1979: Formation The Cockroaches (also called the Cockies) were founded in 1979 by the Field brothers (
Paul on lead vocals,
John on rhythm guitar and vocals, and
Anthony (or "Tony") on lead guitar and vocals), while they were students at
St. Joseph's College, a Sydney boarding school. According to Paul Field, the Field brothers grew up in a large family, with seven children. The brothers were each born one year apart, so they were very close. Other founders of the Cockroaches were Tony Henry on drums and Joseph Hallion on saxophone; they were joined by Bruce Hatfield on bass guitar by mid-1980. After Paul introduced his brothers to
the Rolling Stones, the band took their name from an obscure
alias used by
Keith Richards during the 1960s When they recorded their second single, "Bingo Bango" in June 1981, Hatfield had been replaced by Geoff O'Reagan on bass guitar. This song was written by John and Anthony, was produced by Owens and was recorded at Wirra-Willa Studios. By August of that year
Jeff Fatt had joined on keyboards and Phil Robinson became their bass guitarist. According to Anthony, Fatt had been a member of "a seminal Sydney rockabilly band called the Roadmasters", and had joined "to fight boredom". They had hired Fatt and his brother to manage their
sound system during gigs. Anthony declared this began "a beautiful three-decade relationship that has made him a very wealthy man". Their early road manager was Graham Kennedy, former guitarist-vocalist for the hard rock band,
Finch. According to Anthony, Paul was "a picture of professional efficiency", whereas John, one of the top Under-19
New South Wales cricketers, it was produced by Robert Moss at Emerald City Studios. In 1986, the Cockroaches signed with an independent label,
Regular Records, and were distributed by
Festival Records. At that time, Phil Carson was filling in for Robinson as their bass guitarist. one track was produced by Roy Nicolson. "She's the One" became the band's biggest hit when it peaked at No. 7 in April 1987. According to Anthony, in the late 1980s, the group averaged over 300 gigs a year throughout Australia. They performed at town halls, concert halls,
Bachelor and Spinster (B&S) balls, parties, and pubs; and were "one of the biggest crowd-drawing groups in Australia". They toured with
Mental As Anything, the
Hoodoo Gurus, and
INXS. Anthony claimed they were "shunned" by the major record companies in Australia. Even after their debut album was certified gold, they remained independent: they organised their own shows and paid expenses from their own accounts.
1988–1999: Later years, Fingertips, Positive, ''St. Patrick's Day 10am'' & break up The Cockroaches recorded their second album,
Fingertips, in 1988. Fisher producing the album with Festival, at Alberts Digital Studios in
Trafalgar. The album peaked at No. 32 on the
ARIA Albums Chart. The line-up consisted of the three Field Brothers, Fatt, Henry and Mackie. In September that year, while the band were touring for the album, Paul Field's eight-month-old daughter, Bernadette, died of
SIDS. Paul recalled, "Nothing was the same after [my daughter's death], it crushed me and left us all wounded". The group recorded a third album,
Positive, which came out in June 1991. It was produced by Mark Moffatt, who had also worked with Mental As Anything and
Jenny Morris. The album produced three singles, including the
gospel-flavoured track, "Hope" (August 1990), "I Must Have Been Blind" (May 1991), and a cover of the
Brenda Lee song, "
Here Comes That Feeling" (August 1991). Their version of the Brenda Lee song was featured in the 1990 film,
The Crossing, starring
Russell Crowe and
Danielle Spencer. According to McFarlane, "By the end of the year ... The Cockroaches as a band concept had run its course". He also declared, "The sound of the Cockies seems to embody all of the basic concepts of rock'n'roll as we've always known and loved it. Its rangy, loose-limbed, good-natured, energetic, self-effacing, intuitive, harmonic, melodic, enduring, soused and fiercely frantic". The performers for the album were: the three Field brothers; Fatt on Hammond organ, keyboards and cow noises; Henry on drums and
cabasa; Mackie on bass guitar and backing vocals; with additional backing vocals by Jane Bezzina, Greg Truman and Steve Pomfrett. It was recorded at the Tracking Station and Noisegate Studios, was mixed by Pomfrett and John, was engineered by Pomfrett, and was produced by the band. In November 1999 Festival Records issued a compilation album, ''Hey Let's Go – The Best of the Cockroaches'', which included a newly recorded track, "Something Good This Way Comes". ==Afterwards and The Wiggles==