The Survivors were an Australian punk rock band that originally formed in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, in 1976 as Rat Salad, a party band. The Survivors attained cult status in Australia by their acknowledged popular live performances and contribution to the ''Lethal Weapons'' punk compilation album. Original band members were Greg Williamson on

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

and vocals, Jim Dickson on

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and vocals, Bruce Anthon on drums and vocals. David Nichols, from the Mess And Noise website, commented that, "The Survivors were legends in their home town of

, a highly popular and adept band whose sets were mainly cool ’60s covers." The Survivors were a group behind Brisbane's original punk scene during 1976 to 1977. According to

music historian Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history ...

, Ian McFarlane, Brisbane produced "some of the most anarchistic bands of the Australian punk rock era and that it was a city nationally renowned for its ultra conservatism." The band released one single called "Baby Come Back", on the Real label in 1977, which was later reissued on the Suicide label in 1978. A live vinyl

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

called ''Worse than Perfect'' was released in 1988.

History

The Survivors, a southern suburbs Brisbane band, had a mutual admiration for 1960s music but originally they named their band Rat Salad after the

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

song. They changed their name in 1977 to The Survivors still mostly playing parties or occasionally hiring a hall, where they had to "watch out for the noise vigilant cops", "until the Curry Shop venue began supporting local punk acts in the heart of Brisbane on Sundays." Whilst known for their energetic versions of other group’s songs, they managed to release one stamped sleeve seven inch single on the Real label. The A-side ''Baby Come Back'' flirted with 1960s music but also had a strong stylistic sense of original

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

punk. They encountered condemnation from

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

circles for being to close to Sixties covers music as Jim Dickson recounts, "Criticism was often levelled at the Survivors for their lack of original material. The band were able to exist in those punksnobbery times because their energy was equal to anyone's and purely dedicated to the music which transcended the transient social commitments of the time." Mushroom Records subsidiary label Suicide Records reissued the seven inch single and added both songs onto the ''Lethal Weapons'' compilation album in 1978. This was the extent of their output when they were still in existence. The band broke up in late 1978 but did manage to do shows in Sydney later on including a show with The Visitors. The band members Jim Dickson and Bruce Anthon formed The Sleepers and then The Shakers. In 1979 Jim Dickson went on to record with Sydney act The Passengers, whose singer was Angie Pepper later known for

The Angie Pepper Band The Angie Pepper Band was a post-punk band formed in Sydney, Australia. It was formed around Angie Pepper, who first became prominent as the vocalist of another Sydney band, The Passengers, who released one single ("Face With No Name", 1982) on ...

and the single ''Frozen World''. Jim Dickson also went on to play for profile bands that included

The Barracudas The Barracudas are an English surf rock band formed in late 1978. The band's original line-up consisted of Jeremy Gluck (vocals), Robin Wills (guitar and vocals), Starkie Phillips (bass and vocals) and Adam Phillips (drums). Before the band reco ...

, The Deniz Tek Group and

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth. Hist ...

amongst many others. According to Jim Dickson, "Bruce and Greg had been busy in '79 with the Credits, who recorded a single, ''It's You'' / ''Fazed Dazed'', for the Rocking Horse Record Shop label". Drummer, Bruce Anthon, went on to play with numerous other groups, including bands that did

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

or blues.

Legacy

In 1988 the band managed to retrospectively release an album recorded live in August 1978 at the Rex Hotel, Kings Cross, Sydney, called ''Worse than Perfect''. The original recording of Baby Come Back had also been included as part of the 2015 CD Compilation called "Stranded, The Chronicles Of Australian Punk". This CD was a wide retrospective of Australian punk, officially released by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's Four by Four label.

Personnel

* Bruce Anthon – Drums, vocals * Jim Dickson – Bass, vocals * Greg Williamson – Guitar, vocals

Discography

Albums

* ''Worse Than Perfect'' – 1988 *''Grown Up Wrong'' – WRONG3

Singles

* "Baby Come Back" / "Mr Record Man" – 7 inch 1977, Real – RR100 * "Baby Come Back" / "Mr. Record Man" – 7 inch 1978, Suicide – 103181

References

External links

''Lethal Weapons'' 30 years on - David Nichols, 2007
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Survivors, The Australian punk rock groups Musical groups from Brisbane Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1978