Mark Adrian Kingsmill (born 4 December 1956) is an Australian

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

ian. He has

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

med with several bands including

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 ...

(1979–84),

New Christs The New Christs are an Australian garage rock band formed in 1980 by founding mainstay, Rob Younger, on lead vocals. Younger was the lead singer for punk rockers, Radio Birdman, and in other hard rock groups, New Race, Bad Music, the Other S ...

(1983–84), the Screaming Tribesmen (1984) and

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 ...

(1984–98, 2003–15). He is the younger brother of

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 ...

, music director and presenter on

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

Biography

Early days

In early 1977 in Sydney Kingsmill, on drums, joined vocalist Ron Peno's (''aka'' Ronnie Pop) band, the Hellcats, with Clyde Bramley on bass guitar and Charlie Georges on guitar.

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 ...

, an Australian musicologist, described the group as "a tough New York Dolls-inspired covers band".McFarlane
'Died Pretty'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2016. The Hellcats often supported fellow punk rockers,

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 ...

. Later that year Kingsmill, under the pseudonym Jim Boots, joined another local punk band,

Thought Criminals ''The Thought Criminals'' were an influential and enterprising Australian punk band based in Sydney. They formed in late 1977 and disbanded in late 1981. The "angular, fast and quirky punk rock" of the Thought Criminals "was a fixture in the b ...

, with the line-up of Roger Grierson (''aka'' Jack Boots) on guitar, Rique Lee Kendall (''aka'' Matt Black) on bass guitar and Bruce Warner (''aka'' Kit Identity) on lead vocals. Kingsmill performed on their first recording, an EP, ''Hilton Bomber''. It was released in 1978 on their own label, Doublethink.The Thought Criminals Official Site
'BIO Dynamic', (accessed 3 November 2008). Kingsmill was replaced by the Last Words' drummer, Ken Doyle (aka Derik Wapillspoon). Mark Kingsmill was the original drummer and member of his next band, The Other Side, along with Clyde Bramley and Charlie Georges, and was replaced by Ron Keeley, when Kingsmill departed to join the Hitmen. This reunited Keely with Rob Younger (ex-Radio Birdman) on lead vocals.

Hitmen

Kingsmill, using the moniker Drum Stick, joined Sydney-based rockers,

, in 1979 on drums and backing vocals, alongside Warwick Gilbert (Leonardo da Vinci) on guitar, Johnny Kannis (Adonis) on lead vocals, Chris Masuak (Han Debris) on lead guitar and Phil Sommerville (Cole Slaw) on bass guitar.Entries at

Australian Rock Database The Australian Rock Database was a website with a searchable online database that listed details of Australian rock music artists, albums, bands, producers and record labels. It was established in 2000 by Swedish national Magnus Holmgren, who had ...

: * The Hitmen: * The New Christs: * Brad Shepherd: * Hoodoo Gurus: McFarlane
'The Hitmen'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 7 June 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2016. In March 1979 WEA had signed the band and in July they issued their first single, "Didn't Tell the Man", with a line-up of Kingsmill, Gilbert, Kannis, Masuak and Tony Vidale on guitar. The band's next single "I Want You" was released in April. In December 1980 they worked with producer

Mark Opitz Mark Opitz (born 1952) is an Australian record producer and audio engineer. He started his career with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1971. He has produced AC/DC, the Angels, Australian Crawl, Cold Chisel, Divinyls and INXS. He ...

to record their debut album. Midway through recording Vidale quit and was replaced by guitarist

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 ...

(ex-Fun Things). The album, ''Hitmen'', was released in July 1981; preceded a month earlier by the single, "I Don't Mind". McFarlane opined that the album and single "were excellent slices of melodic hard rock." In November 1981 the group supported Steppenwolf on the Australian leg of their tour. Tony Robertson on bass guitar replaced Gilbert during that tour. Kingsmill and Masuak co-wrote "Scratch the Itchy Brother" which was later issued on a compilation album, ''Kicks Right Now.... Demos and Out-Takes'' (November 2015). Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Scratch the Itchy Brother or at "Performer:" Hitmen In 1982 Shepherd and fellow flatmate, Bramley, formed a side project, a

bubble gum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States ...

group, Super K, to record a single "Go Go", for which Kingsmill played drums. The Hitmen issued two more singles, "Everybody Knows (I Don't Like Love)" (April 1982) and "Bwana Devil" (November), with another album, ''It is What It Is'', in November. Shepherd left ahead of the album and the Hitmen continued to tour as a four-piece. McFarlane declared that they would "draw big crowds on tour, but could not sell records." They were dropped by their label, RCA, and disbanded in mid-1983.

