The Venetians (Australian band)

The Venetians were an Australian synthpop act formed in 1982 by English-born Rik Swinn on lead vocals, who enlisted Matthew Hughes on keyboards (ex-Gotham City); Tim Powles on drums (ex-Ward 13); Dave Skeet on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals; and Peter Watson on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals (ex-Scandal, Extractors). They issued three studio albums, Step Off the Edge (May 1985), Calling in the Lions (June 1986) and Amazing World (1988). They had top 30 hit singles in Australia with "So Much for Love" (December 1985), "Inspiration" (March 1986) and "Bitter Tears" (May 1988). Swinn disbanded the group in 1989.

The Venetians
OriginSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres
Years active1982 (1982)–1989 (1989)
Labels
Past members
  • Rik Swinn
  • David Skeet
  • Peter Watson
  • Tim Powles
  • Matthew Hughes
  • Steve Ball
  • Lee Borkman

Biography

The Venetians were formed in late 1982 as a studio concept band after Rik Swinn (lead vocalist) arrived in Sydney with master tapes of tracks he recorded in England with Vic Coppersmith-Heaven producing.[1] He read a newspaper advert placed by two musicians looking for a lead singer. Within weeks Swinn formed a touring band and enlisted David Skeet on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals; and Peter Watson (ex-Scandal, Extractors) on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals.[1][2] Drummer Tim Powles (ex-Ward 13) joined next and keyboardist Matthew Hughes (ex-Gotham City) completed the line up of the Venetians by July 1983.[1][2]

"The chemistry was definitely there from the beginning," says Swinn.

The Venetians released their first single, "Sound on Sound", in April 1983,[1][3] which is a version of Swinn's original demo.[4] The track was written by Swinn.[5] The band signed with Festival Records' Parole Records label.[1][3] It was accompanied by a music video which attracted airplay, "Sound on Sound", and reached the Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 100.[6] It was regarded as a 'turntable hit' following airplay on national radio station, Triple J. Their second single, "Chinese I's (Here Come the Minute Men)" (November 1983), which The Canberra Times' writer observed, "is being heard lots at the moment, both on television and on radio,"[7] while the band began to build their reputation as a live act on the pub circuit.[1]

The Venetians released their debut album, Step Off the Edge, in May 1985,[1] which was produced by Coppersmith-Heaven. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, observed, "[they] began to transcend their cult following" while the album was, "somewhat tentative."[1] They released "Ooh La La" (November 1984) as its lead single.[1] They supported Split Enz on the Australian leg of their Enz with a Bang farewell tour in October–November 1984. This led to tours supporting Icehouse and Nik Kershaw. By 1985 they were an Australian live attraction in their own right. The band released the album's second single, "Shine the Light" (February 1985), which reached the top 100.[1][6]

Near the end of 1985 the Venetians went into the studio with producer Mark Opitz to record two tracks, which were issued as their next single, "So Much for Love" (December 1985).[1] The band started working with producer, Peter Blyton, on their second album, Calling in the Lions (June 1986). "So Much For Love" peaked at number three on the national charts in March.[1][6] The Venetians embarked on a two-month Australian tour, with the Church, and released a follow-up single, "Inspiration" (March 1986), which reached the top 20.[1][6] Lisa Wallace of The Canberra Times opined that the two singles, "are undoubtedly the best parts of this album. Casting them aside, [it] slows a little, although there's some good, solid rock and striking harmonies there to be found."[8]

A third single, "If Somebody Loves You" (June 1986), was issued from Calling in the Lions. The album and "So Much for Love" were re-released via Chrysalis Records in the United States in 1987.[3] The single was issued with a remixed by Robert Racic and Stephen Orkins as well as an extended Rock Mix, which reached number one on the Chicago Dance Chart. "One from the Heart", track 3, on both the US and Australian pressings was picked up for used in an episode of Miami Vice in 1986. Music videos were provided for "So Much for Love", "Inspiration" and "If Somebody Loves You" for MTV in the US. All three were directed by Alex Proyas (Crowded House, INXS),[9] a film director whose credits include, The Crow and Dark City.

