The Hitmen are an Australian
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
band formed in November 1977 by long-term members, Johnny Kannis on lead vocals and Chris Masuak on lead guitar as Johnny and the Hitmen. The group went through numerous line up changes in its first run from 1977 to 1984. They regrouped under a new name, Hitmen DTK, between 1989 and 1992. They have issued three studio albums, ''Hitmen'' (July 1981), ''It Is What It Is'' (November 1982) and ''Moronic Inferno'' (November 1991). The Hitmen reformed in 2007; Masuak left in 2015.
History
1977–1983: early years, ''Hitmen'' and ''It Is What it Is''
The Hitmen were formed in November 1977 in Sydney by Warwick Gilbert to maintain the core unit of Radio Birdman and its fan base during Deniz Tek's absences from RB. The line-up was Charlie Georgees on guitar (ex-Hellcats), Warwick Gilbert on bass guitar (also in
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 ...
), Johnny Kannis on lead vocals, Ron Keeley on drums and Chris Masuak on lead guitar (both also in Radio Birdman).
Kannis and Masuak had been bandmates in the Jackals from 1974 to 1975 alongside Rubin Acosta, Archie Archilles, Alf Azzopardi and Steve Willman.
According to Kannis, the Jackals were "a school band that Chris Masuak and I started while we were in year 10
ith aMaltese rhythm section."
They played cover versions of material by Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Blue Öyster Cult, Ted Nugent, Lou Reed and original country rock tracks written by Masuak, including "Death by the Gun".
Masuak joined Sydney-based punk rockers Radio Birdman in October 1976 alongside Gilbert and Keeley.
Kannis was that group's MC and he formed the new group, as Johnny and the Hitmen, "for a series of fun gigs" between Radio Birdman commitments.
Radio Birdman started a European tour early in 1978, and Kannis formed a new line-up of Johnny and the Hitmen with Georgees, Clyde Bramley on bass guitar, Alan Brown on drums, Steve Harris on keyboards, Angie Pepper on vocals and Lynne Phillips on vocals.
Prior to Radio Birdman's European tour Johnny Kannis recorded three tracks with Radio Birdman members Ron Keeley, Warwick Gilbert and Chris Masuak plus Charlie Georges at Trafalgar Studios and released two as a solo Johnny Kannis 7" single, "King of the Surf" backed by a cover version of the Drifters' 1964 single, "
Under the Boardwalk
"Under the Boardwalk" is a pop song written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick and recorded by The Drifters in 1964. It charted at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on August 22, 1964. The song has since been covered by many othe ...
", as Kannis' solo effort in November 1978.
Following the demise of Radio Birdman, Kannis and Masuak reformed the Hitmen in July '78 with Ivor Hay on drums (ex-
the Saints) and Phil Sommerville on bass guitar.
In September Gilbert was asked join on guitar.
The Hitmen were signed to
WEA
The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of th ...
in March 1979 and released their debut single, "Didn't Tell the Man", in July of that year.
By that time Hay was replaced by Geoff Peterkin (ex-
Ol' 55) until August when
Mark Kingsmill
Mark Adrian Kingsmill (born 4 December 1956) is an Australian rock musician. He has drummed with several bands including the Hitmen (1979–84), New Christs (1983–84), the Screaming Tribesmen (1984) and Hoodoo Gurus (1984–98, 2003–15). He ...
joined on drums (ex-the Hellcats, the Other Side).
Soon after Sommerville left, Gilbert switched back to bass guitar and Tony Vidale joined on guitar.
A second single, "I Want You", appeared in March 1980.
In December 1980 the band entered the studio to record their debut self-titled album, which was released in the following July, with
Mark Opitz
Mark Opitz (born 1952) is an Australian record producer and audio engineer. He started his career with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1971. He has produced AC/DC, the Angels, Australian Crawl, Cold Chisel, Divinyls and INXS. He h ...
as producer (
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
,
the Angels,
the Reels
The Reels are an Australian rock music, rock band which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976. It disbanded in 1991, and reformed in 2007. Its 1981 song "Quasimodo's Dream (song), Quasimodo's Dream" was voted one of the APRA Top 30 Australian ...
).
Vidale had been replaced on guitar by
Brad Shepherd
Bradley Mark Shepherd (born 1 February 1961) is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially Hoodoo Gurus.
Biography
Early life
Shepherd was born ...
