In 1973, while still at high-school, Ed Kuepper formed The Saints, the group widely acknowledged (along with The Sex Pistols and The Ramones) as having set the template which we today know as 'punk'.
After the demise of The Saints in late 1978, Kuepper and ex-schoolmate Jeffrey Wegener formed Laughing Clowns. They were sometimes described as an experimental jazz-punk outfit - a label Kuepper rejected. However, the group's songs were often constructed around complicated structures with difficult time signatures and sometimes seemingly off-key melodies.
Laughing Clowns oblique approach to rock'n'roll was bound to be confrontational to an audience primed on the primal sounds of The Saints - 'Stranded'. Most of the audience either walked out or attacked them during their first gig. However they soon found an enthusiastic audience and were a major influence on the Australian post-punk landscape. They were easily as important as The Birthday Party or The Go-Betweens. (In fact, all three bands sometimes appeared on the same bill - I was at these gigs and they were amazing.)
From 1979 to 1984, the Clowns released several albums, singles and EPs, including Holy Joe, Mr Uddich-Smuddich Goes To Town, Ghosts of An Ideal Wife and Law of Nature. They turned out music with it's own dark force and rich, occasionally abrasive textures. Swaggering and punchy horns, melodic piano, dramatic guitar playing and sliding, stretching acoustic bass, all underpinned by frenetic but authoritative drums.
They toured Britain but without record company support, found the going tough. After returning to Australia, there was a final line-up change (one of 3 or 4 over the six year period of the group). They disbanded in 1985 with Kuepper continuing to record and perform under his own name.
In 1995, a compilation was released of some Laughing Clowns songs with the title 'Golden Days: When Giants Walked the Earth' which you can get here on eMusic
In 2005, Hot Records released the full studio recordings of Laughing Clowns tracks in a triple CD set with a comprehensive booklet detailing the band's history, with many photos and the numerous line-up changes. (It is available digitally on iTunes).
They were truly a powerful and innovative band whose music stands well against the test of time. The 'Cruel, But Fair' anthology finally sees them getting some of the acknowledgement they deserve.
Props to Grazer who posted about Laughing Clowns last year, but as the Youtube videos have been removed from his post, I decided it was time for a new permanent post with mp3s from the complete anthology.
There are currently a couple of Laughing Clowns tracks on youtube here and here. There is also a myspace site here which has some additional tracks on it.
Some of this post ripped from various online reviews and the album liner notes.
More tracks in the comments.
My Trusted MOGs
Laughing Clowns - 'When What You See'
This track really kicks in about 1'30" in. Then just as you think the track is ending, it does an abrupt change about two mins from the end - by which time the audience was usually going off!
My Trusted MOGs
Didn't mean to post this many tracks, but mistakenly uploaded this one before. So as I've uploaded it, you might as well hear it.
Laughing Clowns - 'Mr Uddich-Smuddich Goes To Town'
My Trusted MOGs
Great songs here Cipher, I had not heard of these guys but will be doing some ivestigating
My Trusted MOGs
Amazing, and lost to the vaults without this sort of excavation, cipher. Coolness.
My Trusted MOGs
Glad you both enjoy.
There was a tv series over here a few years ago called (I think) 'A Long Way To The Top' which looked at Australian music over the last 40 years or so. In the episodes that looked at the seventies and eighties, Laughing Clowns were completely overlooked. Their legacy was largely forgotten as a result, but hopefully this 3 CD set has gone some way to set the record straight.
My Trusted MOGs
Sounds great. Any chance of multiplying this, Jonathan?
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It's nearly 50 tracks! I'll see what i can do when I get a spare moment (or 10)...
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Oops, right, I hadn't realized it's a three-disc set. But maybe a small sampler, pretty please, to decide whether to spend USD50 on it?
My Trusted MOGs
Will do.
The other (cheaper) alternative to the three disc set is the 1995 release, ‘Golden Days: When Giants Walked the Earth’ here on emusic which has a small but good selection of tracks from the Clowns. I'll try to multiply different tracks from the ones on emusic, so you can end up with a wide selection.
My Trusted MOGs
wow...interesting stuff. definitely not your typical 'rock n roll'...(which is good). about 'under byen', i have only really heard songs from their album 'samme stof som stof', which i would definitely recommend. four of their songs can be downloaded from their myspace and their entire album can be streamed here: http://paperbagrecords.com/player?c=under-byen
good post...i always like 'knowing' about a band instead of just listening. it really puts a different spin when you understand where they're coming from.
My Trusted MOGs
Glad you like. And thanks for the Under Byen links.