Thankfully, the keyboards and new wave affectations which blight the live footage are largely absent from the single. Recorded two years earlier, its B-side is a creditable exercise in powerpop/rock. In fact, as a suburban Oz Rock take on the Marshall-amped powerchords of fellow Perth-ites The Manikins, Don't Stop fits neatly into the accidental powerpop genre discussed here previously. Though the musical terrain overlaps, we hasten to emphasise that the two bands approached it from very different angles. Their respective odes to the commercial radio DJ speak for themselves - compare Smashing Records ("I am a DJ...the greatest hits, the hottest licks", delivered without irony) with Radio World from the first Manikins 45 ("You like the way the DJ speaks but he just gives me the shits"). The artwork accompanying both singles further highlights differences in approach, but for now we'll leave Hooker's back cover to your imagination.
Despite plugging away on the local scene for another few years, there would be no further releases. After calling it quits in 1983, various members turned up in other Perth bands throughout the remainder of the '80s and into the '90s - Phil Foord surfaced briefly as bassist for well-regarded local rock band The Jackals, while at the other end of the spectrum, singer Steve Letch joined the much-maligned Kaper (scan back-issues of Party Fears zine for the headings "The three worst bands I've ever seen" and "Bands I would rather not have suffered"). Guitarist Marcus Sturrock looked further afield, rubbing shoulders with a who's who of Oz Rock out-of-towners, as documented extensively on his website.
Don't Stop
10 comments:
PJ HOOKER WERE ONE OF THE BEST BANDS TO EVER COME OUT OF PERTH, I LOVED THEM. RECORDING COMPANIES RECOGNIZED THIS ALSO. THEY WERE OFFERED BIG THINGS WHICH TWO OF THE THE MEMBERS DID NOT TAKE UP, HENCE THE BAND, SPLIT UP. I HAVE FOLLOWED THE CAREER OF ONE OF MAIN STAY MEMBERS, GUITARIST, SINGER, COMPOSER MARCUS STURROCK. HE HAS TOURED WORLD WIDE AND CREATED SOME AMAZING MUSIC AND PLAYED WITH SOME OF THE GREATS. I HAVE PURCHASED ALL HIS CD'S AND CAUGHT HIM IN CONCERT 3 TIMES, TWICE IN EUROPE, I WAS TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY. MARCUS IS SO PASSIONATE ABOUT HIS MUSIC AND YOU CAN REALLY FEEL, WATCHING HIM LIVE IN CONCERT, HE PLAYS IN SUCH A COOL WAY. I MUST ADMIT THOUGH, PJ HOOKER AND MARCUS ARE CHALK AND CHEESE, MARCUS REALLY IS A CUT ABOVE AND STOOD OUT IN THE BAND.
I was not into PJ Hookers record/ vinyl although live they were great. The only guy that i have heard from the band these days is Guitarist Marcus Sturrock and this guy is truly amazing live. I have one of his CD's and 'Wow'.
I was one of Hooker's earliest road crew and lighting operator..and I went on to spend 25 years in the music industry touring Australia with some of the best bands this country has to offer. I remember this band with fond memories, packed hotels and a hardcore following around Perth. Im still in contact with Phil and Marcus. If I had my time over..I wouldn't change a thing. Here's to HOOKER and the good old days of rocking Perth punters!!!
[Steve K] aka Blackstick
I use to follow PJ hooker and as a guitarist I was all eyes on Hooker's lead guitarist, one Australia's best guitarists, Marcus Sturrock. He is one of a kind with a unique original style way ahead of his time. I wonder what he is doing now. If anyone knows, please leave a post. I googled him and think I've found him but now with a shaved head and a few extra kilo's. Hooker fell apart when Marcus left and Gary Dunn took over as lead guitarist, they lost that chemistry.
Bob Byrd
KMG
This band packed venues with playing covers of Rolling Stones Psycedelic Furs Iggy Pop and Bowie. The band went east 1980 and played shows at the Manzil Room
in the Cross and The Bondi Hotel and several other gigs. They had a gig at one Sydney CBD venue the day John Lennon got shot, the venue had no beer and no trains were running because of the annual christmas strikes, the promoter was the only person who turned up plus me. I do have an Sydney newspaper article with the headline of the "Watch Out Next Midnight Oil".I think the headine was more towards the frontman Steve Letch as the attached video recorded at a packed Nookinburra Hotel 1982 shows him at his best.https://youtu.be/HgNiQO1LgyI
The song is an orginal and theres several other videos on youtube
P.S The single Smashing Records was not a live recording.It has the same sound as the basic production for the Inxs first album that year. Copy the link and go to youtube and you can witness one off the best band playing in the world on that night..no joke..talent 100%...
https://youtu.be/HgNiQO1LgyI
To answer the person above, yes that's the same Marcus Sturrock that you Googled and yes he has shaved hair and use to play in the PJ Hooker band. He had replied above to your query but it looks like he deleted it. Marcus'so playing is totally awesome, one of a kind. I saw him live overseas.There are many players as technically proficient however he has something unique and is interesting to watch, doesn't stick to one genre, obviously many musical influences. He has YouTube videos but if you are out there Marcus, you need someone to do your Search Engine Optimization because you deserve to have millions of views, hits, if you care about that. Also get some more clips up on YouTube. Neil Wilson.
Hooker played in the late '80s too, both as Hooker and as "PJ and the Hooker Band", for trademark reasons I wrote about here.
The fucking Kaper. Let me tell you, the Kaper are an '80s Perth band I will never forget. The sight of them mangling "Fight For Your Right To Party" at a Battle of the Bands in 1988, and the embarrassment with which they mumbled the "We're the Beas ... Tie ... Boys" at the end of the third verse will never leave me. Without exploratory electroshock therapy, anyway. I was judging, too; I forget who the other two judges were, but we couldn't work out a way to give them less than 20 out of 100. Great days, great days. Wendell Parnell didn't give us nearly enough to drink.
Looking for steve k aka blackstick we hitchhicked to adlieade from Perth together an I worked with you tom an me for pj hooker an a lot more if you get this I'm on Facebook or call me 0413828013 been a long time mate.
I believe Marcus Sturrock moved from Perth Western Australia to Victoria onto Tasmania.I came across an article in a guitar player magazine where it stated this during an interview with Marcus. I hope this answers some of the questions above. I've heard him play twice, once at Woodford Music festival in Queensland, then again at the Canberra National Music Festival on the main stage. He was playing acoustic guitar and it felt like 2 totally difficult concerts in that the music was so varied from one concert to the next. His playing is quite extraordinary and unique. As a dedicated guitarist of 40 years myself and having listened to hundreds of guitarists, I believe Marcus is one of the founders of his style on acoustic guitar. I really enjoyed his concerts and purchased 2 of his CDs. If anyone knows of his whereabouts please leave a post here as his website appears to be inactive. I would like to purchase his latest CD titled 'Florence Bourke and the Virtual Doughnut Circus'if anyone knows where I can buy it.
Post a Comment