Radio Birdman

Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman
Background information
Origin	Sydney, Australia
Genres	Punk rock, indie rock, garage rock, protopunk, surf rock
Years active	1974–1978, 1996–2008, 2014–present
Labels	Sire Records (1976–1978) Crying Sun Records (1996–present)
Website	Official website
Members	Rob Younger Deniz Tek Jim Dickson Phillip 'Pip' Hoyle
Past members	Chris Masuak Russell Hopkinson Warwick Gilbert Ron Keeley

Radio Birdman was one of the first Australian independent bands to carry the protopunk label, along with The Saints. They were formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth. Some say that their main legacy was their towering influence over Australian indie rock in the 1980s.

Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed Radio Birdman in mid-1974 in Sydney, having recently left their bands TV Jones and The Rats respectively. The pair sought to begin a band that would challenge the commercial mainstream and be completely uncompromising. They recruited classical keyboard player Philip "Pip" Hoyle, drummer Ron Keeley and bassist Carl Rorke. The band took their name from a misheard lyric from the Stooges' song "1970" (the actual lyric is "radio burnin'").

After being rejected many times from various venues, and having resorted to putting on its own concerts in rented garages and tiny community halls, by mid 1975 Radio Birdman found an upstairs room at the Oxford Tavern in Taylor Square, Sydney. They eventually took over its management, renaming it The Funhouse. Under their management the Funhouse became a home to other outsider groups. Prior to the opening of this venue, Carl Rorke had left the band and was replaced by longtime friend of Rob Younger, Warwick Gilbert (also a former Rats member). Also to leave the band would be Philip Hoyle, and though his departure was short-lived. Guitarist Chris Masuak, initially hired to replace Hoyle.

Soon, a small but growing subculture grew around Radio Birdman. People started to dress differently, abandoned both current commercial music trends and the hippie ethos, followed the Birdman symbol, and found a home at the Funhouse. This coincided with the beginnings of the Sydney punk scene.

After unsuccessfully trying several studios, Radio Birdman found a supportive recording milieu with the help of Rock Australia Magazine editor, Anthony O'Grady. They recorded an EP, Burn My Eye. and their first album Radios Appear, produced by John L Sayers and Charles Fisher at Trafalgar Studios in Annandale. Trafalgar Studios, under the management of Michael McMartin, signed the band and financed the recordings. Radios Appear was critically acclaimed, getting 5 stars in the Australian Rolling Stone edition. The album owed much of its style to Detroit bands of the late 1960s, such as The MC5 and The Stooges, as well as influences ranging from The Doors to the Velvet Underground and instrumental surf music. The title of the album comes from a Blue Öyster Cult song "Dominance and Submission" from their 1974 Secret Treaties album, influences from which can also be seen in Birdman's creative output. Though Radios Appear was totally ignored by commercial radio, it was championed by Sydney station 2JJ (Double Jay). Released on the newly created, purpose-built independent label Trafalgar Records, the album was made available through mail-order and was self distributed by band members and friends to a few sympathetic record stores, never achieving widespread sales or commercial success. Several years after initial release, and following the breakup of the band, Trafalgar Records licensed the recordings to WEA who took on the album and gave it a wider release. However, sales remained limited. Despite critical acclaim, some fans felt the recordings lacked the ferocity and immediacy of the live shows and did not represent their own intense experience of the band.

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