Xero (band)

Xero (also styled as Zero or Xiro) were an Australian punk rock and new wave band formed in 1978 in Brisbane, Queensland. They were fronted by mainstay member, Irena Luckus on lead vocals, keyboards and guitar before disbanding in 1983.

History

Zero were formed in Brisbane in 1977 with the initial line-up of Peter Adams on guitar and vocals; Chris Anderson on guitar and vocals; Jude Clarkin on bongos; Barbara Hart on saxophone and flute; John Hunt on bass guitar; Irena Luckus on vocals, keyboard and guitar; and Debbie Penny on drums. By 1978, now including Vic Allen, Deborah Thomas and Lindy Morrison, the band travelled across New South Wales by train, playing gigs in Canberra (in a large, very cold hall) and Newcastle (in a local pub). In 1979 the group settled as a four-piece with Luckus, Morrison, John Willsteed and Michael O'Connell, and among a number of significant gigs, opened for The Cure in support of that group's second album, ''Seventeen Seconds''. The Go-Betweens Robert Forster was an occasional guest, and when Morrison left in September 1980 to join Forster and Grant McLennan, O'Connell also left, moving to Sydney to play in a number of bands. Zero then became Xiro, and decided on the Roland DR-55 as a suitable drummer replacement.

Xiro issued two different four-track extended plays, ''Half the Profits'' and ''Religious Wars'', on audio cassette in mid-1980. They supported The Cure again in 1981, with guest and future Xero drummer Steven Pritchard. Luckus and Willsteed were then joined by Clare McKenna on drums to become Xero and entered a period of intense song-writing in their Fortitude Valley practice rooms, and performing at various Brisbane venues. In 1982 Xero recorded a six-track extended play, ''Lust in the Dust'', at Basement Studios, Brisbane with the line-up of Luckus, Tony Childs on bass guitar; John Willsteed on bass guitar, guitar, casio keyboards and vocals; and Steven Pritchard on drums.

Xero split in 1983 when Luckus left Brisbane to relocate to France. Later, Morrison and Willsteed were members of fellow Brisbane group, the Go-Betweens.McFarlane
'The Go-Betweens'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 29 August 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2016. O'Connell and Willsteed were both members of the Apartments.McFarlane
'The Apartments'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2016. They have reformed for gigs since then, initially in 1986.

Members

* Irena Luckus– vocals, keyboard, guitar (1978–84)
* Chris Anderson– guitar, vocals (1978)
* Peter Adams– guitar, vocals (1978)
* Debbie Penny– drums (1978)
* John Hunt– bass guitar (1978)
* Barbara Hart– saxophone, flute (1978)
* Jude Clarkin– bongos (1978)
* Vic Allen (aka Nicki Nought)– guitar (1979)
* Deborah Thomas (aka Debbie Zero)– guitar (1979)
* John Willsteed (aka John e)– bass guitar (1979–84), vocals (1980–84), guitar and keyboards (1981–84)
* Lindy Morrison– drums (1979–80)
* Robert Forster– guitar, vocals (1979)
* Michael O'Connell– guitar, vocals (1979-1980)
* Clare McKenna– drums, bass guitar, vocals (1980-1981)
* Mal Skewis– vocals (auxiliary live musician, 1980-1981)
* Gary Warner– vocals, soprano saxophone (auxiliary live musician, 1980-1981)
* Colin Bloxsom– guitar (auxiliary live musician, 1980-1981)
* Steven Pritchard– drums (1981-1982)
*Tony Childs– bass guitar (1982)
*Tony Milner– guitar (1983)

Timeline

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PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:0 right:20
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1983
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = position:bottom columns:4
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1978

Colors =
id:Lead value:red legend:Vocals
id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:Orange legend:Drums
id:Backing value:pink legend:Back_vox
id:Keys value:purple legend:Keys
id:Sax value:yellow legend:Sax
id:Perc value:magenta legend:Bongos
id:grid1 value:gray(0.3)

BarData =
bar:Luckus text:"Irena Luckus"
bar:Anderson text:"Chris Anderson"
bar:Adams text:"Peter Adams"
bar:Penny text:"Debbie Penny"
bar:Hunt text:"John Hunt"
bar:Hart text:"Barbra Hart"
bar:Clarkin text:"Jude Clarkin"
bar:Allen text:"Vic Allen"
bar:Thomas text:"Deborah Thomas"
bar:Willsteed text:"John Willsteed"
bar:Morrison text:"Lindy Morrison"
bar:Forster text:"Robert Forster"
bar:OConnell text:"Michael O'Connell"
bar:McKenna text:"Clare McKenna"
bar:Skewis text:"Mal Skewis"
bar:Warner text:"Gary Warner"
bar:Bloxsom text:"Colin Bloxsom"
bar:Pritchard text:"Steven Pritchard"
bar:Childs text:"Tony Childs"
bar:Milner text:"Tony Milner"

PlotData =
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

bar:Luckus from:start till:end color:Lead
bar:Luckus from:start till:end color:Guitar width:7
bar:Luckus from:start till:end color:Keys width:3

bar:Anderson from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:Guitar
bar:Anderson from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:Backing width:3

bar:Adams from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:Guitar
bar:Adams from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:Backing width:3

bar:Allen from:01/01/1979 till:31/05/1979 color:Guitar
bar:Thomas from:01/01/1979 till:31/05/1979 color:Guitar

bar:Forster from:01/06/1979 till:31/08/1979 color:Guitar
bar:Forster from:01/06/1979 till:31/08/1979 color:Backing width:3

bar:OConnell from:01/09/1979 till:31/05/1980 color:Guitar
bar:OConnell from:01/09/1979 till:31/05/1980 color:Backing width:3

bar:Bloxsom from:01/06/1980 till:28/02/1981 color:Guitar
bar:Milner from:01/01/1983 till:31/12/1983 color:Guitar

bar:Penny from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:Drums
bar:Morrison from:01/01/1979 till:31/05/1980 color:Drums
bar:McKenna from:01/06/1980 till:28/02/1981 color:Drums
bar:Pritchard from:01/08/1981 till:31/12/1982 color:Drums

bar:Hunt from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:Bass

bar:Willsteed from:01/01/1979 till:end color:Bass
bar:Willsteed from:01/06/1979 till:end color:Backing width:3
bar:Willsteed from:01/03/1980 till:end color:Keys width:7

bar:Childs from:01/01/1982 till:31/12/1982 color:Bass

bar:Hart from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:Sax
bar:Warner from:01/06/1980 till:28/02/1981 color:Sax

bar:Clarkin from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:Perc

bar:Skewis from:01/06/1980 till:28/02/1981 color:Backing

Discography

* ''Half the Profits'' (as Xiro) cassette EP (independent, July 1980)
* ''Religious Wars'' (as Xiro) cassette EP (independent, July 1980)
* ''Lust in the Dust'' (as Xero) 12" EP (M-Squared, 1982)
* ''Xiro Live at the Cement Box Theatre'' CD (Ten of Cups, 1998)

References

;General
* Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality.

External links

Contributors to Project BNE
- a book and music archive of Brisbane independent electronic music production 1979-2014

Inner City Sound
Playlist for 15 December 2005
on local Brisbane radio station 4ZZZ

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xero (Band)
Australian punk rock groups
Australian new wave musical groups
Musical groups from Brisbane
Musical groups established in 1978
Musical groups disestablished in 1983