Down to Kill: Onetime Filth bassist Martin Joyce with future Lipstick Killers Peter Tillman. Mark Taylor and Dave Taylor.
FLASHBACK: May 29, 2001 - Sydney music fans are in for a special treat. On May 11, one of the best bands of the late 1970s and early '80s Sydney "Detroit" scene, the Lipstick Killers, re-form for one show only. The occasion is a benefit for their original drummer David Taylor, who has been tragically injured in a car accident.
Taylor was also a member of the seminal punk group that spawned the Lipstick Killers, the Psychsurgeons, who were as raw and confrontational as bands come. As regular support to Radio Birdman at the latter's Oxford Funhouse (along with the Hellcats, fronted by Died Pretty singer Ron Peno), they grabbed what shows they could in a still resistant Sydney scene. That was until their singer Paul Gearside was set upon - mid gig - by a pack of Hell's Angels. He departed and the band picked up Peter Tillman, frontman for the even more extreme Filth. A change of band name later and the Lipstick Killers were born.
At the end of 1978, their mentors, Radio Birdman, flew overseas where they imploded, but the Lipstick Killers lived on, quickly becoming one of THE bands to catch in a city where live music venues were opening by the day. As things got serious, the Lipstick Killers fell foul of the system and headed for Los Angeles where the promise of a new start turned out to be false. After the best part of a year withering on the vine, the band broke up.
Their legacy was strong. Despite releasing only one single while still a going concern - the mighty "Hindu Gods of Love" b/w "Shakedown USA" - plenty of bands followed the Lipstick Killers' lead of high energy, theatric glitter punk. A subsequent album (culled from a tape of one of their few US shows) "Mezmerizer" came out on Citadel Records, while the even rarer "Sockman" b/w "Pensioner Pie" single on the Vynil label kept the name alive. A brief run of reunion shows in 1989 (with Michael Charles on drums, after replacing Taylor in 1980) did the band's legacy no harm.
Half a decade later, the appearance of '60s punk act Dr Stone on Sydney stages (featuring three ex-Lipstick Killers in Tillman, Taylor and latter-day bassist Steve Mather, along with ex-Sunnyboy Bil Bilson) was a blast, inspiring a CD-EP and a vinyl follow-up, but eventually thw band was laid to rest by a line-up change.
THE BARMAN invited ex-Lipstick Killer and Psychosurgeon MARK TAYLOR into the Bar to talk about the forthcoming David Taylor Benefit Show and recount a bit of the history behind the band.
Q. Mark, thanks for your time. It's sad that it's taken a tragic accident to bring the band back together. Would you have ever played again, except for this?
It’s unlikely. Playing Psychosurgeons and early Lipstick Killers songs takes a lot of energy! You have to be fit and healthy to survive more than 15 or 20 minutes. None of us are really fit or healthy because we’re now old fat businessmen and lawyers. So, it just wouldn’t be feasible. That’s why we're limiting our set to 10 all-out breakneck killers this time.
Q. Tell us a bit about David Taylor's accident and state of health. Are there any other events planned to help him? (If people want to help out with donations or auction items, what should they do?)
Dave (pictured right in 1977) was driving his car in November 1999 when it hit a bus. Although outwardly he appeared unhurt, the impact caused brain damage and he was in a coma for weeks. When he came out of the coma, he had lost the use of both his legs and one arm, as well as the brain damage.
I haven't seen Dave since his accident. I contacted Debbie, his wife, as soon as I heard about it, over a year ago. Debbie thought that Dave's condition was such that contact with old friends may be more harmful than productive. I understand that Dave does have periods of intense frustration when he realises that his capacities are now limited.
There are no other events planned that I know of, but I expect some unreleased Lipstick Killers material to be made available to the Friends Of David Taylor for release. If anyone can help make Dave’s life easier by donating money or auction items, please contact Steven Ryan 0417-487-246.
