Even though Barker has played in bands around Melbourne since he was 16 (ie. Melbourne bands The Wreckery and Cats Under Pressure), arguably the best and most well known band he was part of was Nick Barker & The Reptiles, with former bandmate Adrian Chynoweth on guitar, Drew Basford on bass guitar, and David Pinder on drums. Signed to Mushroom Records' prestigious 'White Label' imprint (created by Michael Gudinski as a condition imposed to get the signatures of Hunters & Collectors into his Mushroom stable), The Reptiles had a spectacular rise to fame with hits such as their cover "Make me Smile (Come Up And See Me)" and two Top 40 albums on the ARIA Charts, 'Goin' To Pieces' (1989) and 'After The Show' (1991), before disbanding in 1995.
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| Nick Barker & The Reptiles 1989 |
The band's cover version of Cockney Rebel's "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" reached the top 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart in November. They undertook a touring schedule with 200 performances a year on the national pub rock circuit, and were the support band for Jimmy Barnes Australain Tour in 1989. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described how "their sassy brand of commercial rock'n'blues found immediate acceptance by becoming one of the archetypal Oz Rock pub bands of the era." In 1990 Matthew Heydon joined on keyboards and Marc Scully (ex-Love Rodeo, Deadly Hume) replaced Basford on bass guitar.
Their second album, 'After The Show' was released in March 1991, was produced by Los Angeles-based, Joe Hardy (Steve Earle, Tom Cochrane), which peaked at #33. McFarlane opined, "it was a diverse collection of songs, ranging from tough rock'n'roll and bar-room boogies to ballads." The Canberra Times' John Lilley felt, "they have well and truly strayed from the norm by not only promptly releasing a second album but making it a worthy one as well... their sound has not been forcefully smoothed out beyond recognition in the recording studio. Their enthusiastic live sound has been allowed to seep through."
Nick Barker MTV Interview (1989) including "Make Me Smile" clip
Their second album, 'After The Show' was released in March 1991, was produced by Los Angeles-based, Joe Hardy (Steve Earle, Tom Cochrane), which peaked at #33. McFarlane opined, "it was a diverse collection of songs, ranging from tough rock'n'roll and bar-room boogies to ballads." The Canberra Times' John Lilley felt, "they have well and truly strayed from the norm by not only promptly releasing a second album but making it a worthy one as well... their sound has not been forcefully smoothed out beyond recognition in the recording studio. Their enthusiastic live sound has been allowed to seep through."
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| Nick Barker & The Reptiles On Stage in the 90's |
After a period of hiatus and overseas travel, Barker returned to Melbourne, and pursued a solo career via labels within the Mushroom Records group (almost all the Reptiles' original material had been penned almost entirely by him). Barker moved into indie territory with his acclaimed solo albums Happy Man (1994), Damn Mermaids (1996), and Annie Get Your Guru (1999).
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| Nick Barker 1991 |
A prolific live touring performer, Barker has often performed solo and acoustic (or else accompanied by only a keyboardist or harmonica player) and has an excellent reputation for a charismatic stage presence, crowd interaction and banter. This led to the 2001 release of a live and acoustic album entitled Returned Service, with acoustic tracks culled from a number of live shows in different Australian cities. This was his first release outside the Mushroom Records umbrella, and coincided with the full sale of the Mushroom business to Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd by Michael Gudinski - a number of other prominent artists defected from Mushroom at this time including sometime Barker collaborator Paul Kelly. Barker signed to Croxton Records, an imprint co-founded by former Weddings Parties Anything frontman and now solo performer Michael (Mick) Thomas.
Barker remains very popular in Brazil (this is not altogether uncommon for Australian artists including Men at Work), and released a Brazil-only 'best of' entitled Sanctuary in 2002. In 2003 he released an album entitled Backyard Six which featured what is perhaps the finest Australian musical evocation of the Bali bombings yet, Plait Your Hair.
In 2005, Barker was invited to join a select group of distinguished Australian songwriters to re-do their own songs retrospectively as part of the Liberation Blue Acoustic Series, a group which also includes Stephen Cummings, Chris Bailey, Mark Seymour, Mick Thomas & Joe Camilleri.
Since 1997, Barker has also branched out into acting roles including appearances in Blue Heelers, and Pizza, leading up to a starring role opposite Rachel Griffiths in the 1998 Australian film Amy, created by the acclaimed team of David Parker & Nadia Tass. He also penned and performed a number of songs for the soundtrack, which also featured artists including Ed Kuepper, Lamb and Philip Judd, formerly of Split Enz.
