Ed Kuepper, Michael Beach @ The Gov, Adelaide 4/11/2026

It’s fifty years since The Saints unleashed, I’m Stranded on an unsuspecting world. Unbelievable! Ed Kuepper was part of that band and he is returning to the Gov to celebrate his fiftieth year in music. It is a milestone worth celebrating, although anyone familiar with Kuepper’s remarkable career knows there is considerably more to his story than The Saints.

Sounds magazine reviewer, Jonh Ingham famously declared I’m Stranded was “Single of this and every week”. But Kuepper has never been one to rest on past achievements. Through The Laughing Clowns, The Aints! an extensive solo career and collaborations with the likes of Jim White, Asteroid Ekosystem and many others, he has continued to produce quality music, earning his place as an elder statesman of Australian rock.

Opening proceedings was Californian born Michael Beach, now based in Melbourne. Over his fifteen-year career has collaborated with a wide array of artists, including Mick Turner (Dirty Three) and Fiona Kitchin (The Drones) as well as releasing his own albums.

Playing solo with just a guitar and keyboards, Michael opened with an instrumental piece, ironically titled Introduction. Keyboards gently rolled through the room before a loud guitar overlaid the sombre sounds. Societal Breakdown followed, continuing the wild, expansive guitar approach. After greeting the early arrivals with “Thanks for coming early”, he launched into Never Had Enough. The feedback-drenched song concluded with Beach admitting, “I may have got a bit wild, psychedelically there”. Beautiful noise indeed!!

Announcing he had a new album out and for sale, Michael told us he was going to play “some ballads from the new album”. The Richard Thompson song The Calvary Cross started the run, “the first time I have ever recorded a cover on record”. A faithful gorgeous rendition of the song.

The Sea followed, with its sound recalling The Doors, before Beach offered the audience a choice for his final number: a J.J. Cale song or a new composition. J.J. won the vote, and Beach closed with Do Not Go Gently. Yes, it is actually a Dylan Thomas poem that J.J. Cale covered. A fine ending to a fine set.

After a relatively short break, Ed Kuepper and The Exploding Universe took to the stage. The lineup featured Adelaide’s own Mark Dawson on drums, Alister Spence on keyboards and Peter Oxley on bass, alongside Kuepper himself.

During the introductions, Ed revealed that he had discovered Dawson playing drums in Rundle Mall and approached him with the words, “I am going to make you famous.” When Dawson’s turn came around, Ed smiled and added, “One day I will too.” A lovely bit of banter. Introducing Oxley, Ed declared, “He is a man who needs no introduction, so I won’t.” And he didn’t, much to the irritation of a lady down the front who obviously didn’t know him.

Just a brief “So here we are” from Ed before the piano introduction to By the Way signaled the beginning of the evening, the song building as the others joined in. It was a terrific way to start.

“We are going to play a whole lot of old songs. This is a Laughing Clowns song. There is a good chance you have never heard it”. You’ll Always Walk Alone followed and judging the reaction on the floor, they had indeed heard it before. A large screen behind the band featured specially created animations for each song, adding another dimension to the performance and complementing the music without distracting from it.

“A massive hit in the 1990’s, colossal”, gave us La Di Doh followed by a jazz-tinged Rainy Night. With an extensive catalogue to choose from it must have been difficult deciding what to include in the set, but the selections certainly found favour with the audience. Electrical Storm, from the 1985 album of the same name, complete with images of lightning on the screen was an evening highlight. The music was indeed electric.

I have previously seen Ed perform Collapse Board with Jim White, but hearing this music with a full band takes it to another level. It may well be Ed’s finest song. Messin’ Pt 2 was another thing of beauty, washing over the room with a wonderful intensity.

There was also a moment of classic Kuepper humour during Eternally Yours. As the band began the song, Ed started playing something entirely different. The musicians stopped, prompting Ed to explain that he was “just testing the band” before everyone got back on track. You have to love him!

All of These Things and a brilliant The Way, I Make You Feel bought the main set to a close. Before leaving the stage Ed offered “this is actually the 3rd anniversary of the fiftieth anniversary tour. See you for the fourth anniversary which will happen before the end of the century”.

The band came back for a beautifully shambolic version of King of Vice and a simply gorgeous, Everything I’ve Got Belongs to You.

So, fifty years since The Saints released, I’m Stranded, and not a single Saints song played tonight. I’m guessing Ed is saving those for The Saints’ tour next February. There may have been a few hoping to hear some of those legendary songs, but nobody could complain about what we were given.

This was a celebration of the remarkable musical journey of Ed Kuepper, a musician who has never stopped creating, exploring and challenging himself. Fifty years on, he remains as compelling as ever.

Live Review by Geoff Jenke