Radio Birdman - Radios Appear (1977)

Australijski zespół Radio Birdman powstał w 1974 roku w Sydney z inicjatywy Roba Youngera oraz osiadłego w Australii Amerykanina Deniza Teka. Choć obaj grali juz wcześniej w różnych grupach to dopiero nowy skład, w którym zaczęli tworzyć okazał się celnym strzałem. Ożywili wyraźnie tamtejszą scenę niezależną, która po trosze zabrnęła w ślepy zaułek. Od razu  z pasją i zaangażowaniem zaczęli grać na fali rodzącego się punk rocka, stając się jednymi z prekursorów tego gatunku w Australii. Ich muzyka, zapewne dzięki obecności w zespole amerykańskiego gitarzysty, świetnie łączyła w sobie brzmienie proto-punkowych formacji z Detroit z niespożytym australijskim entuzjazmem rockowym. W 1977 roku wydali debiutancki album ''Radios Appears'', przez wielu okrzyknięty za przełomowy na tamtejszej scenie, jednak mimo dobrych recenzji nie zdobył wówczas szerszego rozgłosu. Rok później zrealizowana została podczas niezbyt udanego pobytu w Wielkiej Brytanii druga płyta ''Living Eyes'' , wydana  po perturbacjach ostatecznie dopiero na początku 1981 roku. Ku wielkiemu niezadowoleniu fanów, po czterech latach bardzo aktywnej działalności Radio Birdman rozpadło się w czerwcu 1978 roku, wpisując się ostatecznie na stale do kanonu australijskiego rocka.

Rob Younger - vocals

Deniz Tek - guitar, vocals

Warwick Gilbert - bass

Chris Masuak - guitar, piano, vocals

Pip Hoyle - piano

Ron Keeley - drums

Although the best-known band of the early Australian punk scene of the late '70s was the Saints, the first band to wave the punk rock flag in the land down under was Radio Birdman. Formed by Australian émigré Deniz Tek (originally from Ann Arbor, MI) and Aussie surfer-turned-vocalist Rob Younger in 1974, Radio Birdman's approach to rock & roll was rooted in the high-energy, apocalyptic guitar rant of the Stooges and MC5, sprinkled liberally with a little East Coast underground hard rock courtesy of Blue Öyster Cult. Their first EP, Burn My Eye, released in 1976, was a great record and still remains a seminal chunk of Aussie punk. Loud and snotty, with Younger bellowing his guts out and Tek on a search-and-destroy mission with his guitar, this was a great debut that set the stage for the impending deluge of Aussie punk bands waiting in the wings.

After the release of their debut LP, Radios Appear (the title comes from a lyric in the Blue Öyster Cult song "Dominance and Submission"), in Australia a year later, Radio Birdman seemed poised to break Aussie punk worldwide. And although the American label Sire (then the home of the Ramones) was quick to sign them and distribute Radios Appear internationally in 1978, there was a gap of three years before they released a second album, Living Eyes. During that time, dozens of other Aussie punk bands stole their thunder, and Radio Birdman split up almost immediately after Living Eyes was released. Sire never released the record outside of Australia, and Radio Birdman, who should have been the biggest band in Aussie punk, was now a highly regarded punk forefather.

After the band split in 1978, various members were busy forming other bands: Tek formed the New Race with Younger, ex-Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, and ex-MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson, released a handful of solo singles and EPs, and became a surgeon; Younger started his own band, the New Christs, and produced records by the second generation of Aussie punk bands influenced by Radio Birdman, most notably the Celibate Rifles; other Radio Birdman alumni ended up in assorted Aussie bands such as the Lime Spiders, Hoodoo Gurus, and Screaming Tribesmen. Now the grand old man of Aussie punk, Tek formed a part-time project with Celibate Rifles guitarist Kent Steedman that rocks with the same reckless abandon Radio Birdman did when they were changing the course of Australian rock forever.

2001 saw a renewal of interest in Radio Birdman thanks to an excellent compilation, The Essential Radio Birdman: 1974-1978, released by Sub Pop in the States. Murder City Nights: Live arrived in 2003, followed by the all-new Zeno Beach in 2006. (John Dougan)

link in comments