Q. I believe Dave was one of your customers when you ran one of Australia's first import record shops, White Light White Heat. Tell us about how you met.
Dave was a friend of Chris Pepperell, formerly of Anthem Records and now owner of the Redeye store. Around 1973, Chris used to bring in individual special order import records before there were any import record stores in Sydney. You had to pay in advance and wait six weeks for sea freight!
I met Chris through an ad he placed in the newspaper offering to import hard-to-get U.S. albums from bands such as the Velvet Underground, John Cale, and Mothers Of Invention. Dave was also an avid fan of those underground, unobtainable records, and was also a friend and customer of Chris Pepperell. When I started White Light, Dave came in regularly to buy LPs. I turned him onto the MC5 and the Stooges, by proclaiming them to be the best albums ever made.
Shortly after that, White Light employed Lee Taylor who was a friend of Radio Birdman, and a '60s garage fanatic. Lee influenced us to concentrate on high-energy music, a decision made easier by the fact that local record companies were hounding us for selling imported mainstream records.
The Psychosurgeons with Stan Armstrong on vocals. Courtesy of Feelpresents.
Q. Dave was also the Psychosurgeons drummer. How did that band form?
As soon as Dave heard high-energy music, he was unstoppable. He told me that he used to play in a group at school, called Dwarf. He still knew the guys who played with him in that band. So, Craig and Fred were contacted with the idea of making some high-energy noise in the garage.
Q. Do you remember the band's first show - in a scout hall? What was the line-up?
I remember a little, it was the Yagoona Scout Hall in Sydney. It seemed like a big deal, even though we only practised once for it! The line-up was Dave (drums), Craig Amiet (bass), Fred (vocals), and me (guitar). We played "Raw Power", "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell", "Boss Hoss" by the Sonics and maybe a couple of original songs such as "Meathook" or "Crush On You". I plugged my cheap Navarra guitar into a fuzzbox and then through a phase-shifter!
The sound was just a huge distorted whirlpool of fuzz noise. We used my Crown DC300 home stereo amp as a PA system.
Q. How long after that was the first official show at the opening night of the Oxford Funhouse in 1976?
Deniz Tek and Ronnie Peno shared vocals, so what sort of stuff was on the set list? That would be around six or eight months later. In the meantime I met Ron Peno and Charlie Georgees because they were friends of Lee Taylor. Charlie was a great guitar player and Ron was his protégé, a singer who loved Iggy Pop and '60’s garage music such as the Chocolate Watchband, the Sonics and the Standells.
Fred was only in it for the laughs, so we replaced him with Ron on vocals and Charlie on lead guitar. We rehearsed probably 10 times with that line-up, such songs as "Lookin’ For A Kiss", "Trash", "He's Waitin' ", "Search and Destroy" and some originals that I had written. After a while, Charlie became frustrated with the level of musicianship in the group. Because we were beginners, it took us weeks to learn songs he could knock out in a few minutes. So Charlie and Ron came up with an ultimatum: either change the name of the group to the Hellcats, or they would leave and start their own band.
Well, they were guests in our band, and we didn’t want them calling the shots, so we broke up with them. They formed the Hellcats, and we changed our name to the Psychosurgeons. Two weeks later Radio Birdman offered us the Oxford Funhouse gig, but we didn’t have a singer. Deniz was keen to sing a few songs, but not the whole set. So we asked Ron if he would sing the other songs. We did some early originals such as "Crush On You", "Meathook" and "Bully", together with many Stooges songs and a Ramones medley of five tracks from their first album released a couple of months earlier.
Without a doubt, we were the first band anywhere in the world to cover the Ramones! We also played "Mean Pair Of Jeans" by Marty Rhone, which was a ridiculous hit at the time.
Q. Did the Psychosurgeons get to play much outside of Sydney? How did that come about?
The Psychosurgeons would generally take any work we were offered. For example, Peter Tillman of Ashfield High School band West Coast Live came into the store and asked me if the Psychosurgeons would support his band at the end-of-year school dance. He had seen us play at the Funhouse. We were offered $100, so of course we had to do it.
