What's My Scene?

"What's My Scene?"
"What's My Scene?"
Single by Hoodoo Gurus
from the album Blow Your Cool!
A-side	"What's My Scene?"
B-side	"Heart of Darkness"
Released	March 1987
Recorded	1986
Genre	Power pop
Length	3:49
Label	Big Time, Elektra, Mushroom
Songwriter(s)	Dave Faulkner
Producer(s)	Mark Opitz
Hoodoo Gurus singles chronology

"What's My Scene?" is a song by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. It was released in March 1987 as the lead single from their third studio album Blow Your Cool!. The song reached number 3 in Australia.

In June 2000, Dave Faulkner said "Whenever I'm asked to name a favourite of my songs I usually choose this one, not because I think it's 'the best' but because it best captures everything I try to do when writing any song. I wouldn't change a note or a syllable of this one and I'm especially proud that it has two different choruses when one is usually enough."^[2]

In January 2018, "What's My Scene?" was ranked number 67 on Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time.^[3]

Track listings

7" single (BTS 2)

"What's My Scene?"
"Heart of Darkness"

Personnel

Dave Faulkner – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Brad Shepherd – guitar, harmonica
Mark Kingsmill – drums
Clyde Bramley – bass
Allan Wright – engineer
Mark Opitz – producer

Charts

Weekly Charts

Weekly chart performance for "What's My Scene?"
Chart (1987)	Peak position
Australia (Australian Music Report)^[4]	3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[5]	35

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "What's My Scene?"
Chart (1987)	Position
Australia (Australian Music Report)^[6]	25

In popular culture

The original Hoodoo Gurus recording features in episode four of We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year (2005).^{[citation needed]}

"That's My Team"

A variation titled "That's My Team" was used by the National Rugby League (NRL) as their theme for the 2003 to 2007 seasons. In 2003 the NRL had approached former Cronulla Sharks player and then current Parramatta Eels assistant coach Alan Wilson to provide the theme for their advertising campaign. Wilson hit upon the idea of using Hoodoo Gurus' 1987 hit "What's My Scene?" with reworked lyrics as "That's My Team".

Wilson and Faulkner made the necessary arrangements which included re-uniting Gurus to re-record the track. Faulkner is a long-time supporter of Cronulla and the original promo clip for "What's My Scene?" included shots of band members in Wests and Cronulla jumpers. The Hoodoo Gurus performed "That's My Team" on the 2006 and 2007 Grand Final editions of The Footy Show. A sports commentary can be heard in the quieter parts of the original song.

A CD of "That's My Team" was released for public sale in September 2003, with all money raised donated to the Kim Walters Choices Programme and the Joanne Mackay Foundation, breast cancer charities established by husbands Kevin Walters and Brad Mackay, respectively.^[7]

"That's My Team" was parodied in episode 14 of Australian satire show The Chaser's War on Everything as "Where's My E?" (E as a slang term for ecstasy) to reflect a perceived increase in recreational drug use among players in Australian football codes. The accompanying video included various drug references interspersed with nightclub and games scenes.

The song was also parodied on the Channel 7 sketch show Big Bite as "Where's My Team?" referring to exclusion of the North Sydney Bears from the top level Rugby League in Australia.

References

^ Pollok, Bruce (2005). The Rock Song Index: the 7500 Most Important Songs of the Rock and Roll Era, 1944-2000. 2nd ed. pg. 402. Routledge. ISBN 9781135462963. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
^ Faulkner, Dave (June 2000). "Pop and punishment". juliat. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 141. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Hoodoo Gurus – What's My Scene?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
^ "Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Kent Music Report, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
^ "That's My Team Media Release". juliat. 2003-09-03. Archived from the original on 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-11-25.

[1] Pollok, Bruce (2005). The Rock Song Index: the 7500 Most Important Songs of the Rock and Roll Era, 1944-2000. 2nd ed. pg. 402. Routledge. ISBN 9781135462963. Retrieved 2020-02-27.

[2] Faulkner, Dave (June 2000). "Pop and punishment". juliat. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-12-01.

[3] "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.

[aus-4] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 141. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[sc_New_Zealand_Hoodoo_Gurus-5] "Hoodoo Gurus – What's My Scene?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 December 2021.

[aus87-6] "Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Kent Music Report, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

[7] "That's My Team Media Release". juliat. 2003-09-03. Archived from the original on 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-11-25.

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