"Tojo" "Tojo Never Made it to Darwin" is a song by Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group

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 ...

. It was released in June 1983 as the second single from their debut studio album, ''

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 ...

''. It was written by their lead singer-guitarist, Dave Faulkner. It was also featured on their first album ''

'' (1984), which was produced by Alan Thorne. Tojo in the title refers to the World War II Japanese General and Prime Minister

Hideki Tōjō Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...

. "Tojo" saw the introduction of new band members Clyde Bramley and

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 ...

, with Bramley providing bass, which had previously been noticeably absent from the band.

'"Tojo" was an
answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...
to an Australian hit of a few years earlier, "Santa Never Made it Into Darwin" which had been released to raise money for the victims of
Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...
which had almost destroyed Darwin on Christmas Eve, 1975 (''sic''). During World War II the Japanese army invaded
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
but failed to reach Australia thanks to the heroic resistance however Darwin was bombed heavily and often.' - Dave Faulkner.

Santa Never Made It into Darwin "Santa Never Made It into Darwin" is a charity single, recorded by Bill and Boyd. It was written by the band's William Cate. Funds raised supported the Australian city of Darwin, Northern Territory, following the damage wrought by Cyclone Tracy ...

" had been recorded by New Zealanders Bill (Cate) & Boyd (Robinson) which reached No. 2 in Australia during February1975, Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) created their own

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...

actually devastated Darwin on Christmas Eve / Christmas Day 1974. "Tojo" was performed by

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

on the 2005 tribute album ''Stoneage Cameos'' (see ''

''); while "(Let's All) Turn On" was performed by The Wrights.

Track listing

; 7" single (BTS984) # "Tojo" (Faulkner) — 3:11 # "(Let's All) Turn On" (Faulkner) — 3:00

Personnel

Credited to: *

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 ...

— drums * Clyde Bramley — bass, vocals * Dave Faulkner — lead vocals, guitar *

— guitar, vocals * Producer — Alan Thorne * Design (cover) — Yanni Stumbles, Faulkner * Photo (rear cover) — Annie Sidlo

Charts

References

{{Hoodoo Gurus 1983 singles Hoodoo Gurus songs 1983 songs Songs written by Dave Faulkner (musician) Songs about Australia