Later we were offered a nebulous gig at a Lismore girl’s birthday party. The payment would be by donation from the audience. So we went to Lismore. Twice. Our Adelaide tours were a Radio Birdman spin-off, proposed and organised by Murray White who had brought Radio Birdman to Adelaide with great success. Murray later became the Lipstick Killers manager.
Q. Do you recall much about the closing night at the Funhouse and (Psychosurgeons singer) Paul Gearside's run-in with the Hell's Angels? It must have been pretty ugly.
It was ugly. The first thing I noticed was Paul tossing a lot of beer cans at some hecklers at the back of the audience. It turns out the hecklers were a particularly vicious pack of Hells Angels including a monstrous 140kg thug, who had decided to make the Funhouse their hang-out. Then the audience parted, and three or four Hell's Angels came forward, grabbed Paul and pulled him offstage. Fists were flying, mostly into Paul’s face.
The regular audience started to pour out the back door, while others stood transfixed by the violence. By this time there was a large clearing in front of the stage. Two of the Angels held Paul at one end of the room, while another walked in front of the stage holding a knife, staring down the band. Then this 40kg bad boy takes a flying leap right across the room, planting a steel-tipped boot into Paul’s guts. Then another, and another, smashing Paul in the face, the stomach and the balls. Which, incidentally, was Paul’s last ever show.
We were convinced that the Angels had us marked for death, so we laid low for awhile, and Paul decided to leave and continue his career as a very talented commercial artist.
The Psychosurgeons.
Q. As a matter or record, did Birdman pull the pin on the Funhouse or was it the owners?
I don’t know. I was never close to the Radio Birdman management. The Hells Angels were the reason the venue folded. It was untenable.
Q. The Psycho Surgeons more or less mutated into the Lipstick Killers. Did Paul leave right away? Was there a gap between then and Peter Tillman joining on vocals?
After Paul left, we appointed our roadie Stan Armstrong as vocalist. Stan was really great, a true naïve and original non-musician. He sings on the Psychosurgeons' "Wild Weekend" b/w "Horizontal Action" 45. Stan also played many live shows with the band, and used to be great at flipping and writhing around while pumping his fists in the air. Sort of like Billy Idol I suppose, only 10 years earlier and a lot funnier!
Q. What about Peter's previous band, Filth? Did you see much of them and what do you recall of the infamous community hall show?
I saw each and every Filth performance, including those held in Lismore and Adelaide. In fact, I was their bass player for the Adelaide tour, playing in white-face make-up and lipstick for Filth and then removing the make-up for the Psychosurgeons set. We were banned from every hotel we played, and featured in the newspapers for our gross behaviour. One publican was quoted as saying: "They’re not musicians, they are a bunch of idiots!"
Filth lived up to their legend, baiting journalists, berating geriatrics and cutting a swathe of anarchy and destruction wherever they went. They were the most nihilistic, despicable band ever certainly in Australia, if not the entire world.
By the hall show I assume you mean the Manressa Hall in North Sydney? That was a brilliant Filth performance, in front of a large crowd, which began with the Psychosurgeons hurling Peter onstage by the arms and legs, like a sack of potatoes. The whole show was filmed, and the film still exists. Or perhaps you mean the Bondi Masonic Hall, where Filth performed in front of the wildest Sydney crowd ever, who broke every window in the hall and reduced the entire contents to a pile of splinters overnight.
Filth’s manager told me that early the next morning, he took six van loads of broken chairs, windows and furniture and dumped it on Bondi Beach. When the caretaker of the hall arrived to survey the aftermath, he just stood there stunned and said: "Oh well, it needed renovations anyway".
Q. "Wild Weekend" is pretty rough (and great). Are there still any copies surviving?
There are quite a few copies still around because although we only pressed 500 copies, around 150 were never sold and I kept them in my attic for ages. Over the years I gave most of them away.
