Friends of Died Pretty drummer Chris Welsh have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for treatment for lung cancer.

Welsh, who lives and works in rural Thailand, has flown to Australia for treatment ahead of a series of shows with Died Pretty in October.

The band’s singer, Ron Peno, is still undergoing medical treatment after a diagnosis of esophageal cancer in February 2019.

Says fundraiser organiser and former bandmate Robbie Warren: “Chris's extraordinary talent has helped to make Died Pretty the iconic band we all know and love. Unfortunately, Chris has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, throwing his world and his loved ones into turmoil.

“Right now, Chris needs our support more than ever. Having dropped everything to return to Australia for urgent treatment, his initial lung cancer diagnosis lacks a biopsy leaving him very uncertain about the extent of the cancer.

“Chris is too humble to ask for help, so this fundraiser has been put together for us all to rally together and show our unwavering love and solidarity.”

Donate here.

The Beasts – the band populated by the surviving members of the Beasts Of Bourbon - will perform two very special shows in Melbourne and Sydney this August to celebrate 40 years since the original band’s foundation.

Tex Perkins, Kim Salmon (guitar), Charlie Owen (guitar), Boris Sujdovic (bass) will be joined by drummer James Baker, fresh from the last-ever Victims show in Perth.

Friday, 11 August – Factory Theatre, Sydney
(Tickets)

Sunday, 13 August – Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne (Tickets)

Tex Perkins takes up the story:

Forty years ago, I was a skinny 18-year-old kid living in Darlinghurst in Sydney having the time of his life - playing gigs, taking and drinking everything within arm’s reach!

Constantly meeting and bonding with people in other bands who would turn out to be lifelong friends.

When my band up and left me in the dead of night by the side of the road with a month long residency, it was those friends that were there to help me pick things up and start again.

Raised and home-schooled inside the music school that is her namesake, West Australian teenager Penny Lane has been immersed in creativity her whole life, and her original songs reflect the musical influences and experiences that have shaped her as an artist.

The daughter of the late Richard Lane of The Stems, Penny has been blessed both with his natural talent and the gifts he gave her by teaching and playing music to and with her every day of their life together.

The Fremantle younger has set her sights on an acting career and has released a single to help raise funds to get her to Los Angeles.

“In October last year I started acting as a way to process some of my difficult emotions after losing my Daddy in 2020,” Penny says.

“After months of auditions, I am one of a hundred young actors who have been chosen from thousands to attend a professional acting course and showcase in Los Angeles, where I will get to perform in front of casting directors, agents and managers at a week-long event.

“The past few years have been really hard for me and this opportunity has given me something to dream about and I hope you can help me get there.”

Penny is a multi-instrumentalist who lves to create musical soundscapes and lyrics that help her to translate the depths of emotion that she has had to navigate. With her first release at just 14-years-old, “Lavender Dice” is a hypnotic and soothing journey through a kaleidoscope of cascading metaphors and feelings.

You can buy the single for $6 here but if you want to donate more it will help her on her way. To find out more, check out her GoFundMe page.