Pseudo Echo

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Pseudo Echo
Origin
Victoria, Australia
Genres
Years active
  • 1982 (1982)–1990 (1990)
  • 1998 (1998)–present
Labels
  • Colossal
  • Independent
    • Members
    • Brian Canham
    • Matty Ray
    • James Mudd
    • Sammy Paul
    • Tony Featherstone
    • Abigail Lula
    Past members
    • Tony Lugton
    • Anthony Argiro
    • James Leigh
    • Vince Leigh
    • Pierre Gigliotti
    • Simon Rayner
    • Ben Grayson
    • Darren Danielson
    • Cameron Smith

    Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that were formed in 1982 by Brian Canham (vocals, guitar, and keyboards), Pierre Gigliotti (bass keyboards and bass guitar), and Tony Lugton (keyboards). Later members included Anthony Argiro (drums), James Leigh (keyboards), and Vince Leigh (drums). In the 1980s, Pseudo Echo had multiple Australian top 20 hits with "Listening", "A Beat for You", "Don't Go", "Love an Adventure", and "Living in a Dream". Their 1986 cover of "Funky Town" (originally by Lipps Inc.) was an international success, peaking at No. 1 in Australia and New Zealand and becoming a top ten hit in Sweden, Canada, the United States, and in the United Kingdom.

    Their 1984 debut album, Autumnal Park, peaked at No. 11 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Love an Adventure followed in 1985 and reached No. 14. Their third album, Race (1988), peaked at No. 18. In 1990, the group disbanded. They reformed in 1998 and released the albums Ultraviolet (2014), Acoustica, and After Party (both 2020). Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane described the band as "combin[ing] flash clothes, blow-wave hairstyles, youthful exuberance and accessible synth-pop to arrive at a winning combination."

    Biography

    1982–1984: Formation and Autumnal Park

    Main article: Autumnal Park

    Pseudo Echo was formed in Melbourne in 1982 by two high school friends Brian Canham on vocals, guitars, and keyboards, and Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) on bass guitar and keyboards.

    Countdown, saw the group at a gig and aired them on his show with a demo version of "Listening" in June 1983.[3][5] Originally the three-piece group had used a drum machine until Anthony Argiro joined on drums in July.[1][2]

    The band were signed to EMI Records and "Listening" – re-recorded and produced by Peter Dawkins – was issued in November as their debut single.[2][6] It peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[6] Their debut album, Autumnal Park, produced by Dawkins and John Punter, was released in June 1984 and peaked at No. 11 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart.[1][2][6] The album was released as Pseudo Echo for the North American market.[7] It yielded the singles "A Beat for You" (No. 12 in April), "Dancing Until Midnight", and "Stranger in Me".[1][6][8] Another track from Autumnal, "His Eyes", was used in the horror film, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985). In October 1984, Tony Lugton left the band due to musical differences,[9] and was replaced by James Leigh (aka James Dingli) on keyboards.[1][2] Lugton eventually joined synth rock band Talk That Walk.[2]

    1985–1990: Love an Adventure, "Funky Town", Race, and disbandment

    Main articles: Love an Adventure, Funky Town, and Race

    In November 1985, Pseudo Echo released their second album, Love an Adventure. It was co-produced by Brian Canham and Mark S. Berry.[2] Another line-up change occurred after its recording with Argiro replaced by James' brother Vince Leigh (aka Vincent Dingli) on drums.[1][2] The album reached No. 14 in Australia.[6] Three of its singles reached the Top 20 including "Don't Go" (No. 4 in October), "Love an Adventure" (No. 6 in January 1986), and "Living in a Dream" (No. 15 in May).[6] A fourth single, "Try" (August), peaked at No. 60.[6] In November 1985, Canham was part of the supergroup the Incredible Penguins, who recorded a cover of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono hit "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" for charity; it peaked at No. 10 in December.[6][10]

    In November 1986, Pseudo Echo released a cover version of the

    UK Singles Chart in July 1987,[11] No. 1 in Canada,[12] (No. 17 on Canadian 1987 Year End)[13] and No. 1 in New Zealand.[14] While not initially included on Love an Adventure, "Funky Town" was included on reissues of the album that were released following the success of the single. In September 1986, James and Vince Leigh appeared in the music video for John Farnham's single, "You're the Voice" despite not contributing to its audio recording.[15]