New Christs

In June 1983 Younger reformed his earlier band, the

, with Kingsmill on drums, Masuak on guitar, Robertson on bass guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar (ex-

the Celibate Rifles The Celibate Rifles were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with a line-up that included mainstays Dave Morris on rhythm guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar, within a year they were joined by Damien Lovelock on lead vocals. T ...

).McFarlane
'The New Christs'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2016. They supported an Australian tour by

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

and then Steedman returned to the Celibate Rifles. He was replaced by Richard Jakimyszyn on guitar (ex-

Lime Spiders Lime Spiders were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with Mick Blood on lead vocals. He was later joined by Tony Bambach on bass guitar, Gerard Corben on guitar, Richard Lawson on drums, and David Sparks on guitar. Their debut ...

). This version of the New Christs issued two singles, "Like a Curse" (April 1984) and "Born out of Time" (April 1986), on Citadel Records. McFarlane felt they were "consummate, guitar-driven, hard rock".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Jack Rabid reviewed "Like a Curse", as being "more slam-bang rock with great rhythm from a man who has it coursing in his bones." The group's music was used on the soundtrack of the feature film, '' Going Down'' (1983). This line-up of the New Christs broke up in May 1984. In June Kingsmill, Masuak and Robertson all joined rock group, the Screaming Tribesmen, which was re-established by founding mainstay,

Mick Medew Robert Michael Medew is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted The Screaming Tribesmen, which formed in Brisbane in 1981. Medew has written or co-written a number of independent hits, "Igloo", "Date with a Vampyre" and "I Got a Feeling", w ...

on guitar and lead vocals.McFarlane
'The Screaming Tribesmen'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2016.

Hoodoo Gurus

In August 1984 Kingsmill left New Christs to join the

, a rock new wave group, for their first United States tour. This reunited him with former bandmates, Bramley and Shepherd, alongside Hoodoo Gurus' founding mainstay, Dave Faulkner on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards. Kingsmill replaced founding drummer

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 ...

.McFarlane
'Hoodoo Gurus'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 6 June 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2016. Baker later told Sylvester Fox of ''Groove Magazine'', "'They just sacked me.' So there's nothing mysterious about it? 'No no!!' What were the reasons given? 'Musical differences.'" Following the band's US tour they returned to Australia and recorded their second studio album, ''

Mars Needs Guitars! ''Mars Needs Guitars!'' is Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus' second album, released in March 1985. The title is a reference to the 1967 science fiction film, '' Mars Needs Women''. Singles from the album were " Bittersweet", "Like Wow – Wipeo ...

'', for which Kingsmill co-wrote the title track with the other members of the band, including Baker. Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Mars Needs Guitars or at "Performer:" Hoodoo Gurus The track also appeared as the B-side to the album's first single, " Bittersweet". Their next two albums are ''

Blow Your Cool! ''Blow Your Cool!'' is the third studio album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released in April 1987 and peaked at number 2 on the Australian chart. In 2009, Dave Faulkner said "When the ''Blow Your Cool!'' touring was over Clyde ...

'' in 1987 and ''

Magnum Cum Louder ''Magnum Cum Louder'' is the fourth studio album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. The album was produced by the group, and released in Australia in May 1989 and peaked at number 13. Faulkner later said, "We produced the record ourselves f ...

'' in 1989. Kingsmill is attributed as a co-writer on the second single taken from ''Magnum Cum Louder'', " Axegrinder", Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Axegrinder or at "Performer:" Hoodoo Gurus which peaked at No. 60 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The band released another three studio albums, '' Kinky'' in 1991, '' Crank'' in 1994 and '' Blue Cave'' in 1996. In 1997 the group announced their forthcoming disbandment, they undertook a final three-month Australian tour, which commenced in October 1997 and finished in January 1998. In July 1998 the band's label,

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

issued a live album, ''

Bite the Bullet To "bite the bullet" is to “accept the inevitable impending hardship and endure the resulting pain with fortitude”.

