George (stylised as george) were an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland. The band's first album, Polyserena, reached No. 1 on the Australian charts on 17 March 2002.

The Noonans formed the nucleus of the band, doing most of the songwriting and lead vocals. Stewart also contributed to many of the band's tunes. The Noonans grew up with a background in classical music; their mother, Maggie Noonan, is a well-known opera singer. Katie Noonan studied opera and jazz at the Queensland Conservatorium.

Stewart grew up listening to and playing rock music. Bromley played in the underground Brisbane rock band Pangaea with Ben Ely of Regurgitator. Green studied music at the Queensland University of Technology.

History

The band were formed in 1996 to enter a university music competition. They released a series of independent EPs, namely George in 1998, You Can Take What's Mine in 1999 and Bastard Son/Holiday in 2000. Bastard Son/Holiday peaked at number 74 on the ARIA chart. The EPs did progressively better, earning good airplay on Triple J radio and community radio stations across Australia. George were also winning a strong live following throughout Australia.

George signed with Festival Mushroom Records in mid-2001. "Special Ones" was the first single released on Festival Records, followed by "Run" in October 2001 and "Breathe in Now" in February 2002. From this time the band toured heavily.

The band's first album, Polyserena, debuted at No. 1 on the national album charts in its first week; George became only the tenth Australian band to do this with a debut album. Polyserena was certified double platinum and spent 36 weeks in the top 50.

George performed live in Brisbane on 22 December 2004. Following this, the band took a break while individual members attended to their own projects. While there were no immediate plans to regroup and perform, or to record new material, the band intended to make a comeback at some stage. The band reformed for a performance on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on 27 January 2005.

In 2016, the band was announced to perform at Victoria's Queenscliff Music Festival, the band's first performance in 11 years. The band also put on a 20th-anniversary celebration at the Concert Hall, QPAC, during the Brisbane Festival on 9 September 2016. Following their performance at Taronga Zoo in 2017, the group once again folded and returned to their individual careers.

In 2021, the band announced a reunion to play a residency at the Brisbane Powerhouse to play Polyserena in its entirety.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Album details

! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Certifications

|-

!align="center" width="40"|<small>AUS</small><br />

|-

! scope="row"| Polyserena

|

  • Released: March 2002
  • Label: Festival Mushroom (334862)
  • Formats: CD

| 1

|

  • ARIA: 2× Platinum

|-

! scope="row"| Unity

|

  • Released: February 2004
  • Label: Festival Mushroom (337605)
  • Formats: CD, CD+ DVD

| 5

|

  • ARIA: Gold

|}

Compilation albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of compilation albums, with selected details

! scope="col" style="width:14em;"| Title

! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Album details

|-

! scope="row"| The Essential Hits

|

  • Released: August 2010
  • Label: Warner Music Australia (5249814172)
  • Formats: CD, digital download

|-

! scope="row"| The Early Years

|

  • Released: 28 September 2016
  • Label: George
  • Formats: CD, digital download

|}

Extended plays

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of EPs, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| EP details

! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions

|-

!align="center" width="40"|<small>AUS</small><br />

|-

! scope="row"| George

|

  • Sometimes referred to as Homebrew
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: CD

| —

|-

! scope="row"| You Can Take What's Mine

|

  • Released: 1999
  • Label: self-released (GEO-100)
  • Formats: CD

| 82

|-

! scope="row"| Bastard Son/Holiday

|

  • Released: November 2000
  • Label: Shock (369036)
  • Formats: CD

| 74

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! colspan="1"| Chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

|-

! width="40"| <small>AUS</small><br />