The Killjoys were an Australian pop, folk band formed in 1987. The mainstay members were Anna Burley on lead vocals and guitar and Craig Pilkington on lead guitar and vocals. They attracted a wide following in the vibrant pub scene. Their debut album, ''

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...

'' won the

ARIA Award for Best Independent Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Independent Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording ...

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 ...

History

1987-1989: Band beginnings and ''Audrey''

The Killjoys were formed in 1987 in Melbourne by Anna Burley on lead vocals and guitar (ex-Wild Science), Jeremy Craigie-Smith on bass guitar; Will Larsen on drums (ex-Michael Angelo and the Ceiling); Craig Pilkington on lead guitar, trumpet and vocals (ex-Wild Science) and Caroline Schwerkolt on

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

and keyboards. They were one of the promising bands, which emerged in the late 1980s including Sea Stories, the Fauves, the Hollowmen, the Glory Box, Ripe, Autohaze and Pray TV. Prior to her time in Wild Science, Anna Burley did a stint in the Melbourne indie band, Blah Zero ... during the early part of the mid 1980's. Four songs were recorded at Richmond Recorders during that period, with Geof Rey Evans on guitar, Zoe Zurbo on bass and Larry Tidswell on drums. Tracks included Insecure, Eastern Zone and Russian Roulette. Burley and Pilkington's previous group, Wild Science, had split into two different outfits, the Killjoys and Violet Town. Violet Town's other members were Wayne (Buz) Hissock on guitar and vocals, Warren Pitts on keyboards and vocals, Peter Van on drums, and Luke Blackburn on bass guitar and vocals. According to Australian musicologist,

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 ...

, the Killjoys' "sound mixed appealing pop melodies and bittersweet folk harmonies with a jazzy edge." In mid-February 1989 the group issued a five-track extended play, ''Audrey'', as a mini-album and as a

music cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...

on their own label, Audrey – it was co-produced by the band with Peter Jackson. They launched the released in Canberra and ''

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 ...

'' correspondent observed that "the music of the Killjoys has been described as a light blend of jazz, folk and pop." The EP had been recorded in the previous Easter but its release was delayed as the group gathered funding for its pressing and distribution. The tracks were co-written by Burley and Pilkington. Their debut single, "Fall Around Me", was released in November 1989. During 1990 they provided a cover version of

the Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...

' 1964 single, "

I'll Never Find Another You "I'll Never Find Another You" is a 1964 single by The Seekers, which reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom in February 1965. It was The Seekers' first UK-released single, and it was the second-best-selling of 1965 in the UK. The song was also popu ...

", for the tribute album, ''Used and Recovered''.

1990-1992: ''Ruby'' & ''Spin''

In October 1990, The Killjoys released their debut studio album, ''

'', which was co-produced by Mark Woods and the group.

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 Stewart Mason opined that "Burley has a cool, detached voice that sounds just right over ilkingtons strummy acoustics and muted trumpet. chwerkolts dreamy vibes are the group's other main sonic signature, adding a lovely texture to nearly every song." At the

''Ruby'' won the

. As the group celebrated on a Sydney ferry, Schwerkolt accidentally dropped the trophy into Darling Harbour. Burley explained "She was really upset. She'd actually taken it off Craig because she thought he was too drunk. They hired a diver the next day... he couldn't find anything." The album provided a single, "Michael Told Me". In November 1991 they released a four-track EP, ''Spin'', which included "Calling Me On". It was produced by Tony Espie. By that time Craigie-Smith had been replaced on bass guitar by Daniel Palamara (ex-Michael Angelo and the Ceiling) who, in turn, was replaced by Michael Hohnen. The group travelled to the United Kingdom, late in 1992, to record their second album.

1993-1996: ''A Million Suns'' and line-up changes

In March 1993, The Killjoys released their second studio album, ''A Million Suns'', with

Craig Leon Craig Leon (born 7 January 1952) is an American-born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England.International Who’s Who in Classical Music 2005'', Routledge, 2005. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many ...

. Burley detailed their choice of Leon, saying "He had such a diverse range. He'd done so many interesting things. We wanted someone who was into what we were doing..." Nic Haygarth of ''The Canberra Times'' felt that the album "will go some way to shifting that 'indie pop' label the band has been carrying. With Anna's emotionally taut vocal, agreeable harmonies, and their classy songwriting, it's hard to imagine too much going wrong." It provided two singles, "Beauty + Danger" and "I Lied". The band underwent line-up changes with Larsen replaced on drums in 1993 by Dave Folley (ex-the Somerfields); Hohnen was replaced by David Nelson on bass guitar and Schwerkolt left in 1995. Early in that year Gary Aspinall joined on guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and organ (ex-Odolites, the Somerfields).

1997-2001: ''Sun Bright Deep'' & ''Killjoys Retrospective''

In November 1997, The Killjoys released a single, "Save Me", ahead of their third album, ''Sun Bright Deep'' which was released in March 1998. The album was co-produced by the group and

Victor Van Vugt Victor Van Vugt is a music producer, mixer and engineer. An Australian based in New York, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with the likes of P.J. Harvey, Depeche Mo ...

. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1998 The 12th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 20 October 1998 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. Presenters, including Democrats deputy l ...

the album was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album.

Ed Nimmervoll Edward Charles Nimmervoll (21 September 1947 – 10 October 2014) was an Australian music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock and pop magazines ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974) and ''Juke Magazine'' (1975–92) both as a journalist a ...

caught their performance in February 1999 and he described how "Standing barefoot in the centre of the Killjoys spotlight is Anna Burley, the embodiment of the Killjoys music, eyes closed, arms outstretched and emphasising the emotion in the music as she sings songs about relationships and human frailty in the purest of voices. Anna's singing better than ever, the Killjoys are as good if not better than ever." In 2001, a compilation album, ''Killjoys Retrospective'' was released.

2006-present: ''Stealing Horses'' & ''Pearl''

In 2006 the Killjoys released an album, ''Stealing Horses'', the group's first in seven years. They released their fifth studio album, ''Pearl'', in 2011. It is considered somewhat of a sequel to the band's iconic ''Ruby'' album, which was remastered and re-released alongside ''Pearl''.

Members

* Anna Burley – vocals, guitar (1988– * Jeremy Craigie-Smith – bass guitar (1988–90) * Will Larsen – drums (1988–93) * Craig Pilkington – guitar, trumpet,

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

(1988– ) * Caroline Schwerkolt –

, keyboards (1988–95) * Daniel Palamara – bass guitar (1990–91) * Michael Hohnen – bass guitar (1991–95) * David Folley – drums, percussion (1993–) * Gary Aspinall – guitar,

, organ (1995–2001) * David Nelson – bass guitar, backing vocals (1995–

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other releases

* "

" on ''Used and Recovered'' by Various Artists (1990) * "Flame Trees" on ''Earth Music'' by Various Artists (June 1994)

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 ...

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

*''Port Fairy Compilation'' (2000, released for the

Port Fairy Folk Festival The Port Fairy Folk Festival is an annual four-day music festival based in the historic fishing village of Port Fairy in Victoria, Australia. History The festival began on 2 December 1977 under the theme of "Australian and Irish Traditional Mu ...

) *''Acoustic Bootleg: 15 Cover Songs'' (2000;

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

version released in 1995) *''Threnody'' (2002; Anna Burley ka Red Lanternsolo record)

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. The Killjoys won 1 award from 2 nominations. ! , - ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, ''Ruby'' ,

, , , - , 1998 , ''Sun Bright Deep'' , Best Adult Contemporary Album , , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Killjoys ARIA Award winners Killjoys, The Australian folk rock groups