Edmund "Ed" Kuepper (born 20 December 1955) is a German-born Australian

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 stri ...

ist,

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. He co-founded the punk band The Saints (1973–78), the experimental

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

group

Laughing Clowns Laughing Clowns, sometimes written as The Laughing Clowns, were a post-punk band formed in Sydney in 1979. In five years, the band released three LPs, three EPs, and various singles and compilations. Laughing Clowns' sound is free jazz, bluegr ...

(1979–85) and the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

-like

The Aints! The Aints is a band name used by Ed Kuepper during his prolific early 1990s period. The group's name relates to Kuepper's first recording group, The Saints, and its initial incarnation concentrated on material from the mid-to-late 1970s. The g ...

(1991–94, 2017–present). He has also recorded over a dozen albums as a solo artist using a variety of backing bands. His highest charting solo album, ''

Honey Steel's Gold ''Honey Steel's Gold'' is the fifth solo album by Australian guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper recorded in 1991 and released on the Hot label.

'', appeared in November 1991 and reached No. 28 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. His other top 50 albums are '' Black Ticket Day'' (August 1992), '' Serene Machine'' (March 1993) and ''

Character Assassination "Character Assassination" is a four-issue Spider-Man story arc written by Marc Guggenheim with art by John Romita, Jr. and published by Marvel Comics. The arc appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #584-#588. An interlude, "The Spartacus Gambit" ...

'' (August 1994). At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 he won Best Independent Release for ''Black Ticket Day'' and won the same category in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

for ''Serene Machine''.

Biography

Edmund Kuepper was born on 20 December 1955 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, then part of West Germany. His family migrated to Australia in the 1960s and settled in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He attended Oxley State High School and Corinda State High School with Chris Bailey and Ivor Hay.

1973–1978

Ed Kuepper's music career began in 1973 when he formed The Saints in Brisbane initially as a garage band, Kid Galahad and the Eternals. The line-up was Kuepper on lead guitar, Chris Bailey on lead vocals and Ivor Hay on piano. Early in the next year Hay switched to bass guitar and Jeffrey Wegener joined on drums, and they were renamed as The Saints. Their early sound was a hybrid of

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

Pretty Things The Pretty Things were an English band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent. They took their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song "Pretty Thing". A pure rhythm and blues band in their early years, with several singles charting in the Unit ...

, and

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

; it "eventually coalesced into heirown distinctive sound as defined by Kuepper's frenetic, whirlwind guitar style and Bailey's arrogant snarl" according to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane. By 1975 Hay switched to drums when Wegener left and Kym Bradshaw joined on bass guitar. The group had difficulty finding performance venues, and converted Bailey and Hay's share-house into a music venue, Club 76. In 1976, the group wanted to record their material but found no interest from the Brisbane music industry. In September of that year they set up their own marketing company, Eternal Promotions and their own label, Fatal Records. They pressed 500 copies of their debut single, " (I'm) Stranded" co-written by Kuepper and Bailey. The track was lauded by Jonh Ingham of ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' magazine as the "single of this and every week". In November the group were signed to

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 quickly pressed their single and by December issued an album of the same name. The group relocated to Sydney and then London, by May 1977, where they were promoted as punk rockers, however they eschewed "the spiky-topped, safety-pinned style of the leading UK punk groups". Kuepper noted " he Saintswas a full thing by 1974. Two and a half years later, this incredibly fashionable movement comes along, only an arsehole would have associated himself with that". Kuepper remained with The Saints until late in 1978 by which time they had issued '' Eternally Yours'' (May 1978) and '' Prehistoric Sounds'' (October). According to McFarlane, Bailey had wanted "three-chord rockers and pop songs" while Kuepper preferred "less commercial, more cerebral material". Kuepper left the group, returned to Australia, and The Saints continued with Bailey using a variable line-up.

