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Artist
Strange Tenants
12+ albums
80sskaaustralia90s00s
about
Over 20 years on, as their legendary status has grown, most people are aware that Strange Tenants were the pre-eminent Australian SKA band of the 1980s. What is often overlooked today, however, is that at their peak, they were one of the most popular and successful live bands of any style. In the early 1980s, hundreds, sometimes thousands of fans - referred to by the music press as "the Tenants' army" - swarmed to their gigs up and down the east coast of Australia. Strange Tenants also did national tours with international acts such as U2, Style Council and UB40. Performing at Sydney's Horden Pavillion in 1985, Paul Weller (The Jam and Style Council) introduced them on stage as "Australia's hardest working band". Founded by the 'Ska brothers', Ian and Bruce Hearn, towards the end of 1981, the band was initially called The Catch, but they ditched this name in favor of Strange Tenants just prior to their first gig, at the Lygon Street Festa in Melbourne on 7 November 1981. They became overnight sensations on the Melbourne inner city live scene and received rave reviews upon the release of their self-titled debut mini album, recorded only weeks after their first gig. Their record success on alternative radio stations gave the band a national profile and almost immediately they started touring nationally. In between their frenetic touring schedule - performing around 1200 gigs during 1982-86 - the band managed to record and release four singles, three mini albums and two full a
