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The Fauves are an Australian rock band formed in 1988. The band are known for their witty lyrics, melodic pop-rock and often satirical or evocative exploration of Australian themes. Their album '' Future Spa'' was nominated for Best Alternative Album in the 1997 ARIA awards but lost to
Spiderbait Spiderbait is an Australian alternative rock band from Finley, New South Wales, formed in 1989 by bass guitarist and singer Janet English, drummer and singer Kram, and guitarist Damian Whitty. In 2004, the group's cover version of the 1930s Lea ...
's ''
Ivy and the Big Apples ''Ivy and the Big Apples'' is the third studio album by Australian rock band Spiderbait. It became a double platinum-selling record that reached the top 10 of the albums chart in Australia and won the 1997 ARIA Award for Best Alternative Rel ...
''. They played at the
Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typi ...
in both 1993 and 1997. In 2007, they played their 1,000th Show and in 2008 they celebrated their 20th Anniversary Gig at The Espy in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
.


History

The Fauves were formed in 1988 by four students of Mt Eliza High School, Mornington Peninsula. They were Andrew Cox on guitar and vocals; Andrew "Jack" Dyer on bass guitar; Philip Leonard on guitar, vocals and brass; and Adam Newey on drums. 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 ...
, they "took their name from the short-lived French art movement,
Fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...
, which was characterised by both its intensity and infatuation with colour." Neither Cox nor Leonard had formal music lessons. Their first gig was on 23 July 1988, at a local football club, Cox later recalled "We learnt more about rock 'n' roll in that one night than the entire preceding 20 years. We sucked piss, made eyes at the cheap football tarts and bonded like four buckets of superglue. We also learnt how to compromise, how to sell out, and how to get fucked over. There was no rider, we were underpaid and no one got laid. It was a microcosm of an entire career." McFarlane declared that the group's "early sound was an energetic distillation of garage-punk rock riffs and surreal lyrics." In March 1990, the band released their debut five-track extended play, ''This Mood Has Passed'', on Timbertop Records. It had been recorded in the previous year at Timbertop Studios, Ringwood, with Peter Carrodus producing. McFarlane felt the EP "reflected the frantic, primal elements of early Hunters & Collectors or Moodists." They followed in October with a 7" single, "Fireman 451", on
Shock Records Shock Records was an Australian independent record label, branded with the logo Shock or Shock Australia. Founded in 1988, it traded as Shock Records Pty. Ltd, and its publishing arm as Shock Music Publishing Pty. Ltd. Its most prominent sublab ...
, produced by Doug Saunders. In 1991, they issued two singles, "When Luck Ran Out" and "Daughter Aboard". In the following year two EPs, both with six-tracks, were issued on Shock Records, ''The Scissors Within'' (April) and ''Tight White Ballhugger'' (September), each was produced by Robbie Rowlands. The EPs "kept up the experimental energy and humour." In 1992 the Fauves featured on a
split CD A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "va ...
, ''Dress Ups'' (Shock Records), with other Melbourne bands The Glory Box and Pray TV with each band performing a track from the others' repertoire, as well as contributing one original track. Nic Haygarth 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 ...
'' caught their gig in October 1992, he found "the bald heads of
yer A yer is either of two letters in Cyrillic alphabets, ъ (ѥръ, ''jerŭ'') and ь (ѥрь, ''jerĭ''). The Glagolitic alphabet used, as respective counterparts, the letters (Ⱏ) and (Ⱐ). They originally represented phonemically the "u ...
and eonardgive them a fiercer appearance, but nothing could be friendlier than the melody of 'Fracture in the Sky' and Leonard's trumpet on their best track 'Wilding'. The Fauves played strong material from ''The Scissors Within'' and quirky new stuff from latest EP ''Tight White Ballhugger'', including mandolin tempered 'Archimedes' Crown'. Doomy distorted guitars powered their set, but the Fauves nearly lost their audience with a couple of extended thrash routines which not even the Brady Bunch theme could redeem." During a gig at Sydney's Annandale Hotel late in 1992 "they detoured into a freeform noise epic during which Cox washed Newey's hair with Vegemite and shampoo." ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
''s
Craig Mathieson Craig Mathieson (born 1971) is an Australian music journalist and writer. His books include, ''Hi Fi Days'' (1996), '' The Sell-In'' in (2000) and the '' 100 Best Australian Albums'' in 2010, with Toby Creswell and John O'Donnell Biography ...
described their support slot on the Church's national tour, "They rehearsed extensively, mindful of the opportunity they had been given. The result? Church fans ignored them." The band came to wider attention when they appeared on the bill of the first
Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typi ...
tour in January 1993. They signed to
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a 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 ...
and, in October of that year, they released their debut long player, '' Drive Through Charisma''. It was produced by Rowlands, who had them "recorded in a mud-brick house in Daylesford." The original version included a 22-track bonus disc featuring early demos and some live songs, which Mathieson felt were "often horrendous early recordings." It was accompanied by a separate booklet, "22 Reasons Why a Band Shouldn't Put an Album Out in Its First Few Years", written by Newey who provided critical analysis for each track: Mathieson noticed he "ridiculed every song." The 1994 computer game
Quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...
featured the band's song "The Driver Is You" on its soundtrack. Their second album '' The Young Need Discipline'' was released in 1994. In 1995 the band released a non-album single "Everybody's Getting a 3 Piece Together". The song was later included on the band's next album as a secret track. The Fauves's most successful album to date '' Future Spa'' was released in July 1996. The album yielded considerable radio success with singles " Dogs Are the Best People" and "Self Abuser" coming in at No. 20 and No. 30 respectively in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996. Between the release of '' Future Spa'' and their album '' Lazy Highways'', the band were filmed for Vanessa Stuart's one-hour documentary, ''The Fauves: 15 Minutes to Rock'', which has since aired on SBS and was also screened at the Document Film Festival in October 2004. The band toured heavily throughout the 90s and undertook support slots for overseas touring acts including
Morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...
, Ween,
Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...
,
Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
, The Grifters and
Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. The band is known for its eclecticism, cycling through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, including heavy metal, avant-garde ...
. By the end of 1999, however the band was dropped from Polydor after the label's merger with
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
. Following their departure from the major label, the band wrote two songs, "Bigger Than Tina" and "Bigger Than Tina II", for the Australian movie '' Bigger Than Tina'' which were released as a single on
Festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
. Since then the group has released seven albums independently. They had further success on the Triple J Hottest 100 with "Bigger Than Tina" at No. 50 in
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, and "Give Up Your Day Job" at No. 58 in
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
. The Fauves released their ninth studio album, '' When Good Times Go Good'', on 6 September 2008. It was recorded with longtime collaborator
Wayne Connolly Wayne Paul Connolly is an Australian music producer, audio engineer and musician. From 1991 to 1997 Connolly played lead guitar and sang in guitar group The Welcome Mat and released two studio albums. Since 1994, he has played in Knievel with ...
, who has worked on five of the band's nine albums, and co-produced by
Jim Moginie James 'Jim' Moginie (born 18 May 1956) is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he is a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter. Career In addition to Midnight Oil, Moginie ha ...
from
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 ...
. A video-clip was made of the "Underwhelmed". After a three-year break the band debuted tracks from their tenth album '' Japanese Engines'' on 10 November 2011 in Geelong. The album was followed only five months later by an eight-track EP '' German Engines'' launched at The Toff in Town. Andrew Cox announced on stage: "'' Japanese Engines'' was kind of the poppier record. '' German Engines'' has a much darker soul, it's a bit heavier, it's a bit rougher." A double album, titled ''Driveway Heart Attack'', was released in 2019, their 12th studio album. In July 2022, the band headlined a Melbourne show. The press releases labeled it "last show till the next one", the "first show since the last one." On 1 September 2023, the Fauves reissued their first two EPs as they were originally intended to be, a full-length album titled ''Faematronic.'' The band released their 13th album, ''Tropical Strength'', on 1 November 2024. They recorded the album in Indonesia and in the accompanying press, they explained: "Very few Australians have ever been to Bali so we relished the sense of outpost exoticism and a culture completely untouched by Western influence. Here we could work in relative anonymity, far from the complete anonymity that tracks our every move at home."THE FAUVES – TROPICAL STRENGTH ALBUM OUT TODAY
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Band Members

