New Race
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| New Race | |
|---|---|
 New Race The First and Last (1982) Produced and mixed by Charles Fisher, Rob Younger, and Alan Thorne Recorded live at Selina's, Sgt. Peppers, Manly Vale Hotel, and Crystal Ballroom, April-May 1981. Overdubs and mixing: Trafalgar Studio, Sydney, Australia |
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| Origin | Sydney, Australia |
| Years active | 1981 |
| Genres | Alternative Punk rock, Indie Rock, Garage, Proto-Punk |
New Race was a punk band from Sydney, Australia formed in April 1981. New Race was a concept band formed by members of Radio Birdman; Deniz Tek, Rob Younger, and Warwick Gilbert, along with Ron Asheton of The Stooges, and Dennis Thompson of MC5.
New Race played one tour of the East Coast of Australia which comprised of 16 shows. Many of these shows were recorded in anticipation for a live album at the end of the tour, and it was these recordings which formed the bands only album The First and Last. The albums released included mainly Radio Birdman originals, but many songs from MC5 and The Stooges were also on their setlist. Other songs included songs from The Visitors and Destroy All Monsters.
At the conclusion of the tour both Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson returned to the United States to pursue new musical avenues.
Contents |
[edit] Personel
Primary Members
- Rob Younger: Lead Vocals
- Ron Asheton: Guitar
- Deniz Tek: Guitar
- Warwick Gilbert: Bass
- Dennis Thompson: Drums, Vocals
Additional Members
- Chris Masuak: Guitar (on some shows)
- Clyde Bramley: Backing Vocals (on some shows)
[edit] Linear notes from The First and Last
The following is the linear notes to the U.S release of the re-mastered CD of The First and Last which were written by lead singer Deniz Tek
"I was living in Detroit at the end of 1980 when the New Race concept came up. This was in the early post Birdman, post Visitors days, I was looking around for something to do. It was actually Angie's idea. Angie had been talking with Rob Younger, and she thought it would be great for us to get a cool touring band together to hit the road in Australia around the same time that Living Eyes was to come out...the idea being to get some guys in it who we considered to be part of our "roots" so to speak... We wanted to give the Detroit musicians some live exposure in Australia, to honor their legacy. It would be an important step along our own path of development. It would also give us the chance to go wild and behave irresponsibly and kick some serious ass.
So, Rob and I asked Warwick Gilbert to sign on as the bass player... despite the horrific animosity of the Radio Birdman breakup two years earlier. To this day I wonder why he agreed to do it, knowing his feelings at the time. The opportunity to play with the Detroit "legends" must have been a powerful motivator.
I had known Ron Asheton for a few years, and had done some playing with his band. We were and still are close personal friends. He was keen on us getting together in Australia. Scotty Asheton was our original choice for drums, but when he couldn't make it at the last minute, Ron recruited Dennis Thompson. "Machine Gun" was a perfect choice for what we wanted to do. Ron and Dennis, who had once been band mates in the New Order, crossed the Pacific in a DC10, arriving in a strangely compressed state. Rehearsals began. We decided to focus on material from the members previous bands, to spend the time crystallizing as a unit rather than trying to write a whole bunch of new songs. We did stuff from Birdman, MC5, Stooges, Destroy All Monsters, The Visitors, etc. The only new song we wrote was Columbia, whose first flight was a news event the week of rehearsals. I think Thompson came up with most of it. I contributed the middle 8 bars only. It seems a bit silly now to have sung about the space shuttle, but I guess it was applicable at the time as we felt that we, also, were about to launch a powerful new machine. Some people thought we were singing "pandemonium" instead of "hail columbia". That's a better lyric.
We got in the van. The first show was a predictably rough event in Wollongong, a tough steel city down south... then drove overnight 1000 kms north to the Gold Coast, to the Playroom which is still sitting there on one of the prettiest beaches in the world. On and on, from endless hours in the van to sound check to motel to the gig to the motel then into the van to repeat the cycle. We played clubs, mostly full of people. I remember the crowds being from 200 at the Ainslie Hotel in Canberra to 2000 at Selinas with all sizes in between. The crowds went off. The gigs were pretty good. The chaos factor was up there. The band gained power as it went along. Cities, suburbs, satellite towns, countryside of incredible beauty, long stretches of nothing but mileage, flyblown stops for mysterious food, a beer and a piss in between. It's a ritualistic experience which I repeat to this day with very little variation. The only difference is that now you can get espresso in Gundagai.
Contrary to some of the press at the time, we had a great deal of fun, good times, and cameraderie. There was also adversity and, inevitably, exhaustion. Because of the Oz pronunciation of the word "race", we took to calling the band "Fried Rice" instead of New Race. Humour beats bitterness every time.
New Race was the hammering out of yet another link in the chain. It served the purpose, albeit unconsciously, of connecting past to future within the context of our limited artistic traditions and humble aspirations. It was better than sitting around watching TV.
It was a rock band. Music was played. You can hear some of it on this disc. I hope you enjoy it."
[edit] Discography
| Cover | Title | Release |
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The First and Last (Vinyl LP) | 1982 |
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The First and Last (German Pressing Vinyl LP) | 1983 |
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Crying Sun/Gotta Keep Movin (Vinyl Single) | 1983 |
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The First and Last (UK Version Vinyl LP) | 1983 |
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The First To Pay (Vinyl LP and CD) | 1989 |
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Hail Columbia 45 (Green Vinyl Single only 1000 copies pressed) | 1989 |
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The Second Wave (Vinyl LP and CD) | 1990 |
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The First And Last Reissue (Vinyl LP and CD) | 1997 |
