The Hummingbirds were an Australian indie pop and jangle pop band from Sydney, who formed in 1986 from Bug Eyed Monsters. They were one of the most highly regarded outfits to emerge from Sydney's inner-city scene during the late 1980s and were an early signing to the rooArt label. They left rooArt in 1992, and disbanded in 1993.
Biography
The Hummingbirds formed in 1986 from the remnants of the short-lived band Bug Eyed Monsters. In early 1987, Boyce departed and was replaced by singer and bassist Robyn St. Clare. and peaked at No. 31 on the ARIA album charts. The Hummingbirds had played support to The Lemonheads 1991 tour of Australia. Greg Atkinson, from the Ups and Downs and Big Heavy Stuff, also filled in on bass during 1991.
The Hummingbirds continued recording, releasing another album produced by Easter, April 1991's Va Va Voom, He then went on to record other albums with a new band, Fragile. Alannah Russack played in Sydney as a solo artist. Robyn St. Clare, whose composition "Into Your Arms" was a hit for The Lemonheads,
Reunions
After 17 years, the band reformed for a reunion on 27 January 2011, for the Big Day Out festival in Sydney. The line-up featured Holmes, Temple and Russack, with St. Clare replaced on bass.
The band followed the Big Day Out reunion show with some additional performances later that year;
<br />Thursday 7 July 2011 – Simon Holmes and Alannah Russack (acoustic performance), Union Hotel, Newtown.
<br />Saturday 17 September 2011 – full band at the Manning Bar, Sydney University.
The day before the show at the Manning Bar, the band played a short set for "Live at the Loft" on 2SER radio and were also interviewed by DJ Andrew Khedoori. The line-up featured Holmes, Temple, Russack and Danny Yau on bass.
Along with The Falling Joys, the band reunited to play two shows on the 2nd and 3rd (matinee show) of July 2016 at the Newtown Social Club in Sydney (previously known as the Sandringham Hotel, Newtown). The line-up featured Holmes, Temple, Russack and Danny Yau again on bass.
The band played as part of a tribute concert to The Cure, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release of The Cure album Wish. The gig took place at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville, Sydney, on 15 April 2017. This was the final concert of The Hummingbirds.
Simon Holmes died in Sydney in July 2017, at the age of 54. A tribute night featuring many bands was held for Simon Holmes on 3 December at the Factory Theater in Sydney. As part of the tribute night a limited edition, self-titled vinyl LP was released, combining all of the tracks from the band's last two EP's 'Gone' and 'Tail', which were originally released only on CD in 1993.
Members
- John Boyce – bass guitar (1986–1987)
- Simon Holmes — vocals, guitar (1986–1993, 2011, 2016, 2017) (deceased)
- Mark Temple – drums (1986–1992, 2011, 2016, 2017)
- Alannah Russack – vocals, guitar (1986–1993, 2011, 2016, 2017)
- Robyn St. Clare – bass guitar (1987–1993)
- Shane Melder – drums (1992–1993)
- Nic Dalton — bass (1989–1991)
- Greg Atkinson – bass (1991)
- Danny Yau – bass (2011, 2016, 2017)
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" width="33"|Year
! rowspan="2" width="240"|Title
! colspan="1"|Peak chart positions
|-
!style="width:3em;font-size:75%"|AUS<br />
|-
| 1987
| "Alimony"/"Three in the Morning"
| align="center" | —
| rowspan="4" | Quatro
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1988
| "Everything You Said"/"Get on Down"
| align="center" | —
|-
| "Swim to Shore"/"Be Careful"
| align="center" | —
|-
| "Hindsight"/"Dragged over the Coals"
| align="center" | —
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1989
| "Blush"
| align="center" | 19
| rowspan="3" | loveBUZZ
|-
| "Word Gets Around"
| align="center" | —
|-
| 1990
| "Alimony"
| align="center" | 79
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1991
| "If a Vow"
| align="center" | 73
| rowspan="2" | Va Va Voom
|-
| "2 Weeks with a Good Man in Niagara Falls"
| align="center" | 93
|-
| 1992
| "You Just Gotta Know My Mind"
| align="center" | 81
| non-album single
|-
|}
Notes
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
|
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1990
|rowspan="2"| loveBUZZ
| Best New Talent
|
|rowspan=3"|
|-
| Breakthrough Artist - Album
|
|-
| "Blush"
| Breakthrough Artist - Single
|
|-