Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Their popularity peaked in the mid- to late 1980s with albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder.
Hoodoo Gurus had a string of pop-rock singles including "Leilani" (1982), "Tojo" (1983), "My Girl" (1983), "I Want You Back" (1984), "Bittersweet", "Like Wow – Wipeout" (1985), and "What's My Scene?" (1987). reaching no. 1 and "Miss Freelove '69" (1991) reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The Hoodoo Gurus' biggest Australian single was their 1987 top-3 song "What's My Scene?". The song was parodied for the National Rugby League 2000s theme "That's My Team".
Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the Australia's 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame. The band's induction announcement stated that the Gurus were one of the most "inventive, lyrically smart and exciting" bands from Australia. From 1960s power pop and garage punk to hard rock and funky psychedelic kitsch, the group's music stood out from Sydney's Detroit-inspired bands. who had also been with Roddy Radalj (aka Roddy Ray'Da) (guitars) in The Scientists, and the third founding member, Kimble Rendall (guitars) was formerly in Sydney punk rockers XL Capris. The three guitarists Faulkner, Rendall and Radalj met at an end-of-1980 New Year's Eve party and were joined by Baker to form Le Hoodoo Gurus.
Le Hoodoo Gurus unorthodox line-up of three guitars and no bass player created a unique sound that fused pop melodies, punk guitars and an American trash culture ethic. This told the story of a maiden sacrificed to the gods and an erupting volcano while her true love looked on helplessly.
Rendall left in 1982 before the release of "Leilani", and went on to become a music video and film director. Rendall was second unit director on the latter two Matrix films, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as I, Robot. Rendall also directed the slasher film, Cut in 2000. Bramley and Shepherd had both been in The Hitmen and Super K. Faulkner wrote "I Want You Back" in response to Radalj's public dissatisfaction with the Gurus. Radalj went on to perform with a number of other acts, including The Johnnys, Love Rodeo, The Dubrovniks and Roddy Ray'Da & the Surfin' Caesars.
1983–1984: Stoneage Romeos
thumb|Drummer Mark Kingsmill with Hoodoo Gurus
Gurus new line-up (Baker, Bramley, Faulkner and Shepherd) recorded the band's first album in 1984, Stoneage Romeos. When Stoneage Romeos was released in America it stayed at number 1 in the Alternative/College charts for seven weeks, becoming one of the most played albums for the year on the college network.
Initially a cult inner-city act, their popularity expanded due to regular airplay on radio station Triple J and nationwide pop TV show Countdown from mid-1983. Their breakthrough single "My Girl" was accompanied by a video clip featuring a dog trainer with his once champion greyhound. Members of Spiderbait described seeing the video for the first time as "a beautiful, classic pop song". Some viewers insisted the song was "written about a dog". and was replaced by Mark Kingsmill (The Hitmen, New Christs, Screaming Tribesmen, Hellcats and Super K).
Gurus' peak of popularity was in the mid-to-late 1980s with the albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder. The albums reached no. 140 (1986), no. 120 (1987) and no. 101 (1989) on the American Billboard 200 album charts respectively. The band's 1987 'Blow Your Cool' concert tour took them to 19 countries playing 204 venues. A concert from the Ritz in New York City was broadcast by MTV America. The 'Magnum Cum Louder' tour in 1990, with dates in Europe, America and Australasia; included Japan for the first time. Based on their extensive touring of America, the band gained a solid following in the U.S. with regular exposure on US college radio (and later MTV's 120 Minutes) and even developed a big fan base in Brazil. replaced Clyde Bramley on bass.
After two albums under their new contract, Magnum Cum Louder and 1991's Kinky, which reached no. 101 and 172 on the American Billboard 200 album charts respectively It was adopted by the crew of Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Canberra as its unofficial anthem in 1993, playing it whenever its ships left port. Hoodoo Gurus played a concert, including "1000 Miles Away", on-board HMAS Canberra during its last voyage prior to decommissioning in 2005.
