Up For Grabs/Room Full Of Diamonds/Nothings
Changed/It Wasn't Me/ Restless/Something Wrong/Automatic/Bustin' Out/I
Go To Pieces/ Sex/Out Of It
Formed in Western
Sydney in 1978, The Radiators were originally lumped in with the New
Wave scene in Sydney but in reality were a pub rock band with a sense of
humour. In their hey-day they were one of the hardest working bands in
Australia, touring constantly and racking up over 2,500 gigs by the
early 1990s.
Their first single (on WEA) was Comin’ Home which
reached number 33 (and probably earned them their New Wave tag). Fess’
Song (“I take drugs, I like sex, I like looking at dirty pictures, I
like lying in bed with Fess”) and the album Feel The Heat followed and
The Rads’ supported The Police on their Australian Tour.
Hit And
Run was the third single lifted from their debut LP which went on to
sell 90,000 copies. In 1981 they changed record labels and released Up
For Grabs. 1982 brought the singles Up For Grabs and Nothing’s Changed. A
new contract with EMI produced the album Scream Of The Real and the
singles No Tragedy and You.
Another LP followed in 1984 (Life’s A
Gamble) along with 3 singles; The Beatles’ Revolution, Life’s A Gamble
and A Bit Of Pain Never Hurts. Long-serving drummer Chris Tagg left in
June 1984 to be replaced by a string of others. The band with more
record labels than hot dinners continued recording well into the 90s but
by then their brand of boogie-influenced rock had been superseded by
more alternative guitar bands. But, being the pub-rock warhorses that
they were, The Radiators would not stop.
The Radiators (still one
of the hardest working bands in the land) still play live in Australia
today (I saw them in January 2003 actually, and despite the absence of
as keyboard player these days, these guys still R.O.C.K). Of special
note is the bands most (in)famous song (and solid live favourite), a
charming little ditty entitled Give Me Head which is about, well . . .
you work it out!from
Nostalgia Central
