GREATEST
HITS – The Black Assassins (Reverberation)
More hits
(haha) from Queensland’s Deep North, dredged out from under somebody's
bed. If the idea of genuinely anarchic, crudely-fashioned punk rock threatens,
don’t read on. This is irreverrent, loaded in more ways than one) agit-prop
from one of brisbane's most notorious bands 
of
the 1980s.
Australia has a long tradition of mixing music and social commentary. Probably
has origins in our convict beginnings and a significant Irish heritage, but
it acutely manifested itself in the early ‘70s in the undergraduate
humour of acts like Captain Matchbox and the black skivvy brigades in places
like Melbourne.
Of course sipping coffee and talking Trotsky in a smoky, middle-class café
in the middle of a major city or bitching about the meaning of life at uni
while on a hand-out (when public education became free in the ‘70s)
on a cushy, well-appointed campus was one thing. Living in Queensland in the
same period was another. The Black Assassins grew out of an oppressed time
(1982) in that insular state.
Self-billed as
“Brisbane’s ugliest band”, they played sporadically through
the 1980s, usually didn’t finish a show without being shut down or causing
a walk-out and/or disturbance, and featured future Triple Jay staffers Andy
Nehl (guitar and vocals), Tony Collins (bass) and Tony Biggs (drums) aka Mohammad
El Jackal, Ruby Oswald and Lee Harvey Hinkley respectively. The enjoyed the
patronage of local radio station 4ZZZ because they suited the times and outlook
(plus three of them worked there). A good proportion of their gigs happened
at student social events or in hired halls, such was the nature of the city's
live music pub circuit back then. It's all told matter-of-factly in the accompanying
booklet.
The most familiar song might be “Azaria”, a blunt dissection of
the intriguing case of a disappearing baby allegedly kidnapped by a dingo.
The song rated a bit of outrage back in the day because it dared toy with
an issue that had captured the nation’s attention. Nowadays, it’s
about as shocking as the Immigration Department losing another deported citizen
- although there’s scope for someone like the Assassins to have fun
with a tune about Aussie drug dealers, big-titted hairdressers or eccy-ed
out models slumming it or, uh, hanging around in SE Asian jails.
Best song here is probably “Death Take Me Now” and you can guess
where many of the rest are coming from their titles: “ASIO”, “Fuck
Me Fuck My Dog” (you read that right), “Drugs” and “Somebody’s
Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight”. No prizes for guessing why
half the band performed in balaclavas.
Most of the music is rooted in social commentary and inevitably sounds a bit
dated, much the same as re-runs of the Paul Hogan Show. To be moved, you probably
had to be there. It's rough as guts in places with wavering harmonies and
a crude wall-of-sound, but steers clear of your standard two-chord thrash
most of the time. Whether the band could actually play or not is sort of immaterial,
although Tony Biggs (an excellent drummer) did go on to better things, like
pub rockers Hell to Pay. It's more about the spirit and the opinions expressed.
–
The Barman
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