Q. Listening to Lipstick Killers live tapes that survived, David's departure changed the band in that it was a lot less frenetic. Was he an experienced drummer?
Dave was not at all experienced except for his brief tenure with his high school band. He didn’t know any technique, and he couldn’t tune a drum-kit. Dave was always more proud and impressed with the damage he inflicted on the kit than by any sounds which emanated from it.
Q. That IS you in the "Rockturnal" clip of four Radio Birdman songs, filmed in Adelaide on the Aural Rape tour, isn’t it?
I don’t think that could be me, because I toured Adelaide only twice, once with The Psychosurgeons and Filth, and the second time with the Lipstick Killers and the Other Side.
Q. Birdman's departure for overseas in late '77 left a void that I suppose you and Johnny and the Hitmen filled. What do you recall of the Sydney scene in that period until they drifted back and started other bands? Were the Lipstick Killers very active?
From memory, Radio Birdman had already begun preparing for their overseas tours by the time the Lipstick Killers were formed. Therefore all of our early shows would have been from that period. We didn’t consider ourselves as a substitute for Radio Birdman – we knew that we weren’t in the same league in terms of professionalism and polish. But we were much wilder and more primitive than they were.
From that era I mainly recall bands like Mental As Anything and the Angels filling the void left by Radio Birdman.
Q. "Hindu Gods" is a fantastic single. Did you record anything else at that session with Deniz besides that and the B side?
No, it was a very brief session. We just wanted to make one great 45. Deniz took the job very seriously, and offered us the choice of his two talented keyboard maestros, Pip Hoyle or Steve Harris. We chose Steve because he floored us with his super-fast boogie fills for "Shakedown USA". I sometimes wonder what "Hindu Gods" would have sounded like with Pip Hoyle playing keys. Pip, Rob Younger and Ron Keeley helped Deniz at the sessions, I recall.
Q. Incidentally, why did you re-record "Hindu Gods" with Doctor Stone?
Doctor Stone intended to record our entire live set, but we broke up before that was achieved. However, all the backing tracks were recorded, and I would like to finish them off one day. As for "Hindu Gods" – it's such a fun track to play. We couldn’t resist.
Q. Have you heard the version Angie Pepper has done with the Deniz Tek Group? What about the Celibate Rifles cover?
I didn’t know about Angie’s cover. Has it been released? That would be a pleasant surprise, and if so I’m going to search for a copy so I can hear it. (ED: Released on the 2003 Citadel album "Res Ipsa Loquitor" by Angie Pepper). I heard that the Celibate Rifles covered it live years ago, but I never saw them play live. [ED: It appears on the Rifles album "On the Quiet".]
Q. What prompted you to buy your own PA in the Lipstick Killers? It seems a brave step.
It was costing us $600 to rent a PA with a mixer and roadies per night, and we only had a few dollars left over for the band. We were trying to support ourselves by playing live music. What a joke! I used the money left over from the sale of White Light records to buy the PA, but it turned out to be a bad move. We were so exhausted from carrying around our PA that we could hardly play. The entire emphasis shifted from fun to serious work.
Q. The Lipstick Killers were famous for your themed shows. What's your favourite?
My favourite was probably when we held a tacky "Birthday Party" theme at the Civic Hotel in 1979. We had party hats and streamers, balloons and a scantily-clad maid with a cake trolley full of sausage rolls, patty cakes, lollies and drinks for the audience, all happening while we played. It was really gross! Some Radio Birdman fans came up to me after the show and said they "couldn’t believe that we could be so uncool". Ouch!
Q. For those who don’t know, who is Prince Randian, who appeared in the band's artwork?
Prince Randian is the Sockman, featured in Todd Brownings '30s cult classic movie "Freaks". The "human torso of endless fear" had no arms, no legs and in fact looked very much like a gherkin pickle overall. Prince Randian graced the cover of the Lipstick Killers 45 "I Wanna Be Your Sockman". The lyric to that song makes reference to the pickle-like qualities of the Sockman – "drop me in your Pimms".