(ex-
Fun Things, 31st) during the recording sessions – Shepherd re-recorded the guitar parts.
Susan Moore of ''
The Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known simply as ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Are Media in Sydney and founded in 1933. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before bein ...
'' described the group as "keeping the riotous rock flag flying with a crystal clear production... The songs are well-crafted although it's the overall onslaught that's the most memorable; the direction is decisive and determined. And there's a lucid layering of instrumentation – each component rubbing shoulders comfortably."
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 ...
, opined that the album and lead single, "I Don't Mind" (June 1981), were "excellent slices of melodic hard rock. Opitz had achieved a full-throated production sound in the studio that did justice to the band's fierce live reputation."
Whilst signed to WEA and MMA management the group toured with international acts Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Stranglers and Steppenwolf.
Conflict of direction prior to the debut LP's release prompted WEA to withdraw promotion for its release and drop the band from the label, which led to Gilbert's departure from the band in 1981. Gilbert was replaced by Tony Robertson (ex-Credits, Wasted Daze, 31st).
Early in 1982 the group left WEA and signed to
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
: they released their second album, ''It Is What It Is'' (November 1982), which was produced by Bruce Brown and
Russell Dunlop
Russell James Dunlop (21 October 194516 May 2009) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer-engineer. From the late 1970s he collaborated with Bruce Brown in a production company for albums and singles by Australian perfo ...
.
Shepherd had already left, a month earlier, to join
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Th ...
and the Hitmen continued as a quartet.
According to McFarlane "
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 ...
continued to draw big crowds on tour, but could not sell records. Consequently, RCA dropped The Hitmen and the band went into hibernation."
When
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
toured Australia in June 1983, Radio Birdman's singer,
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, ...
, was asked to provide his opening act.
Younger formed
the New Christs
The New Christs are an Australian garage rock band formed in 1980 by founding mainstay, Rob Younger, on lead vocals. Younger was the lead singer for punk rockers, Radio Birdman, and in other hard rock groups, New Race, Bad Music, the Other Sid ...
with three of the Hitmen: Kingsmill, Masuak and Robertson, as well as Kent Stedman on guitar (also in
the Celibate Rifles
The Celibate Rifles were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with a line-up that included mainstays Dave Morris on rhythm guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar; within a year they were joined by Damien Lovelock on lead vocals. Th ...
).
Kannis formed a soul music band, Johnny Kannis and the Night Train, during this hiatus. The line-up alongside Kannis was Harris and Phillips from an early version of the Hitmen, together with Michael Buckley on drums (ex-
the Radiators), Rohan Cannon on guitar (ex-Rupert B, Earthlings), Don Raffael on saxophone (ex-Rupert B,
the Party Boys
The Party Boys was an Australian rock supergroup with a floating membership commencing in 1982. Created by Mondo Rock's bass guitarist, Paul Christie, with founding member Kevin Borich (ex– La De Da's, Kevin Borich Express) as a part-time ...
), Paul Reed on bass guitar and Mick Thornton on trumpet (both ex-Rupert B).
In July 1983 Harris, Kannis and Phillips were all injured in a car accident while on tour; Kannis was hospitalised for months and that group broke up.
1984–1989: first reformation and ''Tora Tora DTK''
By June 1984 Kannis had recovered sufficiently for the Hitmen to reform with Kingsmill, Masuak and Robertson joined by a new member, Richard Jakimyszyn, on guitar (ex-
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 Richard Lawson on drums, and David Sparks on guitar. Their debut studio album, '' The Cave Comes Alive!'' was released i ...
, New Christs).
While on tour they recorded a live album, ''Tora Tora DTK'' (November 1984), at the
St George-Budapest Soccer Club and Family Inn by
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
Mobile with Ian Davies and Masuak producing.
Soon after the tour Kingsmill, Masuak and Robertson all joined
the Screaming Tribesmen
The Screaming Tribesmen were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1981 by mainstay Mick Medew on lead vocals and lead guitar. With various line-ups they released three studio albums, ''Bones and Flowers'' (October 1987), '' ...
and the Hitmen disbanded.
1989–1991: second reformation and ''Moronic Inferno''
Kannis and Masuak re-formed the group as the Hitmen DTK in April 1989 with a new line-up: Gye Bennetts on drums (ex-Terminal Twist, Johnny Kannis Explosion), Brad Ferguson on bass guitar (ex-Voodoo Lust) and Matt Le Noury (a.k.a. Matt Nasty) on guitar (ex-
Vampire Lovers, Flying Tigers).
