''Mars Needs Guitars!'' is the second studio album by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Th ...

, released on 8 March 1985. The title is a reference to the 1967

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

, '' Mars Needs Women''. Singles from the album were " Bittersweet", "

Like Wow – Wipeout "Like Wow – Wipeout" is a song written by Dave Faulkner (musician), Dave Faulkner and recorded by Australian Rock music, rock group Hoodoo Gurus for their album ''Mars Needs Guitars!''. It was released in October 1985 as the second single from t ...

", " Death Defying" and " Poison Pen". ''Mars Needs Guitars!'' reached No. 140 on the American ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart in 1986. The title track, "Mars Needs Guitars" (also the B-side of "Bittersweet" single), was written by all five Gurus and lead vocals were by

Brad Shepherd Bradley Mark Shepherd (born 1 February 1961) is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially Hoodoo Gurus. Biography Early life Shepherd was born ...

. All other tracks were written and featured lead vocals by Dave Faulkner. '' Hayride to Hell'' (1995) is a short film written and directed by former Gurus member Kimble Rendall. In 2000, Dave Faulkner said "When we commenced the sessions for ''Mars Needs Guitars!'' we had a brand new drummer, Mark Kingsmill who altered our lives forever with his distinctive explosive style." In October 2010, it was listed in the book, ''

100 Best Australian Albums ''The 100 Best Australian Albums'' (a.k.a. ''One Hundred Best Australian Albums'') is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was ...

'', with their previous album, '' Stoneage Romeos'' at No. 28.

Reception

Cash Box magazine ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "Excellent dynamics and songwriting shine through on nearly every cut."

Track listing

Personnel

Credited to:

Hoodoo Gurus

* Clyde Bramley – bass, backing vocals * Dave Faulkner – lead vocals (except track 9), guitar, keyboards *

Mark Kingsmill Mark Adrian Kingsmill (born 4 December 1956) is an Australian rock musician. He has drummed with several bands including the Hitmen (1979–84), New Christs (1983–84), the Screaming Tribesmen (1984) and Hoodoo Gurus (1984–98, 2003–15). He ...

– drums, cymbals *

– lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (track 9), harmonica (mouth harp)

Technical

* John Bee – engineer * Richard Allan – illustrations * Charles Fisher – producer (except track 11) * Don Bartley – mastering (remastering) * Hoodoo Gurus – producer (track 11)

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Hoodoo Gurus albums 1985 albums