'', containing tracks that had been recorded during the band's farewell tour. This included a short instrumental, "It's Kingsy Time", written and performed by Kingsmill. Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. It's Kingsy Time or at "Performer:" Hoodoo Gurus In September 2001, the four ex-Gurus (Faulkner, Grossman, Kingsmill and Shepherd) performed as The Moops, and were later called Persian Rugs. As the Persian Rugs they recorded a five-track EP, ''Mr. Tripper''. In June 2002, Grossman left, and was replaced by bassist Kendall James (ex Thurston Howlers, Crusaders). The new line-up of the Persian Rugs recorded their debut album, ''Turkish Delight'', which was released in August 2003. In early 2003 Hoodoo Gurus reformed and in the following March they released their eighth studio album, '' Mach Schau'', undertaking tours of Australia, Europe and the United States. It wasn't until March 2010 that they released their next album ''Purity of Essence''. Hoodoo Gurus iconic status on the Australian rock scene was acknowledged when they were inducted into the 2007

ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

. In January 2015 the band announced that Kingsmill would be retiring from the band – thirty one years after joining. His last performances were in May 2015, at the Be My Guru – Evolution Revolution concerts at Sydney's

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Park, Sydney, Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle ...

as part of the Vivid Festival. According to Faulkner, Kingsmill left because "he feels he's had enough of this vagabond rock 'n' roll lifestyle we all lead. Though he still enjoys playing drums, Mark has completely lost his appetite for the endless travelling and the many hours of hotel room boredom. The physical demands of playing the drums as energetically as he does are also exacting a higher toll on his body than ever before." He was replaced in the group by Nik Rieth. Kingsmill briefly returned to Hoodoo Gurus in March 2016, he temporarily replaced Rieth for their Day of the Green tour.

Personal life

Kingsmill's younger brother,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

is the musical director at the Australian youth radio,

. Kingsmill was married to Catherine, a fabric artist based in

Maitland, New South Wales Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England Hi ...

. The pair had met in 1978 and had one child together. They subsequently divorced, Catherine declared "we are still friends. A marriage is just really hard to keep together when you're not together, but we never had a falling out or anything like that.” In mid-1996 Kingsmill injured himself, two weeks into the start of Hoodoo Gurus' Blue Cave Tour; he had leapt up from his drum kit and toppled backwards. He tore tendons and nerves in his left arm, which required surgery before he could rejoin the group and resume their tour.

Discography

(1977–1978) ** ''Hilton Bomber'' (EP) – Doublethink (June 1978) *

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 ...

(1979–1983) ** "Didn't Tell the Man"/"I Am the Man" -

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

(7" single (1979) ** "I Want You/Tell Tale Heart" - WEA (7" single) (1980) ** "I Don't Mind/Rock & Roll Soldier" - WEA (7" single) (1981) ** ''The Hitmen'' –

(1981) ** "Everybody Knows (I Didn't Like Love)" b/w "Dancin' Time" –

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

(7" Single) (1982) ** "Bwana Devil" b/w "Didn't Wanna Love You" – WEA (7" Single) (1982) ** ''It Is What It Is!'' – RCA (1982) *Super K (1982) ** "Go Go" b/w "Recurring Nightmare" – Green (7" Single) (1982) Citadel Records re-release (1985) *

(1983-1984) ** "Like a Curse"/"Sun God" - Citadel (7" single) (April 1984) ** "Born out of Time"/"No Next Time" - Citadel (7" single) (April 1986) *

(1984–1998) (2003–present) *Persian Rugs (2001–2004) ** ''Mr Tripper'' – SOS/

Shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...

( EP) (2002) **''Turkish Delight'' – Shock (2003) **"Be My Guru" (recorded 2004) on ''Stoneage Cameos'' (2005) see ''

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 ...

External links

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsmill, Mark 1956 births Living people Australian rock drummers Male drummers Australian songwriters Hoodoo Gurus members The New Christs members