Crank through to the Bullet (1994–1998)
They followed Kinky with Crank in 1994. The 'Crank' world tour took the Gurus through USA, Canada, Europe and included a one-month tour of Brazil. In 1995, the Gurus collaborated with The Masters Apprentices frontman Jim Keays on an updated rendition of "Turn Up Your Radio". The song was included on a new Masters' Best of album, as well as being issued as a single.
In 1996 they moved to Mushroom Records for the release of their next album, Blue Cave. The band then undertook a national tour of Australian tour with US outfit The Posies and local band Drop City. Touring commitments were curtailed when Kingsmill severed tendons and nerves in his arm as a result of an onstage accident. Once Kingsmill recovered, the Gurus completed their 'Circus Maximus' Australian tour by end of 1996. In January 1997, Faulkner announced that the band would be breaking up in December. March saw the Gurus undertake another tour of Brazil, where they played a concert in front of 40,000 people. The Gurus commenced their final Australian tour, the three-month 'Spit the Dummy' tour, in October 1997. The tour coincided with the release of the double compilation album Armchair Gurus/Electric Chair, which made no. 29 on the national chart. The band played its final show in Melbourne on 11 January 1998. The show made up for dates missed during December 1997, when Faulkner was ill.
Although Hoodoo Gurus officially split in 1998 they signed with Acadia Records, who released the band's career-spanning compilation Ampology in October 2000.
1998–2003: Hoodoo hiatus – side projects and solo work
Grossman
thumb|left|upright|Grossman, April 2012
From 1990 onwards, Grossman has been involved in a side project, Ghostwriters, with Rob Hirst from Midnight Oil. The Kelly Gang was a 2004 project Grossman formed with Jack Nolan, they brought in Hirst and Scott Aplin (Waikiki) to record Looking for the Sun; Shepherd performed as a session musician.
Shepherd
Shepherd was briefly involved with Beasts of Bourbon alongside fellow Guru, James Baker. Shepherd's tenure with Beasts ended after Baker was sacked from the Gurus. He joined another ex-Guru, Roddy Radalj, in Roddy Ray'Da and the Surfin' Caesars during 1989. and his brother Murray Shepherd (Harpoon, The Fun Things, Screaming Tribesmen) on drums. The Monarchs played with The Meanies, Even, You Am I, Joe Strummer and The Hellacopters. In August 1999 The Monarchs recorded a self-financed album with Wayne Connolly and in 2000 they released their first single, "2001" b/w "This Is All I Can Do" (Ivy League Records); this was followed by their debut album, Make Yer Own Fun, in October 2001, on Shock Records. Guest performers on the album included Matt Thomas (The Mavis's) on "All Rise", and Christina Amphlett (Divinyls) on "Divine". "Come on Spring" reaching no. 64 on the 1998 Triple J Hottest 100 list. Antenna appeared on the 1999 Big Day Out tour but disbanded soon after.
Faulkner also wrote original music for the films Broken Highway (1993) and The Sum of Us (1994) starring Russell Crowe and Jack Thompson. Faulkner was one of the new entries in the 2007 edition of Who's Who in Australia.
Persian Rugs
In September 2001, the four ex-Gurus (Faulkner, Grossman, Kingsmill & Shepherd) performed as The Moops and were later called Persian Rugs. At Homebake 2001, (8 December) both Hoodoo Gurus and Persian Rugs performed separate sets. Persian Rugs recorded a five-track EP Mr. Tripper in June 2002, Grossman then left, and Shepherd recommended bassist Kendall James as his replacement (ex Thurston Howlers, Crusaders). With James, the Persian Rugs recorded their debut album Turkish Delight, released in August 2003.
Persian Rugs provided the track "Be My Guru" for the Hoodoo Gurus' tribute album Stoneage Cameos (2005) (see Stoneage Romeos) and by that time Hoodoo Gurus, with Grossman on bass, had already reformed.