Our Foremost
Shoremost
Thirsty Settlement
The Rum Rebellion
The Six-oclock Swill
The Drunken Sailor
Home From the Sea
Home to Love Me

It's been a few years now. One fine American morning Australia won the yachting. "No work today" came the yell as Bob fell off the wagon. The Prime minister fell also for Blanche, his biographer, times were buoyant. Bobbing along. Ripe times for an honest mission statement; Love Me! Sid James in Carry On The Convicts, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in Bedazzled as much as Elvis in Roustabout. These were the late eighties when the ozrock still rocked and the piss needed taking. Uncover the name of the band and the music will surely follow.

Working in a record store, Tom Kristensen would fill orders for the country fans, Slim, Tex and Chad. Nobody else would back then. It must be said that country music seemed like a good idea back then.

Tunes were whittled, a few chords banged together, words tested for rhymability, rhythms rudimentary and dinky were mastered. All the exponents of easy-to-play, hard-to-forget tunes were copied; Hank, Bob, Neil.

Meanwhile, other talents simmered. Mandy the Magnificent banging away at the cabaret shtick in an awesome arrangement of show-offs known as Pressed Meat and the Smallgoods. Nic Dalton at Half A Cow Records is still trying to move the L.Ps - one for the collectors out there. She had quite a voice back then, since refined by a shed full of cigarettes, and of course she could tap dance for more than just a few bars.

Madeleine King played in a ludicrous line-up known as the Honky-Tonk Raiders, surely an ironic moniker given the complete lack of honky-tonks in Australia. There were pubs, however. She learned to doink the harmonica from Jim Conway and taught herself that follow-the-bouncing-ball style of bass so loved in country music.

These then were the original Love-meisters.
By now the grim nineties are upon us
The scene is set to be taken by the ear.
Turn the page (if you like)