1927

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  • Genres: Rock

Biography

Soft rock and a fairy-tale story provided the impetus behind 1927's debut ...Ish! -- one of Australia's top selling albums of the '80s.

Former Moving Pictures guitarist and songwriter Gary Frost saw singer Eric Weideman performing the Police's hit "Roxanne" on the "Red Faces" talent segment of popular Melbourne variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday in late 1986. Frost drove from his hometown of Sydney to enlist Weideman as singer for the growing list of songs he had written in his home studio. Frost's brother Bill on bass and James Barton on drums completed the fledgling lineup.

The next year was spent being rejected by every record company in Australia until Charles Fisher (who also worked on Moving Pictures' Days of Innocence album) signed the group to Trafalgar Productions. Released in December 1988 and produced by Fisher, the group's debut ...Ish! reached number one on the Australian national charts in April 1989 and went on to sell more than 400,000 copies. The top five single "That's When I Think of You" (which also appeared in the U.K. charts at number 46) earned the band the 1988 Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) award for Best Debut Single (shared with the Rockmelons' Tales of the City), while ...Ish! scored Best Debut Album. Ex-Moving Pictures' keyboardist Charlie Cole joined the band for the next year of touring. In late 1989 Frost left the band and Weideman took on the bulk of songwriting duties.

The Other Side, (produced by Frost and Fisher), lacked the catchy choruses of ...Ish! and after debuting in Australia at number three quickly fell from the charts. In November 1992 their third album was released, 1927, to little fanfare. By 1993, the band had broken up.

Weideman's debut solo single "Nothing I Can Do" appeared on the band's 1996 release, The Very Best of...1927, as a segue into his solo career. ~ Brendan Swift, Rovi
Top
1927
Origin Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
Genres pop/rock
Years active 1987–1993; 2009–present
Labels Trafalgar
WEA
East West
Atlantic
Associated acts Moving Pictures
Website Official website
Members
Erik Weideman
Craig Laird
Simon Shapiro
Damien Cooper
Past members
James Barton
Bill Frost
Garry Frost
Charlie Cole
Dave Dwyer
Phil Campbell
John Carson

1927 are an Australian pop/rock band formed in Melbourne in 1987 with James Barton on drums, Bill Frost on bass guitar, his brother Garry Frost on guitar and keyboards, and Erik Weideman on vocals, guitar and keyboards .[1][2] They were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s with their major hit songs "If I Could", "Compulsory Hero" and "That's When I Think of You" and their multi-platinum #1 album ...ish.[1][3] Weideman had been seen by Garry Frost (ex-Moving Pictures) on a "Red Faces" talent segment of variety TV show Hey Hey It's Saturday.[1]

Contents

History

Garry Frost, guitarist and keyboardist, had left Moving Pictures in 1984, after their second album, and was writing songs at his Sydney home studio in late 1986.[1][4] He was watching the Nine Network's variety programme Hey Hey It's Saturday's talent segment "Red Faces" when Erik Weideman appeared and performed a cover of The Police's "Roxanne".[4] Garry Frost drove to Melbourne, about 880 km (550 mi), to recruit Weideman on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards.[1][4] They were joined by Garry's brother Bill Frost on bass guitar and James Barton on drums to form 1927 in Melbourne in 1987.[2] After a year of vainly seeking a recording contract, 1927 signed with Trafalgar Productions[1] and recorded their debut release, "That's When I Think of You", which entered the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles charts in September 1988 and peaked at #6.[3] In November, the band released their second single, "If I Could" which peaked at #4 on the ARIA singles charts.[3] Their debut album, ...ish was produced by Charles Fisher and Jim Bonneford and was released in early December.[1][2] Rock historian, Ian McFarlane described it as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems."[1] It peaked on the ARIA albums charts at #1 for four weeks and stayed in the Top 50 for 45 weeks,[3] it achieved 5X-platinum sales (more than 400,000).[1] Two more top 20 singles from the album were "You'll Never Know" and "Compulsory Hero".[3] "That's When I Think of You" was released internationally as a single in 1989, it peaked in the Top 50 in the UK,[5] and just peeked into the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[6]

At the 1989 ARIA Music Awards, 1927 received the 'Breakthrough Artist - Single' award for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist - Album' award for ...ish, while at the 1990 awards they won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero".[7] The band added Charlie Cole on keyboards (ex-Moving Pictures) and toured Australia.[1][2] By late 1989, they were commencing work for their second album when Garry Frost announced he was leaving the band early the following year. Dave Dwyer joined on guitars and keyboards and 1927 recorded The Other Side with Weideman as main songwriter and Fisher and Garry Frost producing.[1] The album, which peaked at #3 in July 1990, provided a Top 20 hit with "Tell Me a Story".[3] McFarlane described the album as "full of lush, ambitious arrangements and well-crafted pop, but it lacked the charm and rousing choruses" of ...ish.[1] Drummer Barton left in 1992 to be replaced by Phil Campbell,[2] they released their eponymous third album, 1927 produced by Mark Opitz, in November. 1927 just peeked into the Top 40 and the associated singles were less successful.[3] 1927 were suffering financial and internal problems and disbanded in 1993.[1] A compilation album titled The Very Best of 1927 was released in 1996.[2] Weideman subsequently pursued a solo career releasing a single "Nothing I Can Do" in 1996.[4]

2009-present

A digitally remastered edition of ...ish featuring bonus live recordings of "Propaganda Machine" and "Compulsory Hero" was released in 2009. The band, featuring a new lineup led by Weideman, appeared on Mornings with Kerri-Anne on 17 June 2009 and toured Australia in during the latter half of 2009 and the start of 2010, culminating in a performance in Sydney as support for Simple Minds in March 2010. The second leg of the 20...ish Anniversary Tour began in June 2010. They also played support for Roxette on their Charm School tour of Australia in early 2012. According to their official website they are currently recording their 1st album of new material since 1992's self titled album. According to 1927's Facebook page, their long awaited 4th album titled "Generation-i" will be released in April/May 2012. Pre-release copies of the album were available at the Roxette shows that 1927 supported.

The new lineup is:

  • Erik Weideman (lead vocals, guitar)
  • Craig Laird (lead guitar, backing vocals)
  • Simon Shapiro (bass, backing vocals)
  • Damien Cooper (drums)

Discography

Albums

Singles

Year Title Chart peak position Album
AUS
[3]
UK
[5]
US Hot
[6]
1988 "That's When I Think of You" 6 46 100 ...ish
"If I Could" 2
1989 "You'll Never Know" 15
"Compulsory Hero" 14
"To Love Me"
1990 "Tell Me a Story" 17 The Other Side
"Don't Forget Me" 42
"The Other Side" 83
1992 "Scars" 46 1927
1993 "It Ain't Love"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

References

External links


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