Pseudo Echo

Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 in Melbourne, Victoria. The original line-up consisted of Brian Canham (vocals, guitars and keyboards), Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) (bass keyboards, bass), Tony Lugton (keyboards) and Anthony Argiro (drums). A later line-up included James Leigh (keyboards) and his brother, Vince Leigh (drums). In the 1980s, Pseudo Echo had Australian top 20 hits with "Listening", "A Beat for You", "Don't Go", "Love an Adventure", "Living in a Dream" and their cover of "Funky Town" (originally by Lipps Inc.), which peaked at No. 1 in 1986. In 1987, it reached No. 1 in Canada and New Zealand, No. 6 in the United States and No. 8 in the United Kingdom.

Pseudo Echo
OriginMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
GenresNew wave, synthpop, electronic rock
Years active1982 (1982)–1990 (1990), 1998 (1998)–present
LabelsRCA, EMI
Associated actsBrill, Origene, Vertigo, Invertigo
Websitewww.pseudoechomusic.com
MembersBrian Canham
Matty Ray
Cameron Smith
James Mudd
Past membersPierre Gigliotti
Tony Lugton
Anthony Argiro
James Leigh
Vince Leigh
Tony Featherstone

Their 1984 debut album, Autumnal Park, peaked at No. 11 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Love an Adventure followed in 1985 and reached No. 14. Their third album, Race (1988), peaked at No. 18. In 1990 the group disbanded. They reformed in 1998 and issued Teleporter in 2000. Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane stated they "combined flash clothes, blow-wave hairstyles, youthful exuberance and accessible synth-pop to arrive at a winning combination ... and found a ready-made audience among teenagers who fawned on the band's every move".

History

1982-1986: Formation, Autumnal Park & Love an Adventure
Main articles: Autumnal Park and Love an Adventure

Pseudo Echo was formed in Melbourne in 1982 by high school friends Brian Canham on vocals, guitars, and keyboards and Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) on bass and keyboards; they were later joined by Tony Lugton (ex-James Freud & the Radio Stars) on guitars and keyboards.[1][2] The group were named for a sound effect available on their keyboards and were influenced by New Romantics bands, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Ultravox.[1][3] Molly Meldrum, television presenter for the pop music series Countdown, saw the group at a gig and aired them on the show with a demo version of "Listening" in June 1983.[3][4] They were signed to EMI Records and "Listening" – produced by Peter Dawkins – was issued in November as their debut single, which peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[2][5]

Their debut album, Autumnal Park, produced by Dawkins and John Punter, was released in June 1984, which peaked at No. 11 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart.[2][5] It was an Ultravox-influenced effort which yielded the singles "A Beat for You" (No. 12 in April), "Dancing Until Midnight" (June)[6] and "Stranger in Me" (November).[7][1][5] "His Eyes", another album track, received overseas exposure when it was used in the film Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.

In October 1984 Tony Lugton left the band due to musical differences,[8] and was replaced by James Leigh (aka James Dingli).[1] Lugton eventually joined synth rock band Talk That Walk. Another line-up change occurred just after the recording of the second album, with Argiro replaced by James's brother Vince Leigh (aka Vincent Dingli).[1][2] In November 1985, Canham joined a charity project for research on little penguins, as a guest vocalist with other Australian artists and backed by The Incredible Penguins. They covered the John Lennon and Yoko Ono hit "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", which peaked at No. 10 in December.[5][9]

Their second album, Love an Adventure, was issued in November 1985 and was produced by Mark S. Berry, and Brian Canham. The album reached No. 14 in Australia.[2][5] Three of its singles reached the Top 20 including "Don't Go" (No. 4 in October), "Love an Adventure" (No. 6 in January 1986), and "Living in a Dream" (No. 15 in May).[5] A fourth single, "Try" (August), peaked at No 60.[5]

In October 1986, Pseudo Echo released a rockier version of the Lipps Inc. disco song "Funky Town", which spent seven weeks at number-one from December.[5] The album Love an Adventure was re-released the following year to include their remake of "Funky Town" which brought the group their biggest international success, the single reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1987.[10]

The overseas release of Love an Adventure featured a different track listing and included re-recorded versions of three singles from Autumnal Park: "Listening, "A Beat for You", and "Destination Unknown".

1987-1990: Long Plays 83-87 & Race
Main articles: Long Plays 83-87 and Race (album)

In 1987, the band re-released "Listening" for the movie North Shore starring Nia Peeples. In October they won the 1987 World Popular Song Festival (aka Yamaha Music Festival) with "Take on the World",[11] which provided a prize of US$10,000.[1] and released a compilation album Long Plays 83–87. It was released as Funky Town - The Album in New Zealand where it peaked at No.1. Their third studio album, Race was released in 1988. It was produced by Julian Mendelsohn and Brian Canham, had a more mature rock sound.[1] It featured the Australian singles "Fooled Again", "Over Tomorrow" and "Eye of the Storm".The album reached No. 18 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 32 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[5] Pseudo Echo disbanded shortly after touring for Race in 1990.

