Thursday, October 10, 2024

The Bedlam Beggars

ORIGINS: Sydney, NSW
GENRE: Punk, Oi!, Ska
YEARS ACTIVE: 1994-2003
 
MEMBERS:
  • Garry - Vocals
  • Tony Avery - Guitar 
  • Dave Ostler - Bass (1994-1996)
  • Mark 'Milli' Avery - Guitar (1994-1996), Bass (1996-1998)
  • Mark 'Carlos' Black - Bass (1999-2001)
  • Matt - Drums (1994-1995)
  • Simon - Drums (1996-2003)
  • Jimmy Jazz - Trumpet (1997)
  • Chris Brasche - Trumpet (1997-2003)
  • Serg - Saxophone (1998-1999)
  • Arwen - Saxophone (1997)
  • Simon Weekes - Saxophone (2000-2003)
  • Ruffy - Trombone (1997-2003)
  • Merrick Moule - Keyboard (1997-2003)
  • Benny Stephens - Bass (2002-2003)
  • Erin - Bass (1998)
  • Mark A - Bass (1998, 2000)
  • Doug - Bass (1998)
  • Lightning Jack - Bass (1999)
  • Will - Bass (1999)
  • David Taylor - Bass (1999)
RELEASES: 
 
  • Wake Up Dad (1997) - Download Here.
    • 1. T.R.G.
    • 2. Aint Nowhere to Go
    • 3. Rudeboy
    • 4. I Seen It
    • 5. Sweet Talkin' Girl
    • 6. Lock Me Up
    • 7. Oi, Wake Up Dad

  •  Rudeboy (1999) - Download Here.
    • 1. Rudeboy
    • 2. Who Shot Cyrus?
    • 3. Aint Nowhere to Go

  • Smokerings for Haloes (2000)
    • 1. Livin' It Up
    • 2. Young Love
    • 3. Just Can't Get It
    • 4. Sweet Talkin' Girl
    • 5. Walkin' the Streets
    • 6. Bootgirl
    • 7. In Denial
    • 8. Under Pressure (You're No Good)
SUMMARY: Formed as a four piece punk band by Port Macquarie brothers Tony and Mark Avery and their friend Garry in the north coast town of Wauchope, the band was initially known as the Ides of March. The band moved to Sydney, changing their name to Murphy's Lawyers and then the Bedlam Beggars, quickly developing into one of the most popular Sydney ska-punk bands in the mid to late '90s. Garry booked the shows while Tony organised the band, and the Bedlam Beggars became a renowned local headlining act with high energy, and a dependable support for international bands (Citizen Fish, Bouncing Souls, Guttermouth, No Fun at All, Buck-O-Nine, The Offbeats). The band moved through a rotating roster of players until Tony moved to Melbourne in 2000. Upon Tony's return, the band re-formed for a couple of years before finishing for good when Garry moved back to the country.


SHOWS: 

ORAL HISTORY:
GARRY: Tony and I went to school together in Wauchope, and the first incarnation of the band was formed in '94 with us two, his brother Milli, and a drummer and a bass player who were also from Wauchope. I was originally a drummer but we had two of those and no singer - I think I drew the short straw. The first time I sung live was at a party with the original bassplayer Dave, original drummer Matt, Milli, and Phil Jameson (Grinspoon) on guitar. We did a rousing rendition of 'TNT' (AC/DC). Jameson wasn't in the band, he just happened to be at the same party - there weren't that many musos in school - every year kinda had a band; he was a couple of years below us. Above us was Brett and Glen, who became Public Hanging. Anyway, me, Milli, Tony, and Dave all moved to Sydney together around '95. A lot of the songs were written before we left Wauchope. We'd all lived together in a shack in the bush and just played music, drank homebrew, and swam in the river which flowed past the house. The first few months in Sydney, Tony and I slept in a van. Then Dave got a job on fishing trawler and we lived on that for months.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
TONY: I moved to Sydney from Port Macquarie in January '96. My brother and I were living in the bush and I was going mental so I said to our mate Gary, let's got to Sydney. I tried to get some shit together when we got there - we moved to Chippendale and set up a big bedroom as our practice room. The Sando was going off in those days and we met a lot of punks. We found this drummer, Simon, went and knocked on his door and he was this metal guy with long hair, he was like "what the fuck do you want?" So we got him pissed and he joined the band. He was jazz-trained so it gave us that edge, that bigger drum sound. We were a four piece at the start - I was on guitar, my brother was on bass, Gary sang, and Simon was on drums. Half our set in the early days was three back-to-back Ramones covers. It was fucking hilarious. We were just deadshits from the country who wanted to start a punk rock band in Sydney. Within three months we were headlining gigs. 
Tony Avery (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GARRY: Our first drummer Matt was an awesome guy, probably actually an even better guitarist than Tony or Milli but we had too many guitarists... I don't know how or why he was replaced by Simon before the first gig, he just kinda disappeared.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

