Has it really been 10 years? It only seems like yesterday that I spotted a rather tatty poster on a board outside the tavern at Curtin University in Western Australia which read The Courtyard - lunchtime "The Chevelles" (featuring ex Stems, Freuds). Wow was this true. Some two years earlier Perth's darlings on the independent scene my favorite band the Stems had virtually disappeared off the face of the planet. Amongst a handful of others I watched four guys get up on stage and crank out a few rambshackling pop tunes with awesome potential. I was hooked. I guess it's a rare thing in independent rock to say ten years later I'm still hooked and the Chevelles, despite all thing changes in music trends and popular fashion, are still around making great records. Here is a glance at the trials and tribulations of the past ten years and a peek into ... err... the next ten?

Mal Hope (June 2000)

The following VERY extensive history of The Chevelles was painstakingly put together by Mal Hope, so please grab a cup of your favourite beans or leaves, sit back, and delve into the trials and tribulations of the last decade.  

The band wishes to thank Mal Hope for his outstanding effort in compiling this history ...thanks mate!

Duane Smith's first band The Freuds were just one of many Perth bands in the period between 1987 and 1989 that were on the 60's garage pop bandwagon. In Perth at the time there was a band list as long as your arm who prided themselves on 2 guitars a bass a drum kit. There mission was simple. Play jangling power pop about cars and girls and generally look the part in paisley shirts winklepickers and mop top haircuts. The huge interest in the genre at the time was in part due to success of eastern states groups like the Hoodoo Gurus, Sunnyboys Lime Spiders and a host of other Citadel related bands however more so by Perth's own success story of the eighties The Stems. It was this sort of environment where Smith and high school buddy Bruce Abbot thought that putting together a pop band was just about as good idea as any.

It's probably correct to say the Freuds were reasonably successful in a short space of time. A loyal group of followers and a trademark look (at once stage the band all wore black and white hooped shirts) saw the band establish a healthy local following in Perth . This plus some sought after tour spots with the Stems, Sunny boys and other popular bands of the time impressed Sydney label bosses Rob Younger (Radio birdman, New Christs) and Alan Thorne enough to offer the Freuds a recording contract on Thornes Revolution Records (home of the Spliffs).

Jeff Halley , then manager of the Freuds, probably sparked the rising interest in the band. Another high school buddy of the band Halley also had a strong interest in bands like the Screaming Tribesmen, and the Hoodoo Gurus. As early as 1987 Halley was playing bass for anther sixties revivalist band the Sunstones. Initially Halley only managed the band but later took over as bass player . At the same time he was kicking around with Ian Underwood in the ever changing Kryptonics lineup (Halley played with band as late as January 1989). Long enough to be part of the excellent "69" EP on the Sydney based Waterfront label.

It seemed the Freuds were about to follow a similar path as the Stems when things began to fall apart. Musical differences in the direction the band should take finally came to a head when Smith brought in a new tune "show me your love" which was completely rejected by Abbot. "That just nailed for us" said Halley, Smith and Halley left the band which subsequently folded and by mid 1989 their was nothing to show except a band that could've been , an expensive batch of unreleased demo's and the great new track just penned by Smith "Show me your Love".

Richard Lane in 1989 was probably wondering to do next. On the verge of what appeared to be something great Lane, at 21, was left out on the limb with nowhere to go after increasing tension between himself and Dom Mariani had led to the 1987 split up of almost legendary Perth 60's revivalist the Stems. Mariani moved on quickly and teamed up with ex Lime Spider Darryl Mather to once more form the Someloves. The pair had worked together under the same moniker two years early with the excellent A/AA single It's my Time/Don't talk about us (Citadel) the result. In 1988 the Someloves released their second single "Know you now" which to this days remains one of the best power pop tunes to come out of Australia in the late eighties. The other band members splintered into virtual nowheres'ville. Bassist Julian Matthews and Dave Huck Shaw surfaced early in 1988 for an all to brief stint with Melbourne band the Shivers. There first single "Washaway" penned by Matthews was easily the best thing they did.

