- Sacred Cowboys
Sacred Cowboys are an
Australia npost-punk rock band based inMelbourne and active in 1982-85, 1987-97 and since 2006.The band's lead singer and lyricist is
Garry Gray . The current line-up includes:Spencer Jones (guitar);Penny Ikinger (guitar);Nick Rischbieth (bass) and;Stephan Fiddock (drums). A special guest for shows in August 2006 was Ash Wednesday (keyboards). Past members include: Johnny Crash (drums) andMark Ferrie (bass) who were both previously members of Melbourne pop band The Models;Terry Doolan (guitar);Andrew Picouleau (bass); and Ian Forrest (keyboards). Rischbieth joined the group in 1983 and Fiddock in 1987.History
Gray was previously a member of
The Reals (1975-76) andThe Negatives (1977-79) and is the only constant in the band's history.The Sacred Cowboys began playing inner city Melbourne in early 1982. Gray and Mark Ferrie thought of the name after watching "The Groovy Guru", an episode of the classic TV comedy series "
Get Smart ". In it, the Groovy Guru and his rock band, the Sacred Cows, usepsychedelic music to control the minds of young people. (The same episode was the inspiration for aHoodoo Gurus song, "In The Echo Chamber" andPainters and Dockers covered Groovy Guru's "Kill Kill Kill".)Within six months, the Cowboys signed with
Mushroom Records /White Label and recorded the "Nothing Grows In Texas" single. After their performance of the song on television pop show "Countdown",Molly Meldrum said: "this is the worst group I've seen in five years", a title the band wore with perverse pride.The Cowboys Mark I also released a second single, a cover of
Alex Chilton 's "Bangkok", a self-titled EP on the White Label, a self-titled album on French LabelNew Rose Records , and a live/demo compilation named after a Rolling Stones cover, "We Love You " onManMade Records .After reforming in 1987, the Cowboys signed to Germany's Normal records and released the classic Trouble From Providence album. Hell Sucks was the hit from this album and became the Cowboys signature tune. The Cowboys began recording again in the 1990s. They released a "best of" CD EP called "Black City". The Australian edition of "
Rolling Stone " magazine listed this as one of its Top 100 albums of the 20th century. The "Things To Come" album was released in 1996. Spencer Jones and Penny Ikinger joined Terry Doolan as the band's guitarists, both live and in the studio.In 2005, the song "Hell Sucks" from Providence was selected for Clinton Walker's compilation of classic Australian punk and post-punk music, "Inner City Sounds".
When the Cowboys reformed in August 2006, they played a series of shows in Melbourne, and put the finishing touches to the "Cold Harvest" album, which was released on Bang Records.
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