1980
WE'RE NOT AIMING FOR AN AUDIENCE ANYMORE!!
Some quotes by the Young Docteurs, interviewed by Cody Anderson, 1980.
FLUX: "Do you know what I mean? We're not playing to please punks,
we're not playing to please anyone, we're just playing to please
ourselves."
PAUL HAYWARD: "It's just self indulgence maan!."
FLUX: "Yeah, I think we could quite happily play stuff, that if
people didn't like it and we really liked it, we'd just keep playing."
PAUL HAYWARD: "It usually takes awhile to bloody adjust to this
new stuff. They mightn't get into it at first and then the third time they hear
it, they'll think it's really good. The first time you play a new one, everyone
walks off."
FLUX: "Yeah, like we've got this bit of music at the moment,
haven't got it finished yet, or anything like that. But..."
PAUL HAYWARD: "They're all going to run for the doors when they
hear it."
FLUX: "It's absolutely different than anything else I've ever
heard from a rock band."
CHRIS SHAKALLIS: "It's the death march..."
FLUX: "It's got really classical overtones...not violins or
anything, but a classical feel..."
CHRIS SHAKALLIS: "When we played it that night, it just felt like
we were the only four people left in...this univerrsssee maan!!!Ha ha ha ha
ha!"
PAUL HAYWARD: "Aw, fuck off!" (humorously)
I think we get the drift ...
Here is a review of The Young Docteurs album Threshold. It was in
The Canberra Times, 14/1/1993. Author unknown.
THE DOCS RETRIEVE STETHOSCOPES
It would be odd for a person to die without at least one "happy
snap" to look back on memories. And it would be just as strange for a
happening group to disband without having an album to mark a career of blood,
sweat and tears.
For a long time it appeared as though that is what would happen to the Young
Docteurs, a band right in the thick of Canberra's fledgling punk scene in the
late '70s. The Docs certainly made their mark and, even as punk faded in the
'80s, went on to be among the area's leading new wave pop bands.
1983
L-R:
Glen James, Sam Howard, Chris Shakallis & Paul Hayward
And at least one record company (Festival) thought the Docs had the goods too,
signing the band. But the Docs only produced two singles (Running From The
Heart and Around) in three years.
But all those studio recording sessions left a swag of backlog of material,
which the Docs have put together on this 17-track set after seven years in the
wilderness. From Instrumental, which is just that, to more recent cuts
like Don't Want To Stay, this is a neat memento from a band which
played a big part in the developing live music scene.
And the Docs have reunited to promote the Threshold, launching the release at
the ANU Bar this Saturday night.
They might even play a few bars of Memories.
THE YOUNG DOCTORS (as they were first known) formed in Canberra, Australia mid- 1978, inspired by the new music movement known as Punk Rock. PAUL HAYWARD (guitar), CHRIS SHAKALLIS (vocals), GUP (drums) and MARCUS FLUX (bass) were all students at high school in Canberra, the nations capital.
They had seen each other at a couple of the fledgling punk and anti-disco events in Canberra through 1977/78 so they knew they were into similar music...... The band initially started out playing songs by the SEX PISTOLS, RAMONES, DEAD BOYS, STOOGES ,RADIO BIRDMAN, LOU REED AND BOWIE ......Almost overnight they also started to write their own songs and within 6 months were playing an almost totally original set. Their song writing developed from raw, high energy Punk inspired tunes to dark moody gothic experimental pieces, sometimes heavy and primal other times melodic. Their music was once described by Steve Sinclair in the liner notes to a YOUNG DOCTEURS 1992 CD 'THRESHOLD ' release as a kind of " PUNK PSYCHEDELIA TO PURE POP ON DISTORTION OVERDRIVE ".RAM MAGAZINE in the early 80's described their music as "WEIRD AND WONDERFUL "Other journalists of the day described it as " ROLL ON THE FLOOR AND BE SICK NOISE"........ The late 70's/early 80's was an exciting time for live music in Australia, there were so many innovative, new sounds being created by bands. It still seemed possible to create an individual distinctive sound for a band, the rulebook hadn't yet been fully written. THE YOUNG DOCTEURS were a part of that new music scene.......
