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The Doug Anthony All Stars (or Doug Anthony Allstars, DAAS, D.A.A.S. or stylised as D⋆A†A☭S) were an Australian
musical comedy
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
, alternative rock and vocal group who initially performed together between 1984 and 1994. The group were an acoustic trio, originally comprising
Paul McDermott
Paul Anthony Michael McDermott (born 13 May 1962) is an Australian entertainer, best known both for ''Good News Week'' and for his role as a member of the musical comedy group the Doug Anthony All Stars. He has frequently appeared at the Melb ...
and
Tim Ferguson
Timothy Dorcen Langbene Ferguson is an Australian comedian, film director, screenwriter, author and screenwriting teacher.
Early life and education
Timothy Dorcen Langbene Ferguson grew up in Singapore, and later on a rural property near t ...
on main vocals and
Richard Fidler
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
on guitar and backing vocals. The group reformed in 2014, with
Paul Livingston
Paul James Livingston (born March 1956), popularly known as his alter ego Flacco, is an Australian comedian who has regularly appeared on many television shows, predominantly on ABC TV and Network Ten, including ''Good News Week'', '' The San ...
(aka "Flacco") replacing Fidler on guitar.
DAAS were known for their aggressive, provocative style, their habit of involving audience members and their tendency to attack topical and sometimes controversial issues in their comedy.
DAAS began performing as
buskers
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pra ...
on the streets of
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
in 1984, while they were attending university. After winning the Pick of the Fringe award at the 1986
Adelaide Fringe Festival
The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...
, the group relocated from Canberra to Melbourne, but it was not until they travelled to the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
in 1987 that they first achieved success. They quickly gained popularity in the United Kingdom, where they made numerous television appearances and performed several times on the UK's Channel 4 late-night alternative comedy show ''
Viva Cabaret'', but remained virtually unknown in Australia until 1989 when they were made regular performers on the Australian comedy show ''
The Big Gig
''The Big Gig'' was a popular Australian television sketch comedy music/variety series based on the British TV series '' Saturday Live''. It was produced and broadcast on ABC TV in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was produced and directed by ...
''. These appearances gained them recognition, and they remained a popular feature of the show until 1991 when they left to create their own
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
comedy series, ''
DAAS Kapital
''DAAS Kapital'' is an Australian television comedy series written by and starring comedy trio the Doug Anthony All Stars (Paul McDermott, Tim Ferguson and Richard Fidler) with supporting cast members Paul Livingston, Michael Petroni, Bob Downe a ...
''.
The group released four live recordings and one studio album, ''
DAAS Icon
''DAAS Icon'' (also known as ''Icon'') is the first and only studio album recorded and released by Australian comedy trio, the Doug Anthony All Stars. Released in 1990, it features the singles "I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy" and "Bottle". ...
'', which achieved some independent success in Australia but was briefly banned in Britain. They also released a collection of dark
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
in 1989, entitled ''Book'', which took a markedly different tone from their comedic stage performances. They also made two live concert videos and one film, ''The Edinburgh Years''. The group split up in 1994, following a final farewell tour of Australia. Although they reunited in 2003 to perform together at a benefit concert, were interviewed together in 2008 in support of their DVD, and reunited for a one-off show to launch the ''DAAS Kapital'' DVD in 2013, the three ruled out the suggestion of a reunion tour at the time.
In December 2013, McDermott and Ferguson announced they would be performing "as DAAS" for the group's 30th anniversary, at the Canberra Comedy Festival in March 2014, with
Paul Livingston
Paul James Livingston (born March 1956), popularly known as his alter ego Flacco, is an Australian comedian who has regularly appeared on many television shows, predominantly on ABC TV and Network Ten, including ''Good News Week'', '' The San ...
performing the role of Fidler.
This current line-up has announced subsequent shows in Hobart, Melbourne, Wollongong, Perth, Brisbane and Bendigo, with more dates to follow.
The group have been inactive since the end of 2017.
Style
DAAS employ an aggressive, confrontational style, which author and journalist Geoff Bartlett describes as "
ushingthe boundaries of humour and good taste to their absolute limits".
They frequently delve into topical and
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
subject matter with songs such as "Commies for Christ" and "I Fuck Dogs". "Long before anyone knew the term, one of our greatest driving forces was to be politically incorrect," said Ferguson. Each band member developed distinctive onstage characters, with McDermott adopting a nasty, mean persona, while Ferguson played a narcissistic character who was "gorgeous but stupid".