MILLI: It was four school friends from Wauchope on the Mid North Coast of NSW and we moved into a house in Chippendale, met a drummer from Sydney, and started writing punk songs. The ska element of the band developed later. Dave Ostler was on bass, which was short-lived, and Tony and I were both on guitar. When Dave left, I started playing bass.
Mark 'Milli' Avery (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GARRY: Dave and I had been in this band together from about 16 years old at school. Me and him shared the love of Oi! and British punk. Tony had just come from living in Newcastle for two years with Pucko (the guy who started The Pork Hunts, AKA The Porkers), so Tony really brought the ska influence to the band. Dave wrote 'Sweet Talking Girl', which endured, and I think the song 'Rude Boy' happened pretty early on, but originally the early stuff was hard and heavy - this is the stuff on our early tape, Wake Up Dad. 
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

Milli

TONY: We played our first gig at the Journalists Club with Compound Fracture. Later, we got offstage after an early gig at the Iron Duke and this guy, Chumley, came up to me and said we'll be headlining in no time. We got labelled cowpunk at first but we ended becoming quite poppy with that hard edge. I wouldn't have called us pop back then, but in retrospect that's what we were. 
 Tony Avery (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GARRY: The first Sydney show was with Compound Fracture, then we did a house party with Red Stain and Unclean. Our first proper pub gig was a Wednesday night at the Iron Duke with a band called Crooked Cop. Our name was misspelled in the Drum Media on the Iron Duke flyer as 'The Ids of March', which is fine looking back if you are into psychology. The Id is the part of the unconscious brain which is in charge of impulses and libido, which ultimately was the undoing of the band, so yeah, quite fitting really. Sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GARRY: Dave left after a couple of shows and Milli moved to bass. Once Dave left, Tony pretty much wrote all the music.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024


GARRY: For some reason we had a bit of a Shakespeare theme with our naming. Our first couple of shows we were 'The Ides of March', but that had been taken by another band. Pre-internet, you couldn't just Google this shit. I think we got a letter from the other band's lawyers informing us. We tried 'Murphy's Lawyers', which later popped into the lyrics of 'Just Can't Get It'. The name 'Bedlam Beggars' came from King Lear I believe. The inmates at the mental asylum at Bethlam or Bedlam were let out through the day to beg for their supper so they were known as the Bedlam Beggars. Each Beggar was known as 'Tom' or 'Tom of Bedlam'. It kind of went with the Madness theme and also sounded punk-rock so it stuck. 
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

MILLI: Early on, Tony had a guitar part for 'Sweet Talkin' Girl', which was offbeat, but it was about a year into our early lineup that we met trumpet player Chris Brasche and keyboard player Merrick Moule. That's when the ska sound really locked in.
Mark 'Milli' Avery (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GARRY: Our first recording was pretty early on. Time went slower back then, it would have been in the first six months of moving to Sydney. It was recorded at Troy Horse studio in Annadale over a couple of days. It was a good time, you know, we were young and excited by it all - just a bunch of bumkins in the big smoke, no idea what we were doing. I remember Tony being nervous and fucking up all over then the engineer said, "Do you usually have a beer when you go rehearse?" and Tony says, "Of course". So he goes to grab a beer and then it all just flowed, the beer and the music. We had written 'Rude Boy' by then, which became an early crowd favourite and probably the catalyst for moving into a predominantly ska set. And once Merrick arrived on the scene the ska sound was pretty much how it went. 
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

