Brisbane rock band, Voodoo Lust, made a name for themselves in the mid ‘80s with singles ‘Shake Shake Hey Yeh!’ and ‘Stop Breakin’ My Heart’.
Thirty years after first forming, the band will regroup for a show in Brisbane. Established in 1985 as an independent, Australian-rock group, Voodoo Lust cut a swathe through the local scene of big-hair bands and synthesized pop.
After five years, and releasing two ‘mini’ albums, the group disbanded for various reasons, as frontman Gary Slater explains. “Tony Harper, the guitarist, he’d always had this whim to go to England and live over there and play over there,” Gary says.
“So around the time he was talking about doing that, I’d had an offer to join The Trilobites, so it was just circumstances. We played ourselves out to a degree. We’d played so many gigs and we were at the treading-water stage… that was it really, there was no horrible break-up or bad stories. It just fizzled a little bit; Tony went on with a dream he had, I got a good offer and that was it.”
In their relatively brief lifespan as a band, Voodoo Lust styled themselves outside the confines of a studio-based recording group, opting to become a hard-edged, rock band chiselled to perfection by some 1,000-plus live shows.
Needless to say, things got messy on the road. “There were definitely a few hotel rooms trashed over the years, there’s no doubt about that,” Gary laughs.
“Oh my God, some of the things we got up to. It was the heady days of touring and playing; we played 150-200 shows a year, so we just toured relentlessly. It is phenomenal. Tony was a fanatical diary/ log-book keeper, that’s the reason we know exactly how many shows we did play.”
Far from being a reformation, the upcoming shows will serve more as a one-off nostalgic trip for the band and their fans. “We’re only playing two shows. There certainly won’t be anything after that; if there is it’ll be another five years on, there’s no plans to do any more.”
Voodoo Lust play the Beetle Bar 28 November.