1979–1985: Laughing Clowns

Kuepper returned to Sydney late in 1978 and considered retiring from the music industry. However, in April 1979 he launched

as a rock, soul and avant-jazz group. He provided lead guitar, lead vocals and banjo, with former bandmate Wegener on drums, Bob Farrell on saxophone, and Ben Wallace-Crabbe on bass guitar. Early in the next year, Ben's cousin Dan Wallace-Crabbe (ex-

Crime & the City Solution Crime & the City Solution are an Australian rock band formed in late 1977 by singer-songwriter and mainstay Simon Bonney. They disbanded in 1979 leaving only bootleg recordings and demos. In late 1983, Bonney travelled to London and in 1985 he ...

guitarist) joined on piano. In May 1980, they issued their debut self-titled six-track EP on Missing Link Records, which was produced by Kuepper.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's John Bush described their sound as "jazzier and quite a bit more experimental than" The Saints. Meanwhile, Kuepper and the group's manager, Ken West, started up their own label, Prince Melon Records, to release Laughing Clowns material. Laughing Clowns subsequently issued three studio albums, ''Mr Uddich Schmuddich Goes to Town'' (May 1982), '' Law of Nature'' (April 1984), and ''Ghosts of an Ideal Wife'' (June 1985) the last two on the Hot label. During July 1984 Kuepper rejoined The Saints on bass guitar as a touring musician alongside Bailey, Chris Burnham on lead guitar, and Iain Shedden on drums. However "old conflicts arose and he left" according to McFarlane. Laughing Clowns disbanded early in 1985 and Kuepper started his solo career.

1985–1990: Early solo career

Early in 1985, Kuepper released ''

Electrical Storm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

'' (June 1985), co-produced with Bruce Callaway (

New Christs The New Christs are an Australian garage rock band formed in 1980 by founding mainstay, Rob Younger, on lead vocals. Younger was the lead singer for punk rockers, Radio Birdman, and in other hard rock groups, New Race, Bad Music, the Other S ...

) and released by Hot Records. For the album he provided vocals, guitars: electric, acoustic and bass, and mandolin; he also used Callaway on guitar, Nick Fisher on drums, and Louis Tillett on piano. McFarlane describes the album as "stark and angular". While Bush felt it was "surprisingly pop-oriented". In the following year he formed a backing band, The Yard Goes on Forever, with Michael Arthur on guitar; Louis Burdett (ex-Powerhouse) on drums, replaced a month later by Mark Dawson (ex- John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong); and Paul Smith on bass guitar (ex-Laughing Clowns). As well as touring he used the group, with additional session musicians, to record his second studio album, ''

Rooms of the Magnificent ''Rooms of the Magnificent'' is the second solo album by Australian guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper recorded in 1986 and released on the Hot label.

'' (September 1986). It was produced by Kuepper and appeared on Hot Records for the UK market and True Tone Records for the Australian market. A third solo album, '' Everybody's Got To'', appeared in February 1988 on Hot Records (UK), True Tone Records (Australia), and on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

for United States release. McFarlane noted his second and third albums had "consolidated the band's impressive live standing and contained many fine examples of guitar/horn-driven rock". While AllMusic's Dan LeRoy praised its "tight, polished alt-rock" sound as "perhaps his finest album ever". His fellow reviewer Bush related that it "failed to click with radio programmers or the public". The album's second single, "Nothing Changes in My House", had been released in November 1987 and reached the ARIA Singles Chart Top 100. A four-track EP, ''Happy as Hell'', was issued in 1989 before Kuepper changed his musical direction.

1990–1994: The Aints and more solo work

Kuepper and Dawson worked on an acoustic album, '' Today Wonder'' (October 1990), which McFarlane described as recorded "using unconventional guitar effects and an unusual drumkit", the pair proving "less is more with a mix of new tunes and covers". Australian journalist,

Ed Nimmervoll Edward Charles Nimmervoll (21 September 1947 – 10 October 2014) was an Australian music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock and pop magazines ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974) and ''Juke Magazine'' (1975–92) both as a journalist ...

, felt that the album had "changed the tide. Suddenly uepperwas in favour again" whereas his previous material had "seemed to fall on deaf ears". Kuepper and Dawson also formed a side project, Mephisto Waltz, with Chris Abrahams on piano, which toured and performed "ambient instrumental" music with "unconventional sounds" but they did not record any material. In April 1991, Kuepper formed a

-like band, The Aints, with Kuepper on guitar and vocals; and initially the line-up had Tim Reeves on drums; and Kent Steedman (also in

The Celibate Rifles The Celibate Rifles were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with a line-up that included mainstays Dave Morris on rhythm guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar, within a year they were joined by Damien Lovelock on lead vocals. T ...