Outside medical institution Canberra 1980
The original line up played in Canberra and Sydney and assorted Australian regional towns from 1978-81,during this time the band released a couple of independent records, BRONZE PORTRAIT (1979) and BROKEN MAN (1980).In 1981 the band moved to Surry Hills an inner city suburb in Sydney. At the eleventh hour, MARCUS, the bands original bassist decided to stay in Canberra. His role was initially filled by MICK DEEGAN a friend the band knew from Canberra Punk/Pop band THE WORD .This line-up was short lived and eventually the new bass player was MARTIN WOOD a 17 year old from another Canberra band MANSHEAD. The band were also joined in Sydney by manager DAVE BROWN and CODY ANDERSON and his frenetic travelling multi media light show ,which added to the bands already intense, cathartic power. CODY also designed the bands distinctive handbills and posters. It was this second incarnation of the DOC'S which led to them being offered a multi record deal with festival records and also drew the attention of LA scenester, KIM FOWLEY, renowned American hustler/svengali, who rang the band from the states, offering them fame and fortune. The band continued on regardless. Live the band went from strength to strength , this period also saw the band perform in Melbourne for the first time.
BANDS THAT THE YOUNG DOCTEURS HAVE PERFORMED WITH INCLUDE:- NEW RACE (FEATURING MEMBERS OF RADIO BIRDMAN, THE STOOGES , MC5), THE GUN CLUB (JEFFREY LEE PIERCE, KID CONGO POWERS, PATRICIA MORRISON), X, THE STRAY CATS, ELVIS COSTELLO,
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, THE SAINTS, INXS,
THE MODELS, THE SCIENTISTS, DIED PRETTY, CELIBATE RIFLES, THE DIVINYLS, MIDNIGHT OIL, COLD CHISEL, HOODOO GURUS, SCREAMING TRIBESMEN, THE HITMEN, THE RIPTIDES, THE CHURCH, LIME SPIDERS, HAPPY HATE ME NOTS, TACTICS,
CLUB OF ROME, THE THOUGHT CRIMINALS, MORAL MAJORITY, THE SUNNYBOYS, MI-SEX, THE JOHNNYS, GUTHEGA PIPELINE, SACRED COWBOYS, THE STRANGELINGS, HELL YES, BOX OF FISH, DUCK, SEKRET SEKRET,
LA FEMME, COUGH COUGH, ICEHOUSE, THE NEW CHRISTS, TIDAL WAVE, MYXO, THE WORD, JIMMY AND THE BOYS,
SPY V SPY, MANS HEAD, THE NATURALS,
NO CONCEPT, XL CAPRIS, MENTAL AS ANYTHING, MONDO ROCK, WORLD WAR XXIV, THE FRAMED, HELLMEN, QUINTREX BOP AND MANY OTHERS.......... The band recorded their first release for Festival,” RUNNING FROM THE HEART” ,however just prior to its release in 1983 the band changed rhythm section, now joined by GLEN JAMES on drums (previously with Canberra band THE FRAMED) and SAM HOWARD on bass (from yet another Canberra band, TIDAL WAVE). This line up recorded a number of demos at Festival though nothing was released (until a retrospective of the bands Festival recordings was released on the 1992 cd release “ THRESHOLD”), the band also continued to perform live-In 1984 yet another rhythm section change occurred when the band were now joined by 2 Sydney musicians-ANDY JONES on drums and CHRIS JURKOVICH on bass. This line up recorded more demos at festival and released a 1980 composition “ AROUND” rerecorded in 1985,shortly after this the band broke up....... Over the next few years the band would resurface from time to time with different rhythm sections. Reforming in 1987 for a series of gigs, PAUL (gtrs), CHRIS (voc), ANDY (drms) were now joined by LUKE COLEMAN on bass (ex-THE MOTHERS ).In 1992 saw the brief return of GLEN JAMES on drums and CHRIS JURKOVICH on bass. This line up did a number of gigs to promote a limited edition 17 track retrospective of Festival recordings “ THRESHOLD”. PAUL and CHRIS then decided that it was a good thing to be writing new songs and performing again so they then recruited a line up that would perform together from 1992-95,this time joined by MICHAEL ARTHUR on bass (ex ED KUEPPER AND THE YARD GOES ON FOREVER ) and JOHNNY BUTLER (drums) who had been performing with former SUNNYBOY JEREMY OXLEY .This line up also recorded but nothing was released, largely performing under the name THRESHOLD (from the DOCS CD of the same name) ,the bands set comprised largely of YOUNG DOCTEURS material as well as new songs .2007 saw the return of the YOUNG DOCTEURS to the live circuit ,this time joined by Mark Nicholson on drums Ex TOYS WENT BERSERK and HAPPY HATE ME NOTS ) and ALEX DALEY (GREG BRADY OVERDRIVE ) on Bass.
Now to 2009, the YOUNG DOCTEURS return with PAUL, CHRIS and MARK now joined on bass by TERRY VAN STEE ex-EXAMPLEHEAD .The band will be performing live throughout the year, with new recordings to happen and also the release of now otherwise unavailable earlier material.
PHOTOS & WORDS COURTESY THE YOUNG DOCTEURS
