Of Skins and Heart - Background

Background

In March 1980, lead vocalist and bass guitarist Steve Kilbey and guitarist Peter Koppes formed a three-piece band in Sydney with Nick Ward on drums and began performing. A month later, Marty Willson-Piper (originally from Liverpool, United Kingdom) joined on guitar, and they were named The Church.

A four-song demo was recorded in Kilbey's bedroom studio. Thanks to contacts from his former band Baby Grande, they sent the tape to Australian record label, ATV Northern. The song "Chrome Injury" attracted the attention of Chris Gilbey who had recently formed a record production company in association with EMI Records in Australia and resurrected the Parlophone label. Gilbey went to band rehearsals and helped shape their sound – he bought Willson-Piper a 12 string Rickenbacker guitar and equipped Koppes with an Echolette tape delay. The band's first contract followed; of the four demos, only "Chrome Injury" was officially released.

Their debut album, Of Skins and Heart, recorded late in 1980, was co-produced by Gilbey and Bob Clearmountain (Bryan Adams). Seven of the nine tracks were written solely by Kilbey and two co-written with others. The first single, "She Never Said", was released in November, but did not chart. The second single, "The Unguarded Moment", co-written by Mikella Parker, was issued alongside the album in March 1981, but initially only in Australia. "The Unguarded Moment" reached No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart while Of Skins and Heart achieved the same position on the related Albums Chart. To promote their releases, the band undertook their first national tour. By the time of the album's release, drummer Ward had already been replaced by Richard Ploog. He was recruited by their manager, Michael Chugg, after hearing of his reputation in Adelaide. Ploog's arrival established The Church's first stable line-up.

The first recordings by the group with Ploog were released as a five-track double single / extended play, Too Fast for You in July 1981. It included the first collectively written track, "Sisters". Another track, "Tear It All Away", later released as a separate single, showed a development towards more elaborate guitar structures – regarded as typical The Church sound. Their image of tight jeans and paisley shirts(many designed and made by Mikella Parker)., as well as their 'jangly' guiatr sound evoked comparisons to 1960s psychedelic groups, particularly The Byrds. The success of Of Skins and Heart enabled Chris Gilbey to present the release to Freddie Cannon of UK label Carrere and Rupert Perry of United States label Capitol. Both labels released the album in 1982, renamed as The Church, with repackaged and altered track listings – including a song(s) from Too Fast for You. Ploog was incorrectly credited as the sole drummer on the US release, despite playing on only three tracks, "Too Fast for You", "Tear It All Away" and "Sisters". Capitol also released an edited single version of "The Unguarded Moment" which was a minute shorter – a decision which displeased the band.