You may have noticed the Ramones later released "Someboby Put Something In My Drink" with a similar picture of Prince Randian on the cover. Hmmmm.
Q. Have you read Clinton Walker's biographical account of Australian underground music, "Stranded"? What's do you think about his revisionist view of the Lipstick Killers?
Yes I did read that, and I was surprised to read his positive comments since during the entire working life of the Lipstick Killers, (back then) Walker wasted no opportunity to cut us down in print. His best line in a review about us that I remember was "they would be a joke if they weren’t so pathetic". However, I have to admit that we did once throw a floor tom at him and shoved his friend’s head through a fibro wall. No wonder he didn't like us.
The salient point is really that Clinton Walker was from Brisbane, surfing on the fame and talent of the Saints, who had migrated south to Sydney on their way to London. Radio Birdman had a very loyal following here, and the Saints didn't want to play second fiddle to anyone.
From what I remember, Radio Birdman made friendly approaches but were snubbed by the Saints, who were cultivating their outsider image. Because of the friction between the two groups, anyone associated with Radio Birdman became a target for the Saints supporters, including Clinton Walker. We appeared to be part of the Radio Birdman "establishment", even though we were just beginners really. They saw Radio Birdman, The Psychosurgeons and the Hellcats as the "Sydney Detroit Mafia".
The Saints' early Sydney shows were possibly the most exciting live shows I have ever seen, including one ripping show at Chequers where less than 20 people showed up.
Q. What about your eventual move to "agency band" status? I've read an interview where you said becoming more professional was one of the worst things that could have happened to you.
Yes. I would prefer to look back on the band as it was in 1976-77, when we had to scrounge for the opportunity to play for nothing. It always makes me laugh when bands of today complain about "nowhere to play". In 1977, there was nowhere for us to play. So we went into restaurants and asked if we could play. We rented halls. We played at shopping centres or birthday parties. We broke barriers, took risks and used ingenuity to create an event.
Q. In retrospect, would you have been better off staying in Sydney instead of moving to Los Angeles or would the band have just withered on the vine? Why didn't you sign to a local label?
The Lipstick Killers were almost signed to several Australian labels, including Alberts. But the truth is, we weren’t good enough at that time. We had lost quite a lot of our energy and direction after Dave left the group, and after two years of agency work, supporting Jimmy & The Boys, the Radiators etc. How can you do that and stay sane?
Our songs from that period were not as good as the earlier ones. As our musical proficiency increased, our originality and energy level decreased. We moved to LA because it was a risk – the exact opposite of what we had been doing in Sydney.
Q. Was the band's dissatisfaction with the local scene a symptom of being here too long or contending with the agency system?
We eventually broke free of the agency, but paid the price for it. (Harbour) Agency boss Sam Rigghi was out for our blood. He organised a ban so that we couldn’t play our favourite inner city spots such as the Civic. When we did manage to find a gig for ourselves, he would put a big agency band in competition to us in a nearby suburb. Then he would walk in on our show, stand in the middle of the empty room and laugh at us!
Q. What do you think about the Sunnyboys stepping in and grabbing your crowds after you left?
The Sunnyboys actually started playing while we were still gigging in Sydney. We gave them their first gig and major exposure to our crowd of 1200 at Chequers in 1980. We thought the Sunnyboys were a good group, but a "bit" wimpy compared to us. The success they had was breathtaking to watch, but we didn’t envy them, because we saw ourselves as a high-energy band in a different category to them. Having said that, I admit that we were in decline at that stage, and the Sunnyboys had a whole swag of good pop songs written by Jeremy.