) on bass guitar. McFarlane noted that they quickly released "three fiery, distortion-drenched albums": ''S.L.S.Q'' (May 1991), ''Ascension'' (December) and ''Auto-cannibalism'' (June 1992). McFarlane further elaborated that with "blistering, guitar-heavy tracks ... these albums were the antithesis of Ed's solo work". Kuepper continued his solo releases with another album, ''

Honey Steel's Gold ''Honey Steel's Gold'' is the fifth solo album by Australian guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper recorded in 1991 and released on the Hot label.

'', appearing in November 1991, which peaked at No. 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart – his highest position on the Australian charts to date. According to McFarlane it was also the "highest mainstream placement for an independent album to that time". At the ARIA Music Awards of 1992 he was nominated for Best Independent Release for the album. Kuepper won Best Independent Australian Release in 1993, for '' Black Ticket Day'' (August 1992), and in

for '' Serene Machine'' (March 1993). ''Black Ticket Day'' and ''Serence Machine'' had each reached No. 45.

1994–current: Later career

Ed Kuepper's next album, ''

'' (August 1994), peaked at No.32. It was nominated for an ARIA Award in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. Further nomination occurred in 1996 for ''The Exotic Mail Order Moods of Ed Kuepper'' (October 1995), 1997 for ''

Frontierland Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by Disney around the world. Themed to the American Frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and pioneers, saloons, red rock buttes and gol ...

'' (September 1996) and ''Starstruck: Music for Films & Adverts'' (March 1997), and 1998 for ''Live! with His Oxley Creek Playboys'' (June 1998). During the early 1990s he was one of Australia's most prolific recording artists. He has recorded more than twenty solo albums using a variety of backing bands including His Oxley Creek Playboys, he Institute of Nude Wrestling, The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper, the New Imperialists, and the Kowalski Collective. Bush noted that "Despite his very appreciative cult of fans and torrid release schedule, Kuepper has not managed a breakthrough to wide popular acclaim". Kuepper has also been involved in sound tracking radio drama and experimental films. During 2004, he toured Australia and Europe performing semi-improvised music to some of these films under the banner of Music for Len Lye (MFLL).

Len Lye Leonard Charles Huia Lye (; 5 July 1901 – 15 May 1980) was a New Zealand artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives including the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, M ...

(1901–1980) was an artist known for experimental films and kinetic sculpture. Venues included the Institute of Modern Art (Brisbane),

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

, the Austrian Film Museum (Vienna) and the Cartier Foundation (Paris), where Kuepper was the only rock musician to be invited apart from

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...

. 2007 saw the release of Kuepper's '' Jean Lee and the Yellow Dog'' album, which was inspired by the story of Jean Lee who was the last woman hanged in Australia, and features amongst others, performances by Jeffrey Wegener (Laughing Clowns),

Peter Oxley Peter Oxley was the bass player for 1980s Australian pop-rock band The Sunnyboys. He is credited with writing two songs with The Sunnyboys: "The Stooge" (from the 1984 album ''Get Some Fun'') and "You Don't Need Me" (from the 1983 album ''Indi ...

(Sunnyboys),

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

(Dirty Three), and Chris Bailey (The Saints). After extensive touring in 2008 opening for

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock music, rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its care ...

Kuepper joined Cave's band as a touring guitarist upon the departure of founding member

Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The ...

in early 2009. Kuepper also relaunched Prince Melon Records. In March 2012, Kuepper released ''Second Winter'', containing songs from the ''

'' and ''

Rooms of the Magnificent ''Rooms of the Magnificent'' is the second solo album by Australian guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper recorded in 1986 and released on the Hot label.

'' albums with completely new arrangements and feel in the vein of '' Today Wonder''. After spending most of 2013 on the road, performing a series of "Solo and By Request" shows, Kuepper released '' The Return of the Mail-Order Bridegroom'', the second instalment in a ''mail-order'' series, containing reworked acoustic versions of songs by his former bands The Saints and

, as well as new versions of his solo material and songs popularised by artists including

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Joseph Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens) and Gary Le ...

. In 2015, Kuepper provided the soundtrack for the film '' Last Cab to Darwin.''

