The Slaters

 

ORIGINS: Hurstville, NSW

GENRE: Indie / Power Pop

YEARS ACTIVE: 1983-1994

 

Most photos by Ange Scully and Dasi Pacific. 

 

MEMBERS:

• Matt Allison - Guitar, Vocals
• Darren McNamara - Bass, Vocals
• John Vittorio - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals 
  
• Matt Nash - Drums (1983-1987)
• Paul Sloane - Drums (1987-1991) 
• Chris Russel - Drums (1991)
• Mick Searson - Drums (1992 - on some tracks on album)
  
• Mick 'Mickster' Baty - Drums (1992-1994)
  
• John Narbeshuber - Bass (1983)
• Andrew Barrs - Vocals (1983)
• David Bulmer - Vocals (1983)

RELEASES: 

• Put Out the Trash (1986)
• 1. Wild World
• 2. Someone Like You
• 3. Colour of Life
• 4. Tonight 

• Teenage Dreamers (1988) - Download Here.
• 1. No One's Home
• 2. End of the Ride
• 3. Awakening 

•  Crystal Girl (1989)
• 1. Crystal Girl
• 2. Pharaoh's Curse 

• The Big Black Bug Bled Black Blood (1992)
• 1. Nothing Makes Sense
• 2. Silly Games
• 3. Kate
• 4. Hear This
• 5. Just Like the Rest
• 6. I Bet There's More
• 7. Back to Where You Started
• 8. You're Wrong
• 9. Stranded at the Lansdowne
• 10. Stuff 'N' Junk
• 11. Crystal Girl
• 12. Still Around
• 13. Oldest Story in the World
• 13. Dragstrip Queen
• 15. Angel
  

SUMMARY: Initially called Strange Covers, The Slaters began as a collection of friends who met each other at high school, and developed into a popular power pop quartet during the late '80s. A couple of releases registered on the alternative charts and the band released a music video for 'No One's Home' in 1988, eventually recording a full album in the early '90s after a lineup adjustment with a new drummer, Mick Baty. 

 

SHOWS: 

• St George Budapest Club, St George - unknown date, 1984
• Bexley Golf Club, Bexley - unknown date, 1984
  
• Lansdowne, Sydney - 26th January, 1989
• The Den, Penshurst - 28th January, 1989
• Lansdowne, Sydney - 18th March, 1989
• Harold Park Hotel, Glebe - 23rd March, 1989
• Lansdowne, Sydney - 25th March, 1989
• Royal Hotel, Sutherland - 31st March, 1989
• The Den, Penshurst - 14th April, 1989 
• Lansdowne, Sydney - 19th April, 1989
• Sutherland Entertainment Centre, Sutherland - 28th April, 1989
• Unknown Venue - 4th May, 1989
  
• Lansdowne, Sydney - 6th May, 1989
• The Evening Star, Surry hills - 14th May, 1989
• Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills - 18th May, 1989
• Max's, Petersham - 9th June, 1989
• The Evening Star, Surry Hills - 11th June, 1989
• The Den, Penshurst - 24th June, 1989
• SW10 Club, Caringbah - 25th June, 1989 
• Royal Hotel, Sutherland - 6th July, 1989
• Sandringham, Newtown - 8th July, 1989
• The Den, Penshurst - 14th July, 1989
• Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney - 15th July, 1989
• Royal Hotel, Sutherland - 22nd July, 1989
• Sutherland Entertainment Centre, Sutherland - 28th July, 1989
• The Den, Penshurst - 3rd August, 1989
• Royal Artillery, Melbourne - 4th August, 1989 (VIC)
• Barwon Club, Geelong - 5th August, 1989 (VIC)
• Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy - 6th August, 1989 (VIC) 
• The Den, Penshurst - 1st September, 1989
  
