The Whitlams

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The Whitlams

Background information
Origin Sydney, Australia
Genre(s) Indie rock
Years active 1992–present
Label(s) Black Yak Records
Website Official website
Members
Tim Freedman
Jak Housden
Warwick Hornby
Terepai Richmond
Former members
Stevie Plunder (deceased)
Andy Lewis (deceased)
Ben Fink
Stuart Eadie
Micheal Vidale
Louis Burdett
Hanuman Daas
Micheal Richards
Tim Hall
Oscar Briz
Bill Heckenburg
Chris Abrahams
Cottco Lovett
Alex Hewitson
Mike Gubb

The Whitlams are an Australian band, best known for their songs "No Aphrodisiac" and "Blow Up The Pokies". The Whitlams sound can best be described as 'Piano rock' founded in 'lyrics of charming cynicism[citation needed]'. The band's name is a tribute to former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

Contents

[edit] History

The Whitlams were formed in late 1992 when a former Penguin on Safari and a former Plunderer crossed paths at the annual independent music festival the Big Day Out. While missing Nirvana perform inside the arena, the two musicians lamented the local music scene and decided to form a musical alliance, and The Whitlams were born. The initial band members were Tim Freedman, Stevie Plunder and Andy Lewis. Being without a drummer, the band developed their songs acoustically on Saturday afternoons at the Sandringham Hotel in King Street, Newtown, a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, Australia.

At the same time that the band was enjoying the success of their single "I Make Hamburgers" (1996) founding member Stevie Plunder was found dead on Australia Day, 1996, from what was believed to be an act of suicide. After a break of several months, Tim Freedman reformed the band with several new members. After several more months, there was another lineup change and this is when the process of starting to record the album Eternal Nightcap began. This album sold over 200,000 units and in 1998 won the band ARIA awards for Best Independent Album, Song of the Year and Best Group. This last award was presented by the band's namesake Gough Whitlam. "No Aphrodisiac", a single from this album, made it to number one in the 1997 Triple J Hottest 100.

Several of the band's songs were played during the 2000 Sydney Olympics as examples of Australian pop culture (for example, "Sydney 2000 Olympic Theme", a b-side from the "I Make Hamburgers" single that was reworked as "You Gotta Love This City" on Love This City -- an ironic choice, as the song's protagonist commits suicide by jumping in the Harbour at the end of the song, disgusted at the city's crass pursuit of money: It dawns on him / The horror / We got the Olympic Games).

During the band's Canadian tour in April 2000 supporting Blue Rodeo, the band received word that founding member, Andy Lewis, had committed suicide back in Australia. Andy had been battling gambling addiction for a long time prior to his death.

Blow Up The Pokies had been written by Tim as a statement on the destruction he saw in Andy's life due to his gambling not long before Andy's death, and was awaiting release as a single at the time. Tim soon after wrote The Curse Stops Here, a heartrending piece describing being the 'last one' from the original line-up of the band, and voicing his determination to survive. The Curse Stops Here was included as a B-side track on the Blow Up The Pokies single.

A month after Andy's death a benefit concert was held at the Metro club in Sydney to raise money for his wife and child. The event was hosted by Paul McDermott, Mikey Robbins and Steve Abbott (The Sandman), and performers included Max Sharam, and The Gadflys (another band Andy performed with).

Torch The Moon 2002, their next album, received moderate success, with the singles Fall For You AUS#21, Best Work AUS#35, Royal in The Afternoon and Don't Believe Anymore. Another song from the album which received a fair amount of airplay was I Will Not Go Quietly (Duffy's Song), which was used on the Australian TV series Love Is A Four Letter Word 2001.

The latest release, a double album titled "Little Cloud and the Apples Eye" was released on 19th March 2006 in Australia. Several songs are receiving considerable airplay, including "I Was Alive." Three of the songs on the album have been released as radio-only singles, with a fourth "Beautiful As You" due for release as a CD single in late February. The album was followed up with almost non-stop touring around Australia, including performances at political and university events.

Tim Freedman hinted at a recent concert that he may spend some time in Berlin next year, and while there he will write The Whitlam's next album. This would be similar to the time he spent in New York during 2005 writing Little Cloud.

Their most recent line up consists of Tim Freedman on piano and main vocals, Jak Housden on guitar, Warwick Hornby on bass guitar and Terepai Richmond on drums.

The band made the news in 2006 when they refused to perform to troops in Iraq for political reasons.[1]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

1. Introducing The Whitlams 1993;

2. Undeniably The Whitlams 1995;

3. Eternal Nightcap 1997; AUS Platinum x4

4. Love This City 1999; #3 AUS Platinum x2

5. Torch The Moon 2002; #1 AUS Platinum

6. Little Cloud 2006; #4 AUS Gold

[edit] International Re-release albums

Eternal Nightcap - New Zealand Release 1999;

Eternal Nightcap - Canadian Release 2000;

[edit] Reworked albums

Undeniably The Whitlams - Reworked 2001;

[edit] Live albums

Stupor Ego 1995;

[edit] Promo Releases (Cassette)

Learning to Love The Whitlams 1997;

The Whitlams - A Retrospective 1997;

[edit] DVD

The Whitlams Years 1993-2004 2004; Gold

[edit] Singles

From Undeniably The Whitlams:

  • "Met My Match/Following My Own Tracks" (1995)
  • "I Make Hamburgers" (1995)

From Eternal Nightcap:

FOW Exclusive Release:

  • "Women in Uniform/High Ground/1999" (1999)

From Love This City:

  • "Thankyou (for loving me at my worst)/Chunky Chunky Air Guitar" (2000) #37 2000 Triple J Hottest 100
  • "Blow Up The Pokies" (2000) AUS #21
  • "Made Me Hard" (2001)

From Torch The Moon:

  • "Fall For You" (2002) AUS #21
  • "Best Work" (2002) AUS #35
  • "Royal In The Afternoon" (2003)
  • "Don't Believe Anymore" (2003) AUS #47

From Little Cloud:

  • "I Was Alive" (Radio Only) (2006)
  • "Fondness Makes The Heart Grow Absent" (Radio Only) (2006)
  • "Beauty In Me" (Radio Only) (2006)
  • "Beautiful As You" (2007)

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Awards

[edit] Nominations

[edit] External links

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