They issued a four-track extended play, ''U.E.L.A'' (initialism for Utopian Emotional Love Aura) via Survival Records in November 1989, which was produced by Masuak.
During 1990 they toured Australia co-headlining with Voodoo Lust, and
Peter Wells' group, Heart Attack, as support.
The line-up of Hitmen DTK changed with Kannis and Masuak joined by Shane Cooke on bass guitar (ex-Vampire Lovers, Four Horsemen), Gerald Presland on drums and Bob Sattler on guitar (ex-Johnny Kannis Explosion,
Roddy Ray'da and the Surfin' Caesars).
They recorded a studio album, ''Moronic Inferno'' (November 1991), in
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, with Andy Bradley and Masuak co-producing.
To launch the album, the band performed four Sydney dates in November with guest guitarist Deniz Tek. In 2024, the first of these shows, recorded at Newtown, was released as a live album titled ''Tonight We Ride!''
In December of 1991 they toured Australia opening for US rock group, Dark Carnival (see
Ron Asheton
Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – Wiktionary:circa, c. January 6, 2009) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the band along with Iggy Pop and his brot ...
), but they broke up early in the following year.
2007–present
The Hitmen reformed in 2007, with Kannis, Masuak and Robertson joined by Tony "Juke" Jukic on guitar (ex-Johnny Kannis Explosion, Oblivian) and Murray "Muzz" Shepherd (Brad Shepherd's older brother) on drums (ex-Screaming Tribesmen, Lime Spiders); they undertook a set of Australian shows.
Re-issues of ''Hitmen'' (November 2007),
''It Is What It Is'' (2007) and ''Tora Tora DTK'' (2009) occurred via Savage Beat/Shock Records: each with detailed liner notes and extra discs of bonus material. A one-off gig on 23 February 2008 with former Dark Carnival and
Destroy All Monsters
is a 1968 Japanese epic ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa and supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''G ...
singer-visual artist,
Niagara, at The Crest Hotel,
Sylvania, was recorded and released as ''St Valentine's Day Massacre'' in October 2009 via Savage Beat/
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 ...
in Australia and US label, Steel Cage, around the world.
The band gigged solidly with a national tour with Niagara undertaken in April 2010.
The Hitmen marked their 30th anniversary with a one-off show at the Sandringham Hotel, Newtown, in Sydney on 21 May 2010. Another retrospective collection, ''Dancin' Time'', of studio and live material was released in November of that year. The band went into hiatus when Masuak moved to Spain in 2015. Kannis finished recording his solo single which was produced by fellow Hitman, Jukic, at the Alchemy Music Group Studios.
In 2017 the Hitmen regrouped for a national tour to promote their compilation album, ''Solid as a Rock'', Kannis, Jukic, Robertson and Murray Shepherd were joined by Vince "the Wiz" Cuscuna on guitar (ex-
the Psychotic Turnbuckles). They continued to tour during 2018.
Members
Timeline
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Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1977 till:30/12/2016
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:2018
Colors =
id:bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards, Guitar
id:lines value:black legend:Studio albums
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1977
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:2011
LineData =
at:01/01/1978 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1979 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1980 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1981 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1982 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1984 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1988 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1991 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1992 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/2009 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/2006 color:black layer:back
BarData =
bar:Kanis text:"Johnny Kannis"
bar:Pepper text:"Angie Pepper"
bar:Phillips text:"Lynne Phillips"
bar:Masuak text:"Chris Masuak"
bar:Cuscuna text:"Vince Cuscuna"
bar:Georges text:"Charlie Georges"
bar:Vidale text:"Tony Vidale"
bar:Shepherd2 text:"Brad Shepherd"
bar:Jakimyszyn text:"Richard Jakimyszyn"
bar:Sattler text:"Robert Sattler"
bar:Jukic text:"Tony Jukic"
bar:Gilbert text:"Warwick Gilbert"
bar:Somerville text:"Phil Somerville"
bar:Bramley text:"Clyde Bramley"
bar:Robertson text:"Tony Robertson"
bar:Banesevic text:"Peter Banesevic"
bar:Keeley text:"Ron Keeley"
bar:Brown text:"Alan Brown"
bar:Hay text:"Ivor Hay"
bar:Kingsmill text:"Mark Kingsmill"
bar:Peterkin text:"Geoff Peterkin"
bar:Bennetts text:"Gye Bennetts"
bar:Shepherd text:"Murray Shepherd"
bar:Harris text:"Steve Harris"
PlotData=
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Bennetts from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/1989 color:drums
bar:Bramley from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:bass
bar:Brown from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:drums
bar:Cuscuna from:01/01/2016 till:end color:guitar
bar:Georges from:01/01/1979 till:31/12/1978 color:guitar
bar:Gilbert from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1978 color:bass
bar:Gilbert from:01/01/1981 till:31/12/1981 color:bass
bar:Harris from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:keyboards
bar:Hay from:01/01/1978 till:01/01/1979 color:drums
bar:Jakimyszyn from:01/10/1984 till:31/12/1984 color:guitar
bar:Jukic from:01/01/2007 till:end color:guitar
bar:Kanis from:01/01/1977 till:end color:vocals
bar:Keeley from:01/01/1977 till:31/12/1977 color:drums
bar:Kingsmill from:01/01/1979 till:31/12/1984 color:drums
bar:Masuak from:01/01/1977 till:31/12/2015 color:guitar
bar:Pepper from:01/01/1977 till:31/12/1978 color:vocals
bar:Peterkin from:01/01/1979 till:31/12/1979 color:drums
bar:Phillips from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:vocals
bar:Robertson from:01/01/1982 till:31/12/1986 color:bass
bar:Robertson from:01/01/2007 till:end color:bass
bar:Shepherd from:01/01/2007 till:end color:drums
bar:Somerville from:01/01/1978 till:01/01/1979 color:bass
bar:Vidale from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1981 color:guitar
bar:Sattler from:01/01/1987 till:25/12/1991 color:guitar
bar:Shepherd2 from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/1983 color:guitar
*Peter Banesevic : Guitar
*Gye Bennetts : Drums (1989)
*Clyde Bramley : Bass (1978)
*Alan Brown : Drums (1978)
*Charlie Georges : Guitar (1977–78)
*Warwick Gilbert : Bass, Guitar (1977–78, 1981)
*Steve Harris : Keyboard, Guitar (1978)
*Ivor Hay : Drums (1978–79)
*Richard Jakimyszyn : Guitar, Vocals (1984)
* Tony Jukic : Guitar (2007–present)
*Johnny Kannis : Vocals (1977–present)
*Ron Keeley : Drums (1977)
*
Mark Kingsmill
Mark Adrian Kingsmill (born 4 December 1956) is an Australian rock musician. He has drummed with several bands including the Hitmen (1979–84), New Christs (1983–84), the Screaming Tribesmen (1984) and Hoodoo Gurus (1984–98, 2003–15). He ...
: Drums, Vocals (1979–84)
*
Chris Masuak
Christopher William Masuak (born 1959) is a Canadian-born Australian musician, guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He joined the punk rock group Radio Birdman (1976–1978, 1995–1996, 1997, 2005–2007), then the hard rockers, the Hit ...
: Guitar, Vocals (1976–2015)
*Angie Pepper : Vocals (1977–78)
*Geoff Peterkin : Drums (1979)
*Lynne Phillips : Vocals (1978)
*Tony Robertson : Bass, Vocals (1982–86, 2007– )
*
Brad Shepherd
Bradley Mark Shepherd (born 1 February 1961) is an Australian rock musician. Shepherd is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and harmonica player; he has performed with several bands, especially Hoodoo Gurus.
Biography
Early life
Shepherd was born ...
: Guitar (1981–82)
* Murray Shepherd : Drums (2007– )
*Phil Somerville : Bass (1978–79)
*Tony Vidale : Guitar (1979–81)
*Robert Sattler : Guitar (1987–91)
*Vince Wiz Cuscuna:Guitar (2016–)
*Gerard (Sundance) Presland
*Drums 1990–1993 (moronic inferno)
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
EPs
Singles
References
;General
* Note: Archived
n-linecopy has limited functionality.
;Specific
External links
*
Discographyat Divine Rites
2017 Johnny Kannis Interview - Australian Rock Show Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitmen, The
Australian punk rock groups
Australian indie rock groups
Musical groups established in 1977
Musical groups from Sydney