Origins Deniz Tek and
Rob Younger formed Radio Birdman in the mid-1970s (around 1974) in
Sydney, Australia, having recently left their former projects,
TV Jones and the Rats. In 1975, after facing rejection from various venues and performing in rented garages and community halls, Radio Birdman secured a residency at the Oxford Tavern at
Taylor Square in
Sydney. They eventually took over the venue's management, renaming it The Oxford Funhouse. With the help of
Rock Australia Magazine editor, Anthony O'Grady, the band selected a recording studio and recorded an EP,
Burn My Eye, and their first album,
Radios Appear, both produced by
John Sayers and Charles Fisher at Trafalgar Studios in
Annandale. Under
Michael McMartin's management, Trafalgar Studios signed the band and financed the recordings.
Radios Appear was critically acclaimed, earning 5 stars in the Australian edition of
Rolling Stone. The album was influenced by Detroit bands of the late 1960s, such as
MC5 and
the Stooges. The album's title comes from the
Blue Öyster Cult song, "Dominance and Submission", from their 1974
Secret Treaties album, which influenced Radio Birdman's sound. Several years after the initial release and following the band's breakup, Trafalgar Records licensed the recordings to
WEA, who took on the album and gave it a wider release. However, sales remained limited. As the
punk movement in Australia continued to grow, the underground scene at the Funhouse began to attract some outsider groups, including the Sydney chapter of the
Hells Angels. Following a concert at
Paddington Town Hall with
the Saints and the Hot Spurs in April 1977, Radio Birdman left the Sydney scene, playing sporadically in other cities and working on new material. After this show, the band moved their base of operations to London and toured in the UK and Europe, headlining and as support for Sire label-mates the
Flamin' Groovies. Their overseas operations were short-lived, as
Sire Records began having financial difficulties and dropped Radio Birdman and many other bands from the label. A planned American tour with
the Ramones, scheduled for the second half of 1978, was cancelled.
Breakup Without a label, with no tour support or distribution for
Radios Appear, the relationships between the band's members grew strained. They split up after playing one last show at
Oxford University in June 1978. Tek, Keeley, and keyboardist Pip Hoyle formed
the Doors-influenced inner-city band
the Visitors. Guitarist
Chris Masuak and bass guitarist Warwick Gilbert's
the Hitmen went on to participate in the
Australian pub rock scene. Tek, Younger, and Gilbert played in a one-shot touring band called
New Race, with
Dennis Thompson of the
MC5 and
Ron Asheton of
the Stooges. They made no studio recordings but released one official "live" album,
The First and Last, and there are two more "
bootleg" live albums,
The First to Pay and
The Second Wave, on the French label Revenge. A non-musical LP, ''Soldiers of Rock 'n' Roll'', was released in 1982. This album, described by the record company as "an audio documentary of Radio Birdman," was released after Deniz Tek had left music to pursue a career as a jet pilot and was assembled by the people at Trafalgar Records, akin to a soundtrack for a documentary that was never produced.
Reunion Radio Birdman reunited for the
Big Day Out tour in 1996 and again in 1997. Since then, Radio Birdman has toured sporadically. In 2002, Warwick Gilbert was replaced by Jim Dickson, who had previously played with the
New Christs,
Louis Tillett,
the Passengers,
the Barracudas and
Deniz Tek. Drummer Ron Keeley left the band in 2004 after the band's performance at the Azkena Festival in Spain. He was temporarily replaced by Nik Reith, formerly of
the Celibate Rifles,
Tumbleweed, the
New Christs and the Deniz Tek Group. He was replaced after six shows by
You Am I drummer
Rusty Hopkinson. The band's next album,
Zeno Beach, was released in Australia on 24 June 2006 via the band's own Crying Sun Records, and in the US via
Yep Roc Records on 22 August.
Zeno Beach was recorded in Sydney in December 2005, produced by guitarist Deniz Tek and engineer Greg Wales. Carl Roke, the original Radio Birdman bassist, died the year of the new album's scheduled release, which was dedicated to his memory. Following a February tour of Australian capital cities, the band toured internationally in support of
Zeno Beach in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the US, from 27 July 2006 in Sydney to 7 October. This was the first time Radio Birdman played in America. Many Australian dates featured the LA soul/punk band
The Bellrays. In July 2007, the band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (
ARIA) Hall of Fame (in an interview, vocalist Rob Younger indicated the band had previously declined an invitation to join the Hall of Fame years before). The induction saw all living original members plus current members attend the ceremony, except for Pip Hoyle.
Daniel Johns of
Silverchair gave the induction speech, followed by the band playing a two song set. The three guitarists (Tek, Masuak, and Dickson) also participated in a rehearsed stage move, each holding up their guitars and saluting the drums during the song New Race. Murray Shepherd (ex-
The Screaming Tribesmen and current
The Hitmen drummer) sat in on drums for this occasion, as then-drummer Russell Hopkinson was touring with You Am I. The band toured Australia, the US, Canada, and Europe, with approximately 80 concerts in 2007. In September 2007, the band featured in the
Clash of the Titans tour alongside
the Stems and
Hoodoo Gurus which launched in
Sydney at the
Enmore Theatre and included dates across Australia. In October 2007, Radio Birdman ceased touring after a long run of dates in Europe, ending in
Athens,
Greece. In 2014, the band released a box set on the Citadel label. The box set included 7 CDs and 1 DVD, featuring remasters of the band's official releases plus archived and previously unheard studio material. The box also contains a professional recording of the 12 December 1977 Paddington Town Hall concert. In November 2014, the band was reassembled to promote the release of the Box Set and played shows across Australia. The 2014 lineup featured Nik Rieth on drums and Dave Kettley on guitar (replacing longtime member Chris Masuak), along with Jim Dickson (bass) and original founding members Rob Younger, Pip Hoyle, and Deniz Tek. Radio Birdman completed European and Australian tours in 2015 and 2016. In June and July 2017, the band undertook a joint national tour with
Died Pretty. They last performed live in 2019. The film covered the band's history, from precursor bands the Rats and TV Jones to their European tour in 2015. In December 2020, Radio Birdman were listed at number 44 in
Rolling Stone Australias "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue. In 2024, Radio Birdman toured Australia to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The tour culminated with a Sydney concert. ==Members==