Spdfgh | |
---|---|
Origin | Sydney, AU |
Genres |
Rock Indie rock |
Years active | 1990–1997 |
Labels |
Half a Cow Dirt Records |
Members | Kim Bowers Liz Payne Tania Bowers Melanie Thurgar |
Spdfgh (/ˈspʌdəˈfʌɡəhə/ were an Australian all-female rock band from the 1990s. The founding members were: Kim Bowers (as Wikky Malone) (guitar, vocals), Liz Payne (as Rosy Glo, Lou Marvel, Belle) (guitar, vocals), Tania Bowers (as Tania May) (bass guitar, vocals), Melanie Thurgar (as Finnius) (drums). and Angela Morosin, vocals.
In chemistry, the letters (spdfgh...) are used when determining the number of electrons in the shells of an atom (the letters denote the first six states of orbital angular momentum in atomic physics). TV Week magazine called it "the dumbest name in Australian rock".
The band name came about this way: Liz Payne's brother Geoff and friend Paul Hillard were studying for their Higher School Certificate physics exams, and recited "spdfgh" to aid recall of this topic. Soon this became the title of a song (written by Hillard, Geoff Payne and Crowe) for Geoff's band Wilson Tuckey Goes To Hobart. Liz also wrote songs for Wilson Tuckey Goes To Hobart, as did Mel Thurgar, and both performed with WTGTH in the early to mid 90s. Kim and Tania Bowers also featured briefly in WTGTH before all the girls decided to pursue spdfgh only.
The original members got started playing together at St. Patrick's College (Campbelltown, southwest of Sydney). A very early gig was the St Patrick's School disco and featured the unreleased "Help! Help! It's a dance party!" The band and Morosin parted company soon after high school.