we did this one. BLISTERING.
BLACK DIAMONDS - I WANT, NEED, LOVE YOU
And this WILD track... discovering there was also a film clip?? Oh boy!!
and...
THE MISSING LINKS - WILD ABOUT YOU
Does anything sound like this?? Ever?? No way... The Saints covered this and ya gotta hand it too 'em, their version is killer.
But this is a truly one of a kind unhinged slab of magnificence!! Should be studied in schools!!
These were but three songs on the Ugly Things compilation I mentioned... can you see what I mean about being one of the best albums ever?!!
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY - JUNK YARD
I know everyone knows The Birthday Party but I think most people forget what a SHOCK to the system they were... We managed to see one of their last ever shows and - get this! - with the Scientists and X as supports. It's a gig I will never forget EVER!! Man! We pushed to the front but I had to go pee and lost my spot for a bit... when I finally managed to get back there Ray gleefully informed me that Nick Cave head-butted him! FUCK OFF! I was so jealous.
Their records still sound like a nightmare in-fucken-credible. Goosebumps watching this even from shitty computer speakers.
THE SCIENTISTS - WE HAD LOVE
When we were old enough to sneak into pubs this incarnation of The Scientists started playing and like X, I'm pretty sure we went to every single fucken gig... ya just couldn't miss 'em...
It's hard to describe what that was like... maybe, put headphones on... close ya eyes, turn it up till its hurts a little, then fall down some stairs... HOW GOOD IS THAT?!!
CELIBATE RIFLES - TUBULAR GREENS
I don't know how to end... when we started playing there were a million awesome bands... we loved 'em all, and a million killer labels... we loved 'em all!
Australian rock and roll was in a good place...
I'll end on this as I wish Damian Lovelock a whole lotta Rock In Peace.
The Hard-Ons' I'm Sorry Sir, That Riff's Been Taken is available now from Cheersquad and Boss Tuneage.