The Manikins were an Australian punk rock and new wave band from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

History

The band formed in August 1976 as the Cheap Nasties. Their debut gig was at The

Rivervale Rivervale may refer to: In Australia * Rivervale, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth In Singapore * Rivervale, Singapore, a precinct of the district of Sengkang located in north-eastern Singapore In the United States * Rivervale, Arkansas, a s ...

Hotel in mid-1977. They lay claim to the title of Perth's first punk band. The original Cheap Nasties' lineup was

Kim Salmon Kim Leith Salmon (born 24 January 1957) is an Australian rock musician and songwriter from Perth. He has worked in various groups including The Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Kim Salmon and the Business, and Dar ...

(guitar/vocals), Neil Fernandes (guitar/vocals), Ken Seymour (bass/vocals) and Mark Betts (drums). Salmon left the Cheap Nasties in December 1977, to form

The Scientists The Scientists is a post-punk band from Perth, Western Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as the Exterminators and then the Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydne ...

. The rest of the band, with Robbie Porritt joining as lead vocalist, continued as The Manikins. The raw sound of the Cheap Nasties gradually gave way to a poppier, new wave-oriented musical direction. Dave Faulkner, ex- The Victims, joined for a brief period as

keyboard player A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical ins ...

(1979–1980). He would later be a founding member and the mainstay of the Hoodoo Gurus. Seymour also left, to be replaced by Dan Dare. The band had several residencies in Perth, in particular Wednesday nights at the Broadway Tavern in Nedlands and the nightclub Hernando's Hideaway. The band relocated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in the early 1980s, but broke up soon afterwards in 1981. Later in 1986 Mark Betts registered the Manikins name and formed a new version of the band with a female vocalist, Christine Bodey and releasing new romantic synth style recordings between 1986 and 1988. In 2004 Kim Salmon was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Association Hall of Fame. In 2007 Salmon was inducted into the

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

Hall of Fame.

Discography

Cheap Nasties

Singles

* "I Never Thought I'd Find Someone Who Would Be So Kind"/"Radio World" - Independent (7") (SMX-46904) (November, 1978) * "Premonition"/"Laugh Too Loud" - Independent (7") (SMX-46969) (August, 1979) * "Love at Second Sight"/"Nuisance"/"All I Care About" - Independent (7") (SMX-55051) (October, 1980)

Albums

*''Live Locally'' - Inner City Sound (cassette) (1979) *''Last Gasp'' - Inner City Sound (cassette) (1981) *''The Manikins'' - Two Tribes Records (compilation CD) (2004)

Manikins

Singles

*"What Are You On?"/"Dictator's Dream" (July, 1986) *"Cruel World"/"Dracula's Slut" (November, 1987) #52 *"Scent"/"Life Underground" (May, 1988)

Albums

*''Manikins'' (February, 1988)

References

External links

"Kim Salmon's Perspective on the Early Perth Punk Era"Music Council of Australia Annual Address (2006) - Neil Fernandes
Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Musical groups from Perth, Western Australia Australian punk rock groups Australian new wave musical groups {{Australia-band-stub