• The Journo's Club, Sydney - 14th September, 1989
• The Den, Penshurst - 23rd September, 1989
• The Cave, Sydney - 29th September, 1989
• Royal Hotel, Sutherland - 13th October, 1989
• Gladstone Hotel, Toowoomba - 20th October, 1989 (QLD)
• St Pauls Tavern, Brisbane - 21st October, 1989 (QLD)
• 104 Club, Brisbane - 25th October, 1989 (QLD)
• James Cook University, Townsville - 27th October, 1989 (QLD)
• Seaview Tavern, Townsville - 27th October, 1989 (QLD)
• Tattersals Hotel, Townsville - 28th October, 1989 (QLD)
• Tattersals Hotel, Townsville - 29th October, 1989 (QLD)
• James Cook Tavern, Townsville - 30th October, 1989 (QLD) 
• Gladstone Hotel, Toowoomba - 3rd November, 1989 (QLD)
• Max's, Petersham - 11th December, 1989
• The Den, Penshurst - 16th December, 1989
• Royal Hotel, Sutherland - 28th December, 1989
• Promises, Sylvania - 29th December, 1989
• The Den, Penshurst - 6th January, 1990
• Royal Hotel, Sutherland - 12th January, 1990
• Habour Cruise, Sydney - 14th January, 1990
• Promises, Sylvania - 19th January, 1990
• Promises, Sylvania - 9th February, 1990
• Harold Park Hotel, Glebe - 4th March, 1990
• Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney - 8th March, 1990 
• Unknown venue, Melbourne - 14th March, 1990 (VIC)
• Unknown venue, Melbourne  - 15th March, 1990 (VIC)
• Unknown venue, Melbourne - 16th March, 1990 (VIC)
• Unknown venue, Melbourne - 17th March, 1990 (VIC)
• Unknown venue, Melbourne - 18th March, 1990 (VIC)
• Unknown venue, Melbourne - 19th March, 1990 (VIC) 
• The Evening Star, Surry Hills - 4th August, 1990
• Maleny Folk Festival, Maleny - 28th December, 1990 (QLD)
• The Empress, Melbourne - 19th March, 1993 (VIC)
• Barwon Club, Geelong - 20th March, 1993 (VIC)
• The Tote, Melbourne - 21st March, 1993 (VIC)
  

ORAL HISTORY:

MATT: It was 1983 at high school, myself and a few mates decided to form a band. We called ourselves Strange Covers, which was inspired by a Redgum album cover our Music teacher owned. None of us had instruments let alone knew how to play except for our drummer, so the rest of us went out and bought cheap guitars and started mucking around on Beasts of Bourbon and Hoodoo Gurus songs - they were pretty simple and great tunes! We loved The Church also, but they were pretty hard to replicate on cheap instruments with minimal talent!

Matt Allison (Guitar, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

 

DARREN: We met at high school and worked out we all liked music. None of us played at the time, except for our drummer. We had diverse tastes initially. A lot of Aussie bands like Hoodoo Gurus, Sunnyboys, Radio Birdman, and overseas bands like The Clash, The Jam, The Ramones. We quickly got into more local artists like Happy Hate Me Nots, Trilobites, Hard-Ons.

Darren McNamara (Bass, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

 

DAVID: I jumped into singing with the band because no one wanted to do it. I used to hang around the boys in the Strange Covers / Slater days. Did appear as a singer at one stage - from memory we played two songs, 'Jumping Jack Flash' and 'Get Back' and it was at the old St George Budapest Club. It was a Sunday arvo old fashioned talent quest. We were shit but had fun. We came second to a 7-year old singing 'Rainbow Connection'. To be fair she was good. I left the band pretty soon after that... creative differences, I wanted to work on my solo career. But honestly it was a teenage thing and good fun but I was no singer. I'm still working on the solo career, haha. I hung with the guys still after I left.

David Bulmer (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

 

 

MATT: We played one gig with the seven member lineup at a school function, after which John Narbs, Andrew, and David left. The remaining four of us renamed ourselves The Slaters and kicked off with three guitars and drums (no bass). At some point Darren switched to bass and we all swapped around with lead vocals (except Matt Nash). Somehow we got involved with the local chapter of The Young Socialists, based in Hurstville where I lived. We were all fairly apolitical at the time (we were 14 years old!) but they roped us into playing a few fundraisers which as far as I remember were held at Bexley Golf Club. The shows were a blast! I'm sure we were pretty terrible but we felt like rock stars and received a pretty decent reception. We also played a few parties and also school dances in conjunction with a local girls high school.

Matt Allison (Guitar, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

 

DARREN: Our first show was a local talent quest. I'd say it was a nervy experience but one that we looked back on as a blast once it was over.

Darren McNamara (Bass, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

 

Marty and Emu

 

DAVID: There was a performer back in the day, a children's duo called Marty and Emu. Anyway, he was compere for the talent quest we played. He was a TV star on a morning kids show, but away from the camera he was a cranky old drunk. Anyway, we were backstage and he kept going and doing his bits on stage and would then come off and go straight downstairs to stay lubricated. I'm pretty sure it was Matt Nash who made some smartass remark as Marty was walking downstairs... something about violating the emu. Anyway, Marty hears it and comes back, asks 'Who said that?' and then just punched Matt Nash in the face. Nose bleed and everything. It was surreal. Like, hang on... this is Marty from TV?? Anyway, Marty's manager freaked out, thinking how is this going to go down, came and apologised to us and said Marty was having a bad day and that he gets very sensitive about the Emu. He wanted to give us free tickets to Miss Marilyn's Super Flying Fun Show (another kids TV show). True story - couldn't make this shit up.

