Vanilla Chainsaws were an

Australian rock Rock music in Australia, also known as Oz rock, Australian rock and Aussie rock, is rock music from Australia. The nation has a rich history of rock music and an appreciation of the roots of various rock genres, usually originating in the United ...

band, which formed in 1986 by Mark Alexander on guitar, Simon John Drew on vocals and guitar, Peter L. W. Kelly on drums and Cameron Lee on bass guitar. They issued two albums, ''Vanilla Chainsaws'' (1989) and ''Red Lights'' (1991) before disbanding in 1995.

History

Vanilla Chainsaws were formed in Sydney in 1986 as an Australian rock quartet by Mark Alexander on guitar, Simon John Drew on vocals and guitar, Peter L. W. Kelly on drums (ex-Tactics, Flies) and Cameron Lee on bass guitar. Drew later recalled, "Me and Mark weren't really thinking about starting a band at all, but the other two guys said, 'Look, if you're gonna start a band, we'd love to do it'." They released their debut single, "T.S. (Was It Really Me?)", in August of the following year via

Phantom Records Phantom Records was an Australian record store and independent record label established in 1978 by Dare Jennings and Jules R.B. Normington. Phantom Records was one of Australia's first indie labels, and the store was known for its guerilla m ...

. ''Noise for Heroes'' Steve Gardner felt, " twas a solid starter with a thick, dense guitar sound and lyrics about turn-of-the-century industrialization..."cities of grey and all that sort of thing." The "T.S." in the title refers to T. S. Eliot, who gets quoted in the song. Jim Dwyer 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 s ...

'' was equivocal, "I still don't know what to think about this debut single .. itsuggests that this band would be well worth seeing live .. andseems to have a lot of energy that has been toned down in its production ..If they are as good live as people say they are, this song should explode into sheer energy. Their second single, "Like You", appeared in March 1988. Duilio Hernandez (ex-No Man's Land) replaced Kelly on drums before its release. The new line-up of Vanilla Chainsaws issued a five-track extended play, ''Wine Dark Sea'', in mid-1988, which was recorded at Blue Harbour and Rich studios with John Bee producing. Gardner described how, " tseems to try to go beyond the supercharged sound of the singles, with more moderate tempos and more subtlety." The title track was released as a single in August of that year. The group undertook an overseas tour and were signed to German label,

Glitterhouse Records Glitterhouse Records is a German independent record label and mail order company based in Beverungen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded in the mid-1980s. From the late 1980s until the mid-1990s it was the European branch of the American la ...

, in 1989. Also in that year they released a self-titled album on that label, which compiled the first two singles and the five-track EP. The line-up changed again, with Alexander and Drew (now on bass guitar) joined by Andrew Marks on drums. The group toured the East Coast of United States and the United Kingdom. When Marks left they used German musicians, Chekov Helmker on drums and Henning Worner on bass guitar (with Drew back to 2nd guitar), to complete their European tour. In December 1989, while in Germany, they recorded a six-track EP, ''Thousand'' (1990), for Glitterhouse, Alexander and Drew were joined by Bill Walsh (of

Cosmic Psychos Cosmic Psychos are an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1982 as Spring Plains. Founding members included Ross Knight on bass guitar and vocals; Robbie Addington on guitar and vocals; and Steve Morrow on vocals. Australian rock music hi ...

) on drums for the sessions. Late in 1990 Alexander and Drew returned to Australia, they were rejoined by Lee and Kelly to undertake an Australian tour in April of the following year. Peter D. J. Kelly joined on bass guitar to record the Red Lights EP however Lee continued in the band playing bass. In December 1991 Phantom Records issued the group's second album, ''Red Lights''. Peter L. W. Kelly (drums) left the group early in 1992 (he was later a member of

New Christs The New Christs are an Australian garage rock band formed in 1980 by founding mainstay, Rob Younger, on lead vocals. Younger was the lead singer for punk rockers, Radio Birdman, and in other hard rock groups, New Race, Bad Music, the Other S ...

Discography

Albums

* ''Vanilla Chainsaws'' (compilation album, 1989) –

(GR 0053) European release only * ''Red Lights (1991) –

(PHMCD-17)

Extended plays

* ''Wine Dark Sea'' (mid-1988) –

(PHMLP 3) * ''Thousand'' (1990) –

(GR 0083) * ''Watching Me'' (1992) –

Polygram Records PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

(ID-0005-2)

Singles

* "T.S. (Was It Really Me?)" (August 1987) –

(PH 23) * "Like You" (March 1988) – Phantom Records (PH 28) * "Wine Dark Sea" (August 1988) – Phantom Records (PH 32)

References

{{Authority control Australian alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Glitterhouse Records artists PolyGram artists