Fidler initially played the
straight man
The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...
, but as the group became more aggressive he developed into a character who was naturally happy and caring but frequently victimised by his fellow band members.
The group drew inspiration from short-lived punk bands like the Fat Sluts, The Lone Reagans and Forbidden Mule, whom Ferguson describes as "like all punk bands... very fast and furious."
Much of the band's provocative style emerged from their origins as street performers, where to get people's attention they resorted to outrageous or theatrical tactics—the group would sometimes walk into the street and stop traffic to get noticed.
"Sometimes we have to do really ugly or horrendous things to get people's attention, and we're not afraid to do that. We'll hit someone if it gets a bit of discourse going," said McDermott.
Neil Pigot
Neil Pigot (born 28 December 1961) is an Australian actor who is perhaps best known in Australia for his role as Inspector Falcon Price in the highly successful television series ''Blue Heelers''. Pigot has appeared in over 100 episodes of televi ...
, who did some work with the group, describes their style as "a sort of extension of the
Python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
tradition, but very much in an Australian context." He says that DAAS were "crucially important" in the development of Australian comedy, directly contributing to the styles of successful comedy shows such as ''
The D-Generation
''The D-Generation'' was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for two series, between 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the ...
'', ''
Fast Forward
To fast-forward is to move forwards through a recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually be played, for example two times or two point five times. The recordings are usually audio, video or computer data. It is colloquially ...
'' and ''Wogs Out of Work''.
At the time DAAS emerged, Pigot says, comedy in Australia was dominated by joke-tellers and impersonators. By contrast, DAAS were belligerent and confrontational, frequently attacking topical issues, invading people's personal space and involving the audience in their act.
Mark Trevorrow
Mark Trevorrow (born 4 February 1959 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian comedian, television host and media personality. In the early 1980s he had two Top 20 hits as part of Globos with Wendy De Waal, and in 1984 he debuted "Bob Downe" ...
, who frequently collaborated with the group, described their work as "true genius." "Their great shows were among the greatest evenings I've witnessed in my life and their worst shows were among the worst," he said. "They'd whip up an audience and appeal to people's darker side. It was very
Dada
Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
, what they were doing. And what happens with that is you're just as often likely to have people who want to kill you as applaud you."
In addition, ABC comedy producer
Ted Robinson Ted Robinson may refer to:
*Ted Robinson (golf course architect) (1923–2008), American golf course architect
*Ted Robinson (sportscaster) (born 1957), American sportscaster
*Ted Robinson (TV director)
Ted Robinson (born 1944) is an Australian ...
says that the group played an important role in raising the profile of Australian comedy overseas, particularly in Britain where DAAS were very popular.
British comedian
Al Murray
Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th gre ...
said of seeing the group at the Edinburgh Festival in 1988, "they came onstage with the attitude of feral invaders and left it with no taboo untouched." Murray described the All Stars as "an insanely hot act from Oz who sang, cursed, sweated and insulted each other and their audiences with a level of commitment and polish that seemed exotically charged and almost transgressive in the late 80s."
DAAS were known for continuing to act, or to remain in character, during interviews. Much of this was just banter, but they also had serious messages. DAAS were often criticising the media and part of this was to tell outrageous lies to journalists during interviews and attempt to see them published as fact. In one of the best-known instances of this, the group told British reporters that their namesake, former Australian politician
Doug Anthony
John Douglas Anthony, (31 December 192920 December 2020) was an Australian politician. He served as leader of the National Party of Australia from 1971 to 1984 and was the second and longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister, holding the position ...
, was a much-loved
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
who had been assassinated on 11 November 1975, by right-wing extremists. (In fact, Anthony is a former
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, althoug ...
who had led the right-of-center
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an List of political parties in Australia, Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Au ...
from 1971 to 1984.) The lie was printed in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' and ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. This game continued undetected until in 1990 the group told a reporter that they had been cast in ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' and had become great friends with
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
, both lies. The story was reported as fact in newspapers around Australia and appeared as a cover story in the TV guide of Melbourne's ''
Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...
'' before the media realised the hoax.
History
Early years
Tim Ferguson met Richard Fidler busking on the streets of
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
in 1984, while they were both attending university. Ferguson recalls: "Richard was playing the guitar—something from
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...
—one day and I walked up to him and we did '
Wild Thing'. I sang a few lyrics and jumped about like a mad thing. Lo and behold we made a stack of money in ten minutes."
