Genres Punk rock Genre Punk rock | Active until 1979 Members Ian John Cunningham | |
Years active 1978 (1978)–1979 (1979), 1998 (1998)–1999 (1999) Labels A Few, Buckwheat Headlock/Existential Vacuum, Au Go Go, Hate Associated acts Deathwish, Bohdan and the Instigators Past members Ian Cunningham
Cal McAlpine
Iain Weaver
Bruce Friday
Bill Blanche
Jeff Hussey Origin Mornington Peninsula (1978) Albums Do the Manic!, The Joke's on Us Similar Razar, The Victims, Thought Criminals, Punk rock in Australia, The Scientists | ||
The Chosen Few were an Australian punk band which formed in 1978. Three founding band mates were all from an earlier hard rock band, Deathwish: Ian John Cunningham on bass guitar (later on lead vocals), Calum "Cal" McAlpine on drums and Iain Weaver on lead vocals (died 1995). They were soon joined by Bruce Friday on lead guitar. The Chosen Few formed in the Mornington Peninsula and played a combination of covers of United States-influenced punk (MC5, Stooges) and hard driven original numbers inspired by Lobby Loyde and the Coloured Balls and The Saints.
In 1978 The Chosen Few released a six-track extended play, The Jokes on Us. It was recorded in a studio in Smith Street, Collingwood, with Baron Rolls as audio engineer. The band played regularly around the Melbourne and Adelaide punk scenes but disbanded in May 1979. They joined Bohdan X (ex-JAB) as Bohdan and the Instigators but they broke up by late 1980.
There was a short lived reunion of The Chosen Few in 1998 with a new line up: Cunningham, now on lead vocals, and McAlpine, were joined by Bill Blanche on bass guitar and Jeff Hussey on lead guitar. Two albums were released in that year: Do the Manic (Buckwheat Headlock Productions/Existential Vacuum Records, US) and A Root and a Beer (Au Go Go Records). They were followed by a double-CD album, Really Gonna Punch You Out (Hate Records, Italy), in 2001.
Songs
TALOIGA1998
Joke's on UsThe Joke's on Us · 1978
Adolph - You BeautyThe Joke's on Us · 1978