| DAAS |
| The Doug Anthony Allstars began when three men, Tim Ferguson, Richard Fidler and Robert Piper, busked on the streets of Canberra trying to earn some extra money. They wrote their own material and songs, but weren't hugely successful. One day, Robert had fallen ill, and the Allstars were supposed to do a few gigs. They couldn't do it without him, so they had to find a replacement. Richard, after spending days looking for suitable candidates, finally stepped into Cafe Boom Boom and saw a performance group called Gigantic Fly performing there. One of the performers stood out, and after the gig, Richard talked to him. His name was Paul McDermott. Richard offered Paul the temporary place, as Robert also had exams that disrupted their gigs. Paul agreed, even though he had seen the Allstars performing and didn't really like them. When Robert was finished at university, however, he decided to leave Canberra to study mime in Paris. Tim and Richard offered Paul the permanent position, and he accepted. The Dougs first hit it big at the 1986 Adelaide Fringe Festival, followed by numerous television appearances. They also toured the world's main comedy festivals, including the Montreal Just for Laughs festival, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. They enjoyed a successful run in Edinburgh, and their popularity quickly grew in Britain, while back home they had a few devoted fans. Their first big break at home was when they got a slot on the hugely successful comedy sketch/live performance show The Big Gig on the ABC. They were well known for their outrageous sketches and hilarious songs, and they were probably the most popular performers on the Big Gig. This popularity led them to record an album, Icon, which was released in 1990, and in the same year, they recorded a successful video, Live at the National Theatre. They continued to do sell-out Australian and international tours and numerous world comedy festivals. In 1991, they got their own TV series DAAS Kapital, a futuristic comedy based on the writings of Francis Fukuyama. DAAS Kapital ran from 1991 to 1992, and it was also where Richard met his lovely wife Khym. The Dougs had recorded another album, Blue, which was never released. They kept touring all over Australia and Britain to sell-out crowds, and in 1993, they released Dead & Alive, a video and CD of a show in London. By 1994, however, things were starting to split at the seams. There are many theories as to why they broke up, ranging from the sensible to the ridiculous and just plain dirty. The most common and logical theory is this: In 1994, the boys were getting massive offers from both Australia and Britain. However, the offers from Australia were for mainstream TV, which would mean that they would have to tone down their act, which they could never do. The offers from Britain, however, were just right for them. By this time, Tim was married with two young children, and he was sick of carting his family with him back-and-forth to Britain. He wanted to stay home in Australia, while Paul and Richard both wanted to take the British offers. This led to them having a massive fight, and they decided to call it a day. Their final concerts took place in Sydney in December 1994, and they released a CD with highlights from those shows. |