Underground Lovers - History

History

Vincent Giarrusso and Glenn Bennie met in high school in suburban Melbourne during the 1970s. Sharing an appreciation for likes of Joy Division, New Order, The Cure and Melbourne's underground electronic/experimental scene, they began collaborating musically whilst studying drama at university. The first fruit of their partnership was a one-off 7" released in 1988 under the moniker Blast.

The Underground Lovers officially assembled in 1990, playing their first gig in May that year at Melbourne's Corner Hotel, supporting The Macguffins. In addition to Bennie and Giarrusso, the original lineup featured Philippa Nihill (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Stephen Downes (bass) and Richard Andrew (drums); Maurice Argiro replaced Downes on bass following the first show. After only a few gigs, they had secured Craig Kamber, then A&R director of Polydor, as their manager. To raise their profile, Kamber helped Underground Lovers get support slots with like-minded up-and-comers such as The Clouds and The Glory Box. Meanwhile, Underground Lovers recorded their self- titled debut (with their own money) with producer Simon Grounds and put it out through Shock Records in March 1991. By the end of that year an EP of newer material, Nice, came out, in addition to a contribution to the Youngblood 3 compilation, "Ripe".

1992 saw a considerable rise in the band's fortunes. They won Best New Artist at the ARIA Awards for their self-titled debut, and supported The Cure and My Bloody Valentine on their Australian tours of that year. In January they entered the studio with producer Wayne Connolly (also of The Welcome Mat), and cut their more layered and experimental second album, Leaves Me Blind. The album came out first in the UK in August through the short-lived 4AD imprint Guernica. By that stage Polydor had signed the Underground Lovers in Australia, going on to release Leaves Me Blind locally in December.

Following an extensive tour of the UK and North America for the first half of 1993, the Underground Lovers parted ways with Kamber, in order for him to concentrate more on his A&R position at Polydor. They then enlisted Melburnian electronic producers David Chesworth and Robert Goodge (ex-Essendon Airport) for work on their third album. Richard Andrew left the band around this time (mainly because he was denied more artistic input), with Derek Yuen taking his place. Dream It Down would surface in 1994, spawning the Triple J favorite "Losin' It". While the album sold in similar numbers to its predecessors, it wasn't good enough to improve their already acrimonious relationship with Polydor. The band quit Polydor in 1995 and, in a quest for more artistic freedom, set up their own Mainstream label (in conjunction with the big-league indie, Rubber Records).

Also produced by Wayne Connolly, Rushall Station, which came out in April 1996, was their most 'bare bones' recording since their debut. Phillipa Nihill left the band during the recording of the album to pursue a solo career (though she recorded vocals for two tracks). Later that year Giarusso self-published a book, also called Rushall Station, that combined his own song lyrics with a preview of his novel-in-progress, The Bogstar Ritual. The band subsequently received a nomination for Best Independent Release at the 1997 ARIA Awards. Also in 1997 Giarusso and Bennie put out the debut album by their experimental side-project GBVG, titled Whitey Trickstar, in addition to the fifth Underground Lovers album Ways T'Burn. The latter saw a move towards more electronic territory. Drummer Derek Yuen departed the band during the "Ways T'Burn" recording sessions, Autohaze drummer Andrew Nunns filled the drum stool for future touring and recording duties.

Giarrusso and Bennie maintained a low profile for much of 1998, though they did release another GBVG project - a cover of Can's "I Want More". The vocals were credited to a made-up Japanese chanteuse named Mitsuame, who in reality was Triple J and Recovery co-host Jane Gazzo. At the end of that year Underground Lovers, who by now were reduced to the core of Giarrusso and Bennie, readied their sixth album Cold Feeling.

Cold Feeling was the Underground Lovers' most electronic-influenced album to date. It also featured minor contributions from The Paradise Motel's Mérida Sussex, and ex-Triffids pedal steel guitarist Graham Lee, among other Melburnian indie musicians. The title track received considerable airplay on Triple J, but the album still did not find an audience beyond the band's dedicated fanbase. For shows in support of the album, Emma Bortignon and again Andrew Nunns (from Autohaze) were recruited to fill the bass and drum roles respectively.

Following Cold Feeling, Giarrusso concentrated mainly on finalising his feature film debut Mallboy, which he wrote and directed, and starred Kane McNay of SeaChange fame. Inspired by Giarrusso's work as a social worker, the film focused on a troubled youth and his dysfunctional lifestyle in Melbourne's northern suburbs. The film premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival where it was selected for the highly prestigious Director's Fortnight (at the time only the fifth Australian film to have been selected). It later premiered in Australia at the 2001 Melbourne International Film Festival as closing night film and had a limited release in cinemas soon after (through Buena Vista International). McNay won an AFI Award (Best Actor) for his performance. Giarrusso and Bennie composed and recorded the score for Mallboy, which came out as the unofficial seventh Underground Lovers album in 2001. Further live activity was undertaken that year, to preview newer material - none of which has been recorded or released.

Underground Lovers played their last shows supporting New Order during their Australian tour in January 2002. Giarusso and Bennie quietly went their separate ways later that year. Underground Lovers have played sporadically since their break up, including a February, 2012 show at the Oxford Arts Factory,Sydney.