    In 1987, the band re-released their 1983 debut single "Listening" for the movie North Shore. In October, they won the 1987 World Popular Song Festival with "Take on the World",[16] which provided a prize of US$10,000.[1] They released the compilation album Long Plays 83–87, re-titled Funky Town - The Album in New Zealand, where it peaked at No. 1.[14] In 1988, they released their third studio album Race. It was produced by Canham, Brian Malouf and Julian Mendelsohn.[1][2] It spawned the Australian singles "Fooled Again", "Over Tomorrow", and "Eye of the Storm". The album reached No. 18 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 32 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[6] Pseudo Echo disbanded after touring in support of Race in 1990.[1]

    1990–1997: Other projects

    After Pseudo Echo disbanded, in 1990, bassist Pierre Gigliotti joined All the Young Dudes with former Geisha lead singer Chris Doheny. Lead singer Brian Canham moved into record production,[17] and produced Chocolate Starfish's 1994 debut album, Chocolate Starfish, which peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[1][18] The Leigh brothers had a stint backing Tina Arena before forming Vertigo (later renamed as Invertigo) in 1996 with a third brother, Gerry Leigh on guitar.[19] In 1997, Canham formed Brill with Darren Danielson (ex-Chocolate Starfish) on drums. Andy McIvor was added on bass guitar and Dave Stuart on keyboards, and they toured as Brill, which issued a self-titled album in August 1997.[1]

    1998–2011: Reformation and Teleporter

    Main article:
    Teleporter

    Pseudo Echo reunited in March 1998, with Canham and Gigliotti joined by Danielson on drums and Tony Featherstone on keyboards (ex-

    Teleporter, a compilation of new tracks, remixes, and live performances.[20][1] During 2002 Canham and Grayson were part of the dance pop group Origene with vocalist Matilda White.[21] Their debut single, "Suddenly, Silently" (March 2002),[21] peaked at No. 51 on the ARIA Singles chart.[22]

    In 2005, Pseudo Echo toured extensively with Idols of the 80s and released Autumnal Park – Live. In 2006, Canham performed at the Countdown Spectacular. In 2007, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pseudo Echo, Canham and Gigliotti were joined by previous members James and Vince Leigh for a sold-out show at the Crown Casino, Melbourne. This performance was followed by a short Australian tour before Canham and Gigliotti were rejoined by latter day members, Danielson and Grayson.

    2012–2021: Ultraviolet, Acoustica, After Party, & 1990: The Lost Album Demos

    Main articles: Ultraviolet (Pseudo Echo album) and Live at the Viper Room

    In 2012, co-founder Gigliotti resigned from the band and was replaced by Simon Rayner (bass keys, backing vocals). In July 2012, Pseudo Echo released "Suddenly Silently". This was followed by "Fighting the Tide" in 2013. In 2014, the band undertook a successful crowd-funding campaign which enabled them to release their fourth studio album,

    Viper Room in front of a sold-out crowd. This was released as Live at the Viper Room in June 2015. In December 2017, the group released a cover of "Nutbush City Limits
    ".

    In May 2020, the group released their fifth studio album, the acoustic album Acoustica, which was followed by the release of their sixth studio album After Party in September of the same year. In June 2021, the group released the album 1990: The Lost Album Demos, a compilation of songs that Brian Canham demoed in 1989 for what would have been Pseudo Echo's fourth studio album.[23]

    2022–present: Ultimate & New lineup

    In late 2022, Pseudo Echo tour entitled "The Ultimate Tour" to promote the compilation album released on that year. In September 2023, the lineup now consists of Brian Canham, Matty Ray, James Mudd, Sammy Paul, Tony Featherstone & new drummer Abigail Lula.

    Members

    Current members

    • Brian Canham – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards (1982–1990, 1998–present)
    • Matty Ray – keytar (2016–present)
    • James Mudd – guitar (2022–present), keytar (2018–2022)
    • Sammy Paul – backing vocals (2022–present)
    • Tony Featherstone – bass synth, keyboards, piano (1998-1999, 2023–present)
    • Abigail Lula – drums (2023–present)

    Former members

    • Tony Lugton – keyboards, guitar (1982–1984)
    • Anthony Argiro – drums (1982–1985)
    • James Leigh – keyboards, keytar, piano (1984–1990, 2007-2011)
    • Vince Leigh – drums (1985–1990, 2007-2011)
    • Pierre Gigliotti – bass guitar, keyboards, synth bass (1982–1990, 1998–2012)
    • Simon Rayner – keyboards (2012–2016)
    • Darren Danielson – drums (1998–2018)
    • Ben Grayson – keyboards, keytar (1999-2018)
    • Cameron Smith – drums (2017, 2018–2022)

    Discography

    Main article: Pseudo Echo discography
    Studio albums

    Awards and nominations

    Countdown Music Awards

    Countdown is an Australian pop music TV series which was broadcast nationwide on ABC-TV from 1974–1987 to present music awards from 1979–1987, known as the Countdown Music Awards.[24][25]

