Greg Bray

Back in the day, the only cassette of The Radiators gracing my cars’ tape collection was, ‘You Have the Right to Remain Silent’.

It was given to me by a mate on a camping trip at Agnes Waters in 1984. I was 18 and my two mates were nearly 17, making me the groups only licenced driver and ‘technically’ designated adult.

Those songs quickly became the soundtrack of a memorable weekend.

Our tent sat between two other campsites populated on one side by a small gang of Bundaberg Bikies and on the other side by a group of Sunshine Coast Skegs (surfers for those of you outside Oz).

We were Heavy Industry Hoons, car and dirt bike driving, rev-head, apprentice tradies from Gladstone.

Now, Agnes Waters is a pretty amazing part of the world, and back then a bit wild west (they wouldn’t have a police presence until sometime in the mid 1990’s) which suited all of us just fine.

But to reach it you had to navigate one of the worst dirt roads in our state. That stretch of heavily corrugated, gibber strewn, shock absorber destroying track held the title of the RACQ’s Worst Road in Queensland for decades.

Trust me, when a Central Queenslander thinks twice about taking their vehicle down a road, then it’s a bad bloody road.

It was worth it though. If you (and your car) survived the trek, you would arrive at a truly magical place. But the real magic that weekend was how three uniquely different, usually aggro towards each other, working-class groups were united by the guitar driven, pub rock, of a Sydney band giving it their all and not giving a rat’s arse.

Neither did we as we roared along with The Radiators’, ‘Gimme Head’ and ‘Fess’ Song’:

To be fair, we alternated our tape with the Skegs’, ‘Sons of Beaches’ by Australian Crawl. The bikies didn’t have any tapes to play; cassette decks wouldn’t appear on motor bikes until the Honda Goldwing introduced them on limited models here in Oz around the mid-1980’s (although, no self-respecting, hard-riding, arse-kicking bikie would have wanted one anyway).

We didn’t know it then, but that album (and ‘Sons of Beaches’) would be, in my opinion, the last of the great Oz Rock guitar band offerings for some time during the synth soaked 1980’s (although there were some bright spots thanks to Cold Chisel and Uncanny X-Men).

So, I’m glad my mate generously gave me that cassette. Sadly, he’s gone now and so is the tape which was stolen in ‘The Great New Years Eve Riverside Bonfire Party Cassette Rip Off of ‘86’.

The only tape the lowdown, side-winding, sapsucking thief left me was Elton John’s, ‘Too Low for Zero’ (which I’d played once and filed under ‘Meh’). I tossed it onto the bonfire and drove home in disgust.

A Small Detour

While We’re Rolling Down Memory Lane

At the time almost everyone round these here parts had at least one Radiators, Angels’ and AC/DC album in their collections.

Plus, a taped, taped, taped, taped copy of Kevin Bloody Wilsons’ album ‘Kev’s Back (The Return of the Yobbo)’ (you know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actual copy of the original album? Even Kev admits it was the most recorded and handed round album in Oz music history.)

Kev’s tape also vanished in ‘The Great New Years Eve Riverside Bonfire Party Cassette Rip Off of ‘86’, no doubt to my parent’s, and neighbours, ecstatic delight.

It was around this time I stopped buying albums regularly. Music had moved on (Boy George, Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, Kylie and Jason, etc.) and I was no longer tempted by anything much appearing on Countdown, or in the Top 10 (although ZZ Top and a few other blues, hard rock & metal bands filled my need for wild-eyed rock n’ roll).

Now Back to Our Yarn

So, when I saw Brendan Callinan’s name pop up on Substack and the link to his book, I clicked the, ‘Yessirree! I’ll take one of those thankyouverymuch!’ button and downloaded a copy.

And, thanks to catching a head cold, I had plenty of time to read it this week.

Long Story Short - it’s a good yarn!

Brendan’s book is filled with memories of life from the 1960’s through to the 1990’s.

Not only does this include his life, growing up in rural NSW but snapshots of the Australian music industry at the time.

Brendan joined The Radiators in 1978, and they pretty much got down to business straight away. Writing, recording, touring and playing constantly. They spent years, jamming themselves into rental vans visiting far flung parts of Australia, year after year.

They had a good sound, were determined, focussed and armed with a solid working-class work ethic (turn up, put in the hard yards, rinse and repeat), and determined to build their fan base.

This was in an age where pubs and clubs were keen to host live music and pay artists accordingly to keep the punters lining up for drinks at least five nights a week so there was plenty of work for bands. It wasn’t uncommon for some bands to play two, or sometimes three, gigs a night.

