The Saints (band)

The Saints (band)

The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974, founded by Chris Bailey (singer-songwriter, later guitarist), Ivor Hay (drummer), and Ed Kuepper (guitarist-songwriter). Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups. In 1975, contemporaneous with United States' Ramones, The Saints were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzz saw" guitar that characterised early punk rock. With their debut single, "(I'm) Stranded", in September 1976, they became the first punk band outside the US to release a record, ahead of better-known acts including the Sex Pistols and The Clash. They are one of the first and most influential groups of the genre, according to Bob Geldof, "Rock music in the seventies was changed by three bands—the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and The Saints".

In early 1979, the Saints had split, leaving Bailey to continue the band, with a variable line-up, as a pop punk group. All Fools Day peaked in the Top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart in April 1986. Bailey also has a solo career and had relocated to Sweden by 1994. The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2001.