UK proto-punk pioneers the Pink Fairies have been in the recording studio.

The current line-up - including Andy Coulquon and including Sandy Sanderson -  went into Brighton Electric studios on January 18 and recorded three new songs for an upcoming record: “Skeleton Army”, “ You Lied To Me” and “Naked Radio”.

The Pinks have been playing sporadic live dates in the UK throughout 2014. No word on a release date or label but we’ll keep you informed. 

Sad news: Singer and guitarist for Sydney band Hell Crab City, Scott “Grogan” Barker, has passed away suddenly at the age of 51.

Friends say Groges appears to have had a heart attack earlier today. 

Hell Crab City immediately cancelled an appearance at the multi-band Punk Rock Bar-B-Q at Sydney’s Town and Country Hotel.

Previously of punk band Jim Cobain, Scott had been a fixture in Hell Crab City since the band formed in 2003.

Hell Crab City has released two albums with a third part-finished. 

Scott's shock loss is reverberating through the Sydney music community with outpourings of grief all over social media.

Bandmates posted on Hell Crab City’s Facebook page: “Undisputedly, the nicest guy in rock'n'roll, his love for his family and for his music was total and unequivocal.

“Naturally, we're all incredibly stunned, and to say that we loved him and will miss him is clearly understating it.”

Scott is survived by his partner Zara and son Harry. 

The Hoodoo Gurus have announced the departure of Mark Kingsmill, their drummer for the last 30 years, from the end of March.

In a Facebook post, frontman Dave Faulkner said: “I won't invade Mark's privacy by going into elaborate detail about his reasons other than to say he feels he's had enough of this vagabond rock 'n' roll lifestyle we all lead.

“Though he still enjoys playing drums, Mark has completely lost his appetite for the endless travelling and the many hours of hotel room boredom.

“The physical demands of playing the drums as energetically as he does are also exacting a higher toll on his body than ever before. Really, who can blame him for wanting a change?”

Here’s a taste of the forthcoming studio album by garage rock pioneers the Sonics. Recorded at Seattle's Soundhouse Studios with killer producer Jim Diamond behind the controls, It will be their first LP release since 1980 and first album of all-new material since 1967.

The album will be accompanied by a US tour (check our Living Eye section at right for dates.)   

One of Australia’s few remaining dangerous rock and roll bands, Brisbane's wonderful HITS, is heading out on the road again in February…and it’s all in the name of Disaster Relief.

WTF? We’ll let the band explain in its own words:

“As many of you already know 2014 was a bittersweet year us little Hitsies, but behind the scenes things went quite a bit shit.

“Gregor broke his leg quite badly, Evil is currently sporting two broken ribs and ringworm, Tam almost had her finger amputated, Stace fell off her balcony and someone tried to cut Andy's rats tail off while he was asleep. But we aint dead yet!!!

“We are hitting the road again with some of our best friends and bringin' our bullshit with us to spread across your toast like Vegemite.”

Here’s the word on the dates they’ll play. More details about venues and supports as soon as they send ‘em:

FEB 26. NEWCASTLE with FRONT END LOADER
FEB 27. SYDNEY with FRONT END LOADER
FEB 28. WOLLONGONG with FRONT END LOADER
MAR 6. MELBOURNE with THE NEW CHRISTS
MAR 7. GOLDEN PLAINS FESTIVAL (SOLD OUT)
MAR 9. GEELONG with THE OBLIVIANS (USA), WARPED + More
MAR 13 BRISBANE WITH MICK MEDEW AND THE RUMOURS
MAR 20 ADELAIDE WITH THE MEATBEATERS
MAR 21 ADELAIDE WITH THE MEATBEATERS

It’s shaping as a Blink And You Might Miss It Moment: Star-studded Sydney band The Stepfords are reforming "for one night only" on April 11.

The gig will coincide with New York-based singer Monica McMahon being in Australia and guitarist Jon Schofield (ex-Paul Kelly & The Messengers) celebrating his 60th birthday.

The Bat and Ball Hotel in Redfern is the venue and fittingly so - it was one of The Stepfords' favourite haunts.

New York City landmark Manitoba’s – and it is The World’s Greatest Bar (believe us, we’ve personally checked out a few) - has launched a crowdsourcing campaign to avoid closure in the wake of a legal dispute.    

Owners Handsome Dick Manitoba (of the Dictators) and Zoe Hansen (his better half) say their iconic watering hole has no choice but to settle with a litigant or shut its doors.

When touring Norwegian-based musician Mark Steiner was here in Australia recently he kindly thrust this upon me. It’s a DVD documentary about Greenland’s first rock band, Sume, which means “Where?” in Greenlandic.

Greenland is a rather huge island continent, with a vast inhospitable interior and most of the population living in coastal villages, the population (mostly Inuit who settled there some 700 years ago) ruled by Denmark. Slowly but surely Denmark’s modern, western society eroded the culture and way of life of the Greenlanders; in order to get jobs (rather than fishing in kayaks) every young Greenlander had to go to Denmark to study. Meanwhile, older Greenlanders found their way of life being destroyed and being replaced with despair and purposelessness.

In 1972 four young Greenlanders, each from a different coastal village, met in Copenhagen … and formed a band. Malik Hoegh, the main lyric writer and singer-guitarist, and Per Bethelsen, produced songs in tune with the times of rebellion against an uncaring ruling state, even touting revolution as a way forward…

Adelaide's Metropolitan Hotel is on the corner opposite Her Majesty’s Theatre, a favourite venue of Barry Humphries and host, in a few weeks, to Leo Sayer. The difference in capacity between these two venues is significant.

Touring Norwegian-via-New York musician Mark Steiner's guitarist, Henry Hugo, made the comment that for all the millions of flowers, only a few are seen.

I might add that certainly, as we get older, we tend to flock to the art which made us happy in our youth, and that we tend not to examine the new as rigorously or with such delighted determination as we did all those years ago.