Merrick

MERRICK: When I was about mid-teens there was a friend who played guitar and another friend who played bass and we went to the Darling Harbour music show that used to happen once a year and they had all the instrument-makers there. It was worked out that we were missing and police were contacted and my friend got deported about a month later. That was my first band, Satanic Bullfrogs. We'd practice at the drummer's place after school. I was into ska and punk music and went to many gigs and I'd see Bedlam beggars performing around quite a bit and I enjoyed their music. After a while they recognised my face and Garry came up to me after a gig and said they wanted to add brass and asked if I played brass and I said no, I can play keyboards, and he said that's another idea and we had some practices and that was the start of it. And Simon Smith from the Rude Boys (later Backy Skank) helped us assemble some brass players (Chris Brasche). I'd been doing my zine, Bourgeoizine, for about 4 or 5 issues so I knew people through that too. 
Merrick Moule (Keyboards), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

TONY: Merrick was our keyboardist and he was a very energetic guy, he got Ruffy into the band - they were both Shire boys. Merrick loved the band and he loved ska music. Chris Brasche came in through Garry - Chris could sight-read music and he'd write sheet music for the other brass players, so we were later able to get in all kinds of session players because of that. Garry was the spirit of the band - very intelligent; he organised all the gigs. I was the one who organised the actual band. I used to go to a public phone with a bag full of 20 cent coins and I'd call the band members one by one to organise practice. Eight people. Every time we had a rehearsal or a gig or whatever, I'd be calling them all one by one. 
 Tony Avery (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
GARRY: I just approached Chris Brasche at the pub, as he had a trumpet case sitting on the table. And I think Jimmy Jazz (also trumpet) was a student at the school where the singer of Backy Skank worked. Ruffy the trombone player was another kid that was frequenting gigs and the subject just came up, next thing he was with us. He was a bit too loose for the professional Chris though. I loved Ruffy - great energy, loose character. Chris organised the other horn players that came and went - Chris, Jimmy, and Ruffy were the three mainstays. I think one of them may have been an undercover cop though. It's a long story, which sounds batshit crazy but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. But I'll leave it at that as to not incriminate anyone, nor to sound too batshit crazy.   
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
 
GARRY: I did most of the booking - pre-internet and mobiles. I was young and enthusiastic about it all then. I enjoyed the process and used to be able to put a good show together. Venues used to call me if they wanted a night filled and you only had to get Stanley Knife or Unclean and everyone would turn up. I brought Blowhard down from Brisbane, Loin Groin and H-Block 101 from Melbourne. The Hangovers was always a big night. The Allniters, Skazoo. My favourite show I pulled off was Cosmic Psychos - first pub show, first Sydney show in 6 or 7 years. That was fun. Then I'd get called for overseas bands - Buck O Nine, Guttermouth... I can't even remember most of them. The strangest one was Placebo on their first tour before they got big. They got us to support because it was a Wednesday night and they thought we might get some punters in. It was just weird, I remember thinking: why the fuck did they get us for this show? But obviously Placebo was on another level and the singer was cute but they kept to themselves. They were probably thinking the same thing I was.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
MILLI: My favourite show was at the Green Square Hotel in '97 or '98. We played with Stanley Knife and Drop Zone. I remember Tony and Neil (from Stanley Knife) were both wearing Hawaiian shirts. There must have been a theme happening. 
Mark 'Milli' Avery (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
Rare poster included with the Pulling on the Boots CD

GARRY: I was just listening to Pullin' on the Boots yesterday actually; how I pulled that off I'm not sure. It was about 20 bands over two days, all recorded live for a CD. Mark Erber, who owned the Iron Duke, always maintained that it was the biggest weekend's beer takings he had eve done. About 500 punters each night. Day 1 had all punk bands - Noisam, H-Block 101, and Unclean. Day 2 was oi and ska - Dr. Raju, Stanley Knife, The Hangovers and Area 7 (their first show in Sydney). It was kind of meant to be the street punk and ska answer to the Hardcore Superbowl. It was a good snapshot of the scene at the time - the bestbands from Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Newcastle, and Wollongong. Then there was a CD launch when the recording was released with five or six of the bands from the original shows - except Area 7, who were meant to play again, got signed and played on the radio in the meantime. They made too many demands and I had to cut them loose the day before, which was bad because they were advertised to play.  
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
 