David Bulmer (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

 

 

MATT: We didn't make our first record until 1986 when we were in Year 12. There was a small recording studio in Kogarah called Axent, run by a blind guy named Ross McGregor. We recorded 4 original songs and self-released them as a 7" single called Put Out the Trash the same year. It did okay. I think we pressed up 500 and eventually got rid of them all and it made the lower reaches of the alternative charts despite scathing review from local stree press which described the drums as sounding like a pot plant being hit with Chiko rolls! Haha. 

Matt Allison (Guitar, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

DARREN: We didn't have a record label so arranged the recording of our first 7" ourselves. We had to beg, borrow, and steal to pay for the recording and production. We were only 17 and still at school so it felt like a big achievement at the time.

Darren McNamara (Bass, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

NEWS ARTICLE: A track off Put Out the Trash was included on an Australian compilation album, Big Backyard, along with bands such as Midnight Oil and the Go Betweens, but the band's progress was temporarily delayed and live performances minimised because of age restrictions, the HSC and few musical instruments after someone 'borrowed' them after a gig.

 Unknown Local Paper, c. 1989

MATT: Shows were mostly in the St George and Sutherland Shire at first plus the occasional inner city gig. Mostly we did support slots with some of our favourite bands at the time including Happy Hate Me Nots, The Hard-Ons, Toys Went Beserk, The Trilobites, and many more. We did the occasional tour to Melbourne and Brisbane too. In 1988 we released a 10" EP, Teenage Dreamers, on Mr Spaceman Records out of Melbourne, so we were labelmates with Cosmic Psychos for a while! Playing shows in the '80s was different as we were still teenagers and pretty green. Back then if you did a gig with a well-known headliner, you were sometimes expected to help lug the PA in and out of the venue before and afterwards and would still end up with a measly $100 at the end... to split four ways. Almost child labour in retrospect! By the '90s we were a little more savvy with the money side of things. 

Matt Allison (Guitar, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

 

 

 

MATT: In 1989 we self-released a 7" single Crystal Girl, distributed by Waterfront Records. That got into the deeper end of the alternative charts and it was our busiest year doing local gigs and a fairly extensive East Coast Tour. The B-side was produced by Rob Younger (Radio Birdman), can't remember why, but the A-side wasn't working out with Rob, so we went to Trafalgar Records and re-did it ourselves with Alan Thorne on the knobs.

Matt Allison (Guitar, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

MATT: Sometime in the late '80s we played a gig at Max's in Petersham. A band from Fairfield called The Pyramidiacs were also on the bill and we realised we had very similar taste and from that point onwards became great mates, a friendship that continues to this day. Their drummer Mick Baty (AKA Mickster) ended up playing with us in our latter days. Mick also played in The Crusaders and the three bands did a few East Coast jaunts which were dubbed 'The Magical Mickstery Tour'.

Matt Allison (Guitar, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

 

MICK: They were looking for a drummer, and I recommended (foolishly) a guy I knew who was looking to join a band. So I introduced them, they rehearsed for six months, played one gig, and then he quit. So I said to John Vittorio that I'd fill in until they found a full time replacement. I stayed with them for two to three years.

Mick Baty (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

MATT: A full length album was released on CD by Zero Hour Records in 1992, called The Big Black Bug. It was our final released, although we still played around until we laid it to rest in 1994. We were still mates and are to this day, but I guess we wanted to move on. I'd started Lawnsmell as I was keen to play something harder and faster ala The Hard-Ons, Descendants, etc. Johnny V and I also started Epstein with Mickster and Bob from The Pyramidiacs around the same time and, musically speaking, this was pretty much a continuation of The Slaters.

Matt Allison (Guitar, Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

RELATED BANDS: The Pyramidiacs, The Crusaders, Epstein, The Finkers, Lawnsmell, Spurs for Jesus, The Hecklers, The Devil May Care, Showpony, High Horse, The Hazlewoods, The Sleazybeats, The Exile Co., MD Horne's Last Call, Pete Ross and the Sapphire, The Jane Does, The Sushi Taco Allstars, Cheesy Chunks in Your Ear, The Slack Arsed Moles, Casino Evil, Loz Vegas and The High Rollers, Jason and the Ashfield Scorchers, The Fiction, Lords of Gravity, Stoneage Hearts, Beat Taboo, Kreep 500, Danny McDonald, Dom Mariani