Laughing Clowns - Early Years 1979-81

Early Years 1979-81

The band formed in Sydney in 1979 after Kuepper quit punk rock band The Saints due to a rift regarding the band's future direction. A final single was planned Laughing Clowns/On the Waterfront through EG Records, though never recorded. Each of the tracks ended up elsewhere; namely on the post-Kuepper debut of the Saints Paralytic Tonight, Dublin Tomorrow EP and the self-titled Laughing Clowns mini-album; both of which appeared in 1980.

Kuepper returned to Australia in late 1978 contemplating musical retirement, however he bumped into old school friends Jeffrey Wegener and Bob Farrell at a party; the two coaxed Kuepper into forming a new band.

Both drummer Wegener and tenor saxophonist Farrell had early associations with The Saints, as Wegener briefly played with the band in 1975 (with Ivor Hay playing bass) and Farrell having been one of the Flat Top Four, performing backing vocals on Kissing Cousins from the band's debut album (I'm) Stranded.

Having played in a Melbourne band The Love with Wegener, bassist Ben Wallace-Crabbe joined the band and completed the first line-up, which began rehearsing in Sydney during the early months of 1979. After six months of rehearsal, the band made its public debut in August 1979 much to the apathy of Saints fans who expected a more abrasive punk sound.

And seeing that the third and final Saints album Prehistoric Sounds had not received a local release via EMI until 1979, Laughing Clowns performed various songs from the LP in their early sets - including "The Prisoner" and "Swing For The Crime".

Later in the year, Ben's cousin and former guitarist in the Melbourne incarnation of Crime and the City Solution Dan Wallace-Crabbe joined the group on piano. It was this five-piece incarnation of the Clowns that recorded Laughing Clowns at Richmond Recorders in Melbourne with engineer Tony Cohen. Released via Missing Link, their debut six track gained favorable reviews in the Australian independent music press after it hit the shelves in May 1980. A promotional video for the song "Holy Joe" from the record was also produced; a rare feat from an Australian independent band of the Countdown era.

Around the time of its release, the band again expanded its line-up to a six-piece with the addition of trumpeter Peter Doyle. This six-piece configuration of the band performed at the now-legendary Paris Theatre in Sydney in November 1980, with The Birthday Party and The Go-Betweens. This show marked the last appearance of Bob Farrell.

Having felt disenchanted by their former independent record label, the band's second release, the single "Sometimes the Fire Dance" appeared under the Prince Melon imprint in February 1981, run by then manager Ken West and Ed Kuepper. Within two months, the band release the 12" EP Laughing Clowns 3 and by August the two releases create their first compilation, Throne of Blood/Reign Of Terror.

During the course of the band's highly prolific recording output, the band lose the Wallace-Crabbe cousins and the Clowns are seen performing around Sydney as a three piece configuration, exploring much freer arrangements, and drawing from the band's mutual interest in free jazz.

By the middle of 1981, the band gain two members of the Sydney jazz community; saxophonist Louise Elliott and fretless and upright bassist Leslie 'Bif' Millar, and with this new line-up, the band delve further into jazz-inspired improvisation and experimentation.