The Stems formed in Perth, Western Australia in 1983 and played music that was heavily influenced by 1960s garage rock and 1970s power pop. The band broke up in 1987 and then reformed (twenty years later) releasing a new album in 2007.
Formation
The Stems formed in late 1983 when Dom Mariani, formerly in the band the Go-Starts, was introduced to Richard Lane. Richard had seen Mariani in the final few gigs of the Go-Starts and asked him for some guitar lessons. The lessons turned into jams, the jams into songs, and the decision was made to start the band. A friend, Gary Chambers, was recruited to join the band on drums and bass player John Shuttleworth poached from another local band, the Pink Armadillos and some demo’s recorded. The bands debut gig was supporting The Saints and The Triffids at the Old Civic Theatre in Perth. Their sound was influenced by 60s garage acts ranging from the Electric Prunes, The Standells, The Chocolate Watch Band to The Easybeats. A local Saturday night residency at the Wizbah venue saw throwback covers and a growing list of original songs and a cult following for the band. Shuttleworth decided to leave so a final gig for the band was arranged which drew a large crowd. The success of this gig and freshly written songs saw the band recruit a new bass player, school friend Julian Matthews.
The Stems played at local legendary (and now long-gone) venues such as The Wizbah, The Old Melbourne and The Shenton Park Hotel on a regular basis, the group built up a substantial following in Perth, at a time otherwise dominated by cover bands. During this time they replaced Shuttleworth with Julian Matthews on bass.
Love Will Grow
Late in 1984 they recorded three songs at Shelter Studios in Perth, "She's A Monster", "Make You Mine" and a version of "Tears Me in Two". The original plan was for this to be a self released single with one track as the A side and the other two as B-sides. A friend of the band who wanted to help manage them told them he would take the tapes to the east coast and shop them around to the independent labels there. There was quite a bit of interest expressed by a number of labels, but the Stems chose Citadel because of the high quality of their releases at the time. In mid 1985 the band went to Sydney to meet up with their new label Citadel and promote their first single "Make You Mine"/"She's A Monster". The Stems first Sydney show was a sold out show with the Painters and Dockers at the Trade Union Club. The tour was perfectly timed with the Sydney inner city scene rediscovering 60s music and fashion. The group met with an enthusiastic response which culminated in a full house at the legendary Trade Union Club for their final show. The single reached the top of the independent charts and also sold 500 copies in England. The single was to be the 2nd highest selling independent single for Australia in 1985, second only to the Hoodoo Gurus' "Like Wow - Wipeout!". During this period they recorded the classic single "Tears Me In Two" single and the Love Will Grow EP both produced by Rob Younger of the legendary Radio Birdman. The EP reached #72 in the national charts[1] and the band played triumphant shows on their return to Perth.
Discography
Albums/EPs
* Love Will Grow - Rosebud Volume 1 (EP) - Citadel Records (February 1986)
* At First Sight, Violets Are Blue (Album) - White Label/Mushroom Records (1987/2003) #34 (Aus)
* Heads Up (Album) - Shock Records (2007)
Anthologies
* The Great Rosebud Hoax - Citadel Records (1987)
* Buds - Citadel Records (1991)
* Weed Out! - House of Wax (1997)
* Mushroom Soup: The Citadel Years - Citadel Records (March, 2003)
* Terminal Cool (Anthology 1983-1986) - Get Hip Records (June 26, 2006)
Singles
* "Make You Mine"/"She's A Monster" - Citadel Records (1985)
* "Tears Me In Two"/"Can't Resist" - Citadel Records (1985) #99 (Aus)
* "At First Sight"/"Grooviest Girl In Town" (1987) #90 (Aus)
* "Sad Girl"/"My Beach" (1987) #89 (Aus)
* "For Always"/"Mr Misery" (1987)
* "Let Your Head Rest"/"Don't Let Me"/"Tears Me In Two" - Zero Hour Records (1993)
Compilations
* Do The Pop! The Australian Garage Rock Sound 1976-87 (2002)
* Born Out Of Time: The Australian Indie Sound 1979-88 (2002)
* Shake Some Action Shock Records
* Cool World: 41 Essential Australian Rock Singles 1976 - 1986 Raven Records
* Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The Second Psychedelic Era, 1976-1995 Rhino Records (August 30, 2005)
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