Bam Balams were an

Australian rock Rock music in Australia, also known as Oz rock, Australian rock, and Aussie rock, has a rich history, rooted in an appreciation of various rock genres originating in the United States and Britain, and to a lesser extent, in continental Europe an ...

band which formed in 1984 and disbanded in 1992. They were led by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Brendan "Wig" Kibble (ex- Vampire Lovers). The group issued one album, ''Genuine Rock & Roll Medicine Show'' (Green Fez, 1988), an EP and six singles. Their records did well in the Australian independent charts but they did not appear on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

. They toured nationally but did not perform overseas.

History

Bam Balams were formed in Sydney in April 1984 with the line-up of Brendan "Wig" Kibble (ex- Vampire Lovers) on lead vocals and guitar; Dave Stead on guitar and backing vocals; Steve Cole on bass guitar and backing vocals; and Matt Manchester on drums, backing vocals. Dave Stead left the band in 1985, and was replaced by Brad Fitzpatrick. The group got their name from a track on ''

Supersnazz ''Supersnazz'' is the debut studio album by the rock band Flamin' Groovies. It was released in 1969 on the Epic label. The release was their only album recorded expressly for a major record label, although all of their next five albums were dist ...

'' (1969) by the

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage He ...

, and are referred to as Bambas by fans. Their influences included

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...

Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became ...

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was the frontman for The Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' country music chart. He pioneered what came ...

and

The Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and are said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and ...

. The band released their first two singles, "Deliver My Love" (December 1985) and "No-One Else" (June 1986), on

Citadel Records Citadel Records is an independent record label from Sydney, Australia. It was established in the early 1980s by John Needham. Bands released through Citadel include Died Pretty, Deniz Tek, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, The Trilobites, Porcela ...

with

Rob Younger Rob Younger (born Robert Kent Younger) is an Australian rock musician, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He is a founding mainstay of the punk rock group Radio Birdman, and he is a pioneer of the local independent music scene. Radio Birdman, ...

(ex-member of

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. ''Classic Rock'' magazine describes them as "Australia’s first influential punk band". History Origins Deniz Tek and Rob Younger f ...

) producing. Also in 1986 they released "Same Old Tune", as a split single with September Gurls' "Precious" on Guiding Light Records as a give-away with ''Adventure #2'' magazine in Denmark. In 1987, the original line up split up (Fitzpatrick, Cole, and Manchester went on to form The Hexbreakers, who cut a single 'Faraway Years' for Green Fez Records).Kibble formed a second line-up in 1987 with Amr Z. Abdallah (later of ARIA No 1 chart toppers

Ratcat Ratcat are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney who formed in 1985. The band is fronted by mainstay vocalist and guitarist, Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop song writing and energetic Punk rock, punk-style guitar rock won them fan ...

) on bass guitar, Steve Carlin on guitar, and Warren Elford on drums, which recorded a single, "Surfin' in the Swamp" (March 1988), for Citadel Record's Green Fez label. Soon after a third line-up formed, with Kibble and Abdallah joined by Ian "The Reverend" Little (ex-Grooveyard) on guitar and Joe Breen (Coupe DeVille) on drums, they recorded the group's one album, ''Genuine Rock & Roll Medicine Show'' (December 1988) and its lead single, "Wheel of Fortune" (November). Greg Marchant replaced Abdallah on bass guitar in 1989 (Abdallah left the band to join

), and this line-up recorded the single, "Hellfire" (November 1989). Dave Castellari replaced Marchant later that year, and they recorded a 12" extended play, ''45 RPM Extended Play'', with the track "10,000 Miles (A España)" on Pink Flamingo Records. The group provided the lead track, "Munster Rock'n'Roller", for the 1990 Munster Records compilation, ''Munster Dance Hall Favourites Vol III''.{{cite AV media notes , title=The Munster Dance Hall Favorites Vol III , others=Various Artists , year=1990 , first=Iñigo , last=Munster , type=album insert, publisher=Munster Records , id=MR 003 In 1990, the line-up changed again with Terry Stanley on bass guitar, and Tim Denny on drums, they remained until the band split in 1992. The gained popularity overseas including

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

; but they had never toured outside Australia. According to Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, " ile many of their Sydney-based contemporaries exploited Detroit-inspired hard rock, ... 1960s acid-punk ... or 1960s psychedelia", Bam Balams played a mix of

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

swamp rock Swamp rock is a genre of rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in ...

swamp pop Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, Country music, countr ...

, R&B,

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

jangle pop Jangle pop is a Music subgenre, subgenre of pop rock and college rock that emphasizes jangle, jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop music, pop melodies. The "jangly" guitar sound is characterized by its clean, shimmering and Arpeggio, arpeggiated ...

and 1950s-1960s style

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. Their records did well on the Australian independent charts but they did not appear on the

. Kibble formed the Navahodads in 1995, which played swampy R&B, Country, and Rock n Roll, they released two albums and toured overseas.

Discography

Releases:

Albums

*''Genuine Rock & Roll Medicine Show'' (Green Fez) December 1988

Extended plays

*''45 RPM Extended Play'' ("10,000 Miles (A España)") (Pink Flamingo Records) 1989

Singles

*"Deliver My Love" b/w "Mean Thang" (

) 1985 (produced by

) *"No-One Else" b/w "Gettin' Over You" (

) 1986 (produced by Rob Younger) *"Same Old Tune", split single with September Gurls' "Precious" (Guiding Light Records) 1986 *"Surfin' in the Swamp" b/w "Fire in My Soul" (Green Fez) 1987 *"Wheel of Fortune" b/w "Rock It to the Moon" (Green Fez) 1988 *"Hellfire" b/w "Hold on Me" (Green Fez) 1989

Compilation tracks

*"Munster Rock n Roller" - ''Munster Dance Hall Favourites Vol III'' (Munster Records) 1990

References

Australian indie rock groups Australian garage rock groups Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 1984 establishments in Australia