The Church (band)

The Church
The Church in 2015.
Background information
Origin	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres	Alternative rock, psychedelic rock, neo-psychedelia, art rock, post-punk, dream pop
Years active	1980–present
Labels	EMI, Capitol, Carrere, Warner Bros., Mushroom, Arista, Festival, Cooking Vinyl, Thirsty Ear, Liberation, Unorthodox, Second Motion
Associated acts	Tactics, The Crystal Set, The Reels, Patti Smith Group, The Venetians, Hex, Jack Frost, All About Eve, The Well, The Refo:mation, Powderfinger
Website	www.thechurchband.net
Members	Steve Kilbey Peter Koppes Tim Powles Ian Haug
Past members	Nick Ward Marty Willson-Piper Richard Ploog Jay Dee Daugherty

The Church are an Australian psychedelic rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave, neo-psychedelia and indie rock, their music later came to feature slower tempos and surreal soundscapes reminiscent of dream pop and post-rock. Glenn A. Baker has written that "From the release of the 'She Never Said' single in November 1980, this unique Sydney-originated entity has purveyed a distinctive, ethereal, psychedelic-tinged sound which has alternatively found favour and disfavor in Australia". The Los Angeles Times has described the band's music as "dense, shimmering, exquisite guitar pop".

The founding members were Steve Kilbey on lead vocals and bass guitar, Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper on guitars and Nick Ward on drums. Ward only played on their debut album and the band's drummer for the rest of the 1980s was Richard Ploog. Jay Dee Daugherty (ex-Patti Smith Group) played drums from 1990 to 1993, followed by Tim Powles (ex-The Venetians) who remains with them to the present day. Koppes left the band from 1992 to 1997 and Willson-Piper left in 2013. He was replaced by Ian Haug, formerly of Powderfinger. Kilbey, Koppes and Powles also recorded together as "The Refo:mation" in 1997.

The Church's debut album, Of Skins and Heart (1981), delivered their first radio hit "The Unguarded Moment" and they were signed to major labels in Australia, Europe and the United States. However, the US label was dissatisfied with their second album and dropped the band without releasing it. This put a dent in their international success, but they returned to the charts in 1988, with the album Starfish and the US Top 40 hit "Under the Milky Way". Subsequent mainstream success has proved elusive, but the band retains a large international cult following and were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in Sydney in 2011. The Church continue to tour and record, releasing their 24th studio album, Further/Deeper, in October 2014.