So we did it this leave Richard Lane. Some felt he was the reason behind the success of the Stems. Sure Mariani was the major contributor in a recorded sense but it was Lane, snotty nosed long haired, wiry frame and cool attitude to burn which was a very big part of the Stems cutting it live. For a period he moved over to Sydney and tried to put together another Stems styled band which never really moved out of first gear. Disillusioned Lane packed his bags and returned to Perth.

During the Freuds brief history they had played and toured on numerous occasions with the Stems. During that time Smith and Halley had formed a friendship with Lane and other Stems members such as their first drummer Gary Chambers. So it appeared the right thing to do when Halley and Smith approached Lane in Mid 1989 with the idea of forming a new band. Gary Chambers was roped into play drums and jamming began late in 1989. It proved a fruitful period of song writing for the both Lane and Smith. Lane clearly was moving away from garage to a more pop angle he'd hinted to with tracks like "Cant turn the clock back and the other side (songs initially in the Chevelles playlist) of the debut Stems album. Smith obviously was picking up on that vibe and writing tunes that were a significant step up from his previous efforts with the Freuds. Chambers time in the band was short. He Chambers lived over 300km south of Perth and it became too difficult for him to rehearse with the new group. His replacement was one time ex -Freud and Rockets drummer Guy Douglas. Enter the Chevelles

The Chevelles were aptly named after a 60's chevorlet design release aimed at female market. The band the continued to rehearse right up to their first headline show at one of Perth more infamous venues the Coronado on December 15th 1989 (the band played at two quietly advertised supports prior to this at the Old Melbourne Hotel with Martha's Vineyard and Painters and Dockers). If Lane was worried about what kind of reaction or crowd to expect he needn't have been. To say there was enormous hype for their first headline show about the band was still an understatement. Obviously Lane's association with the Stems had not been forgotten and in fact the it was about this time that the Stems status was actually growing. With the full house sign up early in the night the pressure was on Lane early to tug out a few old Stem's numbers. I'm sure it's what the crowd wanted to hear. Unfortunately it was something that would continue to bug Lane through the rest of his limited career with the band. Looking back both Halley and Smith agree that the band couldn't have possibly lived up to the expectations that surrounded the band in the first few months. However one thing that did lie in the Chevelles favour was that many of the great new tunes penned by Lane and Smith. They were all excellent examples of unabashed teen pop and power pop which lead the Chevelles to creating there own identity relatively quickly considering the legacy of the great period of Perth music had come to a slow grinding close some two years earlier.

Within the first few months of their existence the Chevelles had already caught they eye of independent labels across the country. One of these was the Sydney based Zero Hour (named after the Plimsouls tune of the same name) label being set up by ex Stems roadie George Matzkov. Zero Hours' first release was a 3 track 7 inch of Stem's demo's to accompany bio a band biography (comprising an interview with Lane after Mariani declined the invitation) aptly titled "Let Your head Rest". With the success of the booklet and single along with Lane's association with Matzkov during the days of the Stems and Freuds it seemed a natural cause of events for the band to be picked up by Zero Hour.

In mid April the band took an early break from playing live and quickly recorded six rough and ready demo's at Poons Head studio's in Perth. This was a far cry from lane's last recording outing with the Stems( a recording budget in the 000's at the flash Planet Studio's.) Zero Hour was suitably impressed with the result promptly chose Lane's crunchy punk pop rocker "Be My Friend" and Smiths "She don't come around" for a single At the time Matzkov thought there were better songs in the six tracks recorded however he felt these captured the energy he was looking from the band. It a perception that proved true as the single released in lat 1990 scored critical acclaim in influential pop zines such as Bucketful of Brains ("Be My Friend" is a non stop rocker in prime Hoodoo Gurus/Screaming Tribesman heyday fashion with hooks a plenty and loads of blazing guitars") and this from US pop scribe Steve Gardener at Noise for Heros's ("Be My Friend is harder and nastier than any Stems song.."). This last statement would have pleased Lane no end. While the single did relatively well in Australia scoring high rotation on national youth radio triple J it's success the success the band gained in European countries like Spain Germany and France that gave an insight into where the future of the band lay. The interest in these countries was seized upon by Matzkov who had many contacts their having been a long time collector of power pop from all over the world. The connection to the Stems through Lane and the quality of the single proved a godsend for the band. offers for tribute compilations soon followed and the band quickly knocked out "Zero Hour" for a Plimsouls tribute and "Back of My Car" for an Alex Chilton Tribute on Spanish label Munster Records.

