Australians Ed Kuepper (guitar), Chris Bailey (vocals & bass) and Ivor Hay (keyboards) formed a high school band called Kid Galahad and The Eternals in 1973 in Brisbane, Australia, with Kuepper already writing songs that The Saints would later perform. In 1975, Hay switched to bass and Jeff Wegener joined on drums.
This line-up played one gig (for the Communist Party at the Brisbane Trades Hall) before Wegener left and Hay switched instruments again, this time to drums.
Doug Balmanno took over on bass, followed in quick succession by Kym Bradshaw. The Saints were born.
The band recorded a howling milestone single called (I’m) Stranded, releasing it in 1976 on their own independent label (it was later re-issued by EMI), and copies found their way to England, where the single received rave reviews.
In mid-1977, the band moved to the UK, where it became apparent that they and their label had different ideas as to how they should be marketed.
EMI planned to sell The Saints as a typical punk band, complete with ripped clothes and spiky hair. The Saints insisted on maintaining a more downbeat image.
The band recorded one album in Australia (also called I’m Stranded) and two in England – Eternally Yours (1978) and Prehistoric Sounds (1978).
One single – This Perfect Day – showed potential of a commercial breakthrough when it made #34 in the UK. Further movement up the charts was frustrated by EMI’s failure to press enough copies of the record to satisfy demand
In England, Bradshaw was replaced by Alasdair Ward but with the band suffering a lack of support from their record company, they called it a day late in 1978 (with Hay joining The Hitmen, Ward joining The Damned and Kuepper forming The Laughing Clowns).
To the contempt of many fans (and the continuing annoyance of Ed Kuepper, who took the hard road with his Laughing Clowns), Chris Bailey, with Ivor Hay and ring-ins Jim Dickson, Cub Callaway and Charlie Georgees, played a number of sell-out homecoming shows in Sydney in ’79. Suitably inspired, Bailey decided to keep The Saints going by himself.
Returning to London with a new line-up, he cut some demos on 8-track, four of which eventually saw the light of day on the self-released Paralytic Tonight, Dublin Tomorrow EP.
With some of his most enduring songs, his best-ever singing, and a wonderfully low-rent ambience, Paralytic found Bailey heading away from any post-punk stance, towards a classic style of ’60s-based rock & roll that came on like a skid row Flamin’ Groovies.
Simple Love was later re-recorded for 1981’s The Monkey Puzzle, the first of many albums for Bailey’s own ever-changing line-up of The Saints. The band achieved Top 40 success at home and college radio notoriety in the States in the mid-’80s.
By 1982, the group were touring Australia with Janine Hall on bass, Iain Shedden (ex-The Jolt) on drums, and Chris Burnham (ex-Supernaut) and Laurie Cuffe on guitars.
Bailey released his first solo album, Casablanca, in 1983.
A Little Madness to Be Free was released in July, spawning the popular single Ghost Ships.
Regular line-up changes ensued, with Ivor Hay returning for All Fools Day (1986). The album reached the Top 30 in Australia and included the Top 30 single, Just Like Fire Would.
By 1994, Bailey had moved to Sweden but continued recording and performing as The Saints with various backing musicians, moving eventually to the Netherlands.
Chris Bailey passed away on 9 April 2022, aged 65.
Chris Bailey
Vocals, guitar Ed Kuepper
Guitar Kym Bradshaw Bass Ivor Hay Drums Janine Hall Bass
Iain Shedden
Drums
Chris Burnham
Guitar
Jeffrey Wegener
Drums
Alasdair Ward
Bass
Mark Birmingham
Drums
Laurie Cuffe
Guitar
Tracy Pew
Bass
Richard Burgman
Guitar
Louise Elliott
Saxophone
Arturo LaRizza
Bass
Joe Chiofalo
Keyboards
Tony Faehse
Guitar
Peter Jones
Drums
Michael Bayliss
Bass
Marty Bjerregaard
Drums
Andy Faulkner
Guitar
Andreas Jörnvill
Drums
Joakim Täck
Bass
Ian Walsh
Guitar
Måns Wieslander
Guitar
Peter Wilkinson
Drums
Eddie Nyström
Guitar
Caspar Wijnberg
Bass
Marty Willson-Piper
Guitar
Video
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This line-up played one gig (for the Communist Party at the Brisbane Trades Hall) before Wegener left and Hay switched instruments again, this time to drums.
They played shows in the UK with The Ramones, Talking Heads and many new English bands.
Simple Love was later re-recorded for 1981’s The Monkey Puzzle, the first of many albums for Bailey’s own ever-changing line-up of The Saints. The band achieved Top 40 success at home and college radio notoriety in the States in the mid-’80s.
