1983–1987: Bear Witness After the break-up of
Melbourne-based experimental
funk band Essendon Airport in 1983, members Robert Goodge on guitar, Ian Cox on saxophone and Barbara Hogarth on bass guitar set about forming a band to create inventive, commercial, funk-pop music. The
EP Someday was released in May 1984 on the
independent Randelli label. which peaked at #10 on the
Kent Music Report for the Australian singles charts. then a
cover of the
Rose Royce song "
Love Don't Live Here Anymore" in August, which both entered the top 30. On 13 July, I'm Talking performed "
Lead the Way" in the 1985
Oz for Africa concert (part of the global
Live Aid program). It was broadcast in Australia (on both the
Seven Network and
Nine Network) and on
MTV in the US. I'm Talking recorded their debut album
Bear Witness in Melbourne, and it was released in August 1986. featured solo vocals by Abeyratne and peaked at #9. and although it failed to enter the top 100, They signed to
London Records in the UK but disagreements between the band and that label led to "
Do You Wanna Be?" being the only single released outside of Oceania. "
Holy Word" appeared on the soundtrack to the 1987 horror film
Howling III. At least three of their songs later appeared in the 1988 film
For Queen & Country. After returning from their 1986 UK tour supporting
Five Star, there were line-up changes, Warren McLean (ex-
Machinations) replaced Newman on drums and Kevin Wiltshire was 'imported' from the UK tour as a second keyboardist. That line-up appeared on the national
Australian Made tour of January 1987. New material was performed live in 1987, but Ceberano departed to pursue her solo career and I'm Talking disbanded in July 1987. In 1988, a
compilation,
Dancing was released by Regular Records. Goodge also went into partnership with Gavin Campbell and Paul Main in the '90s to form
Filthy Lucre, specialising in
remixes. They were responsible for transforming
Yothu Yindi's
folk-rock song "
Treaty" into a dance-groove hit single. Goodge has also written and performed with
Stephen Cummings since the 1990s. I'm Talking's manager, West, handled Ceberano for a brief time before going into partnership with Vivian Lees and launching their national rock festival
The Big Day Out.
John McAll went on to play and record with Goodge's former collaborator
David Chesworth, and other jazz and rock acts. In 2003 Goodge revived a trio of Essendon Airport with David Chesworth and
Graham Lee. In 2007 Kate Ceberano appeared in the
Countdown Spectacular 2 performing versions of I'm Talking's "
Trust Me" and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore". As of 2008 Cox is a conservator at the
State Library of Victoria. In October 2010,
Bear Witness (1986) was listed in the book,
100 Best Australian Albums. In 2014, Ceberano released her memoir, ''I'm Talking: My life, my words, my music'', published by Hachette Australia. Ceberano co-wrote the book with Tom Gilling.
2018–present: Reunion and ''Dyin' to Be Dancin''' In March 2018
Bear Witness was re-released with additional tracks, and the band started an official YouTube channel. The album was re-mastered for vinyl, cd, and digital download. On 16 October 2018, the members of I'm Talking announced their return to the stage in 2019 as the supporting act for
Bryan Ferry's Australian tour, between February and April. The reformed lineup consists of five of the seven original members: Goodge, Hogarth, Charlesworth, Ceberano, and Abeyratne. Ian Cox and Cameron Newman did not return due to personal commitments. Ceberano stated that she was "very excited about performing with I'm Talking again after so many years," adding that "[t]he music still sounds so great – fans are gonna love it!" On 9 November 2018, the group performed an acoustic set of cover songs during a segment on
Myf Warhurst's ABC Radio program. The group later performed a special concert for their fans in Melbourne on 11 February 2019, which received great reviews. On 15 February 2019, the group released a live album titled ''Dyin' to Be Dancin'', which featured songs from two shows recorded in August 1984 and May 1986. In July 2019, the group released new remixes for the songs "It's Over" (an album track on
Bear Witness) and "
Cry Me a River" (originally a b-side on the single "
Love Don't Live Here Anymore"). In February 2020, the group released a 6-track remix single of "Holy Word". == Members ==