Buoyed on by the success of the single the band moved into Planet Studio's in late 90/early 91 to record a follow release. The "kids Aint Hip" released in March 1991 was an still is a classic statement of Perth Pop. Five breezy intangibly catchy power pop tunes that prompted highly respected editor of US zine Yellow Pills Jordan Oakes to describe the band as "consistently better songwriters that the Hoodoo Gurus". Smiths definitive 'Show me your Love' remains the one best pop tunes out of Australia in the early nineties This is closely followed by Lanes ode to Triple J Radio presenter "Tracie Lee Hutchence". As an interesting note Matzkov always thought the title track "The Kids Aint Hip" was a direct reply to a tune penned by Mariani "Little Town Crier" on the Someloves debut album "Something or Other" (White) A lightening trip to the east coast confirmed that the band was the hottest thing out of Perth since the Stems. High rotation for 'Show me Your Love" ensured the band was now being recognised as a class pop act throughout the country. Upon there return to Perth the band embarked on an extensive gigging schedule. It seemed in 1991 the band were everywhere. This included supporting eastern states bands such as Ratcat, Falling Joys and the Plunderers to headlining triple j showcase gigs like Spinal Pop. While this meant the bands coffers were running high, allowing them to concentrate on recording songs for an upcoming album, the stress of the heavy schedule was beginning to tell.

Lane had always appeared to have a laconic attitude to rock n roll. While others in the band, in particular Smith and Halley could see that the band had a real future. Lane's focuses appeared to be moving elsewhere. His song output had dwindled significantly and he was beginning to rely on playing the same tunes every week. A certain recipe for disaster in a small scene such as Perth's. As friction in the band mounted in the later half of 1991 recording delay's followed. Halley, who was promoting shows for some Hotel around Perth and Fremantle, had organised for the band to use the Newport Hotel as a rehearsal room on weeknights. It was one night there in September 91 during rehearsal that thing really soured. Smith had been busily working on a batch on great new tunes. When he presented "Valentine" to the other band members Lane made the rash claim that he thought the Chevelles were a vehicle for his music. Things deteriorated rapidly from there and it became the last ever rehearsal for the in the original line-up. There were other signals before that. A significant difference in the style between Lane and Smith was developing. Lane's small amount of new tunes moved further towards the mid paced pop territory owned by guys like Tommy Keene and Bobby Sutcliffe while Smith's tunes were becoming rockier and louder. Halley and Smith made the difficult decision to dismiss Lane from the band It was a brave move given Lane had been the most recognisable face in the band to date. However Smith was ready and willing to take the lead role in the band. An besides a ripe and ready replacement was already tuning up is guitar and turning up the amplifier.

Adrian Allen had been playing for local Sunnyboys/ Hitmen/ Hoodoo Gurus influenced group the Diehards since May 1990. The band had pulled a strong local following and had released a six track self titled cassette. In mid 91 they had come under the notice of once of Matzkov's label friends Jorge Munoz who owned the fledging Pink Flamingo label . Two tracks "In Love, With You Girl" and "Don't Tell Me" had been recorded and set for release on Pink Flamingo before the band decided to disband in mid - late 91.

Allen had known Smith and Halley for sometime having lived in the same area and went to the same school. For the best 1990 he spent every day with Smith sorting wool before it went off to manufacture and jamming out tunes whenever the call for a break was suggested ! Allen's band the Diehards often played support for the Chevelles and Allen even filled in for Smith in the Chevelles when Smith holidayed in Europe on September 1991 and for Richard Lane on another occasion. During the trip Smith managed to hook up with a number of European contacts that would later help the band tour Europe.

