Mighty Big Crime were an early Australian hip hop duo, formed in 1986 by Tricky J (Julien Lodge) and Gumpy (A Phillips). They released one of the first hip hop recordings in that country with "16 Tons" (1987), a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of Merle Travis' country music song, "

Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliff ...

". Their debut album, ''Get Outta My Face'', appeared in April 1989. By 1991 both were members of a

flower power Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsbe ...

group,

Freaked Out Flower Children Freaked Out Flower Children were an Australian band which formed in 1991 with actress and TV presenter, Sophie Lee, on saxophone and vocals. Other members were Gumpy Phillips (ex-Battle Happy, Mighty Big Crime) on guitar and vocals; Tricky J (Mi ...

History

Mighty Big Crime were an Australian hip hop duo formed by Tricky J (Julien Lodge) and Gumpy (A Phillips) (ex-Battle Happy) in 1986 in Melbourne. According to British record producer,

David Courtney David Courtney (born David Cohen, 1950, Brighton, East Sussex) is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. Courtney's first big break was as a songwriter with Adam Faith and Leo Sayer; Courtney co-wrote several hit songs with them (incl ...

, he saw the pair MCing at an early performance in a pub, he got them signed to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

and provided their name. In 1987 they issued one of the first hip hop recordings in Australia, "16 Tons" and "Humber Mania Time". "16 Tons" is a rap cover version of Merle Travis' country song, "

". "Humber Mania Time" was co-written by Lodge and Phillips; both tracks were recorded at Metropolis Studios and Pig Pen Studios, Melbourne with Courtney, and John Phillips producing. From March to July 1987 Tricky J also worked as a member of

I'm Talking I'm Talking are an Australian funk-pop rock band, which featured vocalists Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne. They formed in 1983 in Melbourne and provided top ten hit singles " Trust Me", " Do You Wanna Be?" and " Holy Word" and a top fifteen ...

. Michael Wellham of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' described "16 Tons", "after listening to this it seems hard to believe that no one thought of doing a rap version of tbefore, no song was more deserving of the treatment. When you think about it Australia has been absolutely crying out for some rap artists of its own, and is now in the position where it can sigh with relief as the void is filled." Wellham's colleague, Stuart Coupe, reviewed Australian rap and hip hop in June 1988. He observed that Mighty Big Crime are, "the first Australians to make a record in this style... who seem to fancy themselves as the southern hemisphere's version of the Beastie Boys." That single and its follow up, was a cover of Alice Cooper's " Schools Out". Their music video for "Dr. Dynamite" (1990) was nominated for

ARIA Award for Best Video The ARIA Award for Best Video, is presented at the annual ARIA Awards, which recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an o ...

at the

ARIA Music Awards of 1991 The Fifth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 25 March 1991 at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. International host Bob Geldof was as ...

. From 1991 to 1993 both Gumpy, on guitar and vocals, and Tricky J, on synthesiser, were members of

Members

* Gumpy (Andrew Phillips) – MC, guitar, vocals * Tricky J (Julien Lodge) – MC, synthesiser

Discography

Singles

References

{{authority control Australian hip hop groups