Happyland (band)
| Happyland | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Shits |
| Origin | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1997–1999 |
| Labels | Polydor |
| Past members | |
Happyland were an Australian pop punk duo formed in 1998 as a side project by Janet English on bass guitar and lead vocals (from Spiderbait) and her then-boyfriend, Quan Yeomans on lead guitar and vocals (from Regurgitator). They were originally named, The Shits, but decided on Happyland. Their only album, Welcome to Happyland, was released on 25 August 1998, via the Polydor Australia label, which reached No. 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It provided the single, "Don't You Know Who I Am?" (July 1998), which peaked at No. 24 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
In 1996 Janet English of Spiderbait started dating Quan Yeomans of Regurgitator. During downtime from their respective main projects, in 1997 in Brisbane, the pair formed the Shits (later renamed as Happyland) as an art pop side project. As the Shits, English and Yeomans, provided the artwork for Regurgitor's album, Unit (November 1997); at the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 the duo won the Best Cover Art category.
Happyland's only album, Welcome to Happyland, was released on 25 August 1998 via Polydor Australia, which peaked at No. 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was recorded Yeomans' home studio and produced by the duo, with all tracks co-written by English and Yeomans.AllMusic's Jody Macgregor opined that "The songs they recorded together combined the most hyper-kinetic and poppy sounds common to the two bands, with English's vocals at their most high-pitched and girlish, and Yeomans' melodies at their most twitchy and infectious." Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt it "boasted noisy modern fuzz-pop." At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999 English and Yeomans were nominated for Best Cover Art for Welcome to Happyland.
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