The Bent Elbows in Sydney
In the middle of 1982, The Bent Elbows moved from Brisbane to Sydney to continue their version of “pub rock”.
The Bent Elbows formed in St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia, in the late 1970’s. During the early 1980’s they enjoyed moderate success playing in Brisbane and nearby regional centres. In 1981 the band recorded an Extended Play (EP) record titled “St Lucia Road”.
The Bent Elbows formed around the nucleus of the song-writing duo of Tony “Stirker” Baker, and his brother Matthew Baker. Stirker was the lyricist and Manager/Director while Matthew made the music on guitar.
From Brisbane to Sydney
Seeking to build on their minor success in Brisbane, the Baker brothers moved from Brisbane to Sydney in mid 1982. The rest of The Bent Elbows' Brisbane line-up remained in Brisbane.
Stirker said that the move to Sydney was to expand the band’s exposure. “Matt and I took The Bent Elbows to Sydney because we thought the Brisbane music scene at the time was dead. Sydney was the place to be and to re-trace our royal colonial roots,” he said.
The Sydney Band Members
The first task for the brothers was to find suitable musicians to join them in the band. Initially they enlisted the assistance of Neil ‘Bud’ Abbott, who had played drums for a short time with the Brisbane line-up.
The band went through a number of different members in Sydney, all formed around the core of the Baker brothers.
Wayne Tumbridge and Grant Wishart played Bass. David Randall, Paul Rutherford, Mark Turton, Mark Simpkin and an unknown Kiwi called Mark played drums at various times. While keyboardist Geoff Goodworth and saxophone player Mick Otten also joined the line-up at certain stages during the times the band played in Sydney.
From mid 1982 to late 1988, the band played mainly in the city and south eastern regions of Sydney.
Songwriting and Recording
The song writing of the Baker brothers continued from their Brisbane experience with new original material penned, mainly focussed around their new city. One song that emerged from the Sydney line-up is “Hermit Shack”. This tells the story of a man in the 1960’s who avoided the Vietnam War draft by living in a shack next to the Brisbane River and close to the Baker family home.
The Bent Elbows entered the recording studio again in May 1983, April 1986, and August 1987. Continuing on from the release of their independent EP “St Lucia Road” in Brisbane, the band released their second EP “Principle New” in 1988. This record featured the Baker brothers sharing the vocals, Grant Wishart on bass guitar and Mark Simpkin on drums.
While the Brisbane EP featured a picture of the Brisbane line up in the hall outside their practice room at St Lucia, the Sydney EP has a basic black and white cover with the words of the title song.
After nearly ten years writing, playing and recording their original songs in two Australian cities, The Bent Elbows folded in January 1989.
(Written by Bruce Iliff. This article was first published in 2008 on Suite101.com)