The two began performing together and joined with another friend,
Robert Piper
Robert Andrew Piper (born 1966) is an Australian development aid coordinator for the United Nations. Between December 2018 and May 2022 he was Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Development Coordination Office. In May 2022, he w ...
, to form the Doug Anthony All Stars.
They derived their name from
Doug Anthony
John Douglas Anthony, (31 December 192920 December 2020) was an Australian politician. He served as leader of the National Party of Australia from 1971 to 1984 and was the second and longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister, holding the position ...
, a former Country Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. According to Fidler, during their earlier gigs in clubs and as street performers, Ferguson was "a bit of an explosive
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
" while Fidler and Piper were more reserved.
Robert Piper left the group in 1985 due to other commitments. Piper has gone on to a successful career with the United Nations and in March 2013 was named Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the humanitarian coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
With Piper's departure, Paul McDermott, who performed at one of DAAS's regular clubs, was invited to join. He accepted, although he did not like their material, which he considered too sweet.
Fidler says McDermott changed the group's dynamic; he wrote the majority of their songs and prompted a darker tone.
After winning the Pick of the Fringe award at the 1986 Adelaide Fringe Festival, the group relocated from Canberra to Melbourne, where they based themselves with a regular gig at the Prince Patrick Hotel in
Collingwood, in an effort to save enough money to travel to the Edinburgh Fringe. Initially, DAAS found that Melbourne audiences did not respond to their act and to provoke a reaction they became more aggressive, with McDermott and Ferguson adopting more abusive personas and often picking on Fidler's naturally happy but stupid character.
They made their first overseas performance at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1987, to sold out crowds.
Successes
Following their Edinburgh Fringe shows, the group enjoyed considerable success in the United Kingdom, making appearances on numerous
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
comedy shows. In 1988, the group was nominated for the
Perrier Comedy Award
The Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. ...
for their performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Fidler says that the British people were more receptive to their act at the time than Australians had been. "The whole thing exploded for us when we got there, it was quite incredible. Within a very short time we were doing national television appearances in front of millions of people and playing these enormous shows," he says.
They played extensively in Canada, Germany, America and Britain, and finished their time in Britain by appearing on the final episode of the successful ''
Friday Night Live Friday Night Live may refer to:
* ''Friday Night Live'' (''Big Brother Australia''), a television series aired on Network Ten as a part of ''Big Brother Australia''
* ''Friday Night Live'' (UK TV show), successor to ''Saturday Live''
* ''Friday L ...
''.
However, despite the acclaim they were receiving overseas, when they returned to Australia at the end of 1988 they remained unknown. Upon arriving in Melbourne, they struggled to gain a following and went back to busking on the streets.
This changed in 1989 when ABC comedy producer Ted Robinson invited them to appear on a new comedy show, ''The Big Gig''. They became a popular feature on the series and appeared in every episode until 1991. In 1989, the group also released a book entitled ''Book'', which was a collection of dark short stories. Many of the stories had been written several years prior, even before the three had started performing together, and adopted a markedly different tone to their comedic, largely
ad lib
In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation.
The ...
bed live shows. Ferguson said that they had wanted to write something that people could read and enjoy without having seen DAAS perform.
''Book'' sold 30,000 copies in England within the first two weeks of publication before being banned when DAAS refused to release an edited version of the book or permit a warning sticker on the cover. The issue was taken to court in the same year, where the ban was overturned.
DAAS released their first official album, ''
DAAS Icon
''DAAS Icon'' (also known as ''Icon'') is the first and only studio album recorded and released by Australian comedy trio, the Doug Anthony All Stars. Released in 1990, it features the singles "I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy" and "Bottle". ...
'' (1990). Two of the featured songs, "I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy" and "Bottle", were also released as singles. ''Icon'' went on to become the highest selling independent album in Australia,
but was banned in the United Kingdom due to a reference to the
IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
in the song "KRSNA". This was later overturned by a British court.
The group continued to appear weekly on ''The Big Gig'' until 1991 when their own series, ''
DAAS Kapital
''DAAS Kapital'' is an Australian television comedy series written by and starring comedy trio the Doug Anthony All Stars (Paul McDermott, Tim Ferguson and Richard Fidler) with supporting cast members Paul Livingston, Michael Petroni, Bob Downe a ...
