The Victims (Perth band)

The Victims
(L to R): Dave Flick, James Baker, Rudolph V
Background information
Origin	Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1977 (1977)–1979 (1979)
Labels	Victim, Timberyard, 1977/Fuse
Associated acts	The Geeks, Hoodoo Gurus
Past members	James Baker Dave Flick Rudolph V

The Victims were a punk band from Perth, active from 1977 to 1979. The founding mainstay members were James Baker on drums, Dave Flick (Dave Faulkner) on guitar and vocals, and Rudolph V (Dave Cardwell) on bass guitar. Their debut single, "Television Addict", was issued in April 1978 and was followed by a five-track extended play, The Victims, in August of that year. The group disbanded early in the next year. In 1989 Timberyard Records released a compilation album, All Loud on the Western Front, of their material. In late 2014 and early 2015 Baker and Faulkner were joined by Ray Ahn (of Hard-Ons) as the Television Addicts to perform the Victims material.

The Victims were formed in Perth in mid-1977 with James Baker on drums (ex-Beheaded/The Geeks), Dave Flick (real name Dave Faulkner) on guitar and vocals (ex-Beagle Boys) and Rudolph V (real name Dave Cardwell) on bass guitar. Earlier in that year Baker and Cardwell had founded another punk band, the Geeks, with Ross Buncle on guitar and a vocalist, Lloyd. That group folded in May and their original songs formed the core of the Victims' initial repertoire. The group's sound was based on United States punk pioneers, the Flamin' Groovies, the Heartbreakers, New York Dolls, and the Stooges. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt that "with their frantic, explosive sound backed by a solid melodic bent, The Victims became the premier punk band on the Perth scene."

In 1977 the Victims recorded their debut single, "Television Addict" (Faulkner/Baker) / "I'm Flipped Out Over You" (Baker/Buncle), of which only 1,000 copies were pressed. In August 1978 they released a five-track extended play, The Victims (also known as No Thanks to the Human Turd), with: "I Understand", "Open Your Eyes", "TV Freak", "High School Girls" and "Disco Junkies". Baker was one of the writers of the latter four tracks; the identity of his co-composer was disputed – some sources attributing Faulkner and others citing Buncle – the situation was later resolved, with Buncle acknowledged as co-writer. Only 500 copies of the EP were released. Some versions had hand-drawn sleeves, which McFarlane described as "ultra-rare and highly prized collector's items."