The Saints '73-'78 announce US debut shows featuring original members Ed Kuepper and Ivor Hay, with Mark Arm, Mick Harvey & Peter Oxley, plus 3-piece brass section
Tickets on sale Friday, February 21st at noon ET
'(I'm) Stranded' box set available on vinyl and CD through In The Red Records
"The Saints came down from Brisbane (to Melbourne) with a sound that they had worked out entirely on their own, which really sat before the punk thing happened in Britain. They got there first. There was one prevailing emotion that came from those live shows and that was complete contempt, about everything, and that was really unbelievably exciting. They had it all down. We were just flailing around." - Nick Cave
Following a hugely successful debut Australian tour in 2024, The Saints ’73-’78 will make their US debut this November. Featuring founding Saints members, guitarist Ed Kuepper and drummer Ivor Hay, alongside honorary Saints; singer Mark Arm of Seattle rockers Mudhoney, former The Birthday Party / Bad Seeds guitarist Mick Harvey and bassist Peter Oxley of Australia’s legendary Sunnyboys, The Saints ’73 -’78 carry on where the original band left off in 1978, performing the material from their three incendiary albums (I’m) Stranded (1977), Eternally Yours (1978), and Prehistoric Sounds (1978).
The November tour will be the first time the material from the original band and their three albums, plus respective EPs and singles, will have ever been performed in the USA.
“The Saints first three albums rank among the best records ever made. They have been a part of my life since stumbling upon them in the early 80s. Their influence looms large in Mudhoney world. I am stoked, stunned, and humbled that I get to join in on this Rock ‘n’ Roll Reality Camp with Ed, Ivor, Peter and Mick!” - Mark Arm
The tour also comes off the back of a recent 4-LP box set of 1977’s ground breaking debut (I’m) Stranded, which features the original album remastered for vinyl for the first time in over 40 years, the previously unreleased 1976 mix of the album, a 5-song live performance from April 1977 at Sydney’s Paddington Town Hall, a full live show from the London’s Hope and Anchor in November 1977, plus all recordings from the 1977 Top 40-charting This Perfect Day and 1-2-3-4 EP sessions.
“... 10 tracks of fast and angry rock music that - unlike the Ramones and their copyists - used tension and release to heighten the effect of the mid-tempo Story Of Love and the shredding feedback jam Nights In Venice. An essential document this, from one of the era’s fiercest and greatest groups” - Jon Savage (MOJO)
All off it still sounds nearly as rowdy, feral and cheerfully full of itself as it must have at the time: between Bailey’s eloquent swagger and Kuepper’s furious gravity lay a total confidence in how utterly astonishing The Saints were.'’ - Andrew Mueller (Uncut)
For the Australian tour, The Saints ’73-’78 fleshed themselves out to an eight-piece lineup, which included a 3-piece brass section bringing to life all those previously unheard Prehistoric Sounds tracks, the classic Know Your Product and more. The same lineup will tour the UK and the USA.
"This wasn’t a tribute to the Saints … it was something else. It was eight guys on stage reaching for magic, devoted to the moment and delivering one of the greatest final furlongs I’ve seen in four decades of watching live music.” Sean Sennett (Time Off)
"The towering impressions left by the night's proceedings? That Kuepper is a motherfucker of a guitar player, his sound just as molten and unrelenting as back in the day”. - UNCUT
“So… this was no tribute band… no hackneyed cabaret act. This was a band on fire. From the first few bars of opening song, This Perfect Day, through to the last drops of the chaotic frenzy that is Nights In Venice, The Saints pummelled our senses with 20 songs of jaw-dropping intensity” - Backseat Mafia
In their original guise, The Saints existed from 1973-1978. Self-releasing the legendary (I’m) Stranded single in September 1976, and in the process pre-dating releases - and the yet-to be-named ‘punk’ scene - from the Sex Pistols, the Damned, the Buzzocks and the Clash. Following the release of their debut album, also titled (I’m) Stranded, in February 1977, The Saints would move first to Sydney and then in May, to the UK, playing their first show at the London Roundhouse with the Ramones. Over the next twelve months, the band would release their only UK-charting record; the exquisite 7” This Perfect Day, record and release the 1-2-3-4 EP and record two further albums, the critically acclaimed Eternally Yours, and Prehistoric Sounds (both 1978), before calling it quits.
Following their demise, guitarist Ed Kuepper, having provided the bulk of the material and the sonic pallet that was The Saints, resisted the urge to perform under the banner of The Saints, instead returned to Australia to begin his new group, the equalling as incendiary Laughing Clowns, who would prove a significant influence on the post-punk scene and in particular (yet again) on Nick Cave and The Birthday Party. Eventually, Kuepper would turn to his own name as a recording artist, producing over 15 solo albums and earning himself numerous ARIA awards at home, as well as Hall of Fame entries for both his solo work and with The Saints. He would also record movie soundtracks, revert to his rock mode via albums with The Aints and The Aints!, enjoy a spell as guitarist with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, co-create the experimental jazz outfit Asteroid Ekosystem and is shortly to release the album After the Flood, a collaboration with the brilliant Jim White, drummer for Dirty Three, The Hard Quartet and The Double.
Saints singer and lyricist Chris Bailey would carry on with the name The Saints over the next 40 years, moving more into the folk and r’n’b of his youth and finding some chart success in Australia during the mid-eighties. ‘The Boss’ Bruce Springsteen even covering the Bailey-penned track (Just Like) Fire Would for his 2014 live album, High Hopes.
