Hungry Kids of Hungary (often shortened to HKOH) were an Australian four-piece indie pop band from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. The band consisted of Dean McGrath (lead vocals, guitar), Kane Mazlin (lead vocals, keys), Ben Dalton (bass guitar, vocals) and Ryan Strathie (drums, vocals). The band released two studio albums, both peaking inside the Australian top 30.

History

2007-2009: Origins and EPs

The Hungry Kids of Hungary were formed in mid-2007. Their debut single, "Set it Right" was released in May 2008 and the band launched their self-titled debut EP at the Brisbane venue ''The Zoo'' in mid-2008. The EP quickly garnered attention from the Australian music industry, most notably that of

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

Richard Kingsmill Richard Kingsmill (born 29 January 1954) is an Australian radio announcer, music journalist and currently Group Music Director of triple j, triple j Unearthed, Double J and ABC Local Radio. Career His career at triple j started in 1988 as a p ...

who played songs from the Ep on high rotation. In December 2008, the band were announced as the Queensland winners of Triple J Unearthed Competition that entitled them to play at the

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

on the Gold Coast. The band's second EP ''Mega Mountain'' was released in April 2009, produced by Matt Redlich and released via

MGM Distribution MGM Distribution (Metropolitan Groove Merchants) is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase. MGM Distribution was specifically set up as a dist ...

and the single "Scattered Diamonds" reached top 5 on the AIR Charts A second single "Old Money" was issued with a remix of "Scattered Diamonds" which become a dancefloor hit at Purple Sneakers in Sydney. At the 2009 Q Song Awards, "Set it Right" won Alternative Song of the Year. In October 2009, the band released "Let You Down", the lead single from their forthcoming debut studio album.

2010-2011: ''Escapades''

In April 2010, the band released "Wristwatch". In August 2010, the band released "Coming Around" and confirmed they had signed a two-album deal with new EMI Music offshoot label Stop Start and released their debut studio album '' Escapades'' in October 2010. ''Escapades'' peaked at number 24 on the ARIA Charts. At the 2010 Q Song Awards, "Wristwatch" also won Best Alternative and Song of the Year. In March 2011, the band embarked on an overseas tour. In November 2011, the band signed a deal with Rough Trade in the

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...

, who released ''Escapades'', following the success of single "Scattered Diamonds" on radio stations 3FM and Kink FM.

2012-2013: ''You're a Shadow'' and break up

By May 2012, the band had completed the recording of their second album with producer

Wayne Connolly Wayne Paul Connolly is an Australian musician, record producer and audio engineer. From 1991 to 1997 Connolly provided lead guitar and vocals in guitar pop group the Welcome Mat, with whom he released two studio albums. In 1994, he formed Knie ...

at Albert's Studios in Sydney. They headed overseas to begin mixing with Simon "Berkfinger" Berckelman in Berlin before a full tour of the UK and Europe that included an appearance at the

Pinkpop Festival The Pinkpop Festival is an annual music festival held at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is usually held on the Pentecost weekend (''Pinksteren'' in Dutch, hence the name). If Pentecost falls on an early date in May, the festival is held later in Jun ...

in the Netherlands. Touring guitarist Alex Bennison was added to the lineup for these dates, replacing the previous fifth member Remy Boccalatte. "Sharp Shooter" was released as the album's lead single in August 2012. ''You're a Shadow'' was released February 2013 and peaked at number 18 on the ARIA Charts. The album spawned three other singles, "Twin Cities", "When Yesterday's Gone" and "Do or Die" over 2013. On 28 November 2013, the band announced their intention to split.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Awards

Q Song Awards

The

Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (commonly known as QMA and known as the Q Song Awards from 2006 to 2010) are annual awards celebrating Queensland's emerging artists. They commenced in 2006. Each year, the QMA Song of the Year is immortalised in a ...

(previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating

, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006. (wins only) , - , 2009 , "Set It Right" , Alternative Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" , 2010 , rowspan="2" , "Wrist Watch" , Song of the Year , , - , Alternative Song of the Year , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungry Kids of Hungary Australian indie pop groups Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Musical groups from Brisbane