494. New Race by Radio Birdman 1977

1977. The Tiger Lounge, Richmond. I was trying to get my band Subway up and running since our  change from disjointed folk rockers to punk idealists. Bruce Milne had introduced me to Rob Wellington with the idea he might play bass with us. After hearing the band he quickly turned us down. We were pretty bad. He would come back a few months later and offer to play lead, write songs together and change the name of the band to The Fiction. Which is what we did.
We celebrated the birth of our new band with a trip to see Radio Birdman at the Tiger Lounge. And what a gig it was. The place went mad. Rob even pogoed for a short while. He was the first pogo dancer I had ever seen.
The band rocked through New York Dolls Personality Crisis. Rob Younger was wearing eye liner and he smeared it down his face while he rolled on the floor. It was just majestic. And all the Melbourne punk scene were there. Nick Cave and the Boys Next Door. The Negatives. Everyone.
The highlight for me was New Race. Yeah Up. Which sent the crowd wild. Bumping into each other. Spilling beers. I bought the album not long after. But it was nothing to seeing them live. Melbourne 1977. There was something in the air. I had to get my band on stage.