The Whitlams are an Australian Indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the line-up has changed numerous times. From 2001 to 2022, he was joined by Warwick Hornby on bass guitar, Jak Housden on guitar and Terepai Richmond on drums – forming the band's longest-lasting and best-known line-up. Four of their studio albums have reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 20: Eternal Nightcap (September 1997, No. 14), Love This City (November 1999, No. 3), Torch the Moon (July 2002, No. 1) and Little Cloud (March 2006, No. 4). Their highest-charting singles are "Blow Up the Pokies" (May 2000) and "Fall for You" (June 2002) – both reached number 21. The group's single, "No Aphrodisiac" was listed at number one on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1997 by listeners of national radio station, Triple J. In January 1996 Stevie Plunder was found dead at the base of Wentworth Falls. Andy Lewis died in February 2000.

History

1992–1995: Formation and early years

thumb|right|alt=Alt text|The Whitlams (1992, left to right): Tim Freedman, Andy Lewis and Stevie Plunder

Tim Freedman (ex-Penguin on Safari, Olive Branch) and Anthony Hayes a.k.a. Stevie Plunder (ex-the Plunderers, New Christs) met at the Big Day Out Sydney concert in January 1992.

In 2020, the band released their first new song in almost 15 years, "Ballad of Bertie Kidd". The six-minute song was written from the perspective of a would-be criminal, enlisted by Kidd for an art gallery heist in Gosford. The single was later revealed to be the lead single from the band's seventh album, Sancho, which was released on 28 January 2022. A further four singles were released from the album: "Man About a Dog", "(You're Making Me Feel Like I'm) 50 Again", "Cambridge Three" and "Nobody Knows I Love You".

In April 2022, Freedman launched a country music off-shoot of the band, billed as The Whitlams Black Stump Band. The band is composed of Freedman, Richmond, banjo player Rod McCormack, pedal steel player Ollie Thorpe and bassist Matt Fell. Freedman began the project after discovering that "Man About a Dog" had been added to country radio. A new version of "No Aphrodisiac" by the Black Stump Band was released in July.

In June 2022, the band announced a 25th anniversary tour for Eternal Nightcap. With the announcement came the band's first line-up change since 2001: the departure of bassist Warwick Hornby, who was replaced by Sancho session bassist Ian Peres. In a statement shared to the band's social media, Freedman confirmed that Hornby had retired:

In May 2023, the band announced a national tour for October that saw them focus on the early years of The Whitlams' material, between 1993 and 1997. To replicate the sound of these albums, the band was joined by double bassist Scott Owen of The Living End.

In February 2024, it was announced that The Whitlams Black Stump Band had changed its name to The Whitlams Black Stump, and would release the album Kookaburra in March 2024.

Band members

Current members

  • Tim Freedman – lead vocals, piano, keyboards (1991–2011, 2013–present)
  • Terepai Richmond – drums, backing vocals (1999–2011, 2013–present)
  • Jak Housden – guitar, backing vocals (2001–2011, 2013–present)
  • Ian Peres – bass, keyboards, backing vocals (2022–present)

Current touring musicians

  • Matt Fell – bass, backing vocals (2025–present; substitute for Ian Peres)

Former members

  • Stevie Plunder – guitar, lead and backing vocals (1991–1996; died 1996)
  • Andy Lewis – double bass, backing vocals (1991–1994, 1996; died 2000)
  • Stu Eadie – drums (1993–1994)
  • Michael Vidale – bass (1994–1996, 1996–1997)
  • Louis Burdett – drums (1994–1995)
  • Hanuman Daas – drums (1995)
  • Michael Richards – drums (1995–1996)
  • Oscar Briz – guitar (1996)
  • Tim Hall – guitar, backing and lead vocals (1996–1997)
  • Bill Heckenberg – drums (1996–1999)
  • Chris Abrahams – keyboards (1996–1998)
  • Ben Fink – guitar (1997–2001)
  • Cottco Lovett – bass (1997–1998)
  • Clayton Doley – keyboards (1998–1999)
  • Alex Hewitson – bass (1999)
  • Mike Gubb – keyboards (1999–2002)
  • Warwick Hornby – bass, backing vocals (1999–2011, 2013–2022)
  • Scott Owen – double bass, backing vocals (2023–2024, touring)

Timeline

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Discography

;as The Whitlams

  • Introducing The Whitlams (1993)
  • Undeniably The Whitlams (1995)
  • Eternal Nightcap (1997)
  • Love This City (1999)
  • Torch the Moon (2002)
  • Little Cloud (2006)
  • Sancho (2022)

;as The Whitlams Black Stump

  • Kookaburra (2024)

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

!

|-

| rowspan="1"| 2025

| Kookaburra <br> (as The Whitlams Black Stump)

| Best Independent Country Album or EP

|

| rowspan="1"|

|-

APRA Music Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|-

! scope="col" |Year

! scope="col" |Nominated work

! scope="col" |Award

! scope="col" |Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable" |

|-

!scope="row" | 1998

|

| Song of the Year

|

|

|}

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. The Whitlams have won three ARIA Music Awards from fourteen nominations. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

!

|-

| 2008 || The Whitlams with the Sydney Symphony || Best Performance in an Australian Contemporary Concert || || |

|-

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. The Whitlams won one award in that time.

(wins only)

|-

| 1997

| The Whitlams

| Rock Performer of the Year

|

|-

Triple J

The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J.

Triple J Hottest 100

{| class="wikitable sortable" "plainrowheaders"

|-

! scope="col" |Year

! scope="col" |Work

! scope="col" |Position

! scope="col" class="unsortable" |

|-

!scope="row"| 1996

|

| style="text-align:center;"| 79

|