Exploding White Mice were an Australian

punk-pop Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

which formed in 1983 with Paul Gilchrist on vocals, Andy MacQueen on bass guitar, Gerry Barrett on guitar, Craig Rodda on drums and Giles Barrow on rhythm guitar. In 1984 Barrett was replaced by Jeff Stephens on guitar – later also on lead vocals. In 1985 Rodda was replaced on drums by David Bunney. The group released four studio albums, ''Brute Force and Ignorance'' (August 1988), ''Exploding White Mice'' (1990), ''Collateral Damage'' (1992) and ''We Walk Alone'' (1994). The band toured Europe twice before disbanding in April 1999.

History

1983-1999

Exploding White Mice were formed in 1983 in Adelaide when Paul Gilchrist on vocals played a one-off show as a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. Ne ...

at a party with Andy MacQueen on bass guitar (ex-The Deviants, Crunch Pets), Gerry Barrett on guitar ( Del Webb Explosion) and Craig Rodda on drums (Screaming Believers). The band's name was taken from a scene in the 1979 film ''

Rock 'n' Roll High School ''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard, and Dey Young. The film featured the punk rock group Ramone ...

'', where a laboratory mouse spontaneously explodes upon exposure to music by

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

. Aside from The Ramones other major influences include

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth. Hist ...

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...

and American 1960s

garage punk A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

. The party gig went so well that the group decided to play regularly. One show was attended by Giles Barrow, who joined on rhythm guitar. In 1984 they started a residency at the Cathedral Hotel. Barrett left near year's end and was replaced on guitar by Jeff Stephens (Firm Grip, Spitfire, Tombstone Shadow). Initially Exploding White Mice were a covers band, then they began working on original tunes. In 1985 after adding David Bunney on drums (Zippy & the Coneheads), they released a six-track extended play, ''A Nest of Vipers'', on Australia's Greasy Pop Records. It was produced by Kim Horne. Also in 1985 their track, "Down on the Street" appeared on the label's

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''An Oasis in a Desert of Noise''. In 1986 Sydney rock publication, ''RAM'', named ''Nest of Vipers'' as the best Australian record of the year. The record was issued in the US on Bigtime Records, renamed as ''In the Nest of Vipers'', but despite selling several thousand copies, the group received no royalties as Bigtime became insolvent soon after. During 1986 and 1987 the group regularly toured major Australian cities and put out 7" singles. In March 1987 they issued the single, "Blaze of Glory" with a B-side being a cover of

John Kongos John Theodore Kongos (born 6 August 1945) is a South African-born singer and songwriter of Greek ancestry, best known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single "He's Gonna Step on You Again", on which Happy Mondays based their hit "Step On". His other big ...

' hit, "

He's Gonna Step On You Again "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by John Kongos, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and s ...

". In August 1988 they issued their debut LP, ''Brute Force and Ignorance'', which had been recorded and engineered by Kim Horne at Soundtrack Studios. Shortly before its release, Barrow left and was replaced by Dave Mason, formerly of Primevils. In 1989 Jack Jacomos replaced Mason in turn. In 1990 the group toured Europe and released a half-studio, half-live self-titled LP on Normal Records. Shortly after, Gilchrist left and Stephens took over on lead vocals. In early 1991 they began recording a new album, ''Collateral Damage'', again at Soundtrack Studios. However, when the Greasy Pop label went out of business that year, they could not find a local distributor and released it in 1992 on Normal Records in Germany and NKVD Records in the United States. David's brother Andrew Bunney (Zippy and the Coneheads) joined on rhythm guitar. The group's final album was 1994's ''We Walk Alone'', on

Au Go Go Records Au Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label. It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and was later operated by Greta Moon. The label start ...

, Lucky Records (US), Subway (Europe) and 12" LP Rock & Roll Inc 008 (Spain). The group had a cameo appearance on John Winter's 1994 film ''The Roly Poly Man'' portraying a "punk-rock bar-band from Hell". In 1995 they re-released ''Nest of Vipers'' with bonus tracks on Bastard Records. In 1996 they issued the EP ''Prepare to Die'', toured Europe with German band, The Richies. Exploding White Mice disbanded in April 1999.

After disbandment and other activities

From 1985, Gerry Barrett joined Dust Collection – a psychedelic and garage-punk covers band – which performed a 25th anniversary gig in September 2009. In 1997, Andrew Bunney co-produced a five-track EP, ''Loose'', for Adelaide-based punk rockers, The Gels, which was issued on Bastard Records. In 2002 Jeff Stephens co-produced two tracks for The Gels' five-track EP, ''Somebody Someday''. In August 2003, Stephens co-produced that group's debut album, ''Never Mind the Title, Here's The Gels'', which was launched in November. The track, "We Don't Get no Radio Play" featured an excerpt from Exploding White Mice's "Enemies". In 2010, David Bunney joined Black Chrome - a first wave Adelaide punk band formed in the 1970's. As of March 2012, Jack Jacomos worked as a mental health nurse. Bassist Andy MacQueen died suddenly on 27 May 2018.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. * ''Who's Who of Australian Rock'' - Chris Spencer, Paul McHenry, Zbig Nowara, 2002. ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Exploding White Mice Australian punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 Musical groups from Adelaide Au Go Go Records artists