In Sydney, in March 1980, singer, bass guitarist and songwriter
Steve Kilbey bumped into guitarist
Peter Koppes, an old bandmate from his Canberra days. Koppes was playing with another Canberran, drummer Nick Ward, in a Sydney band called Limazine. The three decided to form a new band, called it The Church (originally The Church of Man) and began performing. Thanks to contacts from Kilbey & Koppes' former band Baby Grande, they sent the tape to the Australian branch of publishing company
ATV Northern Songs. Gilbey signed the band, went to band rehearsals and helped shape their sound by buying Willson-Piper a 12 string
Rickenbacker guitar and Koppes an Echolette tape delay. Sessions for their first album followed in late 1980 at
Studios 301 in Sydney. Of the four songs originally demoed, only "Chrome Injury" was included. The album,
Of Skins and Heart, was co-produced by Gilbey and
Bob Clearmountain (
Bryan Adams). Seven of the nine tracks were written solely by Kilbey. The first single, "She Never Said", was released in November, but did not chart. The second single, "The Unguarded Moment", co-written with Kilbey's girlfriend Michelle Parker, was issued alongside the album in March 1981, initially only in Australia. "The Unguarded Moment" reached No. 22 on the Australian
Kent Music Report Singles Chart while
Of Skins and Heart achieved the same position on the related Albums Chart. To promote their releases, the band undertook their first national tour. By the time of the album's release, drummer Ward had already been replaced by
Richard Ploog. He was recruited by their manager,
Michael Chugg, after hearing of his reputation in Adelaide. Ploog's arrival established The Church's first stable line-up. The first recordings by the group with Ploog were eventually released as a five-track double single / extended play,
Too Fast for You in July 1981. It included the first collectively written track, "Sisters". Another track, "Tear It All Away", later released as a separate single, showed a development towards more elaborate guitar structures and what would become the signature Church sound. Their image of tight jeans and
paisley shirts (many designed and made by Michelle Parker), as well as their 'jangly' guitar sound evoked comparisons to 1960s psychedelic groups, particularly
The Byrds. The success of
Of Skins and Heart enabled Chris Gilbey to present the release to Freddie Cannon of French label
Carrere and Rupert Perry of American label
Capitol. Both labels released the album in 1982, renamed as simply
The Church, with slightly altered track listings including songs from
Too Fast for You and using a crop of that EP's artwork for the cover. Ploog was incorrectly credited as the sole drummer on the release, despite only playing on one or three tracks, depending on the version. Capitol also released an edited single version of "The Unguarded Moment" which was a minute shorter than the original – a decision which displeased the band. ==Reception==