XL Capris

Infobox musical artist
Name = XL Capris


Img_capt = "Where's Hank?" XL Capris début album
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = flagicon|Australia Sydney, Australia
Genre = Punk, Rock
Years_active = 1978-1982
Label = Axle
Associated_acts = Le Hoodoo Gurus, Scribble, Dragon
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members = Julie Anderson
Tim Gooding
Johanna Pigott
Kimble Rendall
Todd Hunter
Michael Churnside
Barry Blackler
Michael Farmer

XL Capris were an Australian indie-punk band formed in Sydney in 1978 by Julie Anderson, Tim Gooding, Johanna Pigott and Kimble Rendall.

Their best known single was a punk rock version of Tommy Leonetti's "My City of Sydney" (1979). They made two albums, "Where's Hank?" (March, 1981) and "Weeds" (October, 1981) both produced by Todd Hunter of New Zealand/Australian band Dragon and released on their own label Axle Records. Hunter later joined XL Capris as guitarist and subsequently married Pigott; they became a successful songwriting team: cowriting "Rain" for Dragon and "Age of Reason" for John Farnham.cite web |title= Australasian Performing Right Association |publisher= APRA |url= http://www.apra.com.au/cms/worksearch/worksearch.srvlt |accessdate= 2007-12-23 ]

Both Pigott and Gooding also became scriptwriters and worked together creating the 1984 ABC-TV series "Sweet and Sour" which chronicled the activities of a fictional band, The Takeaways, and their efforts to succeed in 1980s Sydney Pop music scene. [cite web |title="Sweet and Sour" |publisher=British Film Institute (BFI) |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/363893?view=credit |accessdate=2007-12-23 ]

History

Punk rock

Gooding and Pigott had studied Architecture during the mid-1970s at the University of Sydney along with Pigott's friend Angela Webber. [cite web |title= A comic delighted by the absurdities of life |first= Johanna |last= Pigott |coauthors= Richard Glover |date= 2007-03-22 |publisher= "The Sydney Morning Herald" |url= http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/a-comic-delighted-by-the-absurdities-of-life/2007/03/21/1174153155683.html | accessdate=2007-12-23 ] cite web |title= Recollections of Paul |first= Timothy |last= Gooding |coauthors= Kimble Rendall, Johanna Pigott |date= 2005 |url= http://www.paulmelchert.com/paulslife.php |accessdate= 2007-12-23 ] Early practice sessions by XL Capris were held in the front room of a Birchgrove house where Gooding (and later Rendall) lived. ]

Each band member had a punk nickname: Pigott (bass, vocal, keyboard, guitar)cite web |title= Australian Rock Database |publisher= Magnus Holmgren |url= http://hem.passagen.se/honga/aussie.html |accessdate= 2007-12-23 ] was 'Alligator Bagg'cite web |url=http://punkmodpop.free.fr/Xlcapris_pic.htm |title="XL Capris" |publisher=The ModPopPunk Archives |accessdate=2007-12-23] , Gooding (guitar, vocal) ] : 'Errol Cruz' ] , Anderson (drum) ] : 'Nancy Serapax' ] and Rendall (guitar, vocal) ] : 'Dag Rattler'. ]

Their first single was a punk version of Tommy Leonetti's "My City of Sydney" (1979), which had a promo video which was recorded at the Sheraton Hotel in a room The Beatles had occupied during their Australian tour showing the four band members in bed together! The single received some radio airplay but was not a commercial success. Second 1979 single "Skylab (Son of Telstar)" was written by Rendall but had even less success.

Their next single, "World War Three" (October 1980, produced by Hunter) was written by Pigott and Hunter. ] Rendall left to form Le Hoodoo Gurus in January 1981, he later became a music video director and then a second unit director for the latter two Matrix series movies. [cite web |title= IMDb entry on Kimble Rendall |publisher= IMDb |url= http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0719320 |accessdate= 2007-12-23 ] He was replaced by Hunter (guitar), Michael Churnside (bass) joined, Anderson left to be replaced by Barry Blackler (drum) and Michael Farmer (drum) also joined. ]

"Where's Hank?"