1990-1997: Other projects

After Pseudo Echo disbanded Canham moved into record production including Chocolate Starfish's 1994 debut album, Chocolate Starfish, which peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[1][12] Gigliotti performed with a covers band, All the Young Dudes. The Leigh brothers formed Vertigo (later renamed as Invertigo) in 1996. In 1997, Canham formed Brill with Darren Danielson (ex-Chocolate Starfish) on drums. Andy McIvor added on bass guitar and Dave Stuart on Keyboards, they toured as Brill and issued an album titled Brill in August 1997. In 2002 Canham along with Ben Grayson and Matilda White formed dance outfit Origene. They achieved success with their song Suddenly Silently (originally written for Pseudo Echo), and followed up with the club hit Sanctuary which reached number 1 on the Billboard Club chart in the United States.

1998-2012: Reformation: Teleporter and touring
Main article: Teleporter (album)

Pseudo Echo reunited in March 1998, with Canham and Gigliotti joined by Danielson on drums and Tony Featherstone on keyboards (ex-The Badloves), they played sold-out venues across Australia reaffirming the band's popularity. In late 1999, Ben Grayson replaced Featherstone on keyboards. In 2000 they released "Funkytown Y2K: RMX" which included six new remixes of "Funky Town". In the same year they supported international artists Culture Club and Village People. In 2000, Pseudo Echo released a double-CD Teleporter. It was produced by Canham. Disc one featured four new tracks and five re-mixed tracks. Disc two was a live performances.

In 2005, Pseudo Echo toured extensively with Idols of the 80s and they released Autumnal Park - Live. In 2006 Canham performed at the Countdown Spectacular alongside an impressive gathering of Australian musicians.

In 2007, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pseudo Echo, Canham and Gigliotti were joined by previous members James and Vince Leigh for a sold-out show at the Crown Casino, Melbourne. This performance was followed by a short Australian tour before Canham and Gigliotti were rejoined by Danielson and Grayson. In 2012, co-founder Gigliotti resigned from the band and was replaced by Simon Rayner (bass keys, backing vocals).

2012-present: Ultraviolet and Live at the Viper Room
Main articles: Ultraviolet (Pseudo Echo album) and Live at the Viper Room

In July 2012, Pseudo Echo recorded and released their version of "Suddenly Silently". This was followed by "Fighting the Tide" in 2013. 2014 saw them undertake a successful crowd-funding campaign which enabled them to release their 5th studio album, Ultraviolet. The band toured Ultraviolet extensively across Australia and to New Zealand.

In January 2015, the group recorded a live performance in Hollywood's Viper Room in front of a sold-out crowd. This was released as Live at the Viper Room in June 2015.

In December 2017, the group released a cover of "Nutbush City Limits".

In April 2020, an acoustic album "Acoustica" surfaced on iTunes/Apple Music and via the band's website.

A forthcoming album, "After Party", is in the works and set for release in late 2020.

Influences

Pseudo Echo were originally influenced by Simple Minds, Ultravox, Japan and then later Duran Duran and The Human League.[13]

Members

Current Members

  • Brian Canham - vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, bass (founding member, 1982–present)
  • James Mudd - keyboards
  • Matty Ray - keyboards
  • Cameron Smith - drums

Former Members

  • Pierre Gigliotti - bass, keyboards, synth bass (1982-2012)
  • Tony Lugton - keyboards, guitar (1982-1984)
  • Anthony Argiro - drums (1982-1985)
  • James Leigh - keyboards, keytar, piano (1984-1990, 2007)
  • Vince Leigh - drums (1985-1990, 2007)
  • Tony Featherstone - keyboards (1998-2000)

Discography
Main article: Pseudo Echo discography

Studio albums
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References
General
  • McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2011. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
  • Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara; Paul McHenry (2002) [1987]. The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-891-1.[14] Note: [on-line] version of The Who's Who of Australian Rock was established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. As from, September 2010 the [on-line] version shows an 'Internal Service Error' and was no longer available.
Specific
  1. McFarlane, 'Pseudo Echo' entry. Archived from the original on 18 February 2004. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  2. Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan; McAlister, Karen. "Pseudo Echo". passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  3. Warner, Dave (June 2006). Countdown: The Wonder Years 1974–1987. Sydney, NSW: ABC Books (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). pp. 61, 78. ISBN 0-7333-1401-5.
  4. Jenkins, Jeff; Meldrum, Ian (2007). Molly Meldrum Presents 50 Years of Rock in Australia. Melbourne, Vic: Wilkinson Publishing. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-921332-11-1.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  6. http://www.45cat.com/record/emi1304
  7. http://www.45cat.com/record/emi1390
  8. Grech, Jason (29 April 2006). "An Interview with Brian Canham by Jason". Exclusive Interviews. Countdown Memories. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  9. Spencer et al, (2007), Incredible Penguins entry.
  10. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 441. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  11. "WPSF 1987". World Popular Song Festival. Telenet. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  12. "Discography Chocolate Starfish". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  13. "Pseudo Echo – Interview – Brian Canham Pseudo Echo". Music Interviews. Femail.com.au. Retrieved 22 May 2011. Simple minds, Ultravox, Japan and then later Durran Durran (sic) and Human League. I didn't realize how much we were influenced until now. It's quite obvious when I actually listen to our music and draw comparisons.
  14. "Who's Who of Australian Rock / Compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry". catalogue. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
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