The Mexican Spitfires were an Australian
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
–
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...
band formed in 1986. The original lineup consisted of Price Conlan on drums, Stephen McCowage on lead guitar, Tim O'Reilly on bass and vocals, Michael Quinlan on rhythm guitar and vocals. O'Reilly, Quinlan and McCowage had all played in a
psychedelic 1960s-styled indie pop band, Prince Vlad & the Gargoyle Impalers. They recorded two extended plays, ''Lupe Velez'' (1988) and ''Elephant'' (1990); however, they had disbanded late in 1989.
History
The Mexican Spitfires were an inner-city suburban band which developed a collection of
songs about Sydney. They dealt with aspects of local daily life,: "Ivy Street" about a dilapidated street familiar to
Sydney University students who walk to or from
Redfern Station; "Sydney Town" on the moral tightrope found between the city and
Kings Cross down Park Street; "Town Hall Steps" about a meeting out front of
Sydney Town Hall
The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings an ...
; "Until" on spending time in
Katoomba in the nearby
Blue Mountains; and "Rookwood" talks about
Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating ...
. Similar lyrical territory was farmed by contemporaries,
Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls and
John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong.
With three songwriters in O'Reilly, Quinlan and McCowage, the band's set lists contained mostly original material.
[ Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'] Harking back to their earlier experiences in Prince Vlad & the Gargoyle Impalers, the band displayed a 1960s pop sensibility with strong harmonies from Quinlan and O'Reilly and also covered tracks by the Beatles' "
If I Needed Someone
"If I Needed Someone" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist. It was released in December 1965 on their album '' Rubber Soul'', except in North America, where it appeared on the J ...
" and the Monkees' "
Mary Mary".
In July 1986 the Mexican Spitfires played their first gig to an audience at the Lismore Hotel, Sydney. They were signed to
Red Eye Records. The group were finalists at a talent quest, Battle of the Bands, run by
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
in October; alongside Bodycore, Things for the Weekend, Merrie Melodies, and the Jive Turkeys.
George Braddock of ''
Tharunka
''Tharunka'' is a student magazine published at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Established in 1953 at the then New South Wales University of Technology, ''Tharunka'' has been published in a variety of forms by various ...
'' saw their performance in October 1987, he observed "
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
play original songs with a basis on harmony. Like Paul Kelly an acoustic lays the basis for their arrangement with tasteful electric lead following In and out of powerful pop songs. Sounding somewhere between Lloyd Cole and the Smiths, with a hefty dose of Australian pub sounds, they are an interesting and worthwhile Sydney band."
The band's debut six-track 12-inch
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. , ''Lupe Velez'', was released in 1988. The EP was produced by
Jon Schofield (of the Coloured Girls), engineered by
Phil Punch, and featured a keyboard appearance by
Russell Parkhouse (ex-The
Riptides). The EP appeared on the independent charts, moving into the top 5 in Sydney and received significant airplay on
2JJ
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 ...
(now
2JJJ), particularly for the "Sydney Town", "You Can't Run" and "Town Hall Steps". ''Lupe Velez'' received favourable reviews in English music magazine, ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', and in the Australian music press. "Town Hall Steps" was described by ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
''s Michael Kozoil as "
nupbeat ditty... about a summer rendezvous" at Sydney Town Hall.
According to London-based rock music critic,
Andrew Mueller
Andrew Mueller is an Australian-born, London-based journalist and author. He is a contributing editor at ''Monocle'', and also regularly writes for ''The Independent'', ''The Independent on Sunday'', ''The Financial Times'', '' Esquire'', ''The ...
, as quoted in ''Who's Who of Australian Rock'' the Mexican Spitfires provided "Impressive songs in the Kelly/Kennedy vein with a slightly English sounding pop touch." The EP was favourably received in Germany and Italy, where "You Can't Run" gained substantial airplay on
Radio Marte,
Radio Luna and
Radio Delfino in
Catania. The music video for "Sydney Town" made its debut on
SBS's world music show, ''Rock Around the World'', before being shown on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's, ''
rage''. The band also performed "Ivy Street" on the
Network TEN programme, ''Ridgey Didge''.
