The Living End
The Living End is an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 1997 after the release of their EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society, which peaked at No. 4 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. They have released eight studio albums, two of which reached the No. 1 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart: The Living End (October 1998) and State of Emergency (February 2006). They have also achieved chart success in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
This article is about the Australian band. For other uses, see The Living End (disambiguation).
The Living End
- The Longnecks
- Safety Matches
1994–present
- Dine Alone
- Dew Process
- Deck Cheese
- Adeline
- EastWest
- EMI
- Modular
- Rapido
- Rise
- Independent
Joey Piripitzi
Travis Demsey
Adrian Lombardi
The Band was nominated 27 times and won five awards at the Australian ARIA Music Awards ceremonies: "Highest Selling Single" for Second Solution / Prisoner of Society (1998), "Breakthrough Artist – Album" and "Best Group" for The Living End (1999), as well as "Best Rock Album" for White Noise (2008) and The Ending Is Just the Beginning Repeating (2011). In October 2010, their debut album was listed in the book "100 Best Australian Albums".
Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described the group as "one of Australia’s premier rock acts. By blending a range of styles (punk, rockabilly and flat out rock) with great success, The Living End has managed to produce anthemic choruses and memorable songs in abundance".
History[edit]
Beginnings (1994–1996)[edit]
The Living End were formed in 1994 by Chris Cheney and Scott Owen, who had met years earlier in primary school through their older sisters and began performing together from 1990 while attending Wheelers Hill Secondary College in Melbourne.[1][2] Cheney and Owen had their first public gig at The Rob Roy in Melbourne in 1991. Cheney was a fan of rockabilly group Stray Cats and this prompted Owen, who originally played piano, to switch to double bass.[1] The pair formed a cover band, The Runaway Boys, which performed Stray Cats and The Clash material.[1][3] That group were named after a track, of the same name, from the Stray Cats self-titled debut album (February 1981).[1][4] The Runaway Boys initially played in the local rockabilly music scene but expanded their audience by performing in regional towns and backing popular Melbourne cover band Mercury Blue at the Wheelers Hill Hotel/Pub.[1][2] Cheney later recalled "[w]e played to all the jivers and rock 'n' rollers ... And we slowly drifted into Melbourne's rockabilly scene".[2] As Cheney and Owen persevered, the band went through several drummers, while they were still attending school.[5]
By 1994, Cheney and Owen were writing their own material and decided to change the band's name to The Living End – a reference to the film, Rock Around the Clock (1956).[6] According to Cheney "It's an old '50s term, meaning 'far out', 'the greatest' ... We were still into the whole '50s thing, but we wanted a neutral name, one that didn't suggest any one style of music".[2] With Cheney on lead guitar and lead vocals, and Owen on double bass and backing vocals, the group settled on Joe Piripitzi as their drummer.[1][3][7] Cheney considered Piripitzi to be ideal due to his charismatic appearance.[4]
During that year they recorded a track, "Headlines", which had been co-written by Cheney and Owen.[8][9] The group sent a T-shirt and demo tape to Green Day guitarist and lead vocalist, Billie Joe Armstrong, and landed a support slot for Green Day's 1995 Australian tour. After that tour, The Living End recorded additional tracks for their debut extended play, Hellbound, which received moderate support from community radio stations.[9] It was produced by the group and included "Headlines" from the previous year.[7] Ed Nimmervoll, an Australian musicologist, described the EP's sound: "they turned their back on '50s rock revivalism and adapted that instrumentation to original songs steeped in UK punk".
In November 1995, the trio recorded their second EP, It's for Your Own Good, which appeared in the following June.[1][3] The six-track EP was co-produced by Lindsay Gravina (Underground Lovers, Cosmic Psychos), Mike Alonso (Jericho) and The Living End for the Rapido label.[7] It included their first radio airplay hit, "From Here on In",[3] which was placed on high rotation by national youth radio network, Triple J.[1] Shortly after, Piripitzi was fired as his lifestyle choices were holding back the band.[4] He was replaced on drums by Travis Demsey (later in The Knockout Drops).[7] With Demsey the group appeared at major festivals: Pushover and the Falls Festival. Demsey's drum style was compared with The Who's Keith Moon. "From Here on In" was used on the soundtrack for the 1998 film, Occasional Course Language.[3]
Breakout single to debut album (1997–1999)[edit]
