TOXIC
New Member
THE HARD ONS (australia)
STEAM PIG
NO LESS MY LIFE
wednesday 25th of june
the temple
The Hard-Ons have been playing together for what seems
like forever. In 1982 three guys from Sydney's west
decided to get together and make some noise. The rest,
as they say is history. Blackie caught the Sex Pistols
doing "Pretty Vacant" on weekend TV and knew then what
he wanted to do. He convinced his good friend Keish
that they should start a band, and together with
Brendon Creighton played their end of school party,
resulting in a visit from the local police to shut
them down. Tours of Oz by The Clash and The Ramones
heightened the Blackie's and Keish's ambitions. It was
later that Ray, from the same school at Punchbowl,
approached Blackie and Keish and they got talking
about the Sex Pistols and The Damned. Ray had a Gibson
Grabber bass, just like his hero Gene Simmons - the
missing link. After brief stages as the "Dead Rats"
and "The Plebs", the trio decided on the Hard-Ons, a
name sure to offend in true punk fashion. About a
month later the Hard-ons performed their first gig -
albeit in front of a bunch of friends and relatives.
It was 1985 when the Hard-Ons took the first major
step on the road to cult status. Vi-Nil Records
released the Surfin' On My Face EP (later to be
reissued through Waterfront), containing four of the
seven tracks the band had recorded. The single from
the EP, featuring the first of many cover designs by
Ray, reached Number 2 on the Australian independent
charts. The remaining three songs were released on
Aberrant's "Why March When You Can Riot?" punk
compilation and later on the "Smell My Finger"
mini-LP.
Fuelled by the success of their first release the band
began a full-frontal assault on local venues,
offending some people along the way but also
generating a lot of support and recognition from other
bands and audiences. "We really hit a raw nerve with a
lot of people." remembers Ray. "But at the same time
we really got on the right side of the masses. We were
hugely popular. You just didn't see three guys who had
all different skin colour from the westerns suburbs
playing some kind of melodic punk rock. And the way we
played was really destructive. We used to smash
guitars and throw amps around and smash drums like The
Who, that kind of energy. I think people really
appreciated that kind of destructive presentation by
three teenage guys who really weren't old enough to be
in a pub."
The Hard-Ons have never been a band to cater to all
tastes. In Germany they were at the centre of a riot
when Nazi skinheads started fighting and the police
were brought in. On another occasion in Dublin Ray was
pulled off the stage and beaten up by skinheads.
Knives were thrown onto the stage and broken bottles
flew everywhere. There was also an incident in
Queensland when a huge skinhead threw a can at Ray. It
bounced off his knuckles and Ray bravely growled back
at his attacker.
The release of "Girl In The Sweater" in 1986 signaled
the beginning of a long relationship with Waterfront
records. Ray's cover artwork for the single managed to
cause quite a stir, with accusations of the band being
sexist."Being misunderstood is half the fun." says
Ray. "It's such a shit stir. I mean, calling a band,
The Hard-Ons. When you think about a hard on you think
of big macho men with bulging muscles and a big hard
on between their legs. We're not a macho band. We like
taking the piss out of macho people. In Punchbowl,
where we come from, every second dude's got a Ford
Falcon with mag wheels and burns up and down the
street impressing the girls...We're not like them.
We're puny migrant kids into punk."
1987 saw the release of the "Smell My Finger" mini-LP.
The band were now being noticed overseas. "Girl In The
Sweater" and "Smell My finger" were released together
as a full-length album in the US on Big Time, and
"Girl In The Sweater" was used in the soundtrack to
the film "The Allnighter".