TONY: In those days you could pull 300-500 people. We didn't need the internet, c_nts would just show up to gigs. We'd just have a pole person and handbills, and we'd go around Newtown and hand 'em out to everyone in the pub. The pubs would love us because people would show up to the shows. We played a show at the Iron Duke and they took, like, 41 grand on the bar. We'd only get paid a couple hundred bucks, but they'd give us all the beer we wanted and we'd be allowed into any show there for free. It wasn't about the money to us, it was a lifestyle.
 Tony Avery (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
GARRY: The horn section added some depth but for a while it was hard when certain members wanted to include the punk songs in the set. I had to draw a line. We started doing shows all ska or all punk, depending on who we were playing with. Definitely at the time there was more interest in the ska stuff - there weren't many bands with the whole horn section at that time who weren't a traditional ska band like Backy Skank or Dr Raju, etc., which is probably why we got to support certain touring bands. Not sure if that was a good thing or not, just what it was. 
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
MILLI: There are two other proper recordings of all the ska stuff, with Carlos on both. I'd played on the earlier recording, Wake Up Dad. He was a much better bassplayer than me. I left in 1998 when I received an offer to join Insurge. My last gig was Newtown Festival, so I'm guessing it was November when I was replaced by Carlos. He was on stage doing backing vocals for that gig.
Mark 'Milli' Avery (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024


GARRY: The brothers (Milli and Tony) argued so much that Milli eventually left to bigger things. Over the course of five or so years we literally went through 15 bassplayers - we were cursed, we would just seem to be getting somewhere and we would lose one and have to start again. We had the original Rukus bassplayer Erin, we had Doug from Unclean, we had Lightning Jack from The Buttery, The Roundhouse, and other known institutions. Our most consistent and best was Carlos, who appeared on both our other recording sessions, but he came and went and came and went again.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

TONY: My brother Mark left when he got recruited by Insurge as their bassplayer. Over the years we had at least 15 bassplayers. I think I might have been a bit hard to deal with, haha. We got Mark Black, and he was a guitarist trained at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Trained on guitar at the Conservatorium... and I got him to play bass!
 Tony Avery (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 

MERRICK: There were a few bassplayers. There was one bloke in particular I can't remember his name and every gig we played he seemed to pick up another chick. 
Merrick Moule (Keyboards), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024


MERRICK: We recorded at Troy Horse and Gareth was the engineer. He played in a band called Nine Volt and they had Lesley speakers and they had a lot of gear there. That was the first recording, it seemed to be many weekends we were in there. We all sort of went in there and did our bits at different times.
Merrick Moule (Keyboards), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

TONY: The mid-'90s was right towards the tail end of the massive Sydney scene which had had Tex Perkins, Chisel, INXS, etc. Early on we got this gig at the Sando, they had a door charge that was fuckall, and 'cause the pub was right on King Street, everyone would rock on in. Back then our beer rider was 17 schooners... 300 people showed up and the band got that pissed that no one could even play any more, but it was going off. There was just this energy in the city around that scene. That was all over by '99; all the pubs changed as they got ready for the Olympics. The Olympics killed the music scene for about five years.
  Tony Avery (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GARRY: I spent a lot of time hand-drawing posters. This was pre-doing-everything-online days. All very grass roots, bill posters, word-of-mouth, analogue, coins-in-a-phone-booth kinda shit; those were the days... And I used to pride myself on the fact that I never booked a show that pulled less than 150 punters, and that;'s not bad for an underground punk-ska scene. But tickets were cheap, beer was cheaper, and there was fuck-all else to do.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

BIO: Their debut release Rudeboy, featuring the single of the same name and two other crowd favourites, will give people a taste of what has made the Beggars so popular among the Sydney ska and punk fans, a mix of 1980s ska, street punk, and 1990s ideals. 
Band Bio, 1999

REVIEW: There was no begging going on for getting punters up to skank around, everyone did on their own accord. For guys who used to play Oi! these guys can crank out some awesome ska numbers. Tunes included: 'Friday Night Knickers', 'Rude Boy', 'Under Pressure', 'Who Shot Cyrus?'... These guys have a CD out soon, be sure to look out for it. It will be worth the buy!
Review of Moonstomp '99 (14th Aug, 1999), These Boots, October 1999

