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Supernaut (Australian band)

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For the Serbian alternative rock band, see Supernaut (Serbian band).

Supernaut were an Australian glam rock band from Perth. Formed as a pub-rock group, Moby Dick, by British-born brothers Chris Burnham on guitar and Joe Burnham on drums, they were joined late in 1974 by fellow immigrant Gary Twinn on lead vocals. After Randall Murphy joined on bass guitar, they changed their name. The group's debut single, "I Like It Both Ways" (May 1976), was produced by Molly Meldrum and was heavily promoted on his TV pop music show, Countdown. It peaked at No. 16 on the Kent Music Report singles chart. Their self-titled debut album reached No. 13 on the related Kent Music Report albums chart in November of that year. Murphy had left in June 1976 and was permanently replaced on bass guitar by Philip Foxman in August. The album provided another single, "Too Hot to Touch" (September 1976), which appeared at No. 14. In April 1979, the group shortened their name to the Nauts, returned to a heavier pub-rock sound and released a second album of that name in December 1979. They disbanded by March of the following year, with reformations occurring in 2007 and 2016.

Supernaut
A posed black-and-white shot of four men. Three are standing behind a sitting man. The first standing man, at left, has long fair to blond hair. His right leg is raised and he clutches his arms, which are resting on his knee. The second standing man is looking to his right, he has long, wavy hair and wears a floral shirt. The third standing man has fair hair, shorter than the previous. He wears a floral jacket, a tie without a shirt, and rests his hands on the back of the chair in front of him. The sitting man has dark, curling hair, which is just over shoulder length. His left leg is resting on his right knee and he grabs it with both hands. He wears a white shirt, a dark vest and dark pants. The chair appears to be a deck chair with metal legs and frame. The background is grey.
L to R: Chris Burnham, Phillip Foxman, Joe Burnham
Gary Twinn (sitting), 1976
Background information
Also known as
  • Moby Dick
  • The Nauts
OriginPerth, Western Australia, Australia
Genres
Years active
  • 1974 (1974)–1980 (1980)
  • 2007
  • 2016
Labels
Past members
  • Chris Burnham
  • Joe Burnham
  • Randall Murphy
  • Gary Twinn
  • Little Russ Silver
  • Philip Foxman
  • Noel Kennedy

History

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Supernaut were formed as Moby Dick, a pub-rock group, by British-born brothers Chris Burnham on guitar and Joe Burnham on drums.[1] Fellow British immigrant, Gary Twinn, joined on lead vocals (ex-Sidewinders) in late 1974.[1] Soon after Randall Murphy took up bass guitar and they changed their name to Supernaut.[1] The name references, "Supernaut" (September 1972), a track by British heavy metal group, Black Sabbath.[1] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, observed, "despite the heavyweight name, the band... developed a commercially-minded glam rock style that relied as much on visual impact as the sound of the music."[1]

The group relocated to Melbourne and were signed to Polydor Records in 1976 upon recommendation from Molly Meldrum,[1] (in turn tipped off by Paul McCartney).[2][3][4][5] In May 1976 they released their debut single, "I Like It Both Ways", which was produced by Meldrum.[1][6][7] The song was initially shunned by some commercial radio stations in Sydney because of its controversial lyrics,[8][9] but promotion on Meldrum's TV pop music show, Countdown, encouraged radio stations to play the track.[9] "I Like It Both Ways" peaked at No. 16 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.[10][11]

Randall Murphy left the group in June 1976, "citing mutual disagreement".[9] He was temporarily replaced by Little Russ Silver (a.k.a. Argentino Russo), and more permanently by Philip Foxman (ex-Zygotes, Prothalis) in late August.[1][9] Murphy returned to Perth.[12] A follow-up single, "Too Hot to Touch",[13] was released in September 1976, reaching No. 14 on the charts.[1][10][14] Their self-titled debut album was released in mid-November 1976 and peaked at No. 13,[1][10][15] achieving double gold certification.[3][16] The group were presented with the TV Week King of Pop Award for Best Australian TV Performer (on Countdown) and for Most Popular New Group of 1976.[5][17][18]

