Scrap Metal were a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, rock band from Broome,

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

which formed in 1983. The members had Aboriginal, Irish, Filipino, French, Chinese, Scottish, Indonesian and Japanese heritage. The group issued four albums, ''Just Looking'' (1987), ''Broken Down Man'' (1988), ''Scrap Metal'' (1990) and ''Pub Sweat 'n' Tears'' (1992). They toured nationally supporting

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...

in 1987 and as part of the ''

Bran Nue Dae __NOTOC__ ''Bran Nue Dae'' is a 1990 musical set in Broome, Western Australia, that tells stories and of issues relating to Indigenous Australians. It was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Kuckles and friends, and was the first Aboriginal Aust ...

'' musical in 1990 and 1993. They were the first Aboriginal band to sign an international publishing deal. Scrap Metal are the subject of an ABC TV documentary ''From Broome to the Big Smoke'' (1991). They won the Best Indigenous Act award at the 1992

West Australian Music Industry Awards The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). History WAM was originally fo ...

. The group disbanded in 1995. After Scrap Metal, founding mainstays

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

and Phillip Pigram, joined their younger brothers David, Colin, Gavin and Peter to form

the Pigram Brothers The Pigram Brothers are a seven-piece Indigenous Australian band from the pearling town of Broome, Western Australia, formed in 1996. They were heavily involved in Broome's musical and theatrical exports – forming the original backing band ...

. In 2006 Stephen and Alan Pigram were inducted into the Western Australian Music Hall of Fame.

History

Scrap Metal were formed as a

, rock band in 1983 in Broome by Michael Ambi on lead vocals, Alan Pigram on guitar, Phillip Pigram on drums, Stephen Pigram on vocals and guitar and Michael Teh on bass guitar. The two eldest Pigram brothers, Alan and Stephen, had performed together in bands since 1977 and Phillip joined for Scrap Metal. Broome had a history of ocean fishing and

pearl diving Pearl hunting, also known as pearl fishing or pearling, is the activity of recovering or attempting to recover pearls from wild Mollusca, molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in India and Jap ...

, which attracted culturally diverse groups; the members had Aboriginal, Irish, Filipino, French, Chinese, Scottish, Indonesian and Japanese heritage. Besides local shows, the group would travel to

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

or to Port Headland to perform. Due to the town's isolation, "

hey Hey, HEY, or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the ...

weren't reared on the traditional Aussie rock and roll ritual - that is, they didn't get their weekly dose of Sunday night ''Countdown'' to keep them abreast of music trends." Ambi drowned in 1985 and was replaced on vocals by Johnny Albert. Duncan Campbell, their talent manager, joined on keyboards. Scrap Metal's debut album, ''Just Looking'' (1987), was recorded at Broome's Planet Studio in 1986. Self-financed, it was issued on

music cassette Audiotape is magnetic tape used for storing audio. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Audiotape can be used in various tape recorders including machines for reel-to-reel audio tape recording on open reels o ...

. The group gained the attention of Midnight Oil's members, who asked them to join that group's Diesel and Dust Tour in October 1987. Scrap Metal funded their own label, Jigil, to issue their next album, ''Broken Down Man'' (October 1988), which was distributed by

Larrikin Larrikin is an Australian English term meaning "a mischievous young person, an uncultivated, rowdy but good-hearted person", or "a person who acts with apparent disregard for social or political conventions". In the 19th and early 20th centurie ...

. Kathryn Whitfield of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' observed, " t'squite impressive in its diversity

ith their The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is im ...

blend of rock, reggae, pop and country." In 1989 the members signed with

ABC Music ABC Music is Australia's largest independent record label. It operates under the ABC Commercial division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It covers a wide range of music genres, including classical, children’s and adult contempo ...

/ PolyGram, which released their third album, ''Scrap Metal'' (August 1990). Whitfield's colleague, Penelope Layland found it, "a wonderful fusion of simple rock, iced with country pop

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

the music and the lyrics are unpretentious and heartfelt." They became the first Aboriginal artists to sign a music publishing deal with

Warner Chappell Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

. Also in that year Alan, Phillip, Stephen and Campbell performed in ''

'' and reprised their work in the musical in 1993. ''From Broome to the Big Smoke'' (1991), an ABC TV documentary, dealt with the band's history and showcased their performances. ''Pub Sweat 'n' Tears'', their fourth album, was issued in May 1993. For the album Alan, Phillip and Stephen were joined by their brother David Pigram on backing vocals and Paul Mamid on bass guitar. One track, "Beautiful Woman", had been recorded in 1985 with Michael Ambi on lead vocals and Teh on bass guitar. The group disbanded in 1995 and subsequently Alan on lead guitar,

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

and

tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a particular type of guitar, typically with 10 or 12 strings but sometimes fewer, and is built in several distinct regional styles. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first written mention of ...

, Stephen on vocals, acoustic guitar,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

requinto The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument. Thus, there are ''requinto'' guitars, drums, and several wind instruments. Wind instruments ''Requinto'' was 19th-century ...

valiha The valiha is a tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of Valiha diffusa, local bamboo; it is considered the "List of national instruments (music), national instrument" of Madagascar. The term is also used to describe a number of re ...

and ukulele, and Phillip vocals and drums, were joined their younger brothers David on vocals and acoustic guitar, Colin on vocals and acoustic guitar, Gavin on percussion and Peter on vocals and bass guitar, to form

in the following year. In 2006 Alan and Stephen Pigram were inducted into the Western Australian Music Hall of Fame.

Members

* Michael Ambi – lead vocals * Alan Pigram – guitar * Phillip Pigram – drums * Stephen Pigram – vocals, guitar * Michael Teh – bass guitar * Johnny Albert – lead vocals * Duncan Campbell – keyboards * Paul Mamid – bass guitar

Discography

Albums

* ''Just Looking'' (1987) – Independent * ''Broken Down Man'' (October 1988) – Jigil/

* ''Scrap Metal'' (August 1990) –

* ''Pub Sweat 'n' Tears'' (May 1993) – Jigil

Singles

* "Somewhere in the Distance / Magdalene" (1988) * "Broken Down Man" / "Caught in the Wheel" (1988) * "Nimunburr" / "In the Night" (1989) * "Make It Work" (1990) * "Howling at the Moon" (1991)

References

External links

Scrap Metal at AllMusic Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have Waste valorization, mone ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scrap metal Western Australian musical groups Indigenous Australian musical groups Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1995