The Hummingbirds

Biography

The Hummingbirds formed in 1986 from the remnants of the short lived band Bug Eyed Monsters. Band members originally comprised singer and guitarist Simon Holmes, bassist John Boyce and drummer Mark Temple, after a few months of initial rehearsals as a three-piece, vocalist and guitarist Alannah Russack signed on. In early 1987, Boyce departed and was replaced by singer and bassist, Robyn St. Clare. They were one of Australia's most promising acts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, along with other up-and-comers like Ratcat, Clouds, Tall Tales and True and The Falling Joys.

They debuted in July 1987, with the single "Alimony", it was followed by three more singles, "Everything You Said" in January 1988, "Swim to Shore" in July and "Hindsight" in November. All four singles were released on the independent label, Phantom Records. All four singles were also re-issued by Phantom Records as a pack called 'Quatro', limited to 500 packs on coloured vinyl.

The Hummingbirds signed to rooART in early 1989, and released their single, "Blush", in August, it reached number one on the alternative music chart, and No.19 on the ARIA singles charts. Their first album, loveBUZZ, produced by Mitch Easter, was released in 1989. and peaked at No.31 on the ARIA album charts. It earned an American release, though sales were slow despite excellent reviews. In 1990, Nic Dalton (The Plunderers) filled in on bass guitar - St. Clare, the regular bassist, took leave due to illness. Dalton returned to The Plunderers and was later a member of US alternative rock band The Lemonheads, The Hummingbirds had played support to The Lemonheads 1990 tour of Australia.

The Hummingbirds continued recording, releasing another album produced by Easter, April 1991's Va Va Voom, which peaked at No.44 on the ARIA album charts. However, its release was delayed due to problems with RooArt. They were freed from their contract after the May 1992 EP, You Just Gotta Know My Mind, (title track is a Donovan cover) with Dalton again deputising for St. Clare - who was pregnant with her and Holmes' son Milo. The Hummingbirds made two EPs on the small independent label IV Recordings, Gone, in February 1993 and, Tail, in July. The band found it hard to justify their move from a major label like RooArt to the smaller IV Recordings, and broke up after the release of Tail. They played their final show on 11 December 1993, at the Central Club Hotel in (Richmond) Melbourne, featuring Holmes, Russack, St. Clare and Melder.

Post break-up

Simon Holmes joined Her Name in Lights, which issued their debut album, Into the Light Again in October 2004. He then went on to record other albums with a new band, Fragile. Alannah Russack played in Sydney as a solo artist. Robyn St. Clare, whose composition "Into Your Arms" was a hit for popular 1990s act The Lemonheads (with Dalton on bass guitar), has recorded with Ratcat and Sneeze.

Reunions

After 17 years, the band reformed for a reunion on 27 January 2011, for the Big Day Out festival in Sydney. The line-up featured Holmes, Temple and Russack, with St. Clare replaced on bass. The band followed the Big Day Out reunion show with some additional performances later that year;
Thursday 7 July 2011 - Simon Holmes and Alannah Russack (acoustic performance), Union Hotel, Newtown.
Saturday 17 September 2011 - The Hummingbirds, Manning Bar, Sydney Uni.

Along with the The Falling Joys, the band reunited to play two shows on the 2nd and 3rd (matinee show) of July 2016 at the Newtown Social Club in Sydney (previously known as the Sandringham Hotel, Newtown). The line-up featured Holmes, Temple and Russack, with St. Clare again replaced on bass.

Members

Albums

EP's

Singles