'', premiered on the ABC. A
futuristic
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...
half-hour-long sitcom about the band's adventures in an underwater history museum, ''DAAS Kapital'' ran for two seven-episode seasons between 1991 and 1992 despite a poor critical reaction.
From 1992, they became UK-based, returning to Australia for a short time in 1993 to promote ''Dead & Alive'', a live recording of one of their London shows which was released on CD and VHS.
They played at the opening of the 1992
Barcelona Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
and appeared regularly on Britain's
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
variety show ''
Viva Cabaret''.
The reformed group returned to tour the United Kingdom in 2016, and won the Spirit of the Fringe Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Their show at the Pleasance in Edinburgh was chosen by Steve Bennett, editor of Chortle.co.uk, as the second most memorable comedy gig of 2016.
Break-up and reformation
The group held a final farewell tour of Australia in 1994, which was recorded and released on CD by ABC Records as ''DAAS: The Last Concert''.
The break-up sparked rumours of a falling out among the trio, although all three denied this, stating that it was simply time to move on. Richard Fidler described it as a matter of practicality: Ferguson wanted to return to Australia to be closer to his young family, while McDermott and Fidler wished to continue working in Britain as they felt they had done everything they had wanted to do in Australia.
![DAAS reunited](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/DAAS_reunited.jpg)
In June 2010, Tim Ferguson revealed that the break-up was due in large part to personal health issues. Unknown to the public at the time, Ferguson had been diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
in 1996 after experiencing symptoms for several years including a few severe episodes while touring in 1993. The symptoms affected his mobility, causing him to struggle with choreography and physical routines onstage and eventually, he says, "it was clear I couldn't remain a Doug Anthony Allstar with whatever this was". Still coming to terms with his diagnosis, Ferguson chose to keep it private, telling few people outside of his close friends and family. "I didn't want other people to know," he says. "I didn't want it to be coming up in conversation with strangers."
In July 2003, DAAS reunited for the first time since their break-up to perform at a special gala comedy event called "For Holly". Dedicated to the memory of Holly Robinson—a casting director for ''
Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...
'' and the daughter of ''The Big Gig''s Ted Robinson—who had died of cancer the month before, the concert was a fundraising benefit for research into the disease. At Holly's request, the three also performed the
Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band formed in 1981. Fronted by founding mainstay, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of Pub rock (Australia), pub rock and funk, art-funk. Other mainstays are John ...
' "
Throw Your Arms Around Me
"Throw Your Arms Around Me" is a song by Australian rock music, rock band Hunters & Collectors first released as a single in November 1984 by White Label for Mushroom Records. A re-recorded version of the song later appeared on the band's 1986 al ...
", a song they had frequently covered in the group's later years, at her funeral.
![Doug Anthony Allstars DAAS 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Doug_Anthony_Allstars_DAAS_2014.jpg)
A DAAS DVD entitled ''The Unlimited Uncollectible Sterling Deluxe Edition'', a 2-disc collection of their performances from the first two seasons of ''The Big Gig'', was released on 6 November 2008. Ferguson, Fidler and McDermott recorded a commentary track for the DVD and made several media appearances together to promote its release, but the three ruled out the prospect of a reunion tour. "We certainly catch up for barbecues, but not as a comedy group," McDermott said.
DAAS reunited for a one-off show to launch the DVD of the television series ''DAAS Kapital'' on 13 April 2013 as part of the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...
.
[Doug Anthony Allstars to reunite]
''Chortle.co.uk'', 10 February 2013.
After an hiatus, McDermott, Ferguson and
Paul Livingston
Paul James Livingston (born March 1956), popularly known as his alter ego Flacco, is an Australian comedian who has regularly appeared on many television shows, predominantly on ABC TV and Network Ten, including ''Good News Week'', '' The San ...
(performing the role of Fidler) performed "as DAAS" for their 30th anniversary at the Canberra Comedy Festival, held in March 2014.
They have since permanently reformed the band, and have done several tours of Australia and the United Kingdom.
Although Fidler had been advocating for the group to reform for years, his work commitments with ABC Radio prevented him from participating and Livingston again filled his place as the group's guitarist.
In 2016, Livingston wrote a memoir titled ''D.A.A.S.: Their Part in My Downfall'', which chronicled his association with the group in the 1980s and 1990s as a support act and collaborator, and then as a member of the reformed group.
On 2 and 9 October 2018, the ABC screened ''Tick Fucking Tock'', a two-part documentary about the Doug Anthony All Stars covering their formation, history, breakup and reformation.
