Lubricated Goat are an Australian

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program '' Blah Blah Blah'', wearing only their instruments and shoes. Mainly influenced by

the Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

and the Birthday Party, they are credited for playing a grimy, confrontational style of rock, which preceded

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

. They have issued five studio albums, '' Plays the Devil's Music'' (1987), '' Paddock of Love'' (1988), '' Psychedelicatessen'' (1990), ''

Forces You Don't Understand ''Forces You Don't Understand'' is the fourth studio album by Australian noise rock band Lubricated Goat, released on 27 September 1994 by PCP Entertainment. Track listing Personnel Adapted from the ''Forces You Don't Understand'' liner note ...

'' (1994) and '' The Great Old Ones'' (2003).

History

Lubricated Goat were formed in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1986 by Stu Spasm (real name Stuart Gray) on lead vocals, guitar, synthesiser and bass guitar. Spasm had previously been a member of Exhibit A, Zulu Rattle,

Salamander Jim Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

Beasts of Bourbon Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists), Spencer P. Jones on guitar ( The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Bo ...

, James Baker Experience, Death in Vegas and Hot Property. The original band also included Martin Bland on drums and backing vocals (ex-Head On, Crawling Eye, Acid Drops, Bloodloss, Zulu Rattle, Salamander Jim, Primevils), Brett Ford on drums, and Pete Hartley on bass guitar and guitar (the latter two both formerly of the Kryptonics). En route to Sydney after a visit to England, Spasm went via

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

to visit former Singing Dog drummer Ford, who was then playing in the Kryptonics with Hartley. While in Perth, Spasm recorded side 1 of the band's debut album, '' Plays the Devil's Music'', at No Sweat Studios with Ford and Hartley. Side 2 was recorded in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

on a 4-track with Bland. Lubricated Goat signed to Red Eye Records offshoot Black Eye Records, established by John Foy., which released ''Plays the Devil's Music'' in July 1987. 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 ...

, "For the musicians involved, it was simply a chance to exist on the very edges of the Sydney rock scene, and to play out a sick joke for their own entertainment... Foy... liked the joke and formed the Black Eye label specifically as an outlet for the recorded works of this bunch of noise terrorists". In Sydney, Spasm recruited bassist

Guy Maddison Guy Bernard Maddison (born 31 March 1965) is an Australian punk music, punk and grunge musician. From 1986 to 1989 he worked as a member of noise rock group Lubricated Goat and appeared on their album ''Paddock of Love''. He was a member of Bl ...

of Perth band the Greenhouse Effect (later a member of

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

), Hartley switched to lead guitar. Most band members lived on Cleveland Street in an old, run-down three-story mansion which was dubbed Gracelands. The house was a haven for musicians and artists who hosted art shows and nude discos. In July 1988 the group released their second album, '' Paddock of Love'', which included the track "In the Raw". On 2 November 1988, the band provided a nude performance,

lip-sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements ...

ing to "In the Raw", on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

TV program, '' Blah Blah Blah''. The event created national media outrage, according to McFarlane: "The sight of the Goats' real (and imagined) body parts was enough to prompt scores of irate callers to jam the ABC's switchboard for 30 minutes, for the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' to run a front-page exposé and for current affairs shows like the '' Midday Show'', ''Hinch'' and ''Newsworld'', plus radio commentators like Ron Casey, to call for an end to such moral depravity". The criticism was met by ABC-TV's presenter,

Tim Bowden Timothy Gibson Bowden (2 August 1937 – 1 September 2024) was an Australian author, radio and television broadcaster and producer, and oral historian. He was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and studied at the University of Tasmania, where he gradua ...

of ''Backchat'', who "appeared shirtless behind his desk so as to give an impression of nudity while discussing listener's letters about hat group'sappearance". A documentary film about the event, directed by Cousin Creep and also titled '' In the Raw'', explained why the band were nude for that performance. It premiered on 11 December 2009 at the 19th Meredith Music Festival. The lineup for the ABC performance included musician Peter Read (also of the band Thug), who was brought in on a temporary basis when another band member felt uncomfortable about appearing nude. In a line-up change, Hartley was dismissed and Ford quit, replaced respectively by guitarist Charles Tolnay (ex-

Grong Grong Grong Grong is a small town that is located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated on the Newell Highway, east of Narrandera in the Narrandera Shire, Shire of Narrandera. The name ''Grong Grong'' is an Indi ...

King Snake Roost King Snake Roost (also known as KSR) were an Australian noise rock band. King Snake Roost formed in 1985 in Adelaide and in 1987 the band moved to Sydney. The band broke up in 1990 after a two-month tour of the US. In Australia and the USA the ...