By November they had supported gigs by "Lou Reed, Suzie Quatro and Sweet and wherever they play there is raging hysteria."[8] Julie Meldrum of The Canberra Times described their performance in Narrabundah: "Trouble began when Perth rock group Supernaut, which thrives on 'bopper' appeal, came on stage. The crowd made a rush for the group and many had to be forcibly removed. After the group finished its set organisers had to appeal for the crowd to move back from the stage 'or else someone will get hurt'."[19]

In 1977, the band released two original singles, "Young and Innocent" (April)[20][21] and "The Kids Are out Tonight" (July),[22][23] and a cover version of "Let's Spend the Night Together" (November), originally by The Rolling Stones.[24] They worked extensively on recording sessions for a proposed second album, with working titles included Exile and Test Pressing.[1] "The Kids Are out Tonight" came from those sessions.[9] After more than a year, they realised their music style was out of touch and the project was abandoned.[1][25] In April 1978, they released another single, "Unemployed".[1][26] before leaving Polydor.

The group relocated to Sydney and were signed to Robie Porter's Wizard Records in mid-1978. They returned to their original pub rock influences and "adopted a quasi-punk/new-wave direction".[1] With the addition of Noel Kennedy on keyboards, they released, "Spies" (December 1978)[27] McFarlane noted that their "live repertoire included cover versions of material by David Bowie, the Stranglers, XTC, and the Doors".[1] They shortened their name to the Nauts in April 1979 and released, "Black Market World",[1][28] following that with a new album under that name in December 1979, produced by Porter.[1] The group had disbanded by March 1980.[1]

Afterwards

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Two years later, Gary Twinn was back in the United Kingdom, where he formed Twenty Flight Rockers with former Generation X drummer Mark Laff,[29][30] and he later played with rock supergroup the International Swingers.[31] Chris Burnham played in The Saints with Chris Bailey from 1982 and 1989.[32][33] Philip Foxman formed Illustrated Man in 1984 with Japan member Rob Dean, Gary Numan keyboardist Roger Mason, and Hugo Burnham from Gang of Four. They recorded one self-titled album and toured the UK and US with their single, "Head Over Heels", charting the top 20 on MTV's dance charts. Foxman later had a solo career releasing two albums, West 4th and Charles and Up Antenna, as well as being a musical composer for Off Broadway show, Atomic, which ran for a limited season at the Acorn Theater, New York City.[34]

Supernaut reformed for the Countdown Spectacular 2 Tour of Australia from late-August to early-September 2007.[34][35] In 2016 Supernaut commemorated the 40th anniversary of "I Like It Both Ways" with a three-day tour from 16 to 18 June, followed by another show on 25 June at Charles Hotel in Perth.[36][37][38]

Members

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  • Chris Burnham – guitar (1974–80, 2007, 2016)
  • Joe Burnham – drums (1974–80, 2007, 2016)
  • Gary Twinn – vocals (1974–80, 2007, 2016)
  • Randall Murphy – bass guitar (1974–76)
  • Little Russ Silver (a.k.a. Argentino Russo) – bass guitar (1976)
  • Philip Foxman – bass guitar, keyboards (1976–80, 2007, 2016)
  • Noel Kennedy – keyboards (1978–80, 2016)

Discography

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Albums

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List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS[10]
Supernaut 13
The Nauts
  • Released: December 1979
  • Second studio album
  • Label: Wizard Records
  • Format: Vinyl, cassette
 -
I Like it Both Ways[39][40]
  • Released: 1995
  • First greatest hits album
  • Label: Aureate Records
  • Format: Compact Disc
 —
The Best of Supernaut[41]
  • Released: 28 January 2016
  • Second greatest hits album
  • Label: Aureate Records
  • Format: Digital download
 —

Singles

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Year Title AUS[10]
1976 "I Like It Both Ways" 16
1976 "Too Hot to Touch" 14
1977 "Let's Spend the Night Together" —
1977 "Young and Innocent" 40
1977 "The Kids Are out Tonight" 44
1978 "Unemployed" 80
1978 "Spies" —
1979 "Black Market World" (by the Nauts) —

Awards

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King of Pop Awards

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The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of TV Week. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978.[42]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1976 themselves Best Australian TV Performer Won
Most Popular New Group Won