Later in the year, "All Set To Go" was released,
featuring a cartoon of the trio wearing KKK outfits
with the caption "White Folks Suck". In 1988 "Hot For
Your Love, Baby", a selection of rarities, was
released in Australia. In Europe, it was packaged
along with "All Set To Go" as "The Worst of the
Hard-Ons on Vinyl Solution. Another single, "Busted"
was released and had as it's B-Side the now anthemic
"Suck 'n' Swallow", often the last song played at a
show
The band also toured throughout Australia with The
Stupids in 1988, and released a limited edition split
with the English band called "No Cheese". It was
later, when the two bands toured England together that
the Hard-Ons got their first firm foothold outside of
Australia. "That first time we went to England it was
so wild." Blackie said. "Then we came back and
everyone all of a sudden had Hard Ons T shirts and
caps and it was like 'Wow! This is the other side of
the world and we're doing it!'"
The band were also given a lot more respect overseas
for what they were doing than back home. "We sang from
a teenage heterosexual point of view because," grinned
Ray. "We were teenage heterosexuals! Some of the
lyrics were blatantly sexist and obnoxious but to me
that was making fun of ourselves because that's what
we did. When we were growing up as teenagers we'd try
to pick up girls and have bad pick up lines and we'd
do all the stupid things that western suburbs
teenagers would do. We laughed at it. It was a send up
of ourselves. The English press understood that. To
have people in England say our lyrics are witty and
relevant and written from a very honest point of view
was amazing. Unfortunately that kind of thing never
happened in Australia to the degree it did in England
and places like France and Germany. The only place
where we're seen as a goofy dumb punk band is
Australia really."
The Hard-Ons had their first taste of commercial
airplay in 1990. "Where Did She Come From" and the
"Yummy!" album from which it was taken were the first
CD releases and "Yummy!" remains the bands' highest
selling album. During the same year the band recorded
a cover version of AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock" with
Henry Rollins. The single stayed in the chart for
almost four months, including eight weeks at number
one, making it the Hard-Ons 13th consecutive Number 1.
From November 1990 to December 1991 the Hard-Ons
played 180 shows throughout 21 countries including
shows in Australia with the Ramones and the Butthole
Surfers, and with the Dickies in Europe. They played
Japan for the first time, putting on three shows, and
were mobbed in a train by a group of Japanese girls.
In 1992, the band again came together with Hank
Rollins - this time on stage for two shows. "As soon
as he stepped on stage and we started playing
everything lifted." Blackie recalled. "We just looked
at each other after Rollins opened his mouth and just
mouthed 'Wow!' and it was heads down. It was rock n'
roll all night that night!" During the same year a
split EP with fellow Sydney-siders The Celibate Rifles
was released, and an Australian tour with the Rifles
was a major success, particularly in Sydney where the
audiences for the five gigs averaged over 1000. Later
in the year the Red hot Chili Peppers made there way
to Australia, having cancelled an earlier tour. Having
been recommended by Rollins, the Chili Peppers
specifically asked the Hard-Ons to open for them.
Having had alternative music icon Captain Sensible
help produce the contributions to the split with the
Celibate Rifles, another big name was alongside the
Hard-Ons to help with their next effort. "Dateless
Dudes Club" was an Australia-only release of four new
tracks and four live versions of older songs mixed by
Thee Slayer Hippy of Poison Idea.
In the following year the Hard-Ons and Poison Idea
would again meet, with Jerry A joining the band for
their appearances at the Big Day Out and doing vocals
on "The Blade" off their next LP, "Too Far Gone".
Again mixed by Thee Slayer Hippy, "Too Far Gone" was a
piledriver of an album, which left a lot of people
confused. The fans who had come to think of the
Hard-Ons as a melodic pop-punk band were blown away by
the album's intensity, while metal fans who may have
appreciated the effort more never really saw past the
poppy cartoon image the had in their heads. Despite
having the first single "Crazy, Crazy Eyes" on the
soundtrack for the movie "Spider and Rose", the album
never generated the hype and sales of the preceding
"Yummy!".
In 1994, the band again teamed up with Poison Idea on
the 5-track IP "Test". Jerry A's raspy vocals sweated
all over a live cover of the Damned's "See Her
Tonight" and Thee Slayer Hippy provided the insanity
that was "Stan The Ice-Cream Man". The EP also gave us
a first taste of Ray's vocals on "Burn In Hell".
