The Psychotic Turnbuckles were formed in Sydney in 1984 as part of a wave of
hard rock bands that sprang up in Australia in the first half of the 1980s with roots in the US 1960s
punk and 1970s big-energy
Detroit rock scenes. The band were professional wrestlers who re-located from Pismo Beach in California after being banned by the Pismo Beach Wrestling Alliance. Founding members were Jesse the Intruder on lead vocals, The Creep on bass guitar and vocals, The Grand Wizard on guitar, The Spoiler on drums and El Sicodelico on guitar. Their influences were
the 13th Floor Elevators,
Radio Birdman,
the Moving Sidewalks,
the Masters Apprentices,
the Sonics and
the Aztecs. The Psychotic Turnbuckles released two singles on Vi-nil Records, "The Creeps" (May 1985) and "Psychotic Situation" (November),. Australian musicologist
Ian McFarlane described these singles as "primitive slices of buzzing R&B/garagemania" with "authentic 1960s sound and sheer acid-guitar firepower". Their debut extended play of six tracks,
Destroy Dull City, followed in August 1986 via Rattlesnake Records, which was produced by
Rob Younger (
Died Pretty,
Lime Spiders,
the Stems).
The Musics Michael Smith referred to the band's "mythical" origin story. Their publicity described "a nuclear accident during the band's daily surf which turned their hair psychedelic green and purple. They now drink Turnbuckle Tonic to keep it that way."
The Canberra Times Lisa Wallace described their third EP,
Go Go Gorilla (1987), as "throwbacks from a bad '60s acid trip [which] made me smile... Be different, be daring." In that year the group were in an episode of comedy TV series,
Willing and Abel performing a non-released track, "Your Face is Driving Me Insane". The Psychotic Turnbuckles' first studio album,
Beyond the Flip-out (October 1987), was recorded in March with Clark (The Creep) leaving before it was released. The line-up of The Intruder, The Unknown, The Grand Wizard and Mr Ultimate on drums recorded the band's second studio album,
Pharaohs of the Far Out (1989) for Survival Records. Mr Ultimate was replaced on drums by Gorgeous Lord Karl Domah before the album appeared. The Intruder, Wizard, The Unknown and Domah line-up issued an EP,
Lunar Chik (1989). Psychotic Turnbuckles released their next studio album,
Figure Four Brain Trance (October 1993) via Shagpile/
Shock. Late in 1994 The Unknown was replaced on bass guitar by Chuck the Rock and the group issued a compilation album,
Ride the Wild Sounds (1994), before disbanding. Encouraged by their audience's reaction, they signed to
Citadel and issued a retrospective 2× CD compilation album,
Destroy Dull City (2013). The Psychotic Turnbuckles have performed sporadically since then and toured Japan in 2023, including an appearance at the Tokyo Halloween Ball. The band is undertaking an Australian tour "40 Years Undefeated" in 2024 to mark their fourth decade. == Members ==