Machine Gun Fellatio

Machine Gun Fellatio
Background information
Origin	Australia
Genres	Alternative rock Experimental
Years active	1997 (1997)–2005 (2005)
Past members	Bryan Ferrysexual Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab KK Juggy LoveShark Pinky Beecroft Widow Jones Feyonce 3k Short

Machine Gun Fellatio was an Australian alternative rock band, formed in 1997. They were well known for their provocative on-stage antics and humorous lyrics, as well as the musical merit of their songs. Their outrage-provoking name (coined by an early associate of the band who devised the term from a philosophy exercise) gives some idea of the attitude that pervades the band's work. They released three studio albums, three EPs and three singles before breaking up in 2005.^[1]

Formation

Machine Gun Fellatio was formed in 1997 by Glenn Dormand (Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab) on vocals and keyboard, Warrick Leggo (LoveShark) on guitar and Ross Johnston (3kShort) on bass, guitar and keyboards. Their first release, Unsound Sounds, was a collection of songs by themselves and two other bands, The Libertines and Limebunny.^[2] The three groups were not completely separate as there was some overlap between members.

Machine Gun Fellatio's first well known track was "Isaac or Fuzz", released in 1997 and made of parts of a voice message left on a record company answering machine (mostly humming the tune to "Reach Up" by the Paul Oakenfold-related project Perfecto Allstarz) put to a fast dance beat.^[1]

Matt Ford, better known as Pinky Beecroft, later joined the band as singer, keyboardist, after leaving Limebunny and turning down an offer to join the band The Whitlams after helping to write their hit song, "No Aphrodisiac" with Chit Chat. The band was also joined by Christa Hughes (KK Juggy – the Ks standing for "knickers" and "knockers"), Glenn Abbott (Bryan Ferrysexual) on drums and Widow Jones on vocals and keyboards completing the band's line-up.^[1]

Their first release under this arrangement was the song "Mutha Fukka on a Motorcycle". The lyrics were apparently based on something sung by a party guest at one of the member's homes. This, and another song released to radio, "Unsent Letter", were very popular with listeners of the radio station Triple J. They released their debut studio album, Bring It On, on Mushroom Records in the following year.^[1]

In 2002, they performed live at the Big Day Out festivals, and played at many others, including Homebake, Livid, the Woodford Folk Festival and Gone South.^{[citation needed]} Their second album Paging Mr. Strike was released in the same year, containing the band's most popular single, "Rollercoaster", which displayed more radio-friendly lyrics and was used in a commercial for Just Jeans.^[1] In 2003 the album was followed by a two-disc edition titled 2nd Page for Mr. Strike, which contained a second disc of remixes and rare tracks.^{[citation needed]}

The group caused some controversy for their wild live performances which often involved both male and female nudity, light bondage gear and implied sexual intercourse with their instruments.^{[citation needed]} After a Student Union organised performance at the University of Melbourne, fellow Victorian universities RMIT University and Swinburne University of Technology cancelled their scheduled performances because of the band's lewd behaviour at Melbourne University. This did not stop other Australian universities in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania allowing the band to perform on their campuses and did not stop Melbourne University hiring the band again the following year.^[1]

Widow Jones left the group in 2004 and was replaced by Connie Mitchell (Feyonce), who later became known as the lead singer of Sneaky Sound System. Pinky Beecroft moved to Melbourne to get away from the band and to deal with drug-related health problems.^[1] The band's last album, On Ice, was released the same year and was met with a relatively muted response and the band decided to break up the following year.^[3]

After the split

Since the split, various band members have since moved on to other projects:

• Pinky Beecroft formed Pinky Beecroft and the White Russians, whose name was later shortened to just The White Russians.^{[citation needed]}
• 3kShort tours with White Knuckle Fever a duet he formed with Celia Curtis of Circus Bizarre and performs with Vashti Hughes in her show Mum's In.
• LoveShark formed the Outer Space Cowboys with 3kShort and played gigs around Sydney.^{[citation needed]}
• Chit Chat Von Loopinstab now hosts many programs on the adult-oriented Australian cable music channel, MusicMAX.^{[citation needed]}
• KK Juggy frequently appears on the Big Day Out's Lilyworld (formerly Lilypad) stage, hosting burlesque shows and other similar ventures. She performed as a member of the highly regarded circus troupe Circus Oz for three years then toured and released an album of jazz and blues classics with her father Dick Hughes. Most recently she has released an album of music with her band the Honky Tonk Shonks.^{[citation needed]}
• Bryan Ferrysexual (Glenn Abbott) had another band The Bryan Ferrysexual Experience which broke up shortly after MGF did. He later formed Super Massive with singer-writer Malina Hamilton-Smith.^{[citation needed]}
• Feyonce (Connie Mitchell) has since gone on to be one of the lead singers of the Sydney-based band Sneaky Sound System.

Members

• Bryan Ferrysexual (Glenn Abbott)—drums
• Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab (Glenn Dormand)—keyboard and vocals
• KK Juggy (Christa Hughes)—vocals
• LoveShark (Warrick Leggo)—guitar
• Pinky Beecroft (Matt Ford)—vocals and keyboard
• 3kShort (Ross Johnston)—bass, guitar and keyboard
• Widow Jones—vocals and keyboard (left in 2004)
• Feyonce (Connie Mitchell)—vocals (2004–2005)

Discography

Extended play

Main albums

Compilations

Singles

DVDs

References

External links

• Machine Gun Fellatio at AllMusic
• Machine Gun Fellatio discography at MusicBrainz
• Machine Gun Fellatio on Myspace