At a time when Australian rock meant pub rock and every other band sounded like
Cold Chisel,
Died Pretty were something of an anomaly. Influenced more by
the Velvet Underground,
the Stooges, and
the Doors than they were by early
Icehouse,
Died Pretty spent most of the '80s and '90s struggling for recognition and finding it only in Europe. Diminutive singer
Ron Peno channeled
Iggy Pop and
Jim Morrison in equal measure, whirling dangerously while on-stage. After his band the 31st broke up, he formed
Died Pretty with keyboardist
Frank Brunetti, guitarist
Brett Myers, and a series of bass players and drummers including
Radio Birdman's
Rob Younger. Finally they settled on bass player
Jonathan Lickliter and drummer Colin Barwick, both of whom had been members of Brisbane band the End along with
Myers.
While playing around Sydney venues like the Trade
Union Club they were spotted by John Needham, founder of the indie label
Citadel Records, who offered to manage them and release some of their
songs. After several singles and the EP
Next to Nothing, all of which made the local alternative charts, the rhythm section changed once again.
Mark Lock (formerly of the Phantom Agents) and
Chris Welsh (who had played drums with
Peno in his old band the 31st) joined them for the recording of their first album,
Free Dirt,
which was released in 1986. A European tour followed, and they signed
to British label Beggars Banquet for their overseas distribution. As a
result, their second album, 1988's
Lost,
made it into the Italian charts. In Australia, the album was released
on Blue Mosque, a collaboration between Citadel Records and major label
Festival.
Frank Brunetti and then
Mark Lock left the band during the period of intense overseas touring that followed
Lost's release and were replaced by
John Hoey and Steve Clark on keyboard and drums respectively. While in Los Angeles, they recorded 1990s
Every Brilliant Day. It was their fourth album,
Doughboy Hollow,
recorded back in Sydney, that finally gave them the popularity in
Australia that they had enjoyed in Europe. After years of only making
the alternative charts they entered the Top 20 of the mainstream album
sales charts and were nominated for an ARIA award for best independent
album (as well as best independent album cover ). Unfortunately, their
label had failed to press enough copies of the album and there were also
problems with overseas distribution, preventing it from being the
runaway success for them it could have been.
Died Pretty signed to Sony soon after the
Doughboy Hollow fiasco.
Robert Warren became the band's new bass player for their two albums with Sony, 1993's
Trace
and 1995's Sold. Both albums did well by their standards but not by
Sony's. A senior figure at Sony had also been disappointed by the band
during a live showcase, and they were dropped from the label's roster in
1996 and returned to Citadel Records. The two albums from this period
would be the last of their career. These albums,
Using My Gills as a Road Map and
Everyday Dream, marked a move away from rocky post-punk and towards
Kraftwerk-style electronica. After a best-of collection released in 1999,
Out of the Unknown, the band broke up.
In 2008
Died Pretty reunited to perform their most popular album,
Doughboy Hollow,
in its entirety as part of All Tomorrow's Parties' Don't Look Back
series of concerts to coincide with its re-release.
Tracklist
| 1 |
Doused |
4:10
|
| 2 |
D.C. |
4:33
|
| 3 |
Sweetheart |
4:13
|
| 4 |
Godbless |
3:31
|
| 5 |
Satisfied |
6:04
|
| 6 |
Stop Myself |
3:34
|
| 7 |
Battle Of Stanmore |
2:19
|
| 8 |
The Love Song |
5:00
|
| 9 |
Disaster |
3:54
|
| 10 |
Out In The Rain |
4:21
|
| 11 |
Turn Your Head |
5:19 |