The Living End toured Australia for a year, then in August 1997 they recorded new material to sell at their live shows.[1][3] Their double A-sided single, "Second Solution" / "Prisoner of Society", was issued in January the following year. Also that month they had supported The Offspring on the Australian leg of their tour.[3] "Second Solution" / "Prisoner of Society" peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart,[10] and was certified double-platinum by ARIA for shipment of 140,000 copies.[3][11] At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 it won the Highest Selling Single category;[12][13] and eventually became the highest selling Australian single of the 1990s.[1] It lasted a record-breaking 47 weeks in the Top 50.[10]
In October 1998 it peaked at No. 28 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[14] It was later featured in the game, Guitar Hero World Tour. "Second Solution" was used in the soundtrack for the 2002 movie, Cheats, which starred Trevor Fehrman, Matthew Lawrence, and Mary Tyler Moore. Early in 1998 "Prisoner of Society" was issued as a separate single in the United Kingdom and, the following year, in the US. The single appeared in the top 200 of the UK Singles Chart,[15] and peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard's Alternative Songs Chart.[16]
The band signed with Modular Recordings for the release of their debut self-titled album, which appeared on 12 October 1998, and was co-produced by Gravina with the trio.[3][7] It peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart,[17] became the then-second highest-selling debut rock album in Australian music history and, by 1999, was certified 4× Platinum for shipment of 280,000 units.[18] Their next Australian single, "Save the Day", was issued in September 1998, a month ahead of the album. It made the top 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[17] It became their highest charting hit on the New Zealand Singles Chart, where it reached No. 10.[19] From the album, a total of six singles were released including a live cover version of "Tainted Love", which was issued as a radio-only single on Triple J. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999, The Living End won two more awards: Best Group and Breakthrough Artist – Album.[20][21] At the ceremony they were also nominated for Album of the Year and Highest Selling Album.[20] In October 2010 their debut album was listed in the book 100 Best Australian Albums.[22]
Roll On (2000–2001)[edit]
The Living End's second album, Roll On, was recorded during July 2000 with Nick Launay (Midnight Oil, Models, Silverchair) producing and appeared in November that year.[7] It peaked at No. 8 on the ARIA Albums Chart and reached the top 40 in New Zealand.[17][19] Although Roll On was a more creative work, Nimmervoll mentioned that they had "broadened their musical scope while keeping in tact [sic] what made them unique - the instrumentation and the socially-aware lyrics".[1] The album did not achieve the status of their earlier album as it was certified platinum for shipment of 70,000 copies.[23] Despite this, fans consider it to be as strong as the self-titled album; "[it's] an absolute scorcher! That's what years of live honing can do for a band that was already white-hot".[24]
Cheney later stated that he was trying to prove to critics that The Living End were not a band simply defined by their hit, "Prisoner of Society", and the album showed this by displaying other influences, as well as their traditional fast-paced rockabilly music. Rolling Stone' Jenny Eiscu compared it to The Clash's creative breakthrough, London Calling (December 1979), as they "stomp all over the boundaries between punk, reggae, rockabilly and plain old rock & roll – and it still sounds like a revelation, twenty-two years after [T]he Clash did it. The pupils don't quite outpace the masters here ... But the band is obviously having such a riotously good time that you'd be a sucker not to stomp your foot and join the party".[25] Much of the style was comparable to 1980s hard rock and pub rock, as well as many tracks being obscure mixes of many ideas, resulting in 'procrastinating' structures. This defined the album's creativity.
The album's first two singles, "Pictures in the Mirror" and the title track, peaked into the top 20 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[17] "Pictures in the Mirror" also reached the top 20 in New Zealand,[19] while "Roll On" peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart,[16] and appeared in the top 150 of the UK Singles Chart.[15] In March 2001 Billboard's review of Roll On described their sound as "Aussie punkabilly", while the group's lyrics show a "socially progressive attitude, discussing prejudice, racism, and political conflict".[26] The trio received US-wide coverage by playing on both Conan O'Brien's and David Letterman's late-night variety shows. The album included "Carry me Home", which appeared on the Guitar Hero II soundtrack. However, touring in support of Roll On and the related singles was halted after Cheney had a car accident on the Great Ocean Road, rendering him unable to play for a significant period of time: he was "hospitalised for 2 months".[24] He had been on travelling to the house of a member of fellow Australian band and tour mates, Bodyjar.