Subsequent work
Initially, McDermott was not interested in further pursuing comedy, which he came to regard as an "aberration". However in 1996, he returned to television after being recruited by Ted Robinson to host the satirical news-based quiz show ''
Good News Week
''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in ...
''. McDermott hosted the show until its cancellation in 2000 and returned to this role when the series was renewed in 2008. He reunited with Robinson again in 2007 when he was named host of a new ABC variety program, ''
The Sideshow'', a show described as a successor to ''The Big Gig''. Although it quickly built a strong cult audience, the show did not rate well and was cancelled after its initial run of 26 episodes.
In addition to his television work, McDermott has continued to be involved in live comedy. He has frequently participated in the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...
, having often captained one of the two competing teams in the festival's Great Debate since his first debate appearance in 1994. At the 2002 festival he not only presented a solo comedy show titled "Comedyoscopy", but also performed with Cameron Bruce and
Mick Moriarty
GUD is an Australian comedic music-based trio composed of Paul McDermott, previously of the Doug Anthony All Stars, former Gadflys guitarist Mick Moriarty, and Club Luna Band keyboard player Cameron Bruce. According to McDermott, the group i ...
in a music-based comedy trio called
GUD. McDermott described GUD as being in a similar vein to DAAS in that it revolved around music, comedy and the inter-relationships between the band members onstage. As of 2018, McDermott is host of ABC quiz show ''
Think Tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
''.
In 1996, Ferguson hosted the
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
's comedy game show ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'', and after the show's cancellation Nine kept him on to develop new television pilots. However, the network was not sure how best to use his talents, and Ferguson left to pursue other work. During this time, he wrote his first novel, ''Left, Right and Centre: A Tale of Greed, Sex and Power'', a political satire. His subsequent television credits have included ''
Unreal TV'', ''
Big Brother'', ''
Funky Squad
''Funky Squad'' was a short-lived 1995 Australian comedy television series which satirised 1970s-era U.S. police television dramas, such as ''The Mod Squad''. Only seven half-hour episodes were produced, which were broadcast on the ABC. Real tel ...
'' and ''Shock Jock'', a 2001 cable sitcom which he also wrote and produced. He has also built a strong career as a corporate event performer and was a sessional lecturer at
RMIT University
RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city ...
, where he taught narrative comedy for the Professional Screenwriting Advanced Diploma.
In 2010, he released a guide to comedy writing, ''The Cheeky Monkey: Writing Narrative Comedy''.
In 2010, Ferguson hosted and co-produced ''WTF – With Tim Ferguson'', a comedy chat show on community television station
C31 Melbourne
C31 Melbourne is a free-to-air community television channel in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its name is derived from UHF 31, the frequency and channel number reserved for analogue broadcasts by metropolitan community television stations in ...
.
In 2015, Ferguson co-wrote and co-directed the feature film ''
Spin Out
Spinout or Spin Out may refer to:
*Corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, a type of corporate action where a company turns a portion of itself into a separate business
*Spinout (driving), failure when braking
Entertainment
* ''Spinout (fil ...
'', which was released by Sony Pictures in 2016.
He has co-written and produced a performance piece for orchestras, ''Billie and the Dinosaurs'', which will debut in early 2018 at the Music for Canberra community school of which he is a patron.
After leaving DAAS, Fidler became heavily involved in computers and
multimedia
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...
. In 1996, he wrote the award-winning
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
''Real Wild Child'', a history of Australian
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
.
Fidler also wrote a regular monthly column for ''internet.au'' magazine on the digital media world, and contributed an essay to the ''Australian Constitutional Convention'' websit
Although he had not initially intended to return to television, he has hosted various TV shows since 1996, including ''
Race Around the World
''Race Around the World'' was an Australian travel documentary and competition series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1997 and 1998. The series was brought to the ABC by filmmaker Michael Rubbo, and was based on the Canad ...
'', ''Aftershock'', ''Mouthing Off'' and ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
''; and spent three years in management as an editor of ABC-TV comedy before deciding he "wasn't cut out to be a manager". In 2005, Fidler ventured into radio, fronting the 7–10pm shift on
ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
station
612 ABC Brisbane. Since 2006, he has hosted the 11 am–3pm shift on 612 ABC Brisbane, with the show's first hour—known as ''The Conversation Hour''—also broadcast on
702 ABC Sydney
ABC Radio Sydney (official call sign: 2BL, formerly 2SB) is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 hertz, kHz on the AM bro ...