Q. How did you connect with Greg Shaw and get Bomp to put out "Hindu Gods" stateside? How did it sell?
I dealt with Greg Shaw as early as 1975, when we imported Bomp Magazine, T-shirts, new garage-influenced records and rare old '60s garage releases from his wholesale operation in Los Angeles. When our record was released, I sent Greg copies because I knew he would want to stock it. His reaction was better than I expected, and he wanted to release the record on his brand new Voxx label, and he also invited the group to Los Angeles, promising that he could find plenty of work for us.
When we arrived, he seemed to have forgotten about that commitment, but I remember he did book at least one show for us, and overall helped us as much as could be expected. He even arranged Kim Fowley to call, but I think Kim figured out we were not cut out to be the next Runaways. As for the sales of "Hindu Gods" in the USA, I don’t know, but it was pressed at least three times. Peter once asked Greg’s publisher for a statement of accounts, but was told: "You can’t get blood out of a stone".
Q. The band's inactivity and eventual break-up in LA is well documented. How bad was it and what happened to Kim Giddy? Is he playing bass for the reunion, by the way, or Stephen Mather?
The Lipstick Killers stayed in Los Angeles for nine months, and in that time we played 12 shows. Many were very successful, such as an audience of 600 at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Hollywood. That was one of the best shows I remember; Stephen Mather’s first show with the band. We also played with the Gun Club, the Plimsouls, the Unknowns and several hardcore punk bands. We saw Roky Erikson with the Explosions at the Whiskey, and after the show he shook hands with the audience. He shook my hand for a long time, looking straight at me. I noticed there were tears in his eyes.
Kim became worried about our financial situation, and his girlfriend in Sydney wanted him to return. We were living together in very bad conditions, and Kim began to "wander" around Los Angeles often for several days, sleeping on park benches. This was very dangerous and we were worried for him. His speech was also quite incoherent. We all agreed that he should return to Sydney, and we decided to ask his cousin Stephen to join us.
Unfortunately Stephen brought his uninvited girlfriend who stayed with the band in already overcrowded conditions, and this made it hard to concentrate on rehearing and writing. It was a John and Yoko situation. Kim can’t be contacted at present, and Stephen is very excited about the chance to play again.
Q. Did being so inactive make you play harder? "Mesmerizer" (live album recorded in LA) is pretty good.
I don’t think it helped. "Mesmerizer" is OK, but really it’s just "rock" and nothing special. If you listen to live tapes such as the 1979 Adelaide tour, the true garage/thrash spirit of the early band is obvious. To me, the later group now sounds dated, whereas the early songs are as fresh as ever.
Q. Speaking of posthumous releases, what did you think of "Sockman"?
Not bad, but I had to insist that the release was cut down to just two tracks, "Sockman" and "Pensioner Pie". Dave had planned to release a four-track EP, but the other two tracks were just embarrassing rubbish. Unfortunately this caused a rift between me and Dave and I lost contact with him for about 10 years.
Q. What about the rumoured (archival) release for Brain Salad Surgery - will it ever happen and is there much in the way of unreleased live stuff, demo's and outtakes?
I haven't heard anything about the planned release. There is quite a lot of unreleased material, but not of great quality. Usually for some reason the vocals are buried on most of our live recordings. If only they could be heard, there would be enough classic unreleased material for a CD.
Q. Doctor Stone was a fantastic band that broke up, I believe, because (drummer) Bil Bilson was moving to the country. Will you ever play again and is it that acid punk stuff that rules your roost these days? What's your record collection like?
Doctor Stone won't perform again, because I’m not interested in playing cover versions live. I have realised that it is impossible to improve on the original version of ANYTHING. Don't ask me why, it just can't be done.
Doctor Stone did specialise in '60s acid/punk, but also in '60s garage/punk, which is really my first love. There’s no music to equal the 45s put out by the garage bands of 1965-1967, worldwide. Everything since then has to be regarded as progressive music, adult music, drug music, tainted. 60s garage is the essence, incredibly sophisticated in comparison with what came later.
