GANGgajang

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GANGgajang
Origin Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genre(s) Rock
Years active 1984–present
Label(s) True Tone Records
RooART
Shock Records
Website Official website
Members
Mark 'Cal' Callaghan
Chris Bailey
Graham 'Buzz' Bidstrup
Robert 'Robbie' James
Geoffrey Stapleton
Former members
James Black
Mike Grubb
Kayellen Bee
Marilyn Delaney
Mark O'Connor
Gordon Sullivan

GANGgajang are an Australian band who formed in 1984. The three principal figures in the original lineup were former Riptides frontman Mark "Cal" Callaghan and two former members of popular Australian hard rock band The Angels, bassist Chris Bailey and drummer Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

The new band's formation grew out of songwriting and performing sessions the trio undertook for the ABC-TV music-drama series Sweet and Sour broadcast in July 1984.[2] The original lineup was completed by former Aliens keyboard player Geoffrey Stapleton, guitarist Robert James and singers Kayellen Bee (co-wrote "The Heart Plays Tricks" as K Bidstrup aka Kay Bee with Bidstrup and Callaghan for Sweet and Sour)[3] and Marilyn Delaney.[1]

The band gained a solid following around Australia during 1984-85, aided by considerable support from Triple J and Countdown. Their biggest commercial success came in 1985 with the release of their self-titled debut album, which sold over 120,000 copies. The LP included the classic single "Sounds of Then (This is Australia)", as well as the hit singles "House of Cards", "Giver of Life" and "Gimme Some Lovin" (their 1984 debut single, which was originally recorded as a 'demo' in a single take).

In 1987, GANGgajang's music was featured exclusively in the Quiksilver surf movie Mad Wax. The film became a cult surf classic and introduced the band to a worldwide audience. GANGgajang was named 'World's Best Band' two years in a row by the Association of Surfing Professionals.

The group released their second album, gangAGAIN, in 1987, after which the various members pursued solo projects. Over the next few years Callaghan released a solo album and worked as an executive for the now-defunct Festival Records group, Bidstrup played sessions, produced albums and movie soundtracks, Bailey worked with artists as diverse as Jimmy Barnes, Alannah Miles and Nathan Cavaleri, Stapleton formed The Dukes with Sean Kelly and James wrote a book, "The Second Best Book of Disunderstandabilism" and recorded his songs with Wendy Matthews.

[edit] 1990s

They reformed in 1991 (without Bee and Delaney, who had gone on to successful careers in the film industry) and took to the road for one brief tour.

The audience response was so overwhelming it encouraged the band to record their third album, Lingo which was released in 1994 on RooART and chalked up another three hit singles, "Hundreds of Languages", "Talk To Me", and "Ordinary World".

In 1995, the first two albums were repackaged into The Essential GANGgajang, which has now sold over 30,000 on the Shock label. The band also toured Brazil for the first time, playing to over 60,000 fans in ten concerts through nine cities.

In 1996 the Nine Network revived the song "Sounds of Then" for use in its station ID promotion sparking a revived interest in the band's live dates around Australia.

GANGgajang continue to perform across Australia and overseas and in February 2001 the band completed its third tour of Brazil, performing to enormous crowds. When not performing or recording together as GANGgajang each member is otherwise occupied.

Singer Mark Callaghan is General Manager of Shock Music Publishing, drummer Buzz Bidstrup has managed Australian music legend Jimmy Little since the release of his 1999 ARIA award winning CD The Messenger, while guitarist Robert James released his first solo album Suzannah Suite and is now recording a second in between touring Australia in solo mode and with Australian icons Yothu Yindi.

Keyboard player and resident artist Geoffrey Stapleton is now living in Adelaide and preparing his next exhibition of paintings to be called "Oceans and Deserts" while maintaining and developing the band's website. Chris Bailey is working in a wide variety of music cultures in Sydney and has produced an album for singer/songwriter Dave Debs. Bailey also plays in Jimmy Little's live band.

Like several other Australian bands of the period, such as The Saints and The Church, GANGgajang have a strong following in other regions, but whilst the former acts have their major fan base in Europe (especially Scandinavia), GANGgajang have become very popular in Brazil.

[edit] 2000s

GANGgajang played the Sydney Opera House and Darling Harbour as part of the Corroboree 2000 celebrations and during the 2000 Summer Olympics the band was in demand for concert appearances around Sydney as part of the Olympic Arts Festival

October 2002 saw the release of the long awaited fourth album, Oceans and Deserts to critical acclaim and extensive airplay across Australia on ABC radio. Five of the eleven tracks featured additional backing vocals from original members Kayellen Bee and Marilyn Delaney (aka Marilyn Sommer).[4] A live concert featuring a selection of new songs and some of the classics was filmed for the ABC's "Live At The Basement" series for screening on 25th May 2004.

In October 2006, Triple M had the Essential 2006 Countdown of the most popular 2006 songs, voted by the listeners. Sounds of Then was the 53rd voted/ranked song, Gimmie Some Lovin was 1730 ranked and House of Cards was 1809 ranked[5].

[edit] Group members

  • Mark 'Cal' Callaghan - guitar, vocals (1984-1987); (1992-present)
  • Chris Bailey - bass, vocals (1984-1987); (1992-present)
  • Graham 'Buzz' Bidstrup - drums, percussion, guitar, keyboards, vocals (1984-1987); (1992-present)
  • Robert 'Robbie' James - guitar, vocals (1985-1987); (1992-present)
  • Geoffrey Stapleton - keyboards, guitar, vocals (1984-1987); (1995-present)
  • James Black - guitar, keyboards (1984)
  • Mike Grubb - keyboards (1993-1995)
  • Kayellen Bee - backing vocals (1984-85)
  • Marilyn Delaney - backing vocals (1984-85)
  • Mark O'Connor - keyboards (1993)
  • Gordon Sullivan - guitar (1984-1985)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Compilation albums

[edit] Videos

  • The Complete GANGajang(2006)

[edit] Singles

  • "Gimme Some Lovin" / "Noisy Talking (Part 1)" (1984)
  • "House of Cards" / "From the Top to the Bottom" (1985)
  • "Giver Of Life" / "Mysterious" (Live)(1985)
  • "Sounds of Then" / "House Of Cards" (Live) (1985)
  • "Dream At Night" / [Cameron Allen] "Tunkleys Leave Home" (1986)
  • "The Bigger They Are" / "Giver Of Life" (1986)
  • "Initiation" / "Sounds Of Then" (Instrumental) (1987)
  • "American Money" / "The Roof Only Leaks When It's Raining" (1987)
  • "Luck Of The Irish" / "Tree Of Love" (1987)
  • "Hundreds Of Languages" / "Funny Old Street" / "Give Peace Another Chance" (1993)
  • "Ordinary World" (1994)
  • "Talk To Me" (1994)
  • "Nomadsland" / "Nomadsland" (Orchestral) (2000)
  • "Anodyne Dream" / Camp of the Moon" / "Pill for the Pain" (2003)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  2. ^ OZTV Credits: http://www.lm.net.au/~fsteiny/sweetandsour_home.html
  3. ^ Australasian Performing Right Association. APRA. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  4. ^ GANGgajang Official Website. Geoffrey Stapleton. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  5. ^ http://www.mrock.com.au/essentialcountdown/countdown.php Triple M - Essential 2006 Countdown

[edit] External links