The Beasts

After an extremely emotional final performance with the Beasts of Bourbon, Tex Perkins hit upon the idea of getting all of the band’s members, past and present into a recording studio with no particular agenda other than to do just that. It was more of a celebratory thing he had in mind than anything. Sadly, bassist Brian Hooper didn’t make it along as he passed away a week after the Beasts last show.

Assembled in Soundpark Studio a couple of weeks later were, Charlie Owen, Boris Sujdovic, Tony Pola, Spencer Jones, Kim Salmon and Tex Perkins. They were unprepared save for some some sketchy ideas, loose ends and a couple of covers. With limited time the band knocked together a collection of jams pretty much true to the crazy M.O. employed back when The Axeman’s Jazz got laid down in that fateful eight-hour session in 1983. Charlie Owen gives Hi Fi Way: The Pop Chronicles a bit more insight to The Beasts.

How did the idea of getting all the past and present members of The Beasts Of Bourbon together?
It was Brian’s benefit and he was adamant that he played.

Were you cautiously optimistic about what would unfold?
Of course.

Was it a therapeutic process in some ways?
Of course it was, our best friends were about to die. We had been making music together for many, many, many years and the wonderful people from the Peter Mac Cancer Hospital made it possible for him to have one last hurrah!

Was it emotional in a lot of ways as well?
Well you must understand that Spencer was standing on the other side of the stage also facing his demise and we are all facing this.

What were the initial band sessions like?
It was an emotional time, very hard to explain. We weren’t really trying to make a record, just to document our lives, I think it turned into something afterwards.

Were a lot of the song ideas well formed or did they take shape in the studio?
We had a certain number of things we wanted to document and others took their shape over the phone, there was a particularly good moment for Kim and I on the phone, to construct Your Honour.

Was it easy picking covers?
The first one that got suggested to me was a clear winner and I brought my own riff to this particular piece and I think that by that stage, we had a concept going, so yes it was.

Are you looking forward to taking this on the road?
Of course, I have a great love of my friend Spencer Jones, we met when I was in the New Christ’s, and the Beasts and the New Christ’s played together in Stockholm and we shared a bottle of Black Death and Spencer kept it with him, for years and years.

Do you think you’ll get nostalgic?
Of course, everyone gets nostalgic and the loss of such great rock n roll legends as Spencer and Brian and Tony Cohen and Ian Rilen, and all the folks we play with, of course it makes you think.

Beyond the tour what’s next for The Beasts?
Who knows?

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch The Beasts on the following tour dates…