GARRY: One night we went for the world record for how many punks could fit in an ambulance with a ten-piece drum kit, a Roland jazz chorus, three guitars, two trumpets, a trombone, and a Marshall bass rig. We were singing "We're going home in the back of an ambulance" all the way from Alexandria to Newtown.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024


MERRICK: There was the Newtown Festival we played, and Newtown RSL, and the Buck-O-Nine show at the Globe in Newtown. We also played a show at the Lansdowne and also the Punx Picnic at Sydney Park. Shows were unpredictable. We were playing at the Iron Duke Hotel and the keyboard I had ran out of batteries and in the middle of the set while the rest of them were playing I walked off the stage to the petrol station and bought another three-pack of batteries and then walked back to the Duke and onto stage to continue playing as if nothing had happened. We went to Newcastle one night too and afterwards the band went to Melbourne but I wasn't personally involved in that. We did one gig where Garry played drums. It was a friend's wedding and they had an open bar - we weren't likely to turn that one down. 
Merrick Moule (Keyboards), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GARRY: I got sick of dealing with people after a while. Area 7 had shafted me on a deal we had for the album launch of Pullin' on the Boots. The Allniters got upset that not enough people turned up to their big comeback - and ran off with all the door takings then started badmouthing me around the scene. I just had enough and handed it over to Tony. Must have forgotten to give him my little black book. It also didn't help that the poker machines came along and killed a few venues. There was a messy period where we also got banned from The Iron Duke, The Globe, and the Newtown RSL all within a few weeks and that was bad for booking. Mark Erber had sold the Iron Duke and the new owner took offence to a few things getting broken one night. There was a rumour going around that the owner was going to get us beaten up. We rocked up one night after our usual pre-gig party - we were headlining a local show with the Last Hemeroids. Our band van was an ex-ambulance F100. We once fit all our gear plus 17 people in that thing driving back to Newtown. Anyway, we pulled up at the Iron Duke and about 12 punks and skins piled out of the back and the Duke had five or six bouncers waiting instead of their usual one. They sized us up and took a huge step backwards. The big guy at the front of them says, "You're not playing, you're b-b-b-b-banned". And that was that. A fight would have been more fun. The Globe was booked by the same guy as the RSL - I did a massive show at the RSL with Bedlam Beggars, Louisville Sluggers, and Spurs for Jesus. It was a full house so the agent wanted another the same a month later. Spurs pulled out three days prior, and the Sluggers had just gotten a new manager and a live spot on The Footy Show so they thought they were the shit. They refused to play unless they played list. We butted heads but I had to let it happen or the show would just be us. The Sluggers then used up all the soundcheck time so we got up to play with no soundcheck and that doesn't work when you have as many instruments as the Beggars. It was awful. I was in a mod and sculled a 750ml bottle of Jameson on stage and they dragged me out but not before we made it through a set of quality punk tunes. Someone told me years later that it was the best thing he ever saw. Afterwards, Chris, who was in the Sluggers and knew all the industry guys, says to me, "Do you realise so-and-so the A-and-R bloke from one of the labels was there to watch us tonight?" To which I replied, "Well, did he fucking like it or what?" Chris then said, "You are a fucking idiot, man". Funny stuff. Good times.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
Original lyrics for the song 'Young Love'.

GARRY: 'Walking the Streets', which I believed captured the feeling of being a young skin on the dole and on the streets of Sydney in the '90s, was left off the official recording of Smokerings for Haloes because it mentioned the Kaiser and Serge. Our sax player took offence and, in fact, I believe that's why he left the band after hearing the recording. The song was a character study, with parts about several of the skins I lived amongst. The part, "That's when I first set eyes on you", was not about a girl but rather a homeboy drug dealer who was telling everyone that I was a dead-man-walking because of a brawl I started with a couple of his boys. Anyway, he found out I was drinking at the Prince of Wales and came in with a crew only to find me sitting with the House of Pain crew, to which he basically apologised and backed out, never to bother me again. Anyway, 'Walking the Streets' was an overlooked gem of a song. Somehow Tony's guitar just set the mood on it. 'Living It Up' was probably my favourite to play - just high energy and it said what I was feeling. 'Living in Denial' was written during full-on speed psychosis mixed with bottles of Jameson and just too many voices and not enough choices.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
MERRICK: There was a break for a while and then we came back again. We did a gig on December 31st, 1999, and maybe that was the last one for a bit.
Merrick Moule (Keyboards), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024