By the time Lane left the Chevelles, Allen had already been jamming with the other members. The band performed a final show with Lane on Christmas eve 1991. The news that Lane was leaving the band was a shock to many fans as the Chevelles had kept the rift in the band well Hidden. Just a week later on New Years Eve was the first show with the new line up at Wildwood winery (with Boom Crash Opera, Neptunes, Kryptonics, Dweebs) While it was a disaster for the promoter, it was a watershed for the Chevelles. There was new found enthusiasm and toughness in the band. Allen all of a sudden had provided the guitar muscle that Smith was looking for which add a more sonic edge to the Chevelles pop. Also Allen had bought his own fresh swag of tunes that brought new life to the band.

While the band had found new focus at a live level their recording plans were in a mess. The band had just about finished a full albums worth of material with Lane in the group. They salvaged some of Smiths tracks from the sessions which included the bands next single "Girl for me". Lane went on to used his tracks on a 5 track CD "Play the Passion Revue" with his new band the Rosebuds. The other Chevelles band members were disappointed when none of them received any credits for playing on the record.

Even before Lane left the group in late 91 the relationship between the band and their label Zero Hour had become strained. Royalties for strong sales of the single and EP had not been seen by the band and the label had begun to some things without band consent. This included things setting up overseas licensing deals and printing t-shirts without any knowledge of the band. While the band still owed Zero Hour 5 tracks a decision had already been made within the group to pursue another record deal.

The bands strong reputation overseas and in Australia saw them quickly negotiate a deal with Australian label Survival Records whose acts included Hitmen and the Screaming Tribesman. Smith explains "We met Alex Geshov through Dan Hennessy who contacted Jeff out of the blue just after we had toured the east coast in 1992. He knew we had some sales and a vibe on us through his contacts at Play it again Sam records in Paris and in Spain. We signed a 3 album deal with Survival Europe and Australia and introspect got a pretty good advance to record the album"

Survival also had strong hold connections with Europe having a office in Brussels and distribution through big European distributor Play it Again Sam. This suited that band well as they had already had a strong independent following in Europe. Survival organised a 10 song retrospective CD of the bands Zero Hour material titled "The Kids Ain't Hip" for release exclusively through Survival in Europe. At the same time Zero Hour had negotiated a similar release "In the Zero Hour" through Spanish label Munster Records. Both were similar compilations (however the Munster release had 3 extra bonus tracks). Some confusion surrounded the negotiations for "In the Zero Hour" which resulted in the two albums being released at the same time.

By mid 92 the band had been back into the recording studio and released a new single the stomping Gurus influenced "Girl For Me". This was always a crowd favourite and a good choice of single and had two excellent b-sides in the eppervescent "Valentine" and Allen's first up effort "On My Mind". For the better part of 92 the Chevelles did much of what they did in 1991. The band regularly gigged in hometown Perth supporting the likes of Falling Joys, Clouds and overseas act like the Smithereens (one of Smiths all time fave bands). Later in 92 the band released a second single "Murder on Her mind" (b/w "Can't Pretend" )

Gigantic the album initially planned for the end of 1991 was finally released in the summer of 1992/1993. It's big "rock" production finally closed the chapter on the jangly pop of the bands early releases. Gigantic was a chance for the Chevelles to push for bigger success in Australia. Smith continued to pursue the pop/rock format using the Smithereens ("Blind", "Another Girl") and Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend album ("Over")as influences. In contrast to Allen's tracks on Gigantic showed a move towards a more pop orientated feel. Tracks like "Promise" and the very teenage fanclubbish "Understand" were great examples of this. The album received solid reviews (without being exceptional) in magazines such as Australian Rolling Stone and street press throughout the country. Radio picked up on tracks like "Murder on her Mind" and "Memories". The later being the third single lifted from the album late in 93 with three bonus tracks which included a tougher version of Smiths classic "Show me Your Love" and a ripper version of the Backdoor Men's "Out of My Mind".