With the departure of Matthew Hughes in 1987, the Venetians spent the next year as a four-piece recording their third album, Amazing World (July 1988),[1] with producer Mark Goldenberg and later Mark Opitz. The album was mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York by Michael Frondelli who had worked with Billy Idol and Pat Benatar. It provided three singles, "Amazing World" (November 1987), "Bitter Tears" (May 1988) and "Must Believe" (September).[1][6] "Bitter Tears" reached the ARIA Singles Chart top 30 while Amazing World peaked in the top 50 on the related ARIA Albums Chart.[6][10] In July 1988 Swinn called in Steve Ball on bass guitar and Lee Borkman on keyboards.[1][3] The band broke up in the following year.[1]

Tim Powles became the drummer for Scribble (1985–86), the Divinyls (1989), Angry Anderson Band (1990) and the Church (1994–present).[1][2] With that group he is involved in band management and recording, he produced three of their albums. David Skeet moved to the US in 1990 and worked as a producer and recording artist while signed to MCA Music in Los Angeles and Epic Records in New York. Skeet returned to Sydney in 1999 and continued to produce records, including projects at Powles' Spacejunk studio. He later produced and developed artists through his own production company, Skeet Music, and was under contract with Universal Music Publishing. Peter Watson lived in Sydney, and worked in the finance industry. He sometimes performed with singer, Louise Anton.

Members
  • Rik Swinn – lead vocals (1982–89)
  • David Skeet – guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser, vocals (1983–89)
  • Peter Watson – bass guitar, guitar, synthesiser, vocals (1983–89)
  • Tim Powles – drums (1983–89)
  • Matthew Hughes – keyboards (1983–87)
  • Steve Ball – bass guitar (1988)
  • Lee Borkman – keyboards (1988)

Discography

Albums
  • Step off the Edge (May 1985) – Parole Records/Festival Records (L 38226, C 38226)
  • Calling in the Lions (June 1986) – Parole Records/Festival Records/Chrysalis Records (RML 53204, BFV 41555)
  • Amazing World (July 1988) – Parole Records/Festival Records/Chrysalis Records

Singles
Year Title AU
[6][10]		 SCA
[11]		 US
[12]		 USD
[12]
April 1983 "Sound on Sound" / "Son Sur Son" 85 – – –
November 1983 "Chinese I's" / "Fundamental Principles" 63 40 – –
November 1984 "Ooh La La" / "Things" – – – –
February 1985 "Shine the Light" / "If London Were Venice" 91 – – –
December 1985 "So Much for Love" / "10" 3 13 88 35
March 1986 "Inspiration" / "Here Comes The Rain" 19 – – –
June 1986 "If Somebody Loves You" / "Voices" 67 – – –
October 1986 "Let It All Go" – – – –
June 1987 "Amazing World"/ "Another Amazing World" – – – –
May 1988 "Bitter Tears" / "Heartbeat" 24 23 – –
September 1988 "Must Believe" / "Looks Like Love" 82 – – –
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References
  1. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Venetians'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 6 April 2004.
  2. Australian Rock Database entries:
  3. Swift, Brendan. "Venetians | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  4. Dougary, Ginny (26 May 1985). "Hit Band Wanted: Please Apply to Festival". The Canberra Times. 59 (18, 136). pp. 46–49. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "'Sound' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 9 April 2018. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' &/or 'Performer:'
  6. 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.
  7. "Donations let 'Ciao Baby' continue". The Canberra Times. 59 (18, 071). 21 March 1985. p. 17. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. Wallace, Lisa (13 July 1986). "Gutteral, Elegant, yet Almost Sleazy Sound". The Canberra Times. 60 (18, 547). p. 15. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Have you heard..." The Canberra Times. The Good Times. 61 (18, 677). 21 November 1986. p. 9. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Hung, Steffen. "Discography Venetians". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  11. The Book by Barnes and Scanes P.387
  12. "The Venetians Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
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