The Saints reunions

In addition to his brief 1984 stint as a touring bassist with the Saints, in September 2001 Kuepper and the original line-up of The Saints came together for a one-off reunion, when they were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame. On 14 July 2007, Kuepper, Chris Bailey and original drummer Ivor Hay re-united for another one-off gig at the Queensland Music Festival, with a more recent Saints member, Caspar Wijnberg, on bass guitar. In January 2009, as part of the All Tomorrows Parties touring festival – curated by Mick Harvey, The Saints with Kuepper, Bailey, Hay, and Arturo LaRizza played shows in Brisbane, Sydney and in Mount Buller, Victoria. This was followed by a Melbourne show on 14 January as part of the Don't Look Back sideshow concerts, where they performed the '' (I'm) Stranded'' album in its entirety. In May 2010, Kuepper & Bailey reunited for a monthlong tri-residency series of shows in Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne. With Kuepper on electric guitar/vocals & Bailey on acoustic guitar/bass guitar/vocals they played a selection of songs from both solo careers and post-Kuepper ''Saints'', as well as a few covers.

Personal life

In late 1979, at a performance by Laughing Clowns in Sydney, Ed Kuepper met arts student and photographer Judi Dransfield—the couple later married. Since 1994 Dransfield-Kuepper has supplied art work, photography or illustrations for various Kuepper-related albums.

Solo discography/studio albums

Ed Kuepper is credited with guitar (acoustic, electric, bass, slide), vocals, banjo, mandolin, keyboard, percussion, composer, producer, mixing, remastering: * ''

'' (Hot, October 1985) * ''

Rooms of the Magnificent ''Rooms of the Magnificent'' is the second solo album by Australian guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper recorded in 1986 and released on the Hot label.

'' (True Tone/Hot, January 1987) * '' Everybody's Got To'' (True Tone/Hot, June 1988) * '' Today Wonder'' (Hot, October 1990) * ''

Honey Steel's Gold ''Honey Steel's Gold'' is the fifth solo album by Australian guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper recorded in 1991 and released on the Hot label.

'' (Hot/Shock, November 1991) * '' Black Ticket Day'' (Hot/Shock, August 1992) * '' Serene Machine'' (Hot/Shock, April 1993) * ''

'' (Hot/Shock, July 1994) * '' A King in the Kindness Room'' (Hot/Shock, October 1995) * '' I Was a Mail Order Bridegroom'' (Hot, 1995) * ''Exotic Mail Order Moods'' imited Edition(Hot, 1995) * ''

'' (Hot, October 1996) * ''Starstruck: Music For Films & Adverts'' (Hot, December 1996) * ''Cloudland'' imited Edition(Hot, December 1997) * ''The Blue House'' imited Edition(Hot, 1998) * '' Reflections of Ol' Golden Eye'' (Hot, 1999) * ''Smile ... Pacific'' (Hot, June 2000) * '' Jean Lee and the Yellow Dog'' (Hot, September 2007) * ''Ascension Academy'' rince Melon Bootleg Series Vol.13(Prince Melon, 2010) * ''Second Winter'' (Prince Melon, March 2012) * '' The Return of the Mail-Order Bridegroom'' (Prince Melon/Valve, 2014) * ''Lost Cities'' (Prince Melon/Valve, 2015)

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 ...

. , - , 1992 , ''Honey Steel's Gold'' ,

ARIA Award for Best Independent Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Independent Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording ...

, , - , rowspan="2", 1993 , rowspan="2", ''Black Ticket Day'' ,

ARIA Award for Album of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Album of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...

, , - , ARIA Award for Best Independent Release , , - ,

, ''Serene Machine'' , ARIA Award for Best Independent Release , , - ,

, ''Character Assassination'' , ARIA Award for Best Independent Release , , - , 1996 , ''The Exotic Mail Order Moods of Ed Kuepper'' , ARIA Award for Best Independent Release , , - , 1997 , ''Frontierland'' , ARIA Award for Best Independent Release , , -

Queensland Music Awards

The

Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (commonly known as QMA and known as the Q Song Awards from 2006 to 2010) are annual awards celebrating Queensland's emerging artists. They commenced in 2006. Each year, the QMA Song of the Year is immortalised in a ...

(previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating

Queensland, Australia ) , 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 , established_ ...

's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006. (wins only) , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, himself , Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award , , -

References

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

External links

*
Official Ed Kuepper website
1990s version, archived on 12 July 2001 at Pandora {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuepper, Ed 1955 births APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian male singers Australian punk rock musicians Australian songwriters Musicians from Brisbane German emigrants to Australia Living people Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds members The Saints (Australian band) members Australian male guitarists