Uncanny X Men (band)

History

The Uncanny X-Men got their name from the Marvel comic of the same name. Uncanny X-Men were originally a four piece band formed in the late 1970s and consisted of Brian Mannix (vocals, guitar), Michael Helms (bass), Nick Matandos (drums) and Ron Thiessen (guitar) and were a regular Wednesday night attraction at the Pier Hotel in Frankston and many other venues around the city like Club Chevron, Doncaster Inn and also played a birthday party at the Tyabb Public Hall. They were the support act for Cold Chisel at the Pier Hotel on a very hot Sunday night which was the night Cold Chisel walked off stage after a few songs, apparently because security would not let anyone else in the venue.

The line-up changed when Helms left and at a later point the band included Chuck Hargreaves on guitar, Steve Harrison on bass guitar, Brian Mannix as lead singer, Nick Matandos on drums and Ron Thiessen on guitar.

Mannix became known for his mischievous and comical send-ups of other artists. The band was signed by Mushroom Records early in 1982 and released their debut EP 'SaliveOne! in November, which peaked at No. 40 on the Kent Music Report.

They toured Australia in support of US rock act Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Early in 1983, Harrison was replaced on bass by John Kirk and they released their single "How Do You Get Your Kicks?" in March. Craig Waugh replaced Matandos on drums and they released another single "Time Goes So Fast". They toured through 1984 and released an EP, Beach Party, in July..

"The Party" was released as a single in March 1985 and peaked at No. 17 on the Kent Music Report. The related debut album 'Cos Life Hurts was released and peaked at No. 2 in June and its next single "50 Years" peaked at No. 6.

Around this same time they also toured Australia with Rod Stewart.

Uncanny X-Men performed two songs for the 1985 Oz for Africa concert (part of the global Live Aid program) – "Everybody Wants to Work" and "50 Years" on 13 July. It was broadcast in Australia (on both Seven Network and Nine Network) and on MTV in the US.

A third single "Still Waiting" from their debut album was released in August, the song becoming the unofficial anthem for Channel 9's popular Wide World of Sports program throughout the remainder of the '80s, used as 'play ins' and 'play outs' to and from commercial breaks.

Kirk, Mannix and Thiessen joined as guest musicians with The Incredible Penguins in 1985, for a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", a charity project for research on little penguins, which peaked at No. 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report in December.

Thiessen had left early in 1986 and briefly joined Kings of the Sun, replaced in the X-Men temporarily by Joey Amenta on guitar and more permanently by Brett Kingman.

The band signed with CBS Records in May 1986 and released "I Am", which had reached No. 18 in May, before releasing the album "What You Give Is What You Get" which peaked at No. 19 in November 1986.

Further singles provided Uncanny X-Men with little chart success, and with internal tensions occurring they disbanded in 1987, although there was a brief reunion during 1998.

Kingman, Mannix and Waugh joined with bass guitarist Derek O'Leary to form Dead Legends during 1989, Mannix then pursued a solo career including performing in pub rock bands and in stage plays.

In 1998, the Uncanny X-Men reformed for a brief reunion tour playing Crown Casino's Mercury Lounge and the Hallam Hotel amongst a number of other venues, its line-up the same as at the height of its popularity – Brian Mannix, Ron Thiessen, Chuck Hargreaves, John Kirk and Craig Waugh.

In April 2006, the band reformed for a 'one night only' concert again at the now defunct Mercury Lounge at Crown Casino in Melbourne, the gig coinciding with their appearance on Channel 7's "Where Are They Now" program hosted by David Koch and Melissa Doyle. The program revealed that while Brian Mannix remained in the entertainment business full time, John Kirk had moved into car sales in Brisbane, Chuck Hargreaves was a welder/fabricator in Perth, Craig Waugh drove trucks in Melbourne, and Ron Thiessen lived in Sydney and built film and theatre sets – although all still played in various bands.

In July 2009, founding member Steve Harrison, who featured on 'SaliveOne!, died of cancer.

In September 2010, it was announced the Uncanny X-Men would again reform to play at the 2011 Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race in Adelaide, the 80s line-up including (in order of appearance) Pseudo Echo, the Chantoozies, the Uncanny X-Men, Leo Sayer, and Mondo Rock. The band played two warm up gigs, the first at the Chelsea Heights Hotel on Thursday, 17 March, the second at the Trak Lounge Bar the following night. Its Clipsal 500 set consisted of six songs, "Still Waiting", "How Do You Get Your Kicks?", "Beach Party", "The Party", "50 Years", "Everybody Wants to Work".

In January 2011, Brian Mannix told undercover.fm that the reformed band may also record some new music around the time of the reunion.

On 23 November 2011 Uncanny X-Men closed out the final episode of popular ABC music quiz show Spicks and Specks playing a shortened version of "50 Years", which merged into "Work".

On Sunday, 9 February 2014, Brian Mannix appeared on Melbourne radio station Triple R's "The Party Show" and played the band's long awaited new song "Take It From Me" which the band had debuted live at its two Melbourne gigs in March 2011 before its Clipsal 500 appearance.

On Friday, 28 October 2016, it was announced the band would again reform for the "Rock In The Vines" concert scheduled for Friday, 27 January 2017 and to be held at the Sutton Grange Winery, near Bendigo, Victoria. The featured line up would again be its classic Coz Life Hurts line up featuring Mannix, Thiessen, Hargreaves, Kirk, and Waugh. Also scheduled to appear at Rock In The Vines was Ross Wilson, 1927, Richard Clapton, Kids In The Kitchen, Dale Ryder, Swanee, Wendy Matthews, The Chantoozies, and Steve Kilby from the Church.

At Rock In The Vines, the Uncanny X-Men was the sixth of 10 acts to hit the stage, following Kids In the Kitchen and preceding Richard Clapton (1927 following with Ross Wilson closing the show). The band's four song set list was "Still Waiting" running straight into the classic "Used To Know," and followed by "50 Years," and "Work."

Members