The Meanies

The Meanies

The Meanies are an Australian punk band from Melbourne, active from 1988 to the present. The band forms around Wally Kempton and Lindsay Robert McLennan, and is associated with punk, with the broader tags of grunge, garage punk and heavy metal also attached to its work.

Early releases and label work

The Meanies begin in Melbourne in 1989 and quickly build a reputation through a run of sold-out 7-inch singles on the Augogo label. They continue working with Augogo on the EP Gangrenous and the album Come 'n' See in 1991. Augogo is also home to Australian acts including Magic Dirt, Scientists and Spiderbait.

The band also issues singles on international labels including Sympathy For The Record Industry, Merge, Lance Rock, Get Hip and Munster. Osaka label Time Bomb Records releases the CDs In Search Of... and Come 'n' See.

Growing reputation in Australia and abroad

By the early 1990s The Meanies establish themselves as a major underground rock band in Australia, drawing a large all-age audience and breaking attendance records in major capital cities. Their releases include the 1992 EP Cruelty's Fun and the compilation The Meanie of Life, which collects early deleted singles.

In 1993 they record their second album, 10% Weird, in Seattle. The album produces the singles Ton of Bricks and 10% Weird and leads to an extended period of touring.

Tours, festivals and collaborations

The Meanies tour Australia and Japan with The 5.6.7.8's in 1992, including shows in Japan with Jackie & The Cedrics, Concrete Octopus, Blow One's Cool and Rise From The Dead. In Seattle they play with The Supersuckers and meet musicians including Eddie Vedder and members of Pearl Jam, who later invite them onto Pearl Jam's 1994 Australian tour.

The band performs with Nirvana, Beastie Boys, Bad Brains, Redd Kross, Superchunk, Fugazi and the Hard-Ons, and appears at the Big Day Out, Livid and Push Over festivals. They also tour in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland.

Later activity and side projects

After a quieter period in 1997 and 1998, members pursue other groups including Tomorrow People, Even, Skivvy and Seaweed Gorillas. An invitation from The 5.6.7.8's to play in Australia in September 1998 brings The Meanies back to performing, and they later tour Australia again in March 1999 while working towards a third album.