The Fun Things were an Australian punk rock band that was formed during the heyday period of punk rock. Known for their admiration of

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 ...

, they also have been documented as being "modeled on almost exclusively on the Radio Birdman/ Stooges/

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

mould". Original band members were

Brad Shepherd Bradley Mark Shepherd (born 1 February 1961) is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially Hoodoo Gurus. Biography Early life Shepherd was born ...

on guitar and vocals, John Hartley on bass guitar, Graeme Beavis on guitar and Murray Shepherd on drums. Brad Shepherd and Murray Shepherd were brothers in the band, which released one highly acclaimed E.P. and has become "one of the most collectable artifacts from Australia's punk rock era". The Fun Things were a primary group behind Brisbane's second wave punk scene between 1978 and 1980. According to

music historian Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, Brisbane produced "some of the most anarchistic bands of the Australian punk rock era" and that it was a city nationally renowned for its ultra conservatism. After The Fun Things dissolved both Shepherd brothers eventually went on to subsequent profile bands such as

The Hitmen The Hitmen are an Australian hard rock band formed in November 1977 by long-term members, Johnny Kannis on lead vocals and Chris Masuak on lead guitar as Johnny and the Hitmen. The group went through numerous line up changes in its first run ...

The Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, ha ...

for Brad Shepherd and

The Screaming Tribesmen The Screaming Tribesmen were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1981 by mainstay Mick Medew on lead vocals and lead guitar. With various line-ups they released three studio albums, ''Bones and Flowers'' (October 1987), '' ...

for Murray Shepherd with John Hartley. In 1984 Beavis was a member of The Apartments.

History

The Fun Things existed between 1979 and 1980, however, they were previously known as The Aliens in Brisbane during 1978. Coincidentally, there was another band called The Aliens from Adelaide at the same time. This other band were considered more new wave orientated. The

Brisbane punk rock Brisbane punk rock had its main impact between 1975 and 1984 as part of the overall punk rock scene in Australia. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, the Queensland capital provided "some of the most anarchistic bands" of that er ...

"Aliens" members featured

on guitar and vocals, bassist John Hartley, and Murray Shepherd on drums but dissolved to form the Phantom Agents for a phase without Hartley. After the Phantom Agents, The original Aliens reformed as The Fun Things with The Phantom Agents guitarist Graeme Beavis. This outfit rapidly gained a strong local following, which was due to their tight and energetic live shows. The Fun Things were still teenagers but managed to record a self titled E.P. in 1980. Brad Shepherd recollections of this period were, "It was just part of the punk process. It was something you wanted to do. We were still at school at the time. I borrowed 400 bucks from my parents to make the thing happen". The songs were "mixed gutsy guitar riffs, breakneck tempos, punk attitude and youthful exuberance in equal measure," according to

. McFarlane also claimed that, "The Fun Things issued what has emerged as one of the most collectable artefacts of the Australian punk rock era, the ''Fun Things'' EP which came in a pressing of only 500 copies."McFarlane
'The Fun Things'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 19 April 2004. Retrieved 4 September 2015. In 2000 the EP was re-released on Pennimann Records from Spain. Some of the tracks in the past had been subject to bootlegging from outside Australia. The Fun Things earliest beginnings started in the mid 1970s with Brad Shepherd and John Hartley meeting each other to practice at their homes. According to Brad Shepherd, they used to practice Zeppelin and Sabbath and Deep Purple songs in Hartley's rumpus room, or at his place. He lived at

The Gap The Gap may refer to: Places Australia * The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales * The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory * The Gap, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland ...

, which is in the western suburbs of Brisbane and Hartley lived at

Tarragindi Tarragindi is a southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is represented through the Holland Park Ward, Holland Park and Moorooka Ward councillors on the Brisbane City Council. At the ...

, which is South. They were 14 at the time so they would get their mothers to drive them to each other's place and practice on Sunday afternoons. They did that for a couple of years until Shepherd started reading in RAM (Rock Australia Magazine) about Radio Birdman. The band split in 1980 at the time of their E.P. release, which was followed by Brad Shepherd joining The 31st, an alternative rock outfit from Brisbane. Later on he joined

, then

. Murray Shepherd and Hartley went to form

in 1981 with Mick Medew and Ronnie Peno from The 31st. Graeme Beavis went on join The Apartments in 1984.

Legacy

Songs from the original E.P., ''Savage'' and ''When The Birdman Fly'' were included on several Australian CD compilations during the 2000s. Also during the early 2000s the Shepherd brothers formed a band called

The Monarchs The Monarchs are an American doo-wop band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1961. They are known mainly for their 1964 recording of "Look Homeward Angel". This single went to #47 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 A CD called ''Make Yer Own Fun'' was released by The Monarchs in 2001. The original recording of Savage had also been included as part of the 2015 CD Compilation called "Stranded, The Chronicles Of Australian Punk". This CD was a wide retrospective of Australian punk, officially released by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four by Four label.

Personnel

* Brad Shepherd – Guitar, Lead Vocals * Graeme Beavis – Guitar, Vocals * John Hartley – Bass, Vocals * Murray Shepherd – Drums, Vocals

Discography

* ''Fun Things'' – 7-inch E.P. 1980 "When The Birdman Fly", "Lipstick", "(I Ain't Got) Time Enough for Love", "Savage" * ''Fun Things'' – 7 inch E.P. 2000, Pennimann Records PENN-EP005 "When The Birdman Fly", "Lipstick", "(I Ain't Got) Time Enough for Love", "Savage" Tracks on

compilation CD A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

* "Savage" – CD, ''

Behind the Banana Curtain ''Behind the Banana Curtain'' is a compilation album released by Australian radio station 4ZZZ. It is a 2 disc set that documents 25 years of 4ZZZ broadcasting and their contribution to Brisbane's music scene Track listing Disc One #(I'm) Str ...

'' – 4zzz, 2001 * "Savage" – CD, ''Do the Pop! The Australian Garage-Rock Sound 1976–1987'' –

Shock Records Shock Records (now part of Shock Entertainment) is an Australian independent record label. History The three founding members had all previously worked in music retail or distribution: Williams for a Melbourne distribution company called "Musi ...

, 2002 * "When The Birdman Fly" – CD, ''Tales from the AUSTRALIAN UNDERGROUND'' – Shock, 2003 * "When The Birdman Fly", "Lipstick", "(I Ain't Got) Time Enough for Love", "Savage" – CD, ''Murder Punk volume 2'' – Murder Punk

References

{{Authority control Australian punk rock groups Musical groups from Brisbane Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1980