Electric Pandas
| Electric Pandas | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | pop, rock |
| Years active | 1983–1987 |
| Labels | Regular, Festival |
| Associated acts | F.O.O.D. Happy House MisChalin Bully Girls |
| Past members | see Members list below |
Electric Pandas were an Australian pop-rock band, fronted by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Lin Buckfield, which formed in Sydney in 1983. Fellow founders were Warren Slater on bass guitar, Mark Stinson on drums and Tim Walter on guitar. Their first release was the single "Big Girls" in 1984 on Regular Records, which peaked into the Top 10 on the Sydney charts. It was followed up by an EP, Let's Gamble. Electric Panda's only album Point Blank was released in September 1985, which peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. After Electric Pandas disbanded in 1987, Buckfield worked in television, eventually on Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners from 2000.
Electric Pandas were formed in Sydney in 1983 and comprised Lin Buckfield on vocals and guitar, Tim 'Pretty Boy' Walter on guitar, Warren Slater on bass guitar and Mark 'Hips' Stinson on drums. Buckfield came up with the name as a reference to the English punk rock outfit Exotic Pandas. Buckfield had known that band whilst living in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s, and drew upon their sound to a degree in the Electric Pandas' early work.
The band were signed to the Regular Records label and their debut single, "Big Girls", written by Buckfield, was released in April 1984. The track was featured on commercial radio play lists and music commentator, Molly Meldrum, raved about Electric Pandas on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) pop music show Countdown. "Big Girls" reached No. 8 in Sydney by May, and peaked at No. 18 on the Kent Music Report for Australian singles charts by mid-year. A relentless touring schedule led up to the release of Electric Pandas' debut EP, Let's Gamble, in December 1984. The EP peaked at No. 81 on national charts. Prior to entering the studio to record their debut album, the band underwent significant changes with an entirely new line-up consisting of Buckfield, Craig Wachholz (Dee Minor and the Dischords), Marcel Chaloupka (Smith, Moving Parts), and Phillip Campbell on drums. Campbell and Wachholz both finished off recording tracks for the album with producer Charles Fisher in Sydney. Prior to the album's release Buckfield issued a duet single, "R.O.C.K." / "Under My Thumb", with James Reyne (Australian Crawl) for the Freestyle label in April 1985, which peaked at No. 44 on the charts. The first single from the album, "Missing Me" was released in July 1985 and reached No. 41 on the charts. In July 1985, Electric Pandas performed two of their hit songs, "Missing Me" and "Let's Gamble", for the Oz for Africa concert (part of the global Live Aid program). It was broadcast in Australia (on both Seven Network and Nine Network) and on MTV in the US.
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