The Fergusons were a five piece

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band from

Perth, Western Australia 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 i ...

History

The Fergusons formed around late 1999/early 2000, comprising Al Nistelberger (vocals, guitar), Mike Bruce (vocals, guitar), Wayne Beadon (guitar), Grant Joyce (bass) and Matt Wheeler (drums). Beadon and Joyce met when forming the band Hornbaker and Nistelberger and Bruce met forming Tarmac. Both bands met on the Perth music scene both being booking for a number of gigs. The band's first gig was at the Grosvenor Hotel as part of the '20 Minutes of Fame' band competition in March 2000. As a result of their performance the band scored their first 'real' gig - supporting Turnstyle,

Red Jezebel Red Jezebel is a four-piece indie rock, indie rock (music), rock band from Perth, Western Australia. History 1997-2002: Early EPs The band competed in the Western Australia final of the National Campus Band Comp, Australian National Campus Band ...

, Cartman and

Fourth Floor Collapse Fourth Floor Collapse is a Melbourne-based rock band. History Fourth Floor Collapse originated in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, playing their first show at the Rosemount Hotel in 1998. They became the most awarded unsigned ...

at the Grosvenor Hotel's 113th Birthday celebrations in May 2000. In June 2001 the Fergusons released their debut EP, ''Hurting the Washing Machine''. The EP topped the local charts and received airplay on community radio nationwide. The song "Waste of Time" was added to moderate rotation on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

. The band were interviewed by

Richard Kingsmill Richard Kingsmill (born 29 January 1954) is an Australian radio announcer, music journalist and currently Group Music Director of triple j, triple j Unearthed, Double J and ABC Local Radio. Career His career at triple j started in 1988 as a p ...

on the Oz Music Show, and they later recorded a four track live set for the program. The band were winners in the category of 'Best Emerging Act' for Western Australia at the Australian Live Music Awards. In September 2001 the Fergusons won three WAMI awards, including most popular CD launch. The band then headed back to the studio, recording their second EP, ''Never Too Young To Hitchhike'' which was released in May 2002. The song "Everything's Gone Bad' received very heavy rotation on

, and went on reach No. 88 on Triple J's Hottest 100. The band's live following in Perth continued to expand, culminating in a performance at the ABC Studios in Perth for Triple J's Live at the Wireless in September 2002. Following The Fergusons performance at Perth's Rock-It Festival in October 2002, they headed to the east coast for the first time, playing a couple of shows with UK band Seafood. Their live shows impressed representatives of the label

Dew Process Dew Process is an Australian independent record label, based in Brisbane, Queensland, founded and owned by Australian music industry figure Paul Piticco. Operational The label operates in two primary areas: traditional development of Australi ...

eventually resulting in the band signing a deal with Dew Process, and the label re-releasing ''Never Too Young To Hitchhike'' in digipack format in early 2003. In February 2003 the band played at the Perth

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

, touring the eastern states again in April, with

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 ...

and

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

. Whilst in Melbourne they recorded the "Sinner is Red" single and was produced by

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 ...

based Lindsay Gravina (

Magic Dirt Magic Dirt are an Australian rock band, which formed in 1991 in Geelong, Victoria, with Daniel Herring on guitar, Adam Robertson on drums, Adalita Srsen on vocals and guitar, and Dean Turner on bass guitar. Initially forming an alternative u ...

, Eskimo Joe,

Jebediah Jebediah are an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. They were formed by Chris Daymond on lead guitar, Kevin Mitchell (aka Bob Evans) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Vanessa Thornton on bass guita ...

The Living End The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 199 ...

, Jet), Spiderbait). "Sinner Is Red" was released on 14 July, as the first single from The Fergusons' forthcoming album. With major supports, such as

The Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherso ...

, J Mascis, The Salteens, and

The Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 200 ...

, high rotation on national and local radio stations across the country, several WAMI Awards and a live performance at

Splendour in the Grass Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...

in 2003, the band had come a long way from their Perth garage. At the end of 2003 Mike Bruce decided to leave the band and played his last show with the Fergusons at Curtin University in February 2004. The band continued as a four-piece, and in March and April the Fergusons toured with the Hoodoo Gurus on the Western Australian leg of their national tour. Jonathan Burnside ( Eskimo Joe,

The Sleepy Jackson The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist ...

) was recruited as producer for the Fergusons' debut album and he came to Perth in July 2004 to do a week of pre-production on the album. Along the way he added horns, strings and other instrumentation which saw the album's budget skyrocket. Universal Records refused to fund the album, meaning Dew Process were unable to continue recordings. In September 2004 the band and the label severed ties. In November 2004 Matt Wheeler decided to move to

, resulting in the remaining members of the band decided to call it a day. The Fergusons played a farewell gig early in 2005 to a packed Amplifier Bar with support from a host of Western Australia's favourite indie bands. Though their debut album was in the pipeline for a couple of years, the long-player was never completed. Since the band's split, Nistelberger, Joyce and Beadon have been working on a new project, the Bipolar Bears, which also features

Little Birdy Little Birdy were an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in 2002 by singer and guitarist Katy Steele, drummer Matt Chequer, guitarist and keyboardist Simon Leach, and bass guitarist Scott O'Donoghue. They gaine ...

drummer Matt Chequer. In 2007 three of the band members, Nistelberger, Joyce and Beadon re-formed for a one off acoustic performance in

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

where they were joined on stage by members of

, Eskimo Joe and The Avenues.

Band members

* Al Nistelberger - guitar, vocals * Grant Joyce - bass, vocals * Wayne Beadon - guitar, vocals * Matt Wheeler - drums, vocals * Mike Bruce - guitar, vocals

Discography

Extended plays

Awards and nominations

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). The Fergusons won six awards.APRAP December 2001 page 22
/ref> (wins only) , - , rowspan="3", 2001 , rowspan="2", The Fergusons , Most Promising New Local Original Band , , - , Most Popular Original Indie Act , , - , ''Hurting the Washing Machine'' , Most Popular Local Original CD Launch , , - , rowspan="2", 2002 , rowspan="2", The Fergusons , Most Popular Local Original Pop Act , , - , Most Popular Original Indie Act , , - , 2003 , The Fergusons , Most Popular Original Indie Act , , -

References

External links

The Fergusons Fanpage - features a comprehensive bio, rare mp3s and videos

The Fergusons Myspace - official myspace page

Australia Music Online - The Fergusons

Interviews

Oz Music Project - Kirra Wallace

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusons, The Australian alternative rock groups Western Australian musical groups Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 1999 establishments in Australia