Curious (Yellow) was a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band formed in 1987 by Swedish-born Karin Jansson, a singer-songwriter and guitarist, formerly of feminist punk band

Pink Champagne Pink Champagne (first named Kasern 9) was a Swedish feminist punk band in the 1980s. It consisted of four women, Stina Berge (drums), Ann Carlberger (vocals), Karin Jansson (guitar) and Gunilla Welin (bass). Kajsa Grytt was briefly a member. Th ...

. Curious (Yellow) had releases on Red Eye Records – an EP, ''I Am Curious'' and an album ''Charms and Blues''. Both were produced by Steve Kilbey of

The Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, who was Jansson's domestic partner. The band's name and that of their first release are references to the 1967 Swedish cult film ''

I Am Curious (Yellow) ''I Am Curious (Yellow)'' (, meaning "I Am Curious: A Film in Yellow") is a 1967 Swedish erotic drama film written and directed by Vilgot Sjöman, starring Sjöman and Lena Nyman. It is a companion film to 1968's ''I Am Curious (Blue)''; the t ...

''.

Biography

Curious (Yellow) was formed in Sydney in 1987 by Karin Jansson as a pop, alternative rock band. Jansson was a guitarist in Swedish feminist punk band,

from 1979 to 1984. That group had released two full-length albums, ''Vackra pojke!'' (''Beautiful Boy!'', 1981) and ''Kärlek eller ingenting'' (''Love or Nothing'', 1983). She relocated to Australia in 1986 and was the domestic partner of Steve Kilbey – vocalist and bass guitarist of Australian alternative rockers,

. Jansson recorded demos of her own songs and others she wanted to perform live. The first line-up of Curious (Yellow) was Jansson with Mike Knapp on drums, and Phil Hall on guitar – both formerly of the punk band Dropbears – and

Les White James Leslie White (9 September 1890 – 27 April 1927) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league ...

(aka Lez White) of New Zealand pop-rock group Th' Dudes on bass guitar. In March 1988, Curious (Yellow) released an extended play ''I Am Curious'' on Red Eye Records. Both the band's name and the EP title are a reference to the 1967 Swedish film "

". The EP was produced by Kilbey, who also provided keyboards, programming, guitar and backing vocals. The group performed locally and then toured Australia's east coast with fellow Red Eye artists The Bhagavad Guitars, The Crystal Set, and The Mexican Spitfires. Jansson and Kilbey co-wrote The Church's hit single "

Under the Milky Way "Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album ''Starfish''. The song was written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and hi ...

" (February 1988), and Curious (Yellow) often included their version in live performances. After Hall joined the

Lime Spiders Lime Spiders were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with Mick Blood on lead vocals. He was later joined by Tony Bambach on bass guitar, Gerard Corben on guitar, Richard Lawson on drums, and David Sparks on guitar. Their debut ...

in December, the first line-up disbanded. By 1990, a second line-up had formed with Jansson and White joined by

Mike Caen Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

( Dragon) on guitar, Jim Bowman on guitar and Mark Dawson on drums. They released two singles, "Taken By Surprise" (August) and "Love Itself" (November), and an album ''Charms and Blues'' in September. It was produced by the band and Kilbey, and issued on Red Eye Records and

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. In the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'',

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 h ...

described the album as "combined airy ambience with melancholy pop". The CD version of the album included "Down the Wishing Well" as a bonus track.

Discography

Albums/EPs

Members

*Mike Caen (guitar) * Phil Hall (guitar) * Karin Jansson (guitar, vocals) *Michael (Snapper) Knapp (drums) *Violinda (violin) *Les White (bass guitar)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Curious (yellow) page at The Church Discography
New South Wales musical groups