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r McFarlane, Ian (31 March 2017). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Blue Ruin'". The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Jenkins, Jeff (Foreword) (2nd ed.). Gisborne, VIC: Third Stone Press (published 2017). pp. 467–468. ISBN 978-0-9953856-0-3.
  2. ^ "Supernaut". Australian Music History. 21 February 2011.
  3. ^ a b Noel McGrath's Australian encyclopaedia of rock. Outback Press. 1975. pp. 314–315, 361. ISBN 9780868882161.
  4. ^ "Supernaut (3)". Discogs. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b Michael Smith (2007-08-14), The Power of Countdown, Drum Media Magazine, p. 38
  6. ^ "45cat - Supernaut - I Like It Both Ways / Lightning - Polydor - Australia - 2079 082". 45cat.
  7. ^ "I Like It Both Ways". Australianmusicdatabase.com.
  8. ^ a b "Supernaut's Supertwinn". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 44, no. 22. 3 November 1976. p. 88. Retrieved 21 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia. Note: page 89 has a photo of Twinn
  9. ^ a b c d e Veitch (2 November 1977). "Is It an Ordinary Band? No, Its Supernat!". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 45, no. 22. p. 97. Retrieved 21 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia. Note: includes a double page photo of the group on pages 96 and 97
  10. ^ a b c d e Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  11. ^ Philip Foxman. "Supernaut 1976 - 1980". Philipfoxman.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Yes, it's a very hush-hush story". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 1 October 1976. p. 28. Retrieved 20 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia. Note: name is given as Randle Murphy
  13. ^ "45cat - Supernaut - 'Too Hot to Touch' / 'Lick My Lolly' - Polydor - Australia - 2079 091". 45cat.
  14. ^ "Too Hot Too Touch". Australianmusicdatabase.com.
  15. ^ "'Howzat' battles to No 6". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 22 October 1976. p. 25. Retrieved 20 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Supernaut". Australianmusicdatabase.com.
  17. ^ Jeff, Ron. "Australian Music Awards". Top 40. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Supernaut". Nostalgiacentral.com. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  19. ^ "Young fans disrupt rock concert". The Canberra Times. No. 14, 534. 15 November 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 21 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "45cat - Supernaut - 'Young and Innocent' / 'Goodbye' - Polydor - Australia - 2079 100". 45cat.
  21. ^ "'Young and Innocent'". Australianmusicdatabase.com.
  22. ^ "45cat - Supernaut - 'The Kids Are out Tonight' / 'Why?' - Polydor - Australia - 2079 109". 45cat.
  23. ^ "The Kids Are Out Tonight". Australianmusicdatabase.com.
  24. ^ "45cat - Supernaut - 'Let's Spend The Night Together' / 'Space Angel' - Polydor - Australia - 2079 112". 45cat.
  25. ^ Bealmear, Bart (21 December 2015). "'I Like It Both Ways': The bisexual anthem by Australian glam band Supernaut shocked the land down under in 1976". Night Flight.
  26. ^ "Unemployed". Australianmusicdatabase.com.
  27. ^ "45cat - Supernaut - Spies / Misfits - Wizard - Australia - ZS-192". 45cat.
  28. ^ "45cat - The Nauts - 'Black Market World' / 'I Don't Want to Be Like You' - Wizard - Australia - ZS-307". 45cat.
  29. ^ Garner, Ken (2 May 1993). In session tonight: the complete Radio 1 recordings. BBC Books. ISBN 9780563364528. Retrieved 2 May 2019 – via Google Books.
  30. ^ Garner, Ken (2 May 1993). In session tonight: the complete Radio 1 recordings. BBC Books. ISBN 9780563364528. Retrieved 2 May 2019 – via Google Books.
  31. ^ "The International Swingers - Gary Twinn". Theinternationalswingers.com.
  32. ^ "The Saints (2)". Discogs. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  33. ^ "The Saints". Australianmusicdatabase.com.
  34. ^ a b Rotberg, Ethan (16 August 2007). "A glam rock reunion, 30 years in the making". Arts. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  35. ^ "Countdown Spectacular 2". IMDb. 9 December 2007.
  36. ^ "/". The Music. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  37. ^ "/". The Music. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  38. ^ Mihelakos, Mary (20 April 2016). "Sticky Carpet: Melbourne music news". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  39. ^ "SLWA Online Catalogue /All Locations". Henrietta.liswa.gov.au.
  40. ^ "I like it both ways [sound recording]. - Version details - Trove". Trove.nla.gov.au.
  41. ^ "The Best of Supernaut". iTunes Australia. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  42. ^ "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
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