. He currently hosts ''Conversations with Richard Fidler'' on ABC's
Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
. In 2011, Fidler co-wrote a satirical book on Australian politics titled, ''Jack the Insider: The Insider's Guide to Power in Australia'', released by Random House Books, New Zealand.
Original and founding member Robert Piper entered into a very successful career with the United Nations, serving in Cambodia, New York, Serbia, and other countries, and later worked for the Clinton Administration.
Members
Current members
*
Tim Ferguson
Timothy Dorcen Langbene Ferguson is an Australian comedian, film director, screenwriter, author and screenwriting teacher.
Early life and education
Timothy Dorcen Langbene Ferguson grew up in Singapore, and later on a rural property near t ...
– vocals (1984–1994, 2014–2017)
*
Paul McDermott
Paul Anthony Michael McDermott (born 13 May 1962) is an Australian entertainer, best known both for ''Good News Week'' and for his role as a member of the musical comedy group the Doug Anthony All Stars. He has frequently appeared at the Melb ...
– vocals (1985–1994, 2014–2017)
*
Paul Livingston
Paul James Livingston (born March 1956), popularly known as his alter ego Flacco, is an Australian comedian who has regularly appeared on many television shows, predominantly on ABC TV and Network Ten, including ''Good News Week'', '' The San ...
– guitar (2014–2017)
Past members
*
Richard Fidler
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
– guitar, vocals (1984–1994)
*
Robert Piper
Robert Andrew Piper (born 1966) is an Australian development aid coordinator for the United Nations. Between December 2018 and May 2022 he was Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Development Coordination Office. In May 2022, he w ...
– vocals (1984)
Timeline
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id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
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id:lines value:black legend:Studio_albums
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bar:Tim from:start till:01/01/1994 color:vocals
bar:Richard from:start till:01/01/1994 color:guitar
bar:Richard from:start till:01/01/1994 color:vocals width:3
bar:Paul from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1994 color:vocals
bar:Tim from:01/07/2003 till:31/07/2003 color:vocals
bar:Paul from:01/07/2003 till:31/07/2003 color:vocals
bar:Richard from:01/07/2003 till:31/07/2003 color:guitar
bar:Richard from:01/07/2003 till:31/07/2003 color:vocals width:3
bar:Tim from:13/04/2013 till:13/04/2013 color:vocals
bar:Paul from:13/04/2013 till:13/04/2013 color:vocals
bar:Richard from:13/04/2013 till:13/04/2013 color:vocals width:3
bar:Richard from:13/04/2013 till:13/04/2013 color:guitar
bar:Tim from:01/03/2014 till:end color:vocals
bar:Paul from:01/03/2014 till:end color:vocals
bar:Paul2 from:01/03/2014 till:end color:guitar
LineData =
at:14/05/1990 color:black layer:back
Discography
* ''
DAAS Icon
''DAAS Icon'' (also known as ''Icon'') is the first and only studio album recorded and released by Australian comedy trio, the Doug Anthony All Stars. Released in 1990, it features the singles "I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy" and "Bottle". ...
'' (1990)
* ''
Dead & Alive'' (1993)
* ''
DAAS Bootleg – Live in Edinburgh
''DAAS Bootleg – Live in Edinburgh'' is an official live bootleg recording released by the Australian comedy trio the Doug Anthony All Stars in 1994. It was recorded in August 1993 at the Pleasance Theatre Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh and sold a ...
'' (1994)
* ''The Last Concert'' (1995)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
. They commenced in 1987.
,
, -
, rowspan="2",
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, rowspan="2", ''Icon''
,
ARIA Award for Best New Talent The ARIA Music Award for Best New Talent was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1987 through to 1998.
The award for Best New Talent was first presented in 1987. Crowded House won the award with their single "D ...
,
, rowspan="2",
, -
,
ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release
,
, -
References
External links
AustralianComedy.net – DAAS Fan Forum* Th
Doug Anthony All Stars Costumesand other ephemera are now part of th
Performing Arts Collection at the Arts Centre Melbourne
{{Authority control
Australian comedy musical groups
Australian buskers
Australian Capital Territory musical groups
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups disestablished in 1994
Musical groups reestablished in 2014
Musical groups disestablished in 2017
Australian alternative rock groups
CBS Records artists
Australian satirists