In 2005, Barker was invited to join a select group of distinguished Australian songwriters to re-do their own songs retrospectively as part of the Liberation Blue Acoustic Series, a group which also includes Stephen Cummings, Chris Bailey, Mark Seymour, Mick Thomas & Joe Camilleri.
Since 1997, Barker has also branched out into acting roles including appearances in Blue Heelers, and Pizza, leading up to a starring role opposite Rachel Griffiths in the 1998 Australian film Amy, created by the acclaimed team of David Parker & Nadia Tass. He also penned and performed a number of songs for the soundtrack, which also featured artists including Ed Kuepper, Lamb and Philip Judd, formerly of Split Enz.
In addition to his own recording and touring commitments, he is presently producing young Adelaide rock act Southpaw.
It should be noted that Barker's backing bands have been training grounds for future instrumentalists who have gone onto bigger acts such as Matt Heydon of the Reptiles who went onto join Jimmy Barnes’ band, Marc Scully (also of the Reptiles) who later joined Ratcat, and Tim Henwood of the eponymous ‘Barker’ who later joined the Superjesus and the Androids. [extracts from last.frm]
Album Review
This is a fairly straight forward blues-rock LP with raucous vocals, buzzing electric guitars and wailing harmonica. The Reptiles were a very decent pub band, no doubt, but the lack of the band's live presence on this studio album means that these rock songs occasionally tend to just go around and around in predictable circles. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, lead break, bridge, verse, chorus, chorus... etc.
First two tracks "Sure Beats Goin' To Pieces" and "Hell Hole" both stick with this blues-rock pattern. "All Or Nothing" is the same kind of thing but slowed down, "Down Today" then restores the pacier feel, and "Show You The Scar" is fast, tough rockabilly. Side two has a fraction more variety happening, at track three is slow rocker "The Bells" with its tough but slow swaggering guitar and harmonica, quite decent. "Make Me Smile" is the highlight of course, sounding a lot like Paul Kelly, and almost captures the magic of the original by Steve Harley's Cockney Rebel.
This LP will appeal to those who like hard-fueled boozey blues-rock. Others, who prefer a bit more variety, may grow weary of the samey tunes. [Review thanks to Batfink, 2005]
It should be noted that Barker's backing bands have been training grounds for future instrumentalists who have gone onto bigger acts such as Matt Heydon of the Reptiles who went onto join Jimmy Barnes’ band, Marc Scully (also of the Reptiles) who later joined Ratcat, and Tim Henwood of the eponymous ‘Barker’ who later joined the Superjesus and the Androids. [extracts from last.frm]
Album Review
This is a fairly straight forward blues-rock LP with raucous vocals, buzzing electric guitars and wailing harmonica. The Reptiles were a very decent pub band, no doubt, but the lack of the band's live presence on this studio album means that these rock songs occasionally tend to just go around and around in predictable circles. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, lead break, bridge, verse, chorus, chorus... etc.
This LP will appeal to those who like hard-fueled boozey blues-rock. Others, who prefer a bit more variety, may grow weary of the samey tunes. [Review thanks to Batfink, 2005]
This post consists of FLACs ripped from Vinyl (thanks to Klaatu at Ausrock) and full album artwork for both vinyl and CD media, along with label scans. As a bonus, I am including the B-Side Singles "Hell To Pay", an acoustic version of "Resurrection Time" and another great cover "Stay With Me" (by The Faces).
Track Listing:
01 - (Sure Beats) Goin' to Pieces
02 - Hell Hole
03 - All Or Nothing
04 - Down Today
05 - Show You The Scar
06 - Resurrection Time
07 - Another Me
08 - The Bells
09 - Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
10 - One man Tragedy
11 - Gutter Of Love
Bonus Tracks:
12 - Hell To Pay (B-Side Single)
13 - Resurrection Time [Acoustic Version] (B-Side Single)
14 - Stay With Me (B-Side Single)
Band members:
Nick Barker - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Adrian Chynoweth - Lead Guitar
David Pinder - Drum, Backing Vocals
Drew Basford - Bass
Chris Houndog Harris - Harmonica, Backing Vocals
Nick Barker & The Reptiles Link (385Mb)
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