The Saints were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1973. Founded by singer-songwriter Chris Bailey, drummer Ivor Hay, and guitarist-songwriter Ed Kuepper, they originally employed fast tempos, raucous vocals and a "buzzsaw" guitar sound that helped initiate punk rock in Australia and identified them with the greater international movement.

Unable to get gigs, they converted their share house into a venue where they could play. With their debut single "(I'm) Stranded", released in September 1976, they became the first punk band outside the US to release a record, ahead of the first UK punk releases from the Damned, the Sex Pistols and the Clash. They experienced UK chart success in 1977 with the song "This Perfect Day", which peaked at #34. Bassist Kym Bradshaw left in 1977 to join first-wave British punk rock band, The Lurkers, and was replaced by Algy Ward. Their second album Eternally Yours, released in 1978, saw the band pursue a bigger and more R&B driven sound, augmented by a horn section.

After their third album Prehistoric Sounds later in 1978, Kuepper clashed with Bailey over the band's musical direction and left, subsequently forming the post-punk group Laughing Clowns, while Hay and Ward followed suit. Bailey, the sole mainstay of the group, continued under the Saints moniker with a rotating lineup of musicians in the ensuing decades. 1986's All Fools Day peaked in the Top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart in April 1986 and yielded the hit song "Just Like Fire Would". Bailey also forged a solo career, and had relocated to Sweden by 1994. The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2001. Bailey died in April 2022.

History

1973–1976: Formative years

The Saints' original members were Brisbane schoolmates Bailey, Kuepper and Hay. They played covers of Del Shannon, Connie Francis and Ike and Tina Turner – "exploding them almost beyond recognition with energy".

1978–1979: Eternally Yours and Prehistoric Sounds

The Saints released their second album, Eternally Yours, in May 1978 on EMI/Harvest with Bailey and Kuepper producing.

In 2021, the State Library of Queensland named its copy of "(I'm) Stranded" as one of the treasures from its John Oxley Library collection, citing the 7” vinyl single represented a piece of Australian and Queensland music history, influencing generations of bands around the world.

Chris Bailey died on April 9, 2022, aged 65.

In mid-2024, a remastered box set edition of The Saints' first album was announced, with Kuepper and Hay forming a new spinoff, The Saints 73–78, to tour the 50th anniversary of (I'm) Stranded. The band also featured Mick Harvey of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on keyboards and guitar, Peter Oxley of Sunnyboys on bass and Mark Arm from Mudhoney on vocals.

Influence

The Saints were one of the first and most influential punk rock groups.

Band members

Final line-up

  • Chris Bailey – lead vocals <small>(1973–2022; his death)</small>, guitar <small>(1980–1983, 1984–1986, 1989–1990, 1991–1996, 1996–2012, 2016–2022)</small>, bass <small>(1973–1974, 1989–1996, 2010–2016)</small>
  • Peter Wilkinson – drums <small>(1999–2002, 2003, 2005–2009, 2010–2016, 2017–2022)</small>
  • Davey Lane – guitar <small>(2016–2022)</small>
  • Pat Bourke – bass <small>(2016–2022)</small>

Former members

  • Ivor Hay – drums ,

<!-- -->

  • The Saints site
  • (I'm) Stranded / No Time, The Saints 1976: treasure collection of the John Oxley Library