The band followed up the release of Gigantic with three whirlwind tours of the Eastern States. The first included hooking up with US power popper Matthew Sweet on his "Altered Beast" tour. It saw the band support Sweet from the West, right up the East Coast of Australia. After that tour drummer Guy Douglas was sacked through combination of musical differences and some personal issues with other band members. Around this time the Bunbury band the Calhoons had been supporting the Chevelles. The band were a real throwback to mid eighties sound of the screaming Tribesmen, and the Lime Spiders (Ironically they went on to release a six track CD through Richard Lane's newly formed Idaho Label). The Chevelles become friendly with the band and while looking for a drummer of there own they enlisted drummer Mario Calhoon to help out. The band quickly played a couple of Perth and Bunbury shows with Mario before the headed over top the Eastern States for a second time in mid 1993. The Chevelles continued to play with a number of high profile Eastern States acts but also headlined a number of shows. Upon there return the band lined up the more than able Martin Moon to play drums. Moon was a longtime crowd favourite in Perth having already had stints with Marigolds, Neptunes and more recently Dom Mariani's live group Orange. It was a good move by the Chevelles as Moons gig antics and character was to prove a winner in a third tour to the eastern states in late 1993 and subsequent tour to Europe in 1994. During the third tour to the Eastern States the band played a "rock against work " gig at one of Sydney's more famous venues the Hopetoun Hotel. It was here that they caught the of visiting Spanish pop fanatics Adolpho Gil and Juan Carlos from the Island of Mallorca

The European connections of the band's label Survival meant that Gigantic would be the perfect launching pad for a European tour. Late in 1992 the label had released the "Girl For Me" single in Europe to positive response. A European tour was organised for late 93 where the label lined up around 40 shows over a period of about 6 weeks between December 1993 and January 1994. The tour covered Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland. The band hooked up with fellow Survival acts the Screaming Tribesman and Screamfeeder throughout the tour. At that time a tour of that proportion was quite an achievement for the band. There were many other top line Australian bands were we much more in favour with radio and press in Australia that simply could not have commanded such a tour to Europe.

If the appeal of the band had been sown through previous licensing of songs from their Zero Hour days and the bands (now loose) connections with Stems the tour was a chance to prove themselves in their own right. The touring was a gruelling contract in itself. Near the end of the tour Smith lost his voice leaving Allen to carry the bulk of the work. However the hard work paid off. The band were extremely well received in Spain where there was a real "Rock n Roll scene. One very memorable gig was at a tiny cavernous room in a bar called El Sol in Madrid were it was so crowded the band had to literally climb over the crowd to get to the stage. Even more amazing is that then band then proceeded to play and 'sing' through a tiny guitar amplifiers which were stacked on 4 small crates to one side. How anyone heard them is anybodies guess, but it went OFF! The band found they were numerous rock n roll clubs in Spain where DJ's played Australian bands such as the Sunnyboys, Lime Spiders, Stems, Hoodoo Gurus and many others were played all night to enthusiastic punters. To these punters the Chevelles were carrying on the tradition of these artists.

In Spain the band met many promoters and record labels eager to release and organise more tours to Spain. One of these Michael Statesmann from rapidly growing label and Distribution company Running Circle was particularly interested. Running Circle was one of the premier up and coming record companies in Spain in the early nineties. Statesmann already had ties to Australia. His parents lived in the south west of Australia and his visited the country in 1992 and were he caught up with a number of Australian record label managers including a brief visit with Zero Hour's Matzkov and David Hughes-Owen (who later formed Spinning Top Records) It's here he became familiar with the Chevelles. During the Spanish tour Running Circle approached the band about the possibility of releasing records with them in the future. As a sweetener the label organised six extra Spanish shows for the band just before the band departed in January 1994 and assisted them on a large support bill for a Summer Festival in the island of Mallorca in July 1994. Between the Spanish Tour and the Mallorca Festival drummer Martin Moon left the band due to personal reasons. He was replaced by newcomer Julian Buckland for the Mallorca festival. After the festival appearance Smith and Buckland remained in Spain to play 4 more promotional shows for what was dubbed the Los Amigos de Australian Society!. When they arrived back in Australia work began on the follow up to Gigantic.

Up to this stage Survival had done a great job promoting the band and the Gigantic album which had notched up good sales in a number of European countries and some more obscure places like Brazil where a strong interest in Australian rock was developing. However there some friction between the band and Survival where developing. Sessions for the follow up to Gigantic "Rollerball Candy" were well underway. The label was however using delay tactics on confirming any release dates for the new album and talk of any promotion. The label were also baulking on payment of royalties owed to the band from sales of Gigantic. Survival had recently fragmented the bands interests throughout the world by sub licensing Gigantic to a number of different labels and distributors. This included Shock Records in Australia and Play it again Sam in Europe. It increasingly difficult for the band to keep track of what was happening with Gigantic. Subsequently the band confronted Survival on the situation and a decision was made to dissolve their contract with them. In retrospect Halley feels Survival were going through financial trouble at the time and could not meet there the contractual obligations they had with the Chevelles. It appears now that a number of other Survival signed bands also feel a similar fate.