* Andrew "Coxy" Cox – vocals, guitar (1988–present) * Phil "The Doctor" Leonard – vocals, guitar, keyboards (1988–present), trumpet (1988–1994) * Adam "Doug" Newey – drums (1988–present) * Terry "Ted" Cleaver – live mixing (1994–2000), bass (2000–present)


Former members

* Andrew "Jack" Dyer – bass (1988–1999)


Discography


Albums


Compilations


Extended plays


Singles

* "Fireman 451" – 7" vinyl only (October 1990) * "When Luck Ran Out" (1991) * "Daughter Aboard" (1991) * "Misguided Modelling Career" (1992) * "Thin Body Thin Body" – Polydor Records (September 1993) * "Marble Arse" – Polydor Records (February 1994) * "Dwarf on Dwarf" – Polydor Records (February 1995) * "Caesar's Surrender" – Polydor Records (May 1995) * "Everybody's Getting a 3 Piece Together" – Polydor Records (October 1995) * " Dogs Are the Best People" – Polydor Records (June 1996) * "Self Abuser" – Polydor Records (October 1996) * "Don't Get Death Threats Anymore" – Polydor Records (February 1997) * "Sunbury '97" – Polydor Records (November 1997) * "Surf City Limits" – Polydor Records (May 1998) * "Charles Atlas Way" – Polydor Records (July 1998) * "Kickin' On" – Polydor Records (November 1998) * "Bigger Than Tina" – Festival Records (October 1999) * "Give Up Your Day Job" – Shock Records (June 2000) * "Celebrate the Failure" – Shock Records (September 2000) * "Medium Pacer" – Shock Records (November 2000)


Charting singles


Awards and nominations


ARIA Awards

The
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...
. They commenced in 1987. , - ,
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
, ''Future Spa'' , Best Adult Alternative Album ,


References


External links


The Fauves – official siteFauves Are The Best People
– a podcast reviewing every single song the Fauves have released, with extensive input from current & former band members
The Fauves fansite
– features a comprehensive bio, rare videos, mp3s, press clippings, and more

– Essay on "Everybody's Getting a Three Piece together" and interview with Andrew Cox *, dBmagazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Fauves, The Musical groups established in 1988 Australian rock music groups Victoria (state) musical groups 1988 establishments in Australia