Hunters & Collectors
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- For the anthropological concept, see Hunter-gatherer.
Hunters & Collectors, often referred to as the "Hunnas" by their fans, were an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1980. They were noted for songs such as "Throw Your Arms Around Me", "Talking To A Stranger" and "Say Goodbye" and were renowned as one of the best live acts in Australia until their disbandment in 1998.
The original band was influenced by the Krautrock genre and the productions of Conny Plank and featured strong percussive influences, coupled with noise guitar and driving bass lines. The sound was in the vein of Remain in Light, the Talking Heads album of 1980. The band took its name from the track "Hunters & Collectors", on the German band Can's album Landed.
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History
The first version of the band was: Mark Seymour (guitar & vocals); John Archer (bass); Doug Falconer (drums); Geoff Crosby (keyboards); Greg Perano (percussion); Ray Tosti-Gueira (guitar); and Robert Miles (who would stay with the band throughout their career, usually being credited with "live sound" and "art direction/design"). Tosti-Gueira was later replaced by Martin Lubran, then Barry Palmer. As lead singer, guitarist and principal songwriter, Seymour was the lynchpin of the group, and Archer and Falconer are widely regarded as one of the best rhythm sections ever to emerge from the Australian rock scene. Seymour is also the older brother of bassist Nick Seymour of Crowded House and in the mid-1980s he was romantically involved for a time with Do Re Mi (band) lead singer Deborah Conway.
The band signed to White Label, part of Mushroom Records, and their self-titled debut album was produced by Tony Cohen. Their first single was "Talking to a Stranger" which was accompanied by an influential music video directed by Richard Lowenstein, who went on to make many successful videos for INXS and the features 'Strikebound' (1984) and 'Dogs In Space'(1987) (which starred INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence). The band decamped to Germany in 1983 where they recorded the follow-up album The Fireman's Curse with Conny Plank.
In 1984 they briefly disbanded but reformed later in the year without Lubran. This line-up also featured keyboards and a three-piece horn section. With Greg Perano's departure from the band (later to form The Deadly Hume), the band began to pare back their art-rock pretensions of their earliest albums, although they retained a muscular, bass-driven sound, rounded off by the band's distinctive horn section. Mark Seymour's lyrics became less abstruse and more focused on the twin themes of the fraught personal relationships and the politics of the day.
The first album featuring the new line up was The Jaws of Life (1984), again produced by Conny Plank. It featured the single "The Slab", which was an underground success (mainly thanks to the support of radio station Triple J), but didn't make any inroads on the commercial music scene, possibly because of the masturbatory subtext of the lyrics. However, the record, regular airplay on the radio station JJJ (then Sydney-based) and video play on Countdown and other music video shows, and especially their consistent live performances brought Hunters & Collectors a strong and devoted following on the Australian pub scene.
Their breakthrough commercial success in Australia came in 1986 with the release of the album Human Frailty which featured the single "Throw Your Arms Around Me", as well as other fan favourites such as "Say Goodbye" and "Everything's On Fire". It was at this point that the band signed a parallel deal with I.R.S. Records for North America.
The next album, What's A Few Men was released in 1997 and featured the singles for "Do You See What I See" and "Still Hangin' Round". The latter song was deemed to be too "Australian" and cut from the American configuration of the album, retitled Fate, in place of three other songs recorded for this version, including "Back On The Breadline". (The recent re-issue of What's A Few Men features all 15 songs from these two versions.)
Guitarist Barry Palmer joined the band during 1988. Ghost Nation was released in 1989 and featured the singles "When The River Runs Dry" and "Blindeye", and Hunters & Collectors supported Midnight Oil on that band's North American tour of 1990. Although the band struggled to find success in the US and elsewhere, they maintained their status in Australia as local favourites.
The compilation Collected Works was released in 1990, with a re-recorded version of "Throw Your Arms Around Me", and a single, "Where Do You Go" was produced by Nick Sansano and released in late 1991.
