"Leilani" is the debut single by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group

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 ...

when they were called Le Hoodoo Gurus, released on

Phantom Records Phantom Records was an Australian record store and independent record label established in 1978 by Dare Jennings and Jules R.B. Normington. Phantom Records was one of Australia's first indie labels, and the store was known for its guerilla m ...

in October 1982. It had been written by all four Gurus:

James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...

, Dave Faulkner,

Roddy Radalj Rodney John "Roddy" Radalj is a Croatian-born Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He has provided guitar, bass guitar and vocals in several influential Australian bands starting with Perth punk bands in the late 1970s before relocating to ...

and

Kimble Rendall Kimble Rendall (born 1957) is an Australian Film director, director, musician and writer mostly known for his Second unit direction of ''The Matrix Reloaded'' (2003), ''The Matrix Revolutions'' (2003), ''I, Robot (film), I, Robot'' (2004), ''Cas ...

. Rendall left shortly before its release and, not long after, the band dropped the 'Le' to become Hoodoo Gurus. Le Hoodoo Gurus were noted for having three guitars and no bass player, creating a distinctive, layered sound. This was captured on "Leilani", which told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly. A re-recorded version of the song was later released on Hoodoo Gurus' first album ''

Stoneage Romeos ''Stoneage Romeos'' is the debut album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. Released in March 1984 by Big Time Records in Australia, the album's release saw them receive record sales to complement their already strong reputation for live perf ...

'' (1984).

"Astute listeners will note the absence of bass guitar in the band... "Leilani" was based on an old 50s movie, '' Bird of Paradise'' starring
Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; yi, יראַ גראָססעל; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor, film producer, and singer, best remembered for playing Cochise in '' Broken Arrow'' (1950), for which he was no ...
..." - Dave Faulkner.

''Bird of Paradise'' (1951) is described a
Internet Movie Database
Backing vocals are ascribed to Orphan Rock and to The Three Sisters. Both The Three Sisters and Orphan Rock are geological features of The Blue Mountains near Katoomba, New South Wales. The single was re-released by

Big Time Records Big Time Records was an independent record label based in Sydney, Australia. The label was owned by Lance Reynolds and Fred Bestall, who managed Air Supply in their early days, among others. From 1979 until 1981, Big Time was distributed by Wi ...

in 1985, as part of a limited edition collection of the band's first six singles, together with " Tojo", " My Girl", "

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 6, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

, " Bittersweet", and " Like Wow - Wipeout" "Leilani" was performed by

The Living End The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 199 ...

on the 2005 tribute album ''Stoneage Cameos'' (see ''

''); while "Leilani Part 2" was performed by The Sailors.

Plot

Leilani is a beautiful maiden and daughter of an island chief. She leads an idyllic life with her boyfriend until she is compelled to be cast into the volcano as a tribal sacrifice to placate the mountain god. Despite her boyfriend's pleas, she chooses the path of duty. Her boyfriend, alone and bereft, observes that at least her death served a purpose while his life is a waste.

Track listing

; 7" single (PH15) # "Leilani" (Faulkner, Baker, Radalj, Rendall) — 4:52 # "Leilani Part Two" aka "My Love is a Red Red Rock" (Faulkner) — 4:00

Personnel

Credited to: *

— Drums * Dave Faulkner — Vocals, guitar *

— Vocals, guitar *

— Vocals, guitar * Orphan Rock — Backing vocals * The Three Sisters — Backing vocals (Lynn, Sue and Joy Howard) * Mixer — Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup (later a member of

GANGgajang Ganggajang (styled as GANGgajang) are an Australian pop rock band which formed in 1984. The four founders are frontman Mark 'Cal' Callaghan (ex- Riptides) on guitar and lead vocals, Chris Bailey on bass guitar, Graham 'Buzz' Bidstrup on drums ...

) * Engineers — Gerry, Michael, Jonathan & Buzz * Producers — Le Hoodoo Gurus, Martin Fabinyi

References

{{authority control 1982 debut singles Hoodoo Gurus songs Teenage tragedy songs Songs written by James Baker (musician) 1982 songs Songs written by Dave Faulkner (musician) Songs written by Roddy Radalj Songs written by Kimble Rendall