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Radio Birdman: Retaliate first: How one band smashed the rules of Australian rock and roll
The first-ever in-depth biography of iconoclastic Sydney punk band Radio Birdman.
Sydney's legendary Radio Birdman were a stake through the satin and scarfed hearts of the early seventies' music scene, revolutionising the conservative Australian industry in the process.
Regarded as one of the earliest punk bands of the seventies – before the world had heard of the Sex Pistols or The Saints – Radio Birdman were feared and loathed by many, but adored by fiercely loyal fans.
Tales of Radio Birdman will be handed down through generations. Singer Rob Younger drinking from a human skull filled with sheep brains; fans unknowingly breaking limbs while dancing wildly at gigs; fighting venue bouncers with microphone stands, and having publicans cut the power in a desperate bid to halt their force-of-nature-like performances. Their riotous appearance at Paddington Town Hall in December 1977 drew an overflowing crowd of thousands, eclipsing the audience for AC/DC's triumphant return to Sydney after the Youngs had conquered Europe a year earlier.
While Birdman split after a disastrous UK and European tour in 1978, hunger for a reunion grew by the day, and their eventual regrouping was met with wild acclaim. In a series of electrifying shows at the 1996 Big Day Out, they overshadowed the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Rage Against the Machine and The Prodigy. Birdman continued to play sell-out gigs to devoted crowds both in Australia and across the globe. In 2007, the group were inducted into the ARIA Australian Music Hall of Fame.
With 2024 marking their half century of existence, Radio Birdman are internationally worshipped, their mysterious logo – once a sign of a secret society around a little-known rock group from Sydney – now proudly emblazoned on skin all over the planet.
The Radio Birdman story is one of inspiration, confrontation and commitment, as well as the creation of a subculture that continues to this day.
However, their story has never been told – in depth – until now. Engleheart's Radio Retaliate First is drawn from more than 130 interviews with the band members, their closest associates and fans.
Sydney's legendary Radio Birdman were a stake through the satin and scarfed hearts of the early seventies' music scene, revolutionising the conservative Australian industry in the process.
Regarded as one of the earliest punk bands of the seventies – before the world had heard of the Sex Pistols or The Saints – Radio Birdman were feared and loathed by many, but adored by fiercely loyal fans.
Tales of Radio Birdman will be handed down through generations. Singer Rob Younger drinking from a human skull filled with sheep brains; fans unknowingly breaking limbs while dancing wildly at gigs; fighting venue bouncers with microphone stands, and having publicans cut the power in a desperate bid to halt their force-of-nature-like performances. Their riotous appearance at Paddington Town Hall in December 1977 drew an overflowing crowd of thousands, eclipsing the audience for AC/DC's triumphant return to Sydney after the Youngs had conquered Europe a year earlier.
While Birdman split after a disastrous UK and European tour in 1978, hunger for a reunion grew by the day, and their eventual regrouping was met with wild acclaim. In a series of electrifying shows at the 1996 Big Day Out, they overshadowed the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Rage Against the Machine and The Prodigy. Birdman continued to play sell-out gigs to devoted crowds both in Australia and across the globe. In 2007, the group were inducted into the ARIA Australian Music Hall of Fame.
With 2024 marking their half century of existence, Radio Birdman are internationally worshipped, their mysterious logo – once a sign of a secret society around a little-known rock group from Sydney – now proudly emblazoned on skin all over the planet.
The Radio Birdman story is one of inspiration, confrontation and commitment, as well as the creation of a subculture that continues to this day.
However, their story has never been told – in depth – until now. Engleheart's Radio Retaliate First is drawn from more than 130 interviews with the band members, their closest associates and fans.
- GenresMusic
Kindle Edition
Published July 2, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 16, 2024
Murray Engleheart probably the only decent rock journalist around - his books are documentaries rather than ego trips, scrupulously researched and always filled with tidbits most other writers aren't able to uncover, despite a lack of obvious Bangsian literary prowess. He's produced one book per decade so far, and all three have been first-rate looks into the Australian music scenes of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. He's able to capture the excitement of the times, gigs and scenes he writes about in a raw, immediate way that doesn't fall into hero worship.
Radio Birdman (who are still a phenomenal live act) is a band full of enormous (if very driven) egos, and there's a level of university student snobbery documented here that wasn't really present in Engleheart's two previous books, which focused on the blue collar pub rock scene that the Radios stood against with their very foreign, American sound. There's plenty of drama here, but of a very different kind found in most rock bios - there's a lot of drinking and partying but very little sex and drugs, but all the intra-band conflict you can handle. Many of the Radios had atypical jobs for 70s punks (their ranks included two doctors, a senior animator for Disney, a sailor, a high schooler and a record store clerk) and there's a obsessive professionalism to their sound and records (how many other punk acts have Blue Oyster Cult as a significant influence?) that perhaps stems from that. This is a fascinating look at the birth of the original Australian "alt" scene and an essential work of rock writing.
Radio Birdman (who are still a phenomenal live act) is a band full of enormous (if very driven) egos, and there's a level of university student snobbery documented here that wasn't really present in Engleheart's two previous books, which focused on the blue collar pub rock scene that the Radios stood against with their very foreign, American sound. There's plenty of drama here, but of a very different kind found in most rock bios - there's a lot of drinking and partying but very little sex and drugs, but all the intra-band conflict you can handle. Many of the Radios had atypical jobs for 70s punks (their ranks included two doctors, a senior animator for Disney, a sailor, a high schooler and a record store clerk) and there's a obsessive professionalism to their sound and records (how many other punk acts have Blue Oyster Cult as a significant influence?) that perhaps stems from that. This is a fascinating look at the birth of the original Australian "alt" scene and an essential work of rock writing.
January 21, 2025
To paraphrase. Birdman I want to say thank-you for all you've done for me. My nights are dark and empty when you're not on my playlist.
February 5, 2025
Excellent!
July 28, 2024
An essential book for fans of Australian rock’n’roll!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews