Stranded

Author Clinton Walker has written a personal history of his involvement in the Australian underground/independent music scene. From the impact of The Saints on the Punk Rock / New Wave scene of the late 70's through to the rise of Nick Cave in the 90's Walker was there. With that he has covered the many excellent bands and individual artists that made a small splash as doing something unusual in an independent scene that was far more interesting than the boredom that the major labels and public at large seemed to revel in.

On a personal level I caught The Saints in their early days in a hall somewhere in the western suburbs of Brisbane. My mates hated them but they left enough of an impression with me that when Sounds mag in the UK declared “(I'm) Stranded” as “Single of this and every week” I knew who they were. And with that they changed my musical listening and life. Over the last few months I have actually given away or sold a fair bit of the vinyl I collected from those days. The Leftovers are an infamous Brisbane Punk band and get a mention in this book. I sold a copy of their Cigarettes and Alcohol single for the rather considerable sum of $1,200 aus and the Go-Betweens 2nd single People Say for $500aus. While reading the book a Sydney band was mentioned called The Lipstick Killers. One member was the son of family friends and back in the day he gave me a copy of their single Hindu Gods of Love. I have no idea what happened to that, maybe given away as has been my wont but I see that that has been sold for as high as $500aus. I still have a few more from those days that fetch a few dollars, 77 Sunset Strip by The Riptides, a couple of Razar singles among others. Offers?
A must read for anyone with an interest in the subject.