My vinyl collection of 60's garage 45s is indescribable. I don’t think you would believe it unless you saw it. I keep it stored in 55 wooden boxes, each holding 125 records. It is separated into five collections – Australian & New Zealand Beat/Punk/Freakbeat (complete), British Beat/Punk/Freakbeat (near complete), Worldwide Beat/Punk/Freakbeat, US & Canadian garage/punk, and US garage/punk ultra-rarities. There are 10 boxes of US ultra-rarities, graded in greatness/rarity from box 10 to box 1.
If you look at box 1, you will go blind around halfway through the box. In it are such things as mint copies of both killer Human Expression 45’s, the Sloths "Makin' Love" with picture sleeve, both versions of the Vectors 45 (pre-Shadows Of Knight), Al’s Untouchables on Hunt, a silver label mint original Spades on Zero (pre-Elevators), the By Fives' "I Saw You Walking", the Four More "Problem Child", original Keggs, Aztex, Spiders, Hush Puppies, Cliques on Custom, Alarm Clocks, Mods on Peck, Madd Inc. on Ikon, Botumles Pit etc.
Q. Fact or fiction: I heard you trashed all but a few of the vinyl follow-up to the "Purple Slice" Dr Stone CD-EP to make it more collectable.
No, it was trashed because the pressing was so bad. However I trashed all but 75 copies of the Lipstick Killers' "Human Crash/Crush On You" picture sleeve 45 that was released a couple of years ago, because trashing them was a lot easier than selling them.
Q. You moved into computer graphics in the early '80s, before it was a growth industry. What sort of stuff do you do?
I run a business making gift-packaging products. I get to play with all kinds of high-end graphics computers and programs for 3D modelling, compositing etc. I enjoy the design work, but running the business and the sales is redeemed only by the money it provides to spend on garage 45s.
Q. I heard the Intercontinental Playboys mini-album you produced and it's pretty good. Are you a production gun for hire for bands you like, and are you working with anyone?
No, that was a favour for a record-collecting friend of mine.
Q. What about Peter Tillman? Is it true he's a barrister these days? What's the most outrageous thing he did on stage (that you can talk about)?
Peter used to be a barrister around five years ago. These days he is a Senior Associate with a large Sydney law firm. He specialises in corporate take-overs and acquisitions. He also writes reference books on various topics for publication, including the standard reference for franchise operations in Australia. You can purchase his works in any good technical bookshop.
The most outrageous things Peter ever did on stage were performed during his Filth days, before the Lipstick Killers. Once he hurled a heavy mic stand into the audience, causing the crowd to part like the Red Sea. Unfortunately, someone had brought a five-year-old child to the show (great idea!), and the mic stand struck the child down. Luckily no real harm was done. However, the incident elevated Filth to "most despised band in Sydney" status, a position previously held by the Psychosurgeons.
Another time, Peter used the six-week-old, rancid cows blood left over from the Psychosurgeons' "Horizontal Action" 45 sleeve, to taunt and splash over a Filth audience. Around two litres of moulding, stinking blood was used to drive all but the most hard-core Filth fans from the venue, as Peter ran through the audience cursing and smearing clots of blood on all and sundry. I was personally infected with streptococcus bacilli after that particular incident. Is that outrageous enough?
I should add that the most outrageous acts, (I'm sure all the members of the group would agree), which unfortunately could never be related, did not involve Peter, but were proudly carried out by Dave Taylor.
Q. Is the reunion show a one-off or would you consider doing anything else? What sort of show can we expect?
It’s a one-off, for a good cause. I mentioned earlier that I think we’re too old, fat or feeble to do this regularly, and that’s the unromantic truth. We’ll be lucky if we survive the planned 10 songs, because our aim is to meet or exceed the standards set by the Psychosurgeons, Filth, or the early Lipstick Killers at their peak. Please note that this is theoretically impossible.
Q. Since we're in a Bar, what are you drinking?
Medicinal Compound.