Drummer Ivor Hay, whose contribution to those first three albums was so unique and identifiable, would dip in and out of the post-Kuepper lineups of The Saints, performing on those mid-eighties hits, and also forming his own post-punk outfit, Wildlife Documentaries, before dropping out of music altogether for the domestic sector and, among other things, wrote the first Instruction Manual for the Fairlight CMI!
On 9/11/2001, Saints founding members Bailey, Kuepper and Hay reformed for their induction into the Australian Music Hall of Fame playing the song (I’m) Stranded for the first time in over 30 years, but other things on that day overshadowed their achievement.
Moving on to 2007, and The Saints would then reunite for real performing at the State Government-backed Pig City concert, headlining to 7000 euphoric Saints fans, which lead to the release of a live album of the same name. Then in 2009, at the behest of Mr. Cave and Mick Harvey, The Saints reformed again, this time for the Australian leg of the All Tomorrow’s Parties Festivals, playing shows in Melbourne, Mt. Buller, Hobart, Brisbane, and on an island in Sydney Harbour. These would be the last shows the original three would perform together.
In 2023, with the announcement of The Saints (I’m) Stranded box set and following the 2022 death of Chris Bailey, the decision was made to assemble a band who could most represent the songs performed on those first three incendiary albums. In Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, they found a singer, different in tone to Bailey, but someone who could deliver with intensity and a real passion for the material. As one of the rare few to have seen the band perform on home soil in 1977, Mick Harvey (ex-Bad Seeds) was a natural choice to help replicate the extras parts played on the albums, be it guitar or keyboard. Bassist Peter Oxley of Sydney’s legendary Sunnyboys has been a long-time foil of Kuepper's across various solo and band entities and remains a firm disciple of 1977-78-era Saints bassist, Algy Ward. Rounding out The Saints ’73-’78 is a three-piece brass section featuring both tenor and baritone sax, trumpet and French horn and includes masters of their craft; Eamon Dilworth and Julien Wilson.
And joining The Saints ’73-’78 on all dates across the USA and UK are fast-rising Australia duo, Chimers. Recipients of numerous end-of-year ‘best of 2024’ album nods for their sophomore effort, Through Today. 10 tracks of laser-focused intensity that has seen them receive friends and favour from Henry Rollins to Built to Spill, Mudhoney to Mick Harvey! Indeed; Gerard Cosloy of Matador Records notoriety signed them to his 12XU label having witnessed them just the once. Crikey!
“Illawarra-based two-piece Chimers tore up the second stage, bringing the sound and ferocity of a five-piece distilled into a guitar and drums duo. Tracks like their debut single off their 2021 album Surrounds showcase an ability to fabricate a wall of sound with just two bandmates.” - The Music
What you didn’t know about The Saints:
** (I’m) Stranded was written by Ed Kuepper & Chris Bailey in 1974
** Between October and November 1976 UK magazine Sounds declared (I’m) Stranded Single of the Week on three separate occasions
** By the time of album recording in October 1976 The Saints had played just five open-to-the-public shows. Anything else had been a party
** In June 1977 a nascent Tubeway Army supported The Saints at London’s legendary Roxy venue.
** 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Saints guitarist Ed Kuepper as a live performer.
Praise for The Saints:
“Of all the places for one of the best bands to come from, it’s Brisbane, Australia. And they were doing it way before anybody else. They were playing live in like, ‘73. They were just an amazing band. Sort of like the Australian version of the Ramones but they didn’t look the part. I remember at the time thinking, those guys need to go to the barber. But that’s how shallow a lot of people were about bands at the time and they didn’t get the recognition they deserved. And I feel it was because of the way they looked. Never was a more punky record made but for some reason, well, for the reasons I’ve just said, they were criminally overlooked. I’d love to have seen them live, but never did.” - Jim Reid (The Jesus & Mary Chain)
(I’m) Stranded is one of the hottest walking, incendiary, original rock albums ever recorded. This record is still as relevant to me now as it was back then." - Henry Rollins
"Rock music in the 70s was changed by three bands - the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and the Saints." - Sir Bob Geldof
“A strong case could be made that thanks to this record -- and its follow up Eternally Yours - that nobody did it as well as the Saints. I'm Stranded isn't only essential punk history, it's one of the best rock & roll albums period.” AllMusic
"If there is any punk rock better/hotter, it’s a short list." The Big Takeover
“(I’m) Stranded remains the place to start when approaching the work of this important band. And this new box set represents the best way to embark upon that endeavor.” Goldmine
“It’s a refreshing blast of freon in today’s image-conscious, careerist era. The Saints recorded one of the best punk albums of all time a mere six months after the genre’s supposed origin. It’s about time the world knows it.” Spectrum Culture
“Magnificent.” SPIN
Live Shows:
October 31 - Auckland, NZ - Powerstation
November 1 - Wellington, NZ - MeowNui
US:
November 5 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom
November 6 & 7 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
November 8 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
November 9 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
November 11 - Chicago, IL - Cabaret Metro
November 13 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
November 6 & 7 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
November 8 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
November 9 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
November 11 - Chicago, IL - Cabaret Metro
November 13 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
November 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
November 15 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
November 16 - Washington, D.C. - Union Stage
UK:
November 21 - Bristol - Trinity
November 22 - Leeds - Project House
November 23 - Glasgow - Garage
November 24 - Manchester - Academy 2
November 26 - London - Electric Ballroom
EUROPE:
November 28 - Stockholm - Debasser Strand
November 29 - Malmo - Plan B.
November 30 - Berlin - Astra
Live reviews of The Saints ’73-‘78:
Interviews:
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