New Race

New Race
Origin Sydney, Australia
Genres Alternative Punk rock, Indie rock, Garage, Proto-Punk
Years active 1981
Past members Rob Younger
Ron Asheton
Deniz Tek
Warwick Gilbert
Dennis Thompson

New Race was a Detroit rock-styled super-group based in Sydney, Australia formed in April 1981. New Race was a concept band featuring three members of Radio Birdman: Deniz Tek, Rob Younger, and Warwick Gilbert, along with their inspirational mentors: Ron Asheton of The Stooges, and Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson of the MC5.

New Race played one tour of the East Coast of Australia which consisted of seventeen shows. Many of these shows were recorded in anticipation of a live album at the end of the tour, and it was these recordings which formed the band's only "official" album, The First and Last. There are two quality "bootleg" albums, also from these recordings, released on French label, Revenge Records. The three albums include Radio Birdman originals, songs from the MC5 and The Stooges as well as songs from Deniz Tek's post-Birdman band, The Visitors and Asheton's post-Stooges band, Destroy All Monsters along with one original song, "Columbia", credited to the entire band.

At the conclusion of the tour both Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson returned to the United States to pursue new musical avenues.

Dates of the tour

The tour consisted in seventeen shows, although other sources cite sixteen shows. Some dates and places are doubtful (please, who has information that updates the list).

According to Deniz Tek, there was a show in Gold Coast (The Playroom) after Wollongong:[1] “The first show was a predictably rough event in Wollongong, a tough steel city down south... then drove overnight 1,000 km north to the Gold Coast, to The Playroom which is still sitting there on one of the prettiest beaches in the world”.

According to Dennis Thompson, New Race also performed in Gold Coast:[2] “When we arrived at the Gold Coast... I can’t remember if it was The Beenleigh Tavern or The Playroom ... the marquee out the front of the venue had us billed as Radio Birdman”.

  • April 21: WOLLONGONG, Wollongong Leagues Club (NSW)
  • April 22: LISMORE, Lismore RSL (NSW)
  • April 23: GRAFTON, Grafton RSL (NSW)
  • April 24: MOO'BAH, Thompson's Hotel (Mooloolaba, QLD)
  • April 25: BRISBANE, University Great Hall (QLD)
  • April 27: SYDNEY, Sundowner Hotel (NSW)
  • April 28: RYDALMERE, Sydney, Family Inn (NSW)
  • April 30: MELBOURNE, Armadale Hotel (VIC)
  • May 1: MELBOURNE, Bombay Rock (VIC)
  • May 2: MELBOURNE, Crystal Ballroom (VIC)
  • May 3: ADELAIDE, Thebarton Theatre (SA)
  • May 5: CANBERRA, Ainslie Hotel (ACT)
  • May 6: SYDNEY, Selina's (NSW)
  • May 7: SYDNEY, Sylvania Hotel (NSW)
  • May 8: SYDNEY, Comb And Cutter Hotel (NSW)
  • May 9: SYDNEY, Manly Vale Hotel (NSW)
  • May 10: SYDNEY, Sgt. Pepper's Rock Café (NSW)

Members

Additional personnel
  • Chris Masuak - guitar (played some shows on the songs "Looking At You" & "Columbia")
  • Clyde Bramley - backing vocals (overdubbed during the sessions for "The First And The Last" album)

Discography

Title Release
The First and Last (Vinyl LP) 1982
The First and Last (German Pressing Vinyl LP) 1983
Crying Sun/Gotta Keep Movin (Vinyl Single) 1983
The First and Last (UK Version Vinyl LP) 1983
The First To Pay (Vinyl LP and CD) 1989
Hail Columbia 45 (Green Vinyl Single only 1000 copies pressed) 1989
The Second Wave (Vinyl LP and CD) 1990
The First And Last Reissue (Vinyl LP and CD) 1997

Further reading

  • McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2.
  • Beteta, Manuel (2016). El año que matamos a Skippy: Un recorrido por el high-energy, punk, garage y power-pop australiano (in Spanish). Barcelona: 66 rpm Edicions. ISBN 978-84-945330-6-8.

References

  1. ↑ Tek, D. New Race. Web Deniz Tek.
  2. ↑ Thompson, D. Other Bands. Blog Dennis Machinegun Thompson.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.