Australia’s favourite larrikin rock band from the 80s The Painters & Dockers are back with a new single. Rooted in working-class politics and reinvigorated contemporary production, the new single is titled “HOLIDAY ON ICE’’.
Typically the band write a song that doesn’t fit the boundaries of usual rock and pop subjects but instead, as with Holiday On Ice, they bring issues like drug addiction and drug abuse to the fore. The Painters & Dockers recently played a launch show for the single at The Corner Hotel on May 19. However, they performed that night without frontman Paul Stewart who was involved in an accident that resulted in a serious head trauma, causing bleeding on his brain. Instead the band employed the services of some special guest artists including Rob Craw from the Huxton Creepers, Peter Lawler (AKA Dr Pump) from Weddings Parties Anything, Fiona Lee Maynard from Have A Nice Day, Jack Howard from Midnight Oil and the Hunters and Collectors, Triple R DJ and the JVG Guitar Method Jon Von Goes and comedian Damian Callinan.
The Painters & Dockers currently includes frontman Paulie Stewart isn’t spitting catchy melodies, bold guitar leads by Colin Badger weave their way around the Brass Holes horn section of Dave Pace and Mick Morris backed by the blitzkrieg rhythm attack of Richard Bradbeer bass and Dahl Murphy on drums.
The Painters & Dockers formed for the one night in early 80s to help friend Billy Walsh from the Cosmic Psychos’ pay off some parking fines. The band named themselves after the infamous trade union members who drank at the Port Melbourne pub where the benefit was to be held.
Some 1750 shows, seven albums later and tours of North America, Canada, New Zealand and all over Australia under the belt, the band now have an esteemed place in Australian rock history. Well known songs by the band include Die Yuppie Die, Nude School, Kill Kill Kill, You’re Going Home in the Back of a Divi Van, The Boy Who lost his Jocks on Flinders Street Station and countless more.
Along with many tours of their own The Painters And Dockers have supported the likes of Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, Billy Idol, The Cramps, The Gun Club, The Monkees, Midnight Oil, Jonathan Richmond, Divine, Killing Joke, Hoodoo Gurus, Paul Kelly And The Colored Girls, The Angels, Divinyls and many many more.
The band also gained wide spread media coverage on their “Rocking The Rails” tour which saw them play on a classic steam train on suburban railway stations around Melbourne and on “Rocking The Bay” which saw them play on the back of an ocean going hovercraft on piers around Port Phillip Bay. Singer Paulie Stewart even appeared on Channel 9’s “A Current Affair’, where he faced allegations the band were “Satanists” by a Queensland Pastor.
A band with a strong social conscious The Painters And Dockers have been involved in countless benefits and most notably appeared alongside waterside workers on the picket line during the MUA waterfront strike of the 1990s.
In 2010 the band reformed to be inducted into The Age’s “ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME”, and they delivered a blistering set when invited to appear at the iconic 2014 Community Cup Football Game.
Since then the band have been in high demand and have followed with performances at the iconic Meredith Festival and in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Warnambool, Geelong, Perth and at various Melbourne venues.
The band were back in the news on 9 October 2014 when Violent Soho frontman James Tidswell was not allowed to board a plane because he was wearing a Painters and Dockers black T-shirt printed with the name of the band’s 1990 single ‘Eat, Sh–, Die’. When he was told he could not get on the Virgin flight, Tidswell told Fairfax Media he was shocked when he was told new terrorism laws meant he could not wear the shirt on the plane. But a Virgin Australia spokesman said the T-shirt was simply deemed offensive, not a threat.
More recently, the band hosted and appeared in the new ABC television series “CLASSIC COUNTDOWN’’, appeared at the 100th anniversary of the heritage listed Seaman’s Mission in Flinders Street Melbourne, played with The Sunnyboys at their Melbourne Zoo Twilights show and on May 19 2018 packed The Corner Hotel Richmond with a sold out crowd.
Original members of the band include Paulie Stewart, Dave Pace, Mick Morris, plus 20 year member Colin Badger and his son Michael on guitars, drummer Dahl Murphy and bass player Richard Bradbear.
