An inner-city punk band The Thought Criminals were formed in late 1977 with the initial line-up of
Roger Grierson (
aka Jack Boots; guitar), Rique Lee Kendall (
aka Matt Black; bass) and Bruce Warner (
aka Kit Identity; vocals). Various drummers played in the band during this early period. The band's first gigs were at Blondies in Bondi Junction in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Inspired by the DIY ethic of
the Desperate Bicycles, the Thought Criminals' first recording was the EP
Hilton Bomber, with
Mark Kingsmill (
aka Jim Boots) on drums. The EP was the inaugural release on the band's own Doublethink label. Rique Lee Kendall left to join the Last Words and, in turn, the Last Words' drummer, Ken Doyle (
aka Derik Wapillspoon), joined the Thought Criminals. With the inclusion of Stephen Philip (
aka Vivi Sector) on guitar, Roger Grierson switched to bass. The Thought Criminals built up a following with performances at mainly inner-city venues. The music of the Thought Criminals, in their early recordings and live performances, has been described as a "jagged, frantic sound". In late 1981 the band played a live show at Chequers, after which the Thought Criminals disbanded. Roger Grierson,
Warren Fahey and rock journalist
Stuart Coupe set up the Green record label in the early 1980s. Grierson continued to work in band and tour management, eventually attaining the position of Managing Director of PolyGram Music Publishing, and later Chairman of
Festival Records. In 1982 guitarist Stephen Philip joined
Do-Ré-Mi. In 1988 keyboardist John Hoey joined
Died Pretty. Bruce Warner became an animator and the drummer Ken Doyle works in computing. On the subject of reforming the Thought Criminals after 25 years Roger Grierson commented: "It seemed like everybody was doing it and with the release of the CD, and we put a website up to give away all the songs for free, it dragged a few people out of the woodwork". In September 2006 the Thought Criminals took the stage again in a concert with
Buzzcocks at Sydney's Century Theatre. In February 2007 they again reformed to play with T.V. Smith of
The Adverts at the Annandale Hotel. ==Discography==