Record companies seemed to have bottomless buckets of $ to invest in up-and-coming musicians to help them develop, and grow into, their sound.

Many radio stations were independent back then, not programmed from afar with the same recycled ‘hits’ day after day. So, it was possible for a relatively unknown band (albeit from Sydney or Melbourne) to get a song in the Top 100, then some radio play if their management was keen to spread the word.

Also, music videos and TV were a massive source of exposure too. You could play a song from your latest album on Countdown and watch the money roll in the next day from record sales.

Boy, times have certainly changed!

My Takeaway

The biggie for me was, how hard muso’s had to work in Oz to eke out a living.

Not only having to play up to six nights a week, forty plus weeks a year, year after year, but tour, write and produce more music and in whatever spare time you have, return home to your long-suffering family and be attacked by your own dog at the front door.

And even though you’re out there grafting nearly every day, you’re still likely to be earning three parts of bugger all once everyone else (agents, managers, record companies, roadies, etc.) have been paid from the bands’ petty cash tin.

Not many people have the long-term chops for that lifestyle. Even with the assistance of ‘substances’.

You’ve definitely got to love what you do.

The Gamble?

There’s a lot in the book. Starting with Brendan’s choice as a teen to leave full time employment at a Goulburn radio station as a trainee DJ to join a band in Sydney.

It paid off for him, eventually, but as Brendan explains, it’s not just musical ability, a tight band and a legion of screaming fans that make for a successful career in the music industry.

There was, as mentioned previously a lot of hard work, but luck too.

Throughout the book he outlines the fortunes, good and bad, that helped or hindered himself and the band. Being in the right place at the right time to meet the best record production engineer, manager, A&R rep exactly when they needed to.

Sometimes, throwing everything at an album, then watching it flop for reasons beyond your control.

He lists numerous examples of decisions he and/or the band made in regard to management, record companies, music production and even choosing replacement musicians (I did chuckle at the bands’ Spinal Tap curse for losing drummers!) and what effect those choices had on the band and their future.

I was surprised to learn The Radiators couldn’t get, buy, beg or kidnap anyone to get them decent airplay in Melbourne, for some reason, which hit their sales hard as Melbourne is a massive market in this country.

In spite of this, they still managed to get enough sales to earn gold records over the years and build a solid following round the traps.

Living in rural Queensland it was rare for a ‘big name’ band to tour in our neck of the woods, but The Rads were one of the few bands who made the effort and it paid off.

Note: over forty years later, The Rads (and Kevin Bloody Wilson!) are still touring and, I kid you not, it was standing room only at both events the last time they rocked up to Gladdy town in recent years.

Whodathunkit?!

Anyway, I won’t ruin the ending, but after playing thousands of shows, Brendan left the band in 1992 thanks to a decision he’d made to explore another musical venture. Although I was particularly impressed by the way he re-framed how this bad thing turned out to be very fortunate for him in the long run.

Regrets?

Sure, he’s had a few, but overall, this book was more a biography written by someone who lived ‘the dream’, survived to tell the yarn, and sprinkled it with a who’s who of the late 70’s and 80’s rock scene in Australia. But what mostly shines through is his positive and grateful attitude. Even during some pretty intense, life-changing times.

What I’d have liked to have seen…

My only niggle is, I’d have liked some more insights into his Radiators’ band mates. To be fair, it’s Brendan’s story, but he spent a lot of time with his mates, and it would have been interesting to have included a little more about them and their lives, thoughts, character, anecdotes etc.

Why?

Well, I was told in the 80’s that the musos in The Radiators were gay, because of the lyrics, ‘I like lying in bed with Fess’.

I had no idea who Fess was back then and assumed it was the lead singer’s, Brian Nichols, girlfriend. Turns out Fess was Stephen ‘Fess’ Parker, the bands’ rhythm guitarist (and Cronulla supporter).

Not that it matters which side the lads bat for, I liked Fess’ Song, and still do, but after reading ‘Life’s a Gamble’, I’m still not sure what the situation was back then which led to those lyrics being included in the song, or even how ‘Fess’ got his nickname (although, I may have missed that between bouts of coughing up one of my lungs this week.)

Regardless, ‘Life’s a Gamble’ is still a cracking yarn and I’m looking forward to reading Brendan’s next biography of his life after The Radiators as a music industry executive for Roland Corporation (the mob who make the amazing little CUBE amplifiers which I love using!)

So, in the words of a certain music guru, ‘Do yourself a favour!’ and check out Brendans’ website and order a copy of his book.

Or, find him here on Substack, because if you’re in the music industry today, he has some great insights which are definitely worth checking out.

Cheers,

Gb