In 1992, Hunters & Collectors recorded the album Cut with the producer Don Gehman, and although the relationship was apparently strained at times due to Gehman's combative working methods, Cut nevertheless became the band's most successful album, retaining a balance between the band's artistic core and its commercial ambitions. It was marked by the anthemic single "Holy Grail", ostensibly about Napoleon's march to Russia in 1812 but also reflecting the band's own flagging attempts to "crack" the American market.
This was followed in 1994 with Demon Flower, which was dominated by themes relating to the politics in the state of Victoria, particularly the economic rationalist policies of Jeff Kennett. A double live album, Living ... In Large Rooms And Lounges was released in 1995, with one disc consisting of an acoustic set at the defunct Continental Cafe in Prahran, Melbourne and the other being a more typical pub performance. Juggernaut, their last studio album, was recorded and released in 1998, and featured the single "True Believers".
Hunters & Collectors proceeded on their final tour of Australia in 1998, with the last concert being performed at one of their favourite venues from over the years, "Selina's" at the Coogee Bay Hotel, Sydney. This gig was recorded for posterity and released on CD and DVD as Under One Roof, and the band retains a reputation as one of the premier acts in Australian rock music history.
Subsequent to the band's retirement, Mark Seymour and Jack Howard have both pursued solo musical careers.
Australian discography
Studio albums
- Hunters And Collectors (White Label L42002, 26 July 1982)
- The Fireman's Curse (White Label L38066, 6 September 1983)
- Jaws Of Life (White Label L38222, 6 August 1984)
- Human Frailty (White Label RML53205, 7 April 1986)
- What's A Few Men? (White Label RML53253, 16 November 1987)
- Fate (White Label D30455, 1991) [new version of What's A Few Men?]
- Ghost Nation (White Label TVD93314, November 1989)
- Cut (White Label TVD93364, 6 October 1992)
- Demon Flower (White Label TVD93401, 16 May 1994)
- Juggernaut (White Label MUSH33081.2, 26 January 1998)
Studio EPs
- World Of Stone (January 1982)
- Payload (White Label X14002, December 1982)
- Living Daylight (April 1987)
Live albums
- The Way To Go Out (CD, video, DVD) (White Label L27148, 6 May 1985)
- Living ... In Large Rooms And Lounges (White Label D98017, 27 November 1995)
- Under One Roof (live) (White Label MUSH33176.2, 11 November 1998)
Compilation albums
- Collected Works (CD, video) (White Label TVD93338, 19 November 1990)
- Natural Selection (CD, 2CD, DVD) (Liberation BLUE034.5, 13 October 2003)
Personnel
The 'classic' Hunters and Collectors line up (for the last ten years together):
- John Archer - bass guitar, P.A., backing vocals (1981-1998).
- Doug Falconer - drums, percussion, programming, backing vocals (1981-1998).
- Jack Howard - trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals (1981-1998).
- Robert Miles - live sound/mixing, art/design (1981-1998).
- Barry Palmer - lead guitar (1988-1998).
- Mark Seymour - lead vocal, lyrics, guitar (1981-1998).
- Jeremy Smith - French horn, guitars, keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1981-1998).
- Michael Waters - trombone, keyboards, finance (1981-1998).
Additional early members
- Nigel Crocker - trombone (1981-1982).
- Geoff Crosby - keyboards, artwork (1981-1985).
- Martin Lubran - guitar (1982-1983).
- Andy Lynn - trumpet (1981-1982).
- Chris Malherbe - trumpet (1981-1982).
- Greg Perano - percussion (1981-1983).
- Ray Tosti-Gueira - guitar, backing vocals (1981-1982).
References
- Liner notes from album releases, in particular Mark Seymour's notes on the Natural Selection and Unnatural Selection compilations.
External links
- www.seanleader.com/hunnas/ True Believers, an unofficial fan site.
- markseymour.com.au The Official Mark Seymour Websitenl:Hunters and Collectors