STEAM PIG
NO LESS MY LIFE
wednesday 25th of june
the temple
The Hard-Ons have been playing together for what seems
like forever. In 1982 three guys from Sydney's west
decided to get together and make some noise. The rest,
as they say is history. Blackie caught the Sex Pistols
doing "Pretty Vacant" on weekend TV and knew then what
he wanted to do. He convinced his good friend Keish
that they should start a band, and together with
Brendon Creighton played their end of school party,
resulting in a visit from the local police to shut
them down. Tours of Oz by The Clash and The Ramones
heightened the Blackie's and Keish's ambitions. It was
later that Ray, from the same school at Punchbowl,
approached Blackie and Keish and they got talking
about the Sex Pistols and The Damned. Ray had a Gibson
Grabber bass, just like his hero Gene Simmons - the
missing link. After brief stages as the "Dead Rats"
and "The Plebs", the trio decided on the Hard-Ons, a
name sure to offend in true punk fashion. About a
month later the Hard-ons performed their first gig -
albeit in front of a bunch of friends and relatives.
It was 1985 when the Hard-Ons took the first major
step on the road to cult status. Vi-Nil Records
released the Surfin' On My Face EP (later to be
reissued through Waterfront), containing four of the
seven tracks the band had recorded. The single from
the EP, featuring the first of many cover designs by
Ray, reached Number 2 on the Australian independent
charts. The remaining three songs were released on
Aberrant's "Why March When You Can Riot?" punk
compilation and later on the "Smell My Finger"
mini-LP.
Fuelled by the success of their first release the band
began a full-frontal assault on local venues,
offending some people along the way but also
generating a lot of support and recognition from other
bands and audiences. "We really hit a raw nerve with a
lot of people." remembers Ray. "But at the same time
we really got on the right side of the masses. We were
hugely popular. You just didn't see three guys who had
all different skin colour from the westerns suburbs
playing some kind of melodic punk rock. And the way we
played was really destructive. We used to smash
guitars and throw amps around and smash drums like The
Who, that kind of energy. I think people really
appreciated that kind of destructive presentation by
three teenage guys who really weren't old enough to be
in a pub."
The Hard-Ons have never been a band to cater to all
tastes. In Germany they were at the centre of a riot
when Nazi skinheads started fighting and the police
were brought in. On another occasion in Dublin Ray was
pulled off the stage and beaten up by skinheads.
Knives were thrown onto the stage and broken bottles
flew everywhere. There was also an incident in
Queensland when a huge skinhead threw a can at Ray. It
bounced off his knuckles and Ray bravely growled back
at his attacker.
The release of "Girl In The Sweater" in 1986 signaled
the beginning of a long relationship with Waterfront
records. Ray's cover artwork for the single managed to
cause quite a stir, with accusations of the band being
sexist."Being misunderstood is half the fun." says
Ray. "It's such a shit stir. I mean, calling a band,
The Hard-Ons. When you think about a hard on you think
of big macho men with bulging muscles and a big hard
on between their legs. We're not a macho band. We like
taking the piss out of macho people. In Punchbowl,
where we come from, every second dude's got a Ford
Falcon with mag wheels and burns up and down the
street impressing the girls...We're not like them.
We're puny migrant kids into punk."
1987 saw the release of the "Smell My Finger" mini-LP.
The band were now being noticed overseas. "Girl In The
Sweater" and "Smell My finger" were released together
as a full-length album in the US on Big Time, and
"Girl In The Sweater" was used in the soundtrack to
the film "The Allnighter".
