Biography
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Years Active
1979 – present (45 years)
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Founded In
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Pel Mel were an Australian post-punk music band. They formed in Newcastle, Australia in mid 1979 and moved to Sydney, Australia in late 1980. They toured and recorded until 1984.
They had some success in Sydney's inner-city music scene and released their debut single No Word From China in 1980. By the time they released their 1983 album Persuasion, they had developed a light indie pop sound. The album had limited commercial success and Pel Mel disbanded shortly afterwards. Some of the members played in the the band The Limp.
The Pel Mel line-up was
Graeme Dunne: vocals, guitar, bass
Jude McGee: vocals, sax, synth
Jane McGee: guitar
Dave Weston: drums
Nigel Savage; sax
Paul Davies: guitar
Glendon Hill: bass
Lindsay O'Meara: bass
Craig Robertson: bass
Post-punk popsters pel mel pop up – after 26 years
Members of post-punk indie pop band pel mel, whose 1981 single “No Word from China” was a local hit, have joined with friends to play their first gig in 26 years.
On Saturday, 28 July 2012, the pel mel organisation, as the reformed band is called, will return to their roots to appear at Newcastle’s beloved Lass O’Gowrie Hotel in Wickham to play songs from their extensive back catalogue.
Pel mel started out in Newcastle in 1979. They soon moved to Sydney, where the band became a feature of the post-punk inner-city music scene centred around venues such as the Rock Garden and the Trade Union Club.
The band later toured extensively, playing with local bands such as The Reels, Mental as Anything and The Birthday Party, as well as international acts such as Elvis Costello, New Order and The Fall. Pel mel’s first single “No Word from China” was a JJJ hit and appeared on Countdown. Other releases included singles “Head Above Water” and “Pandemonium” and albumsOut of Reason and Persuasion.
Pel mel will perform many of the band’s well-known songs from its two albums. As well, for those who regularly attended the band’s early gigs in 1979 at Newcastle’s Grand Hotel, there will be a raft of songs that never made it to vinyl (let alone iTunes), including “Son of Sam”, “Clever Move” and “Continuing Imprisonment”.
For the trainspotters, the band of now seven members (including three guitarists) will play songs demoed during the last days of pel mel in 1985 but never released or previously played live. Two new songs complete the set.
The current line up includes original key members Graeme Dunne on vocals, Jude McGee on vocals, synth and sax and Jane McGee and Paul Davies on guitar. Also playing are Stuart Nicholls on drums, Dermot Browne on guitar and Mark Davies on bass.
The band’s singer, synth and sax player Jude McGee said reforming the band happened by accident. “We performed a few songs at the Lass as part of a memorial for a good friend and decided it was so much fun we’d continue,” she said.
“We’ve picked out our favourites plus we’ve started on some new material too. Surprisingly, it’s sounding pretty good!”
Also playing at the gig are two other classic bands from the Newcastle post-punk vault, Swami Binton, featuring Davies brothers Mark and Paul, and The Limp, which were pel mel’s original support band featuring McGee siblings Jane, Tim and Jude.
Contemporary jangling rocksters Leather Feather will drag the night kicking and screaming into something approximating the present.
For more information contact pelmelorg@gmail.com
For information about the gig visit http://www.lassogowriehotel.com.au/
See original pel mel video clips here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qfW2wCIA1w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPzZ7fvmpxE
Event Details
pel mel organisation, Leather Feather, Swami Binton, The Limp
Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, 14 Railway Street Wickham NSW 2293
Saturday, 28 July 2012, 9 pm, Free entry
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