The Mavis's

The Mavis's
Origin Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Genres Pop, new wave, post-punk (early)
Years active 1987 (1987)–2001 (2001)
Labels Mushroom
Associated acts Beki and the Bullets, The Blow Waves
Past members Matt Thomas
Becky Thomas
Josh Alexander
Nick Gill
Andrea Vendy

The Mavis's were an Australian pop band from Ballarat, Victoria. The band was composed of Matt Thomas (guitar, vocals), his sister Becky Thomas (vocals), Nick Gill (guitar), Andrea Vendy (drums), and Josh Alexander (bass guitar). They are best known for their 1998 synth-driven single "Cry", which appeared on the Triple J Hottest 100 for 1998. The band also performed the song on Hey Hey It's Saturday.

History

The band was formed as a post-punk band in Ballarat in 1987 by singer-guitarist Matt Thomas (Matt Doll), his sister Beki Thomas on vocals, guitarist Andrew Craw, bassist Katherine McNulty, and drummer Andrea Vendy.[1] Matt described forming the band as "a way to get away from Ballarat".[2] They were named after a cat called Mavis that they saw while jamming in a friend's basement.[3]

In 1990, the band moved to Melbourne and guitarist Andrew Craw was replaced by Nick Gill. They released their debut single, "Rollercoaster", the following year. 1993 saw the release of their first EP, Spindrift, and Poseidon was released the following year.[4]

Their popularity grew, and the band signed to Mushroom Records' White label in 1995, releasing their second single, "Moon Drone Gold", in December. The Mavis's released their debut album, Venus Returning, the following year, which reached number 33 on the Australian albums chart and contained the singles "Box", "Thunder", and "Lost". It featured a more mainstream sound than their previous releases. "Thunder" made it into the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996 at number 96.[4] They toured with Def FX.

The band's next single, "Naughty Boy", was released in 1997 and made it into the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997. It was then used in a JUST JEANS ad.In April 1998, the band released their second studio album, Pink Pills, which reached number 12 on the albums chart.[5] The album's production was wrought with troubles, with group fighting including drummer Andrea Vendi throwing boiling hot coffee on Matt, and singer Becky running away from the studio into town barefoot.[6] A single from the album, "Cry", reached number 13 on the singles chart[5] and came in a number 61 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1998. They performed the song live on Hey Hey It's Saturday. At the 1998 ARIA Awards Pink Pills received ARIA Award nominations for Best Pop Release and Best Cover Art, and "Cry" was nominated for Single of the Year and Song of the Year. At the next year's awards, their single "Puberty Song" earned a nomination for Engineer of the Year.[7] After the album's release, the band was asked to tour with Kylie Minogue by Minogue herself, and later supported Green Day on their 1998 Australian tour.[4]

The band contributed a cover of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song "Walk On By" for the tribute album, To Hal and Bacharach, released in April 1998. This was followed by a cover of the Duran Duran song "Planet Earth", which was featured on the tribute album, Undone: The Songs of Duran Duran in October 1999. In 2000, they contributed a cover of the ABBA song "Bang-A-Boomerang" which was featured on the soundtrack to the film The Wog Boy.[4]

In February 2000, they released the single "Happiness", which appeared on a television advertisement for Australian Hyundai Motor Company. The company's original slogan was "Hyundai is happiness". The Mavis's also provided music for a Coca Cola ad. This was followed in May by another cover, this time of Jim Keay's "The Boy from the Stars", which was included in the soundtrack to the film Sample People. The second single from the album, Coming Home, was released in May. Three months later, the band decided to break up, and ended with a farewell tour.[4]

Since their split, Beki Thomas, Nick Gill and Josh Alexander formed Junkatique, and later, Beki and the Bullets with Beki Thomas and Nick Gill. Matt Doll currently fronts electropop bands The Blow Waves and Video Video with Byron St John and Matthew Sigley. Siblings Matt and Beki have recently re-united and recorded a brand new six track EP Searching for Zero released March 2013. December 27, 2014 the band reformed for a one off sold out show in Melbourne. They are planning a tour and possible new album in 2015.

Discography

Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Compilation albums

References

  1. ↑ "Albums by The Mavis's". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  2. ↑ "The Mavis's - tv spot & interview". YouTube. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  3. ↑ "The Mavis's - Interview for COMING HOME". YouTube. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Brendan Swift. "Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  5. 1 2 McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2.
  6. ↑ Nelly Connors (March 1998). Juice. Missing or empty |title= (help);
  7. ↑ ARIA Awards The Mavis's award history

External links

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