) and drummer Gene Revet (ex-Ragdoll, the Space Juniors). In May 1989, they issued the ''Schadenfreude'' EP. Lubricated Goat's back catalogue was reissued by Amphetamine Reptile Records in the United States and on Normal in Europe before the band embarked on its first US tour in mid-1989. Tolnay and Revet did not participate in the tour; Spasm and Maddison were joined by ex-Bloodloss member Renastair EJ (on guitar and saxophone) and Bland (on synthesiser as well as drums). Later, after Maddison's departure, this line-up recorded a third full-length album, '' Psychedelicatessen'', with Lachlan McLeod (ex-Salamander Jim) on bass guitar and audio sampler. McFarlane noted that the album showed "a variety of styles (from noisy free-form jazz to noisier hard rock), with tortured guitars and raw vocals being the band's characteristic mode of operation". In 1990, the group commenced its first European tour, one that was plagued with tragedy via the stabbing of Spasm in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

– "in a drug deal gone wrong", according to McFarlane. The incident placed Lubricated Goat on hiatus. Various incarnations of Lubricated Goat (often featuring only Spasm) existed in the early 1990s, documented on the 7-inch singles "Meating My Head" (1990, part of the Sub Pop Singles Club), "Shut Your Mind" (1992, Sympathy for the Record Industry) and "Play Dead" (1993, Sub Pop). During this period, Spasm was also a member of

supergroup, Crunt, which featured his then-wife Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland as well as Jon Spencer Blues Explosion drummer, Russell Simins; Crunt released their eponymous debut in 1994. Lubricated Goat resumed activity in the mid-2000s. Among the members were Australian drummer Hayden Millsteed (also a founder of New York

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band Bell Hollow), who performed on the band's 2003 album, '' The Great Old Ones'', which featured re-recordings of previously released Lubricated Goat and Crunt tracks. In 2007, a new line-up of Lubricated Goat started performing with Anne Mette Rasmussen on keyboards, sound effects and backup vocals; Creighton Chamberlain (formerly of

Heroine Sheiks The Heroine Sheiks was an American noise rock band based in New York. It began in 1999, as a collaboration between Shannon Selberg, George Porfiris, Norman Westberg and John Fell. Selberg predominantly has been the band's songwriter, whose so ...

) on bass; and drummer Rich Hutchins (formerly of

Live Skull Live Skull is a post-punk/experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1982. In an overview of their abrasive no wave-influenced music, ''Trouser Press'' said, "As part of the same New York avant-noisy scene that spawned Sonic Youth, Ly ...

and Of Cabbages and Kings). The line-up changed again in 2009, with Chamberlain replaced by Jack Natz, formerly of the 1980s

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

the Undead The Undead is an American horror punk band formed in 1980 in New York City's East Village by Bobby Steele (vocals and guitar), Chris "Jack" Natz (bass) and Patrick Blanck (drums). They were one of the pioneers in the New York hardcore scene. ...

as well as Black Snakes,

Cop Shoot Cop Cop Shoot Cop was a noise rock group founded in New York City in 1987. They disbanded in 1996. The band were frequently classified as industrial rock, but were often quite different from many bands so dubbed: having a distinctive instrumental l ...

and Red Expendables. Natz had previously played bass in Lubricated Goat intermittently from the late 1990s through to the mid-2000s. Rasmussen left to form her own band, LoveStruck, which also included both Spasm and Hutchins. As of 2015, Spasm now heads The Art Gray Noizz Quintet with Hutchins, Skeleton Boy (formerly of Woman) on bass, Andrea Sicco (of Twin Guns) and Grace Bergere on guitar, Nikki D'Agostino on saxophone, and Nicholas John Stevens on trombone. Temporary 1988 member Read died in Melbourne in 2016 after battling

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

. A full-length documentary was released chronicling the life and music of Stu Spasm, entitled "I Should Have Been Dead Years Ago". Directed by Jason Axel Summers, the film premiered in May 2024 and is touted as "Exploring the life, music, & artistic output of Stuart Gray, the notorious underground rocker who created the most psychotronic group to emerge from Australia – the legendary Lubricated Goat. Shot over 20 years, featuring archival footage, photos, interviews, Gray’s sculptures and paintings, live performance footage including Gray’s current band, The Art Gray Noizz Quintet."

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Plays the Devil's Music'' (1987, Black Eye Records) *'' Paddock of Love'' (1988, Black Eye Records) (1989, Amphetamine Reptile Records) *'' Psychedelicatessen'' (1990, Black Eye Records/Amphetamine Reptile Records) *''

'' (1994, PCP Entertainment) *'' The Great Old Ones'' (2003, Reptilian Records)

Extended plays

*''Schadenfreude'' 12-inch (Black Eye Records, 1989)

Singles

*"Meating My Head" 7-inch (1990,

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

) *"Shut Your Mind" 7-inch (1992, Sympathy for the Record Industry) *"Play Dead" 7-inch (1993, Sub Pop)

Compilation appearances

* "Jason's Place" on ''Waste Sausage'' LP (1987, Black Eye Records) * "In the Raw" on ''Good Beer, Tasty Sandwiches'' cassette (1989,

Twin/Tone Records Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the ...

/Amphetamine Reptile Records) * "Bad Times" on ''Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking in the Streets Volume Four'' double 7-inch EP (1990, Amphetamine Reptile Records) * "Bad Times" on ''Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking in the Streets Volumes 4–7'' CD (1990, Amphetamine Reptile Records) * "All Too Sane", "Guttersnipe", "Kill Somebody Today", "Can't Believe We're Really Making Love" and "Jason the Unpopular" on ''Love God – Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' CD (2000,

Koch Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

) * "Play Dead" on ''Color of Noise Comp'' CD (2012, Amphetamine Reptile Records) * "Play Dead" on ''The Color of Noise (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' LP (2015, Amphetamine Reptile Records)

References

External links

Trouser Press entry
{{Authority control Amphetamine Reptile Records artists Australian rock music groups