The band now back in control of its own affairs began negotiations with Running Circle for a distribution deal for "Rollerball Candy".  The band had remained in contact with Running Circle regularly since the 93/94 European tour and had been impressed with the labels growth and strong desire to promote and financially support the band. While the band initially agreed to license the new album direct to Running Circle for Spain and the rest of the EEC they held off for a period on a worldwide distribution deal to shop the album around in Australia and other territories.

Work on Rollerball Candy was finished in late 1994. The recording was not without it's hitches. The initial recording was done at Perth's Gericho Studio with the final mixing carried out with James Hewgill. The band felt the result was somewhat dissapointing and in retrospect it was agreed that the final outcome at Planet was not as good as some of the rough mixes at Gericho. The band shopped around the 16 tracks to various Australian and other European companies with no luck. Eager to release the CD the band decided to take up Running Circles worldwide distribution deal except for Australia where the band themselves would take on the role of distributing the CD.

Running Circle quickly organised a solo tour for Smith at Christmas 1994/95. The tour included shows in Mallorca and Madrid with drummer Buckland and was used as a promotional exercise for the upcoming release of Rollerball Candy.

Rollerball Candy was released by Running Circle in early 1995. If Gigantic was the bands attempt to make a big rock record then "Rollerball Candy" was aimed with a more sonic pop sound in mind. Allen continued his direction to wards Creation styled band such as Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits and Superstar. Smith now looking at American groups like Best Kissers in the World and the emerging Goo Goo Dolls for inspiration. There were some excellent tracks on this disc. The pulsating opener "She's Not Around" is still Allen's finest moment with roaring guitar work mixed with a new found vocal strength. Smith's best track easily being the rockier "Mesmerized". It is still his favourite Chevelles tune. Other great tracks included Allen's "Something" (raved about by Bomp! had honcho Greg Shaw!) and "No Need to Say " plus Smiths ripper ode to ex flat mate Katherine "Phenobarbitual Love". The album was more varied than Gigantic taking in elements of punk "Delirium" through to melodic ballad "Fall". At 15 tracks in total it was a longish album for a pop group but in essence was tailor made for Spanish rock n roll fans which perfectly suited RunningCircle.

Initial sales of the record in Spain and Portugal were encouraging. Running Circle had a large network of contacts in both countries and therefore could be bought throughout the country. Response from Spanish press and radio was excellent. The record received strong reviews in established Spanish rock zines like Ruta 66, Beaten Generation and La Musica where the band were compared to DM3 and the Dubrovniks.

Rollerball Candy moved more slowly in Australia. With not formal distribution the band relied on sales at shows and a handful of Perth and eastern states record stores. Promotion was even more low key. With no one working for the band in the eastern states many fans of the band in places like Sydney and Melbourne were unaware that Rollerball Candy had even been released. It had also become apparent that Running Circles worldwide distribution campaign was floundering. There was no evidence that the disc had was being distributed outside of Spain and no promotion to support any distribution. It was quite clear that if you didn't live in Spain or Perth the chances were you'd would have never heard that the record was ever released.

If the were becoming more anxious at the lack of effort from Running Circle outside Spain they were not the only one's. Ex Stem Dom Marian's band DM3 was having similar trouble with their second LP "Road to Rome" which has a European distribution through Running Circle. Also Perth power pop label Spinning Top, which had a long standing distribution deal with the label stretching back to 1993, like the others was pushed through a series of contact changes at the label and brushed off when talk of monies owed was ever raised. By late 1995 it appeared things were going terribly wrong with label.

