About Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman , Mark Kingsmill , and Brad Shepherd . Their popularity peaked in the mid- to late 1980s with albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder.
Hoodoo Gurus had a string of pop-rock singles including "Leilani" , "Tojo" , "My Girl" , "I Want You Back" , "Bittersweet", "Like Wow – Wipeout" , and "What's My Scene?" . After touring the United States from 1984 onward they gained popularity on the U.S. college rock circuit with the singles "Come Anytime" reaching no. 1 and "Miss Freelove '69" reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The Hoodoo Gurus' biggest Australian single was their 1987 top-3 song "What's My Scene?". The song was parodied for the National Rugby League 2000s theme "That's My Team".
The Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the Australia's 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame. The band's induction announcement stated that the Gurus were one of the most "inventive, lyrically smart and exciting" bands from Australia. From 1960s power pop and garage punk to hard rock and funky psychedelic kitsch, the group's music stood out from Sydney's Detroit-inspired bands.
Three Hoodoo Gurus founders were from Perth protopunk and punk bands: Dave Faulkner of The Legendary Manikins, who left after a fallout with frontman Robbie Porritt, James Baker of The Victims, who had also been with Roddy Radalj in The Scientists, and the third founding member, Kimble Rendall was formerly in Sydney punk rockers XL Capris. The three guitarists Faulkner, Rendall and Radalj met at an end-of-1980 New Year's Eve party and were joined by Baker to form Le Hoodoo Gurus.
Le Hoodoo Gurus unorthodox line-up of three guitars and no bass player, fused pop melodies, punk guitars and an American trash culture ethic. This was captured on their first single, "Leilani", released in October 1982, on Phantom Records. This told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly. They dropped the 'Le', to become Hoodoo Gurus, not long after the single's release. As the Hoodoo Gurus, they gave their first ever performance on a segment of the kids' TV program Simon Townsend's Wonder World; this was followed by a performance alongside a man and his singing dog, on The Don Lane Show.
Rendall left in 1982 before the release of "Leilani", and went on to become a music video and film director. Rendall was second unit director on the latter two Matrix films, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as I, Robot. Rendall also directed the slasher film, Cut in 2000. Rendall was effectively replaced by Clyde Bramley from Sydney bands The Hitmen and Super K.
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