Later in the year, "All Set To Go" was released,
featuring a cartoon of the trio wearing KKK outfits
with the caption "White Folks Suck". In 1988 "Hot For
Your Love, Baby", a selection of rarities, was
released in Australia. In Europe, it was packaged
along with "All Set To Go" as "The Worst of the
Hard-Ons on Vinyl Solution. Another single, "Busted"
was released and had as it's B-Side the now anthemic
"Suck 'n' Swallow", often the last song played at a
show
The band also toured throughout Australia with The
Stupids in 1988, and released a limited edition split
with the English band called "No Cheese". It was
later, when the two bands toured England together that
the Hard-Ons got their first firm foothold outside of
Australia. "That first time we went to England it was
so wild." Blackie said. "Then we came back and
everyone all of a sudden had Hard Ons T shirts and
caps and it was like 'Wow! This is the other side of
the world and we're doing it!'"
The band were also given a lot more respect overseas
for what they were doing than back home. "We sang from
a teenage heterosexual point of view because," grinned
Ray. "We were teenage heterosexuals! Some of the
lyrics were blatantly sexist and obnoxious but to me
that was making fun of ourselves because that's what
we did. When we were growing up as teenagers we'd try
to pick up girls and have bad pick up lines and we'd
do all the stupid things that western suburbs
teenagers would do. We laughed at it. It was a send up
of ourselves. The English press understood that. To
have people in England say our lyrics are witty and
relevant and written from a very honest point of view
was amazing. Unfortunately that kind of thing never
happened in Australia to the degree it did in England
and places like France and Germany. The only place
where we're seen as a goofy dumb punk band is
Australia really."
The Hard-Ons had their first taste of commercial
airplay in 1990. "Where Did She Come From" and the
"Yummy!" album from which it was taken were the first
CD releases and "Yummy!" remains the bands' highest
selling album. During the same year the band recorded
a cover version of AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock" with
Henry Rollins. The single stayed in the chart for
almost four months, including eight weeks at number
one, making it the Hard-Ons 13th consecutive Number 1.
From November 1990 to December 1991 the Hard-Ons
played 180 shows throughout 21 countries including
shows in Australia with the Ramones and the Butthole
Surfers, and with the Dickies in Europe. They played
Japan for the first time, putting on three shows, and
were mobbed in a train by a group of Japanese girls.
In 1992, the band again came together with Hank
Rollins - this time on stage for two shows. "As soon
as he stepped on stage and we started playing
everything lifted." Blackie recalled. "We just looked
at each other after Rollins opened his mouth and just
mouthed 'Wow!' and it was heads down. It was rock n'
roll all night that night!" During the same year a
split EP with fellow Sydney-siders The Celibate Rifles
was released, and an Australian tour with the Rifles
was a major success, particularly in Sydney where the
audiences for the five gigs averaged over 1000. Later
in the year the Red hot Chili Peppers made there way
to Australia, having cancelled an earlier tour. Having
been recommended by Rollins, the Chili Peppers
specifically asked the Hard-Ons to open for them.
Having had alternative music icon Captain Sensible
help produce the contributions to the split with the
Celibate Rifles, another big name was alongside the
Hard-Ons to help with their next effort. "Dateless
Dudes Club" was an Australia-only release of four new
tracks and four live versions of older songs mixed by
Thee Slayer Hippy of Poison Idea.
In the following year the Hard-Ons and Poison Idea
would again meet, with Jerry A joining the band for
their appearances at the Big Day Out and doing vocals
on "The Blade" off their next LP, "Too Far Gone".
Again mixed by Thee Slayer Hippy, "Too Far Gone" was a
piledriver of an album, which left a lot of people
confused. The fans who had come to think of the
Hard-Ons as a melodic pop-punk band were blown away by
the album's intensity, while metal fans who may have
appreciated the effort more never really saw past the
poppy cartoon image the had in their heads. Despite
having the first single "Crazy, Crazy Eyes" on the
soundtrack for the movie "Spider and Rose", the album
never generated the hype and sales of the preceding
"Yummy!".
In 1994, the band again teamed up with Poison Idea on
the 5-track IP "Test". Jerry A's raspy vocals sweated
all over a live cover of the Damned's "See Her
Tonight" and Thee Slayer Hippy provided the insanity
that was "Stan The Ice-Cream Man". The EP also gave us
a first taste of Ray's vocals on "Burn In Hell".