First album was "Where's Hank?" (March 1981, produced by Hunter). Gooding wrote ten of the fourteen tracks including two with Pigott. ] 'Hank' in the title was a German shepherd owned by Rendall: "Hank went to live on a farm at Nambucca Heads". ] Based on Rendall's and Pigott's articles, 'Tosca' was the name of their landlady's cat and it was chased up a tree by Hank ] thus the album title "Where's Hank?" is a pun on a 1980s TV ad for a chocolate bar: 'Where's George?' The response is ... 'gone for a Tosca!'.

"Weeds"

Second album was "Weeds" (October 1981, produced by Hunter). Pigott and Hunter wrote six songs including single "Igloos" ] and Gooding also wrote six songs. Hunter returned to Dragon (late 1981) and XL Capris dissolved in 1982.

Poster art

Street poster art featuring XL Capris include:Toby Zoates' 1978 screenprint, "XL Capris" [cite web |title= "XL Capris" screenprint |first= Toby |last= Zoates |publisher= National Gallery of Australia (NGA) |date= 1978 |url= http://www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/Catalogues/Works/tabid/57/frmView/Detail/itemID/43174/SID/79299/Default.aspx |accessdate= 2007-12-23 ] for the B-side of 1981 single "Red Bikini Runaway" called "K-Tel City" (Gooding) and has the band on the bonnet of a car crashing into a TV game show; and Paul Worstead's 1979 screenprints, "Settlement Dance - Scarlet, XL-Capris" [cite web|title= "Settlement Dance - Scarlet, XL-Capris" |date= 1979 |publisher= NGA |first= Paul |last= Worstead |url= http://www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/Catalogues/Works/tabid/57/frmView/Record/itemID/63195/Default.aspx |accessdate= 2007-12-23 ] and "XL-Capris, Settlement - Beginning of School Holiday Dance". [cite web |title= "XL-Capris, Settlement - Beginning of School Holiday Dance" |first= Paul |last= Worstead |date= 1979 |publisher= NGA |url= http://www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/Catalogues/Works/tabid/57/frmView/Record/itemID/42490/Default.aspx |accessdate= 2007-12-23 ]

Discography

Albums

"Where's Hank?"

* Axle Records, released March, 1981.
* Recorded by Christo, Studio 301.
* Produced by Todd Hunter.

Tracklisting

# "World War 3" (Johanna Pigott, Todd Hunter) ] — 3:38
# "Fat Boy in the Swimming Pool" (Tim Gooding) ] — 2:53
# "Red Bikini Runaway" (Gooding, Pigott) ] — 2:58
# "Refrigerator Town" (Gooding) ] — 2:34
# "Evelyn" (Pigott) ] — 2:36
# "Hey Marvo!" — 0:07
# "Police Exhibit" (Gooding) ] — 4:19
# "Button B" (Gooding) ] — 2:49
# "On the Beach" (Gooding) ] — 3:27
# "Shark Horror" (Gooding) ] — 2:41
# "Parramatta Road" (Gooding) ] — 2:46
# "Hi Rise Heart" (Pigott, Gooding) — 3:00
# "J O'K / Shout" (Gooding / Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley, O'Kelly Isley Jr) ] — 5:24
# "Ou Est Hank?" — 2:08

"Weeds"

* Axle Records, released October, 1981
* Produced by Hunter.

Tracklisting

# "Tokyo" (Pigott, Hunter) ]
# "Igloos" (Pigott, Hunter) ]
# "Quiet World" (Pigott, Hunter) ]
# "Killer Seas" (Gooding) ]
# "Geography" (Gooding) ]
# "Country Town" (Gooding) ]
# "A M P" (Gooding) ]
# "Spirit of Progress" aka "Ghost Trains" (Gooding) ]
# "Poor Excuse" (Gooding) ]
# "Please Excuse Me (I've Got to Look After My Car)" aka "Car" (Pigott) ]
# "Small Screen Cowboy" (Pigott, Hunter) ]
# "Dark Star" (Pigott, Hunter) ]
# "Luna" (Pigott, Hunter) ]

ingles

* "My City of Sydney" (Tommy Leonetti, Robert Troup) ] — 2:43 / "Dead Budgies" (1979)
* "Skylab (Son of Telstar)" (1979)
* "World War 3" (Pigott, Hunter) / "Dusty" (Tim Gooding) (October, 1980)
* "Red Bikini Runaway" (Gooding, Pigott) / "K-Tel City" (Gooding) (April, 1981)
* "Igloos" (1982)

References