GARRY: We broke up for six months and then our first show back got closed down by the police before we went on because someone booked two streetpunk bands and two hardcore bands and those crowds didn't mix well at the time. In my case, things got out of hand - I was drinking a bottle a day, there were loads of amphetamines, and Carlos left after the RSL gig with the Louisville Sluggers. There was a drama show on the ABC, Love is a Four Letter Word. I got approached about the band being on that at the time and had to knock it back. I put it in the pile with the contract we got sent from a label. Tony likes to remind me that it was my decision not to sign. The label was Rapido, who had Area 7. They were an offshoot of Mushroom Records. Hey, I was waiting for a better deal. I guess we probably needed a rest.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

TONY: I left for Melbourne and when I came back we gave it another crack. I don't think it was as good then but we still had that energy. We later broke up properly when Gary and his Mrs moved back to Wauchope. 
 Tony Avery (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 

 
DISPATCH: Thanks to everyone who came the other night. Sorry it ended so dismally. Thanks for coming anyway, if it weren't for a few individuals and a few thousand cops it was shaping up to be a very good night. Sorry also to the Lyrical Madmen who set up all their gear and didn't get to play, sorry to the Bedlam Beggars who had a pretty shocking first gig back, and also sorry to Little Dave who never got to play even 1 CD. Hopefully next time people can settle their differences without violence and police intervention. Sorry if you've been seeing this message a lot recently as well.  
Online announcement from organisers of Green Square show, c. 2001?
 
GARRY: We came back with a better attitude. We had written heaps of new material, gave up the booze, and that's when we recorded the last batch of tunes at Zen Studios - mostly all our old stuff. There was a heap of new recordings which were sadly lost. The songs Merrick and I wrote - I thought these were the best. They were real ska tunes, Merrick was a good composer. We did a few good shows, including the Oz Ska Festival in Melbourne, but that was the beginning of the end - me and Chris were butting heads. I started to feel like I'd lose a bit of control and that everyone was ganging up on me. Speed psychosis is a hell of a thing.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
 
MERRICK: About 2001, 2002 we did a few shows. I was living near Campbelltown and it got too difficult to get to practice. I'm not sure we ever really stopped, we just didn't do much for a bit - everybody seemed to move houses and it got a bit difficult. Garry was living with his now-wife in Potts Point and I was working just near there and we caught up a few times and eventually he moved back to country. I think Tony did too. 
Merrick Moule (Keyboards), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
BENNY: I joined in 2002 when the band reformed after it had imploded in the late '90s. I was in 'till the final gig at the Newtown festival, which I think was November 2003.It was a bit of a rotating roster of horn players in this time. We had a bunch of Casino Rumblers guys playing in the band for a while as well. 
Benny Stephens (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GARRY: Anyway, we gave it a shot... The scene was changing anyway, nobody was interested in ska much anymore. It was all Jet and Wolfmother and new rock 'n' roll.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
MERRICK: Ruffy taught me how to play trumpet and we were gonna do another band after Bedlam Beggars with Torrin (Riot City), but it didn't get to the stage of having a name. 
Merrick Moule (Keyboards), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
GARRY: This wasn't a pantomime or an act, we weren't just kids playing dress ups - we were punks and skins. It was real life, a way of life, and we lived it every day. We lived in warehouses, share houses, squat houses, and not houses. It was a community of anarchists and artists and musicians and we all knew each other and supported each other. Bands looked after bands, booked each other for shows, helped each other out. I was a ska skin and lived in a house full of skinheads, Tony too, the rehearsal room was our loungeroom and the pub was our kitchen. We lived and breathed for the music. We respected our elders, the older crew, and we gathered the young punks around us and looked after them and passed on the knowledge that had been passed on to us. It was a time that may never come again, and a great time was had by all.
Garry (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
 
RELATED BANDS: Schmutt, 995 Drive, Riot City, Casino Rumblers, Dr Raju, Insurge, Blackbreaks, Unclean, Rukus The OzSkas
 













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