Hard-Ons

One of Australia's most popular, most enduring, and most defiantly independent punk bands, the Hard-Ons have been around on and off since 1982. In that time they have been an influence on more than one generation of punk fans while earning respect from musicians around the world. Their own description their mix of punk, pop, and metal is "Motörhead playing the Beach Boys." Peter "Blackie" Black was one of many musicians inspired to form a band by the Sex Pistols. Unlike members of Joy Division and the Buzzcocks who got their inspiration from seeing them in the flesh, Black saw them on TV while he was a Sydney high-schooler. After rushing out to buy their album, he visited his friend Keish de Silva and told him they were forming a band, no questions asked. Black learned to play the guitar and de Silva the drums. They were joined by a fellow student of Punchbowl Boys High, Brendan Creighton, on vocals for their first gig at the school's end-of-year party. Prophetically, the police had to shut them down for being too loud. They first called themselves the Dead Rats, then the Plebs, before finally settling on the Hard-Ons for its ability to annoy adults. Creighton left and later formed the band Thrust, and the Hard-Ons were joined by Ray Ahn on bass while de Silva took over the singing. A three-piece punk band with a singing drummer, made up of underage kids from migrant families, wasn't the norm for the western suburbs of Sydney, but their sound and their violent stage antics impressed the crowds. Their debut, the 1985 EP Surfin' on My Face, featured Ahn's cover art as part of their do-it-yourself ethic, which also had them promoting themselves, personally choosing their support bands and even managing their own merch stand. It also marked the beginning of the love affair...