The Innocents are a

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and c ...

band formed in Hobart,

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in 1975. Featuring singer-songwriters David Minchin, Charles Touber, Greg Cracknell, and drummer Brent "Beep" Jeffrey, The Innocents—originally called Beathoven—are one of only three Tasmanian bands to ever have Australian chart success (the others being The Kravats and MEO 245).

Career

1973–1979: Hobart

David Minchin (guitar/vocals), Charles Touber (guitar/vocals), Greg Cracknell (bass/vocals), Brent "Beep" Jeffrey (drums 1975–1979). Renowned for their popularity in Hobart in the late 1970s, their first record release was "Do You Remember The Time/Darlin'" on the Candle label. There was a local equivalent of Beatlemania about The Innocents early years (sometimes referred to as "Tasmania") and ensured that when they took their touring technique of focusing on school dances and lunchtime concerts to Melbourne in 1977, success and press cynicism followed. Shortly following the move the band began touring the East coast of Australia. Such was their popularity after several months, ambulances were a regular fixture outside their shows, and the band were offered their own signature ice cream line. Eventually signing a much heralded international contract with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

which resulted in the release of "Shy Girl/Does it Matter as Much to You" under their original name Beathoven. The band were then released from their label, (despite being the favoured nominees for Best New Group of 1978 Award from amongst

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...

Models A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and

The Sports The Sports were an Australian Rock music, rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on dru ...

). When Kim Fowley discovered them in his Australian search for "the new Abba or Beatles" they were forced to change their name, as

still owned the name under their contractual agreement.

1980–1999: Sydney and career success

As The Innocents, they were picked up by Trafalgar Productions/

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

in early 1980 and relocated to Sydney. Here they recorded their hit single "Sooner or Later" which, after a performance on the TV show ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'', peaked at number 48 nationally, The Innocents were championed by Kim Fowley,

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,Molly Meldrum Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...

and

Greg Shaw Greg Shaw (January 1949 – October 19, 2004) was an American writer, publisher, magazine editor, music historian and record executive. Biography Shaw was born in San Francisco, California. He began writing about rock and roll music as a ...

. All the press hyperbole (particularly from rock historian

Glenn A. Baker Glenn A. Baker (born 28 July 1952) is an Australian journalist, commentator, author, and broadcaster well known in Australia for his vast knowledge of Rock music. He has written books and magazine articles on rock music and travel, interviewed ...

's pen, e.g. – "Perhaps the greatest power-pop band in the whole world since the demise of the

Raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

") could not encourage RCA to support the band, despite Fowley's enthusiasm in particular. Faced with delivering pop singles (such as their follow-up "Come Tonight") that weren't supported by the label the band disintegrated, with some members returning to Tasmania in 1981. In 1984, Raven Records released the ironically entitled ''Here We Come!'' album which collected their Beathoven recordings as well as a number of later recordings with Kim Fowley and a third unreleased RCA single.

2000–present

2000 saw The Innocents realise their later celebrity in the US – a place in which none of their recordings were released – and an invitation to play The Troubadour and the

International Pop Overthrow The International Pop Overthrow (often referred to as simply The IPO) is an American-originated music festival, devoted to power pop music and related genres. The festival is dedicated to bring classic pop music to the public, and is run by CEO an ...

festival alongside fellow power-pop exponents

Doug Fieger Douglas Lars Fieger (August 20, 1952 – February 14, 2010) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the rock band The Knack. He co-wrote "My Sharona," the biggest hit song of 1979 in the ...

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, " My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a ...

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

The Rubinoos The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfrie ...

and

The Cowsills The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and ...

. The 2CD compilation album ''The No Hit Wonders from Down Under'' was released in 2002 which featured much new material and rapidly sold out of its limited initial run. Inspired by this and an increasing number of international fan letters, they recorded a new album ''Pop Factory'' in 2006 and promoted it with a European tour which included gigs at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

's legendary

Cavern A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

club, a recording session at Abbey Road Studios, rave reviews for their appearance at the inaugural Hamburg Sound Festival (where they played requests for

Cynthia Lennon Cynthia Lennon (born Powell; 10 September 1939 – 1 April 2015) was the first wife of John Lennon and the mother of Julian Lennon. Born in Blackpool and raised in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, she attended the Liverpool College of Art wher ...

and

Astrid Kirchherr Astrid Kirchherr (; 20 May 1938 – 12 May 2020) was a German photographer and artist known for her association with the Beatles (along with her friends Klaus Voormann and Jürgen Vollmer) and her photographs of the band's original member ...

), and dates in Tokyo. October 2007 saw The Innocents travel to Germany where they recorded a version of a song co-written by

Tony Sheridan Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

in 1960, "Tell Me If You Can" with Sheridan himself. Previously unrecorded, The Innocents went to Friedrich-Ebert recording studios where

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

had previously worked with Sheridan when recording their first ever song

My Bonnie My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Mar ...

. Sheridan claimed meeting The Innocents was 'fate'. "I like the group. The way they play reminded me of what we used to do back then. They did great harmonies. It reminded me very much of

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

*Liner notes of "Here We Come" album by Glenn A. Baker *Countdown annual magazine 1980 (edited by Thomas Richards) *The Mercury newspaper, Hobart, Australia, Wednesday 17 October 2007

External links

Beathoven and The Innocents official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Innocents, The Australian power pop groups Culture in Hobart Musical groups established in 1975 Tasmanian musical groups