The Apartments - Early Apartments and Brisbane Connections

Early Apartments and Brisbane Connections

The Apartments first came together in Brisbane in 1978 with Walsh (guitar, vocals), Michael O'Connell (guitar, vocals), Peter Whitby (bass, vocals) and Peter Martin (drums). The Apartments played regularly during a period of flourishing creative activity in Brisbane in the late 70s.

While in The Apartments, Walsh briefly joined The Go-Betweens as guitarist when they were offered an 8 album contract by Beserkley Records. During an interview at the time, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan spoke about Walsh and the “variety of personalities and image” in the Go-Betweens. McLennan said “Walsh is night” and Forster “We are day” with McLennan adding “We’re sun, he’s rain.” Four years after Grant McLennan’s death, in a piece entitled “Who will remember your tunes?”, Walsh wrote about this period and his friendship with The Go-Betweens.

When the Beserkley deal fell through, Walsh returned to The Apartments and The Go-Betweens resumed as a three-piece. The Go-Betweens affectionately commemorated Walsh's style and his time with them on the B side of their next single, "Don't Let Him Come Back" “Here he comes, with his twelve o’clock junk…who’s that dressed in black? Who’s that in his apartment?”.'. "Don't Let Him Come Back" was later covered by Jay Reatard.

The Apartments' first EP Return of the Hypnotist was recorded for The Go-Betweens' Able Label in May, 1979. The Apartments broke up in October 1979, when Walsh left Brisbane. Some months later, the Return of the Hypnotist EP was released. Walsh next formed a four-piece Out of Nowhere (Walsh, guitar/vocals, Gary Warner, soprano saxophone, Tony Forde, clarinet and Graeme Hutchinson, drums) and recorded “The Arrangements” a cassette-only release with Pink and Blue, a duet of artists Jenny Watson and John Nixon, then curator of the Institute of Modern Art. Joe Borkowski later joined on bass and Jeffrey Wegener of the Laughing Clowns on drums and this incarnation of the band recorded Out of Nowhere’s first and only single for Ed Kuepper’s Prince Melon label “No Resistance/Remember, Remember.”.

In early 1982, Walsh moved to New York City following an invitation from future Go-Between, Robert Vickers, to join The Colors as guitarist. The Colors split up within months of Walsh joining the band and Walsh remained in New York. A number of songs written during these years would later appear on the first Apartments album “the evening visits…and stays for years”.

Walsh was then asked by Ed Kuepper to play bass in his band Laughing Clowns. Walsh toured England, Europe and Australia extensively with the Laughing Clowns and also recorded the Law of Nature album and the single “Eternally Yours”.

A year later Walsh returned to Australia and reformed The Apartments with a line-up including ex-Out of Nowhere members, Gary Warner (piano), Joseph Borkowski (bass) and Graeme Beavis (guitar), and Bruce Carrick (drums). The band then recorded one of the set of New York songs as a single, "All You Wanted" (with ex-Out of Nowhere member Gary Warner on piano), (b/w “Fever Elsewhere”). Early in 1985 The Apartments recorded demos for a proposed debut album.