After their debut, the Mexican Spitfires returned to the
Electric Avenue
Electric Avenue is a street in Brixton, London. Built in the 1880s, it was the first market street to be lit by electric lights (The first street to be lit by an incandescent lightbulb was Mosley Street, in Newcastle upon Tyne). Today, Elect ...
Studio of Phil Punch to record their second six-track 12-inch EP, ''Elephant'', during 1989 and 1990. That EP has not been released in any format, despite interest from
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...
labels such as Catania's
No Tyme Records.
Two tracks, "Sydney Town" and "You Can't Run (Forever)", were included on a compilation album by Red Eye Records' various artists, ''Asides and Besides: The First Five Years'' (1990).
Penelope Layland 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 the album, "a fun collection, snappily packaged in bright red. The liner notes explain where each track originated, and indicate if they went anywhere on the independent charts."
"Sydney Town" appears on a
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...
double CD compilation, ''Somewhere in Sydney: 30 Songs from the Harbour City'', which was released in 2000 to coincide with the Sydney
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
.
During the mid to late 1980s, the Mexican Spitfires played many local pubs: the Hopetoun, the Sandringham Hotel in
Newtown (aka the "Sando"), Paddington Green, and Harold Park. In 1988 they toured Melbourne with other Red Eye acts
the Crystal Set
The Crystal Set were an Australian indie rock group formed in March 1983. By 1987 the line-up was Russell Kilbey (bass and lead vocals), Phillip Maher (guitar and vocals), Davey Ray Moor (keyboards and vocals) and Tim Seckhold (drums). In Apri ...
,
Curious (Yellow) and
the Bhagavad Guitars
The Bhagavad Guitars were an indie-rock band which formed in 1985 as Inner Circle in Canberra by Jeremy Butterworth on guitar and vocals, Kynan Hughes on bass guitar and Matt Kerr on drums and John Kilbey (under the pseudonym, John Underwood, fo ...
. The band also played with other bands such as:
the Triffids
The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The Triff ...
,
Roaring Jack
A roar is a type of animal vocalization that is deep and resonating. Many mammals have evolved to produce roars and other roar-like vocals for purposes such as long-distance communication and intimidation. These include various species of big cat ...
,
Penguins on Safari (later
the Whitlams
The Whitlams are an Australian indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the ...
),
the Wet Taxis,
the Last Metro
''The Last Metro'' (french: Le Dernier Métro) is a 1980 historical drama film, written and directed by François Truffaut, that stars Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu.
Opening in 1942 during the German occupation of France, it follows th ...
,
the Upbeat,
Billy Baxter and
the Hollowmen and John Kennedy of John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong.
Following McCowage's departure in 1989,
DJ Pantless joined the band on lead guitar. That line-up supported
the Proclaimers
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
on the Sydney and
Canberra leg of their 1989 tour supplemented by
Dominic Killalea of
the Upbeat filling in on drums. O'Reilly has since gone on to perform with the Sydney
gospel music choir,
the Elementals, and recorded ''Live at the Basement''.
Whilst the Mexican Spitfires have not played live as a band since early 1989, their music has been played on radio stations like 88.1 FM
WMBR
WMBR is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's student-run college radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and broadcasting on 88.1 FM. It is all-volunteer and funded by listener donations and MIT funds. Both students and commun ...
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
, and fans of their music can be found in Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy and the United States.
Since then films have been made about this even in history.
Discography
* ''Lupe Velez'' (12-inch EP, 1988)
Red Eye Records (RedEP3)
* ''Elephant'' (12-inch EP, 1990, unreleased)
; Compilations
* "Sydney Town" and "You Can't Run (Forever)" on ''Asides & Besides: The First Five Years'' (Compilation CD, 1990)
Red Eye Records
* "Sydney Town" on ''Somewhere in Sydney: 30 songs from the Harbour City'' (Compilation CD, 2000)
Further reading
* ''Who's Who of Australian Rock'', Chris Spencer, 2nd ed., 1989 The Five Mile Press,
References
External links
"Sydney Town Hall"via Sydney Architecture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mexican Spitfires, The
Australian indie rock groups