Hoodoo Gurus hold a singular place in Australian and indeed international rock’n’roll history. Comprising members of seminal ‘70s Aus-punk outfits including The Victims and Fun Things, the band were unrepentant garage-rockers whose colourful personality and pop culture smarts, superb songcraft and unabashed rocking took them to the top of the charts at home and to the forefront of an international garage-rock, alternative-rock and power pop movements in the mid-‘80s. Accepted as friends and contemporaries by bands ranging from The Bangles to The Fleshtones and Flamin’ Groovies to Redd Kross, the band became real-deal, rock’n’roll heroes of the pre-grunge era, playing to packed houses across the US and in the UK and Europe, and making their way to the top of the US College charts. Over ensuing decades, and with the addition of a couple of members who have added both the Divinyls and Radio Birdman to group’s extended family tree, the Gurus have solidified a sound that combines a range of ‘60s and ‘70s influences into a classic punk/garage/hard rock sound that – like that of their heroes the Ramones – is instantly recognizable even as it is wide-ranging.
Since their formation in 1981, Hoodoo Gurus boast 9 ARIA Top 20 albums, 9 ARIA Top 40 singles and a host of multi-platinum albums – they’re mainstays on the live scene, and perpetually influential to a new generation of artists that have arrived after them. Their debut album, Stoneage Romeos went to #1 on the US Alternative/College Albums Chart and remained there for four consecutive weeks, with it also becoming one of the most played albums of that year on the college network. The band’s subsequent albums, Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool, and Magnum Cum Louder all reached the Billboard 200 as well as topping the Alternative charts.
Few other artists have toured as comprehensively, achieved such an enduring reputation over successive generations, enjoyed such loyalty from fans and maintained such high currency for their work. Their sold-out tours have covered the world and established a devoted fan base especially in territories such as Brazil, Scandinavia, the UK, France, Spain, the US, Canada, and across Australia.
Hoodoo Gurus evocative and relatable lyricism, peerless song writing, with a hint of punk attitude – placed in a distinctively Australian context have provided a careful balance of critical success and enduring mainstream appeal for 40 years.
The enduring importance of Hoodoo Gurus is reflected in sell-out tours, the status tracks from the Gurus’ catalogue as indisputable staples of radio, being name-checked in ‘best-ever album’ countdowns, even having songs played at weddings and funerals, these are just some of the barometers of the strong legacy Hoodoo Gurus enjoy.
The influence of the Hoodoo Gurus songs is felt beyond Australia’s boundaries and often name checked as vitally influential to a variety of other artists. You can hear the legacy of Hoodoo Gurus in anyone from You Am I and Spiderbait, through to Violent Soho and beyond. International artists who have publicly namechecked Hoodoo Gurus include Steve Van Zandt, Manic Street Preachers, Courtney Love and many more.
As elder statesmen of Australian rock & roll, the Hoodoo Gurus are held in the same high esteem by their peers as they are by their fans. In 2007, the group was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Two years earlier, a cross-section of the Australian music community paid the band the ultimate homage by lovingly producing a tribute album of Gurus’ covers entitled Stoneage Cameos. It included contributions from the likes of You Am I, Spiderbait, The Living End, Grinspoon and, most bizarrely, the Persian Rugs.
Through their chart-topping successes throughout the '80s and '90s, their international triumphs and countless sold-out local tours, from their 1998-2003 break-up through to their comeback… and now vital as ever, Hoodoo Gurus have been – and remain – one of the most popular and successful musical acts Australia has ever produced.
