Reminiscing: Ed Kuepper brings the past to life with the Exploding Universe Of Ed Kuepper, the first live band experience of Kuepper’s solo material since 2009.
Back in 1976, Australian proto punks The Saints released their debut single, (I’m) Stranded, which went on to become one of the defining songs of the punk movement. It would lead to the band signing a three-album deal with EMI Records in the UK. The track also sits in the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia registry.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
And this month (I’m) Stranded is set to be reissued in a limited run of 2000 seven inch vinyls. For The Saints’ guitarist and co-writer of the song, Ed Kuepper, it was a momentous moment in his life.
“Everyone in the band was over the moon when we did it,” Kuepper told me last week.
“I think we all thought it was the greatest thing ever recorded. We weren’t humble people but in spite of that, it was all just taking one step at a time.
“I think we all thought it’d all come crashing down any day and everyone would be back in their day jobs.
“I thought it’d be great if some kid came across it five years down the line and would get a kick out of it in the same way.”
In a pre-internet world, The Saints espoused the DIY ethic in its fullest, from self-releasing the single to personally sending it to media outlets around the world. The hard work paid dividends.
“Up until this point we couldn’t even get a gig unless we put it on ourselves, and to suddenly be inundated with telegrams from international labels and managers was not something anyone would think was a natural follow-on to that.
“We had been together for about three years prior and outside of our small and very lovely group of followers, everyone associated with the music industry in Australia thought we were complete crap.
“Which was actually quite edifying but didn’t give us any real way to deal with the sudden accolades ... things moved very quickly.”
Aside from The Saints, Kuepper has etched out a solo career over the ensuing decades. His solo material is about to get the reissue treatment as well, and he’s about to hit the road for a national tour next month. Titled ‘The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper’, it will be the first live band experience of Kuepper’s solo material since 2009 and a revisit to a couple of his early outings.
“We’ll be concentrating on my Honey Steel’s Gold (1991) and Electrical Storm (1985) albums but also be playing a selection of songs that came out around the time,” Kuepper said.
“A kind of ‘deep cuts and classics’ type of approach, if you like.
“Our intention is to make each show a really great, unique experience.”
And what does Kuepper think of today’s so-called punk music?
“I don’t really think of music in terms of genre, but I do know that there is a lot of good stuff out there — if you can wade through the dross,” he said.
“Some of it’s punky and some of it isn’t, but I like to focus on the good stuff. I haven’t really changed in that respect.”
Big news this week is the announcement that former Beatle Paul McCartney will be touring Australia in October and November. Last here in 2017, the upcoming Got Back Tour will be the 81-year old’s fifth tour of Australia in a career that has spanned 60 years.
Kylie Minogue has announced her first ever US residency, in Las Vegas. It will kick off in November and her set will be a mixture of old and new, from her biggest hits to material off her new album, Tension, which is due for release next month.
And while on the subject of tours, American popsters The Jonas Brothers will be heading to Australia for the first time to tour in March 2024.
Music book review
Shake Some Action: My Life in Music (and other stuff) by Stuart Coupe (Penguin Books)
Stuart Coupe has done it all: managed bands such as Hoodoo Gurus, run his own record label, wrote acclaimed books on everyone from Michael Gudinski to Paul Kelly and promoted and brought out touring artists. He is a radio broadcaster, founded a crime fiction magazine and was even, in the 1980s, a columnist for Dolly magazine, dispensing advice to teenage girls on music and non-music matters.
He is also one of Australia’s most respected music journalists, and his new book, Shake Some Action, is an engaging and eye-opening memoir detailing his many adventures during a life spent in music. Coupe opens up and shares the glorious highs as well as the debilitating lows, the behind-the-scenes dramas — such as his fall out with The Church’s Steve Kilbey that only recently, after more than 30 years, was reconciled — to suffering financial losses in his touring business, to flying to Paris to interview Mick Jagger, to holding court with Bruce Springsteen.
Coupe holds nothing back. His honesty is refreshing, and in many instances he is quite brave in admitting to his addictions and personal shortcomings. But it’s a life-affirming story that enforces the power of music to offer salvation and the strength of one man’s passion for music. I’ve read many books, but Coupe’s latest is a page turner and up there among the all-time best. This year’s must-read book. Out August 8.
The highs and the lows: Stuart Coupe relives some of his musical life story in his latest book, Shake Some Action.
Fun fact
Did you that Daryl Braithwaite’s song The Horses was written by Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker of Steely Dan fame? Jones’s original version was released in 1989 but didn’t chart because it wasn’t issued as a single, though it did later appear in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. Braithwaite’s version was released in 1991 and went to number one on the Australian chart.
Readers can send feedback, suggestions, share their music related stories, music news items and more to: MusicalMusings@mmg.com.au
