The Saints

The Saints

The Saints are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, active from 1973 to the present. They form around vocalist Chris Bailey and guitarist Ed Kuepper, with an early line-up that also includes Ivor Hay on drums, Kym Bradshaw on bass, and later Algy Ward on bass. Other members across the band’s history include Doug Balmanno, Jeffrey Wegener, Tracy Pew, Louise Elliot, Martin Bjerregaard, Iain Shedden and Janine Hall.

Early years and sound

The band forms in 1974 and develops a style rooted in punk rock, drawing inspiration from 1950s rock and roll and from the Stooges. Their music helps define the fast tempos and harsh guitar sound associated with early punk, alongside groups such as the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. Their credited genres include punk, punk rock, rock, pop rock and classic rock.

Move to the UK and recording history

In mid-1977, The Saints move to the UK. Their label EMI wants to market them as a standard punk act, but the band resists that image, keeping long hair and favouring collared shirts and sweaters rather than ripped clothes. Kuepper, Hay and Ward leave in 1978, after which Bailey continues to tour and record under the name The Saints with a changing line-up through the 1980s, including Janine Hall on bass.

Later developments

Their commercial breakthrough in the United States comes in 1986 with All Fools Day, and the video for “Just Like Fire Would” gains rotation on MTV. After recording a couple of albums under his own name, Bailey reforms The Saints in 1996. The band continues with occasional live reunions.

Other associations

The Saints’ music is also heard frequently in the background of episodes of Neighbours in the 1990s.