Although the best-known band of the early Australian punk scene of the late '70s was
. Formed by Australian émigré
's approach to rock & roll was rooted in the high-energy, apocalyptic guitar rant of
, sprinkled liberally with a little East Coast underground hard rock courtesy of
. Their first EP,
, released in 1976, was a great record and still remains a seminal chunk of Aussie punk. Loud and snotty, with
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, Rovi