By Luke Voogt
Sydney pub rockers The Radiators will roll into Geelong for the first time in more than a decade this month.
“We haven’t gone down that way in ages,” said the band’s original bass player Geoff Turner.
“It’s good a working class crowd, there’s a lot of people who like to rock hard and play hard.”
Turner said the band had a love-hate relationship with the song that launched them to fame (and notoriety) in 1980, Gimme Head.
“People say ‘they’re the Gimme Head’ band.’ If we don’t play it we get in trouble and if we do play it we get in trouble – although not as much now days.”
The song went “as viral as it could have back then” due its edgy lyrics, Turner said.
“It goes over great live but was never meant to be a serious song. We’ve got heaps of other great songs that people love as well.”
Turner said his favourite was the band’s first big hit in 1979 – Coming Home.
“People hang out for it,” he said. “It rocks so hard at the end of the night.”
The band started from “a few a guys from school who wanted to get some chics”, Turner said.
“We actually formed a group and realised none of us could play, so we went out and got some lessons.”
At 62, Turner has slowed down, but not much.
“We go as hard as we can,” he said. “We just might not pull up as well the next day.”
“It was a lot more hectic back in the day. Back in the 80s you would go out and see a band. Nowadays you can just go on Youtube and watch a band play anywhere.”
But lately the band has seen a resurgence in the live music scene and recently played a few sold out gigs, Turner said.
“A lot of elder fans (are getting) out of the house more (because the) kids have grown up.”
The original fans’ kids were also getting to shows to see what “these Radiators are all about”, he said.
“You kind of feel you owe it to them to give them a good show.”
The Radiators play at Gateway Hotel on 20 May.
