Yes, it sounds more dated than Beta format videotape and borders on twee but therein will lie the charm for lovers of what was once called New Wave. It’s a limited edition, seven-inch single of three previously unreleased songs by Sheer Fun, a short-lived 1980 Melbourne band.
Formed by Adelaide expats Jude Ladyman and guitarist Grant Lang. Ladyman, vocalist and associate/occasional songwriter of The Aliens. The Aliens were an Adelaide band that briefly threatened to cross-over into the major label-owned mainstream. Lang and Ladyman had headed to Melbourne in search of a place in its arty punk scene. As Jude Stapleton, Ladyman went on to co-own Kings Lane Studios in Sydney, a home for many of that city’s bands in the late’80s.
This is a fun single. The A side is Mi-Sex style pop without the quirks, a bouncy dump on the then main weapon of mass media mayhem, television. TV was a popular target in a post-modern world (just ask The Victims) and the song’s a keeper. Ladyman has a touch of Lena Lovich to her vocal.
Whether by accident or design, the B side songs are very close to the sound of The Aliens - which is to say not very adventurous. “Hit Parade” is stilted and has a wafer thin guitar sound but, to be fair, was probably a demo. “What Could She Do” is a song about two ordinary people and is, er, ordinary.