Around this time Smith put together another rock outfit Rollercoaster. During the latter half of 1995 he'd penned a number of straight out rock n roll tunes he felt need a different identity to the one the Chevelles had. Teaming up with Grant Ferstat ( ex Month of Sundays), Dave Shaw (Stems, Boom babies) and friend Craig Maclean they recorded a low fi 11 track rock n roll album. At the time it was a bit of fun that Smith thought would find a release in the ever hungry Spanish rock scene. The album finally saw release in mid 1999 on Spanish power pop label Snap Records.

Shortly afterwards Smith (in what was becoming an annual event) toured Spain around Christmas where he played eight shows in Madrid, Bilboa, Mallorca. He met up with Running Circle who assured him everything was going fine with the label and record sales. However word on the street painted a completely different picture of near bankruptcy and a label spinning out of control. Luckily for Smith he was able to secure a swag of Rollerball Candy CD's before returning to Australia. Sometime around mid 1996 word filtered back from Spain that Running Circle had gone bankrupt. This was not unexpected and in fact many had predicted it much earlier. This left Chevelles in a real bind. The bankruptcy of RunningCircle basically annulled the contract the band had with the label. Rollerball Candy had been released almost 18 months earlier and, through poor distribution and promotion, hadn't really made the impact the band was after.

They band decided to pursue other avenues for Rollerball Candy. Smith while holidaying in the US in 1996 got in touch with Paradoxx Music who distributed "Gigantic" from Survival and had sold a couple of thousand copies of the record in Brazil. Smith on a hunch went to Brazil to meet them and tee up a Rollerball Candy release. Similar to Running Circle Paradoxx had started off as a small independent when they first distributed Gigantic but had since grown into a huge dance label. The label were very forthcoming and interested in the band. Smith sorted out verbally a deal for the release but as soon as he returned to Australia it started to fall apart as the label split into two different labels, a rock and a dance label. Smith lost his initial contact as and new staff were hired , new management. In general it became a nightmare to follow up. Interestingly Paradoxx never actually changed there mind about releasing Rollerball Candy and you could say Smith's still waiting to hear from them!!!

Unperturbed by the demise of Running Circle the band continued to have a strong following in Spain. Smith and Allen took their girlfriends on a holiday there in January 1997 where, through previous contacts, they played 3 acoustic shows in Madrid. Upon there return and after six moths of sporadic playing in Perth, and more continuing frustration with overseas record labels the band looked back to Australia for help. Ironically a solution was waiting for them right under their own doorstep.

Perth power pop label Spinning Top head honcho David Hughes-Owen had known various members of the band as far back as 1991. While the Chevelles were building a reputation for themselves Hughes-Owen had quietly been releasing a number of quality Perth acts on his Spinning Top label. In fact Smith offered Rollerball Candy to Hughes-Owen for Australian release in January 1995. However at the time the label felt it didn't have the money or network to support the album. In 1996 Spinning Top put together an Australian power pop compilation "pop on Top" for highly respected US label Bomp! Records. Appropriately the lead track used on the compilation Chevelles "She's' Not Around. The compilation was very well received in the USA. He quickly discovered that the Chevelles had a small but strong fanbase. Especially in the US pop scene which was beginning to make some real noise through events like Poptopia, new zines like Amplifier, Audities and Posideded and pop labels like Parasol and Bruce Brodeen's Not Lame Records.

The Chevelles approached Spinning Top around September 1997 to help out with Rollerball Candy. Spinning Top agreed to use there contacts to see if anything could come of Rollerball Candy.

Spinning Top had a long association with USA label Not lame. Label manager Bruce Brodeen was a real fan of Australia pop and regularly stocked pop from down under in his mailorder catalogue. He was also a big fan of the Chevelles and when Spinning Top offered him the opportunity to release some Chevelles material in the USA he jumped at it. The Chevelles had just negotiated the right for all the back catalogue so Brodeen had a choice of all tracks recorded by the band back till 1992. Since the Chevelles had never had any formal release in the States Brodeen chose to compile a "best of " from the band.