Musical style and influences[edit]
The Living End consider themselves to be a rock 'n' roll band based on punk ethics, citing The Clash, Iggy Pop, The Who and The Jam as influences and bands with whom they share the same ideals, making a social commentary on what's going on around them.[59] They have also been compared favorably to 1990s punk revivalists Rancid.[60] However, the band do not consider themselves a punk band, more a rock 'n' roll band who are influenced by punk.[61] Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine reviewed their debut album, he noted their "sound owes far more to the Ramones than it does to Eddie Cochran, or even the Clash, but they've cleverly appropriated certain rockabilly signatures – most ridiculously, the upright acoustic bass – that give their homage to the golden age of punk a bit of charm".[62]
Cheney regards 1950s rock 'n' roll, including Elvis Presley, as his greatest influence and first musical love which, along with 1980s rockabilly revival band Stray Cats, the band's sound was based on.[2][63]
Owen has said that his favourite bands include Stray Cats, Reverend Horton Heat, Midnight Oil, The Clash, The Jam, Green Day, Sublime, Bodyjar, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Rancid, The Beatles and Supergrass. Owen regards Lee Rocker of Stray Cats as his main performance influence, mimicking the right hand movements of Rocker on the upright bass when he first learnt how to play.[31]
As The Runaway Boys the trio had performed 1950s rock revival to "all the jivers and rock 'n' rollers".[2] They also regard Australian pub rock as an important influence on the band, something the members grew up with and appreciated. Other rockabilly influences include Reverend Horton Heat and Eddie Cochran[64] Their rockabilly influences were tempered by exposure to differing forms "[w]e'd support a jazz band one night, and a metal band the following. It helped us a lot".[2] Allmusic's MacKenzie Wilson found that by Roll On the group had grown up "but continue to rampage on with their rowdy punkabilly ... their sophomore effort pulls toward their Aussie rock roots (AC/DC, Rose Tattoo) and a touch of British class for an eager modification".[65]
They acknowledge the inspiration of 1970s punk groups and The Sharp.[2] Billboard's review of Roll On described their sound as "Aussie punkabilly", while the group's lyrics show a "socially progressive attitude, discussing prejudice, racism, and political conflict"[26] The Worldwide Home of Australasian Music and More Online website reviewed their early releases, with The Living End described as "anthemic and attitudinous brand of rockabilly-meets-punk (circa Clash not SoCal)"; Roll On had them as "kings of rockapunkerbilly"; for Modern Artillery Cheney's lyrics were lauded with "every time I expect the quality to wane, a new level is reached" and the band itself showed that "Nobody plays nitro-powered punkabilly faster or tighter than this combo and Modern Artillery represents the band's finest hour".[24] However Allmusic's Johnny Loftus found that album showed that the "bawdy gang vocals of 2001's Roll On have been replaced by sculpted multi-tracking ... guitars punch mightily, and the choruses detonate, but they do in colors easily identifiable to a throng of American baby punks with silver safety pins in their mouths".[66]
Allmusic's Hal Horowitz found that by State of Emergency the group "takes its Stray Cats strut and Reverend Horton Heat bluster and continues to channel it into a more commercially viable pop/punk sound ... [it] sounds more like a buffed up Jam album, all snappy hooks and impassioned vocals over a rollicking set of songs".[67] Fellow Allmusic reviewer Adam Greenberg found that on White Noise the group "experiments a bit with new sounds but also seems to hang right on the edge of what they had been doing previously".[68] Dave Donnelly opined that the band "have been mining the territory between pop-punk and rockabilly for well over a decade now, and their experience shines through in the slick musicianship" of The Ending Is Just the Beginning Repeating.[69]
Amongst other bands, Sum 41 guitarist Dave Baksh has suggested that it would be great if he could tour with The Living End, saying that they're all "really good musicians".[70]
Collaborations[edit]
The Living End have made recordings with many popular bands and artists. In 1998, just as they were gaining popularity in Australia, they performed at "Tour of Duty" for the peace keepers in East Timor. At this, their first live concert to Australians, they performed two tracks from what was their upcoming album, as well as performing with The Angels' frontman Doc Neeson and "Jingle Bell Rock" with Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue.
In December 1998, supporting the German band Die Toten Hosen they played a cover of Slade's "Merry Christmas" with them on 26 December 1998 in Düsseldorf, as part of Die Toten Hosen's 1998 Christmas tour of Germany. The two bands met on the 1998 inaugural Warped Tour of Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Hawaii. In early 2001 The Living End performed as the support act for AC/DC during the Australian leg of their Stiff Upper Lip world tour.
For their 2000 release, How It Works, Cheney performed backing vocals on Bodyjar's song "Halfway Around The World".
Lead singer and guitarist Chris Cheney was also a member of the "super group" The Wrights who released covers of Stevie Wright's songs, "Evie Parts 1, 2 & 3" after performing "Evie Part 1" at the 2004 Australian Music Industry's ARIA Music Awards. Cheney also played guitar and contributed backing vocals to "Private School Kid" on Sarah McLeod's (formerly of The Superjesus) debut solo album. Cheney appeared as a guest guitarist on Stephen Cummings Firecracker album.
The Living End performed alongside Normie Rowe performing two of Normie's hits "Que Sera Sera" and "Shakin' All Over" at the 2005 ARIA Hall of Fame. In 2005, the band recorded a version of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke's "Resurrection Shuffle" with Jimmy Barnes on his duet album Double Happiness. The Living End also appeared on Australian country and western music artist Kasey Chambers' album Barricades & Brickwalls, contributing the music and backing vocals to "Crossfire".
On Australian band Jet's live DVD, Right Right Right, Chris Cheney appears at the end of the recorded concert to feature on a cover of Elvis Presley's "That's Alright Mamma". Chris Cheney also played "I Fought the Law" with Green Day at their Melbourne concert on 17 December 2005. Double bassist Scott Owen appeared on Australian legend Paul Kelly's Foggy Highway album, playing bass on "Song of the Old Rake". Scott also appeared in the film clip for the track.
Cheney was the guest guitarist on the song, "Something More", which appears on the album, Lose Your Delusion, by Melbourne duo Over-reactor. Cheney will also feature on Grinspoon's seventh studio album playing a guitar solo.
The Living End have also featured on Jimmy Barnes' album, 30:30 Hindsight, which was released in 2014, where they covered "Lay Down Your Guns". The song was then released as a music video to assist in the promotion of the album.
In 2017, Chris Cheney featured on the Luke Yeoward's album Ghosts, with vocals and guitar contribution to the song "Whose Side Are You On?"