Seven Stories (band) - History

History

Andrew Tanner, Michael Boundy and Sue Oliver were prominent in Christian music circles in Adelaide from the late 1970s. During this period they all contributed to Christian recordings at the Good God recording studio run by Rod Boucher and Chris Adams.

In 1978 Tanner contributed drums and vocals to various Good God recordings, later moving to guitar in the band Retreads which produced a self-titled album in 1980. Boundy played bass guitar for bands, Thumbs Up and Retreads (with Tanner) before joining Perfect Strangers in 1980. In 1984 Tanner composed "Dreams and Visions", which became a banner song for the 1985 Uniting Church National Christian Youth Convention in Adelaide in 1985. "Dreams and Visions", a song about Pentecost, is still used by Australian congregations.

Tanner, Boundy and Oliver teamed with drummer Jeff Algra and keyboard/French horn player Glyn Lehmann to form Tall Stories, in Adelaide in 1986. Their first major recording was a self-produced, self-distributed 12" mini LP Sleeping Through Another War, released in 1987.

Gaining commercial airplay, a major breakthrough came with the signing of the band by Sony (then CBS Records) to a five-year deal. Around that time the band changed its name to Seven Stories, to avoid confusion with US band Tall Stories. The deal with Sony led to the critically acclaimed Judges and Bagmen album in 1990. Rolling Stone's review in 1991 stated "it is the music which makes Judges and Bagmen such a compelling album" The band was assisted in the recording by musicians such as Vika and Linda Bull and Broderick Smith. Seven Stories was nominated for the 1991 ARIA Awards in the 'Best New Artist' category. "Sleeping through Another War" and "Walk through Babylon" were released by CBS as singles off the album. The band toured extensively throughout Australia supporting artists such as Midnight Oil, INXS, The Black Sorrows, Hothouse Flowers, Hunters and Collectors and Paul Kelly.

High-profile producers T-Bone Burnett and Boom Crash Opera's Richard Pleasance were engaged by Sony for Seven Stories' 1993 recording Everything You Want (Nothing That You Need), which spawned the single "Is that It?'" Although he contributed to the album, Lehmann had officially left the band by the time of its release, leaving Tanner, Boundy and Algra as the remaining core. The band toured Europe and North America on the strength of the album release. Guitarist David Carr, engaged to augment the band for this recording, relates the band's sudden abandonment by Sony: "We toured that album very successfully, recorded a JJJ Live at the Wireless and had a string of singles before the whole of Sony was instructed to "drop everything" and divert all energy to making Mariah Carey number one." Seven Stories subsequently disbanded in 1994.

Andrew Tanner worked in Melbourne as a writer and is a member of the psychedelic-styled band The Sand Pebbles. Boundy, Algra and Lehmann all returned to Adelaide and remained active musically. Drummer Algra played and recorded with a large number of artists including, T-Bone Burnett, The Waifs, The Borderers (with Glyn Lehmann), Jeanette Wormald, Jim Hermel, Andrew Clermont, Liam Gurner, and Jet O’Rourke.

Lehmann has had a musical career as composer, songwriter, arranger, performer and music producer. He has created original music, songs and soundtracks for Australian Broadcasting Corporation television and radio, and the feature-length documentary I Told You I Was Ill – The Life and Legacy of Spike Milligan. He has also worked with the State Theatre Company of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Boundy has played with Adelaide bands, Verandah and Vivid and played with Lehmann in the band, Sun Theory.

Seven Stories reformed for a one-off performance in Adelaide in April 2012.