Hoodoo Gurus : Stoneage Romeos 1984

Hoodoo Gurus (referred to as the Gurus by fans) are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Their popularity peaked in the mid to late 1980s with albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder.

Hoodoo Gurus had a string of acclaimed pop-rock singles including "Leilani" (1982), "Tojo" (1983), "My Girl" (1983), "I Want You Back" (1984), "Bittersweet", "Like Wow - Wipeout!", and "What's My Scene?". After touring the United States from 1984 onwards they gained popularity on the U.S. college rock circuit with singles "Come Anytime" (1989) reaching No. 1 and "Miss Freelove '69" (1991) reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Three Hoodoo Gurus founders were from Perth protopunk and punk bands: Dave Faulkner (guitars) and James Baker (drums) of The Victims; while Baker had been with Roddy Radalj (aka Roddy Ray'Da) (guitars) in The Scientists. The fourth founding member, Kimble Rendall (guitars) was formerly in Sydney punk rockers XL Capris. The three guitarists Faulkner, Rendall and Radalj met at an end-of-1980 New Year's Eve party and were joined by Baker to form Le Hoodoo Gurus.

Le Hoodoo Gurus unorthodox line-up of three guitars and no bass player, fused pop melodies, punk guitars and an American trash culture ethic. This was captured on their first single, "Leilani" released in October 1982, on Phantom Records. This told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly. They dropped the 'Le', to become Hoodoo Gurus, not long after the single's release. As the Hoodoo Gurus, they gave their first ever performance on a segment of the kids' TV program Simon Townsend's Wonder World; this was followed by a performance alongside a man and his singing dog, on The Don Lane Show.

Gurus new line-up (Baker, Bramley, Faulkner and Shepherd) recorded the band's first album in 1984, Stoneage Romeos. The title came from a 1955 Three Stooges short Stone Age Romeos. The album was dedicated to characters from Get Smart, F-Troop and Petticoat Junction. They were awarded 'Best Debut Album' of 1984 at the July 1985 Countdown Music Awards. When Stoneage Romeos was released in America it stayed at number 1 in the Alternative/College charts for seven weeks, becoming one of the most played albums for the year on the college network.

Initially a cult inner-city act, their popularity expanded due to regular airplay on radio station Triple J and nationwide pop TV show Countdown from mid-1983. Their breakthrough single "My Girl" was accompanied by a video clip featuring a dog trainer with his once champion greyhound. Members of Spiderbait described seeing the video for the first time as "a beautiful, classic pop song". Some viewers insisted the song was "written about a dog". This was closely followed by "I Want You Back", which featured animated plastic model dinosaurs. Both videos were aired frequently raising the group's profile around the country.

Original drummer James Baker was sacked from the band in August 1984 and was replaced by Mark Kingsmill (The Hitmen, New Christs, Screaming Tribesmen, Hellcats and Super K). Based on the success of the Stoneage Romeos the Hoodoo Gurus, with their new drummer, then embarked on their first tour of the United States in late 1984.

TRACKS 

01. (Let's All) Turn On - James Baker, Darcy Condon, Faulkner, 3:04
02. I Want You Back           3:12
03. Arthur - Faulkner, Radalj     3:10
04. Death Ship - Faulkner, Radalj, Alan Sharples     2:37
05. Dig It Up       3:36
06. My Girl       2:40
07. Zanzibar       3:25
08. Leilani - Faulkner, Baker, Radalj, Kimble Rendall     5:36
09. Tojo       3:23
10. In the Echo Chamber  3:44
11. I Was a Kamikaze Pilot  3:12

Personnel

James Baker — drums
Clyde Bramley — bass, vocals
Dave Faulkner — guitar, lead vocals, keyboards
Brad Shepherd — lead guitar, vocals, harmonica, percussion
Michael Farmer — additional percussion
Producer, Engineer — Alan Thorne
Mastering — Bob, Carbone, Frank DeLuna
Artwork (cover concept and design) — Yanni Stumbles
Photography (pics) — Tom Takacs
Other (the boss) — Stuart Thorne

FLAC  Size : 272 MB