At Second Glance was in the stores by March 1998. The thirteen track CD was released in a unique dual licensing contract on Not Lame in the USA and Spinning Top Records in Australia (it was the band first bonafide release in Australia since Gigantic way back in 1993). Again the release was not without a hitch. As soon as the album was in the store the Chevelles longest serving drummer Julian Buckland quit. This set back any album launch for a few month until finally ex Stem and long time friend Dave Shaw took up the drummer position. The album was officially launched in late July 1998

Not Lame's Brodeen, being a true power pop fan, used tracks that had a more melodic edge to them. Therefore the punk pop songs on Rollerball Candy (like the title track, delirium and phenobarbitual love) and the big rock sounding tracks from Gigantic were omitted from the album. The album received rave reviews among pop circles in the USA. Gold mine contributor John Borack labelled the album "powerful pop chunks that state their case with stinging guitars and melodies to match" while pop freelance writer Claudio Sossi stated "The Chevelles excel at - making incredibly catchy guitar-based pure pop songs without compromise". The album caught up on some lost opportunity in Australia too. National distribution plus strong hometown reviews in Perth and radio airplay on JJJ , RRR and a host of community stations ensured the band had gained back a profile in Australia Brodeen was extremely pleased with sales in the US. He sold most of his limited pressing of At Second Glance within 2 months of release. The release had also opened the door to a whole new fan base. The album was picked up on couple of radio stations and at one stage was getting 25 rotations a week on Atlantic (Georgia) college radio.

Spinning Top's strong European networked ensured the album reached small pockets of Europe. In the 6 months after the release of At Second Glance the band scored a 4 track vinyl EP release "Mezmerised" through new French label Hellfire Club Records. The label chose the tougher edged tracks off Rollerball Candy for the release. The band also got onto a couple compilations including Beat Party CD on Japan's One and Two Records and "Pop Under the Surface" thru Swedish label Yesterday Girl Records.

Armed with the new release (of sorts) the band went about organising a tour of Spain for January 1999. They also included a French leg of the tour to support the "Mezmerized" EP. The tour, organised in part by David Jimenz of Love Art Promotions in Spain and Oliver Valerio of P.FM 99.9 Easy Rider fame in France, was their best yet. The 10 Spanish shows went off exceptionally well with many shows being sold out before the band arrived. The seven dates in France were also a great success. The tour proved to the band that they were still had many fans in Europe even though it was their first full tour as a band since 1994.

Fresh full of enthusiasm the Chevelles hit the studios in May 1999 to record 7 new tracks. It was there first full studio session since Rollerball Candy some 4 years earlier. Three of the seven tracks (including a classic version of Air Supplies "Lost in Love" were completed to demo level and then shopped around by Spinning Top to various labels throughout Australia Europe and the USA. Some six months earlier Spinning Top had come across newly form San Franciscian label Zip Records stared up by pop enthuseast Art Herman. Upon hearing the three Chevelles demo's Zip entered into negotiations for a US EP and album release. Zip offered the Chevelles a healthy advance to finish up the seven recorded tracks and enough spare for the band to complete a brand new album.

Sunbleached, a brand new 5 track EP has been released on Zip Records in October 2000. It's been five whole years since the band released any new product but believe me it will be worth the wait. The EP represents the most consistent and definitive Chevelles recordings yet. Songs like Allen's "Sonic" and Smith's "Startdust" have quickly become crowd favorites and are as good as anything songs the Chevelles have previously recorded. The band have found a perfect niche between melodic guitar drenched power pop and straight ahead sixties garage rock. Zip Records has has strong promotion network established in the US which will see the EP being promted throughout the US to over 300 college radio stations. This will be a whole new market for the Chevelles. Spinning Top has negotiated a deal with Zip which will see the Chevelles and other Spinning Top bands be released under the Zip Records banner in Australia through MGM Distribution.

The Chevelles are heading into there most productive period yet. Just when it looked like they were slipping away quietly they've bounced back to bite harder than ever. There is renewed interest for the band in Spain, where negotiations for a new album release and tour are well underway. There's also an album slated for Australian/USA on Zip Records in February 2001 and a retrospective 20 track CD "Delirium" to be released soon on ex pat Ian Marshall's Brazilin label Tronador Music. In what seems a history of near misses, missed opportunity, bad timing and little luck the Chevelles leave the nineties in better shape than when they entered them. Gee did I say "when they entered them? Wow it really has been 10 years!.

www.TheChevelles.com ~ info@TheChevelles.com