    Year Nominee / work Award Result
    1983 "Listening" Best Debut Single Nominated
    themselves Most Promising New Talent Nominated
    1984 Autumnal Park' Best Debut Album Nominated
    themselves Most Popular Australian Group Nominated
    Brian Canham (Pseudo Echo) Most Popular Male Performer Nominated
    1986 "Funkytown" Best Group Performance in a Video Nominated
    themselves Most Popular Australian Group Won
    Brian Canham (Pseudo Echo) Most Popular Male Performer Won

    ARIA Music Awards

    The

    Australian music. In 1987, Pseudo Echo were nominated for four awards.[26]

    Year Nominee / work Award Result
    1987 "Funky Town"
    ARIA Award for Highest Selling Single
    		 Nominated
    themselves for "Funky Town" ARIA Award for Best Group Nominated
    ARIA Award for Producer of the Year Nominated
    Love An Adventure ARIA Award for Best Cover Art Nominated

    Yamaha Music Foundation

    World Popular Song Festival[27]

    Year Award Winner Song Result
    1987 Grand Prix International Take On the World (Pseudo Echo song) Won

    References

    • ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original
      on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2011.       Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
    • Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara; Paul McHenry (2002) [1987]. The Who's Who of Australian Rock.
      ISBN 1-86503-891-1.[28] Note: [on-line] version of The Who's Who of Australian Rock was established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd
      in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. As from, September 2010 the [on-line] version shows an 'Internal Service Error' and was no longer available.
    1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p
      • Online 1st Edition: McFarlane, 'Pseudo Echo' entry. Archived from the original on 18 February 2004. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
      • 2nd Edition: McFarlane, Ian (31 March 2017). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Pseudo Echo'". The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Jenkins, Jeff (Foreword) (2nd ed.).
        ISBN 978-0-9953856-0-3
        .
    2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan; McAlister, Karen. "Pseudo Echo". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 24 February 2004. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
    3. ^
      ISBN 0-7333-1401-5
      .
    4. ^ "Pseudo Echo – Interview – Brian Canham Pseudo Echo". Music Interviews. Femail.com.au. Retrieved 22 May 2011. Simple minds, Ultravox, Japan and then later Durran Durran (sic) and Human League. I didn't realize how much we were influenced until now. It's quite obvious when I actually listen to our music and draw comparisons.
    5. ISBN 978-1-921332-11-1
      .
    6. ^
      ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts
      in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
    7. ^ Sutton, Michael. "Pseudo Echo – Pseudo Echo | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
    8. ^
    9. ^ Grech, Jason (29 April 2006). "An Interview with Brian Canham by Jason". Exclusive Interviews. Countdown Memories. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
    10. ^ Spencer et al, (2007), Incredible Penguins entry.
    11. ISBN 1-904994-10-5
      .
    12. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 15, 1987" (PDF).
    13. ^ "RPM Top 100 of 1987 - December 26, 1987" (PDF).
    14. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Discography Pseudo Echo". New Zealand Charts Portal (Hung Medien). Retrieved 27 December 2020.
    15. ^ Adams, Cameron (11 April 2018). "Why John Farnham was nearly rock-blocked from 'You're the Voice'". news.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
    16. ^ "WPSF 1987". World Popular Song Festival. Telenet. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
    17. ^ Nimmervoll, Ed. "Origene". HowlSpace – The Living History of Our Music. White Room Electronic Publishing. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
    18. ^ "Discography Chocolate Starfish". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
    19. ^ Nimmervoll, Ed. "Invertigo". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music. White Room Electronic Publishing. Archived from the original on 28 January 2005. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
    20. ^ Sutton, Michael. "Teleporter – Pseudo Echo | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
    21. ^ a b Nimmervoll, Ed. "Origene". HowlSpace. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
    22. ^ Kellaghan, Ronan (24 June 2002). "Week Commencing ~ 24th June 2002 ~ Issue #643" (PDF). The ARIA Report (643). Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA): 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2002. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
    23. ^ "Pseudo Echo Discover a "Missing Link" in the history of the band". amnplify. May 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
    24. Portable document format (PDF)). Countdown Magazine. Australian Broadcasting Corporation
      (ABC). March 1987. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
    25. ^ "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
    26. ^ "ARIA Awards Search Results – Pseudo Echo". ARIA Awards. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
    27. ^ "Yamaha Music". Retrieved 5 April 2022.
    28. ISBN 9781865038919. Retrieved 21 May 2011. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
      )

    External links

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