The reformed Panadolls (from left) Big Al Creed, Ash Thomson, Ken Archbold, Matt Bannerman and Phil Van Rooyen, at Link and Pin in Woy Woy.
For the second half of the 1990s, Dangerous Rock and Roll had an address on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and used the pseudonym The Panadolls.
Deriving their name from a prescription painkiller, The Panadolls were troublemakers in a crowded Sydney scene that had not yet been battered into submission by poker machines, over-regulated venues and changing tastes. They ran with like-minded peers ,the Celibate Rifles, Hellmen, Powder Monkeys, Asteroid B612 and Brother Brick, and pushed a brand of Detroit-tinged high-energy rock that was equal parts Dolls blues squawl and a Stooges-like attack, all channeled through an Oz Rock filter.
Any band with the guitar attack of Big Al Creed (ex-Dr Fruitworld, later to join the New Christs) and bassist-cum-frontman Ken Archbold (ex-Hellmen) had a distinct advantage. The Panadolls did not sit long in any genre and burned brightly for only five years. Their sole album, “From The Glitter To The Gutter”, and “From The Valley Of The Panadolls” EP went out of print soon after.
And now they’re back. Sorta. Latter-day drummer Ashley Thomson (ex-Kelpies, Roll Cage) has issued both digitally here, supplemented by an outtakes/rarities release called “Dirty Hits”. The Panadolls also reformed for two “don’t blink or you’ll miss them” shows in July, both outside hometown Sydney.
It all sounded like an excuse to corner Kenny Archbold and pose some hard questions. The Barman did the honours.
I-94 BAR: Thanks for joining us at the Bar, Kenny. What's the story with the recent digital releases of the band's catalogue and the looming arrival of "Dirty Hits, an outtakes and rarities collection, that came out on September 1? What or who prompted all this activity a quarter of a century on?
KENNY: The story with The Panadolls' recent digital releases is pretty simple: we had nothing available on the streaming platforms from our two releases. Ashley and the band felt it would be good to make them available, and that led to the idea of putting out some of the unreleased demos and rarities as well. That material became the "Dirty Hits" album.
I-94 BAR: You reformed the classic line-up for Al Creed's birthday. How did that go, and can we expect any more?
KENNY: What really prompted the recent activity was Big Al Creed's 60th birthday. Band members had been talking on the phone, and Al and bass player Matt Bannerman - who also turned 60 in August - said that if we were going to play Al's birthday at Link & Pin in Woy Woy, why not do Matt's birthday as well at his property at Coomba Park, near Seal Rocks?
Both shows went really well. After 15 years, we started with a bedroom session at Phil's place in North Manly and then had one rehearsal in a studio in Gosford. All things considered, the band's power was still there and the songs stood the test of time.
We all had a great time, socially and musically. We've been offered another show recently, but unless it's something special, for the time being we're happy with the two shows we've just done.
I-94 BAR: Let's go back to when the band was active, venues were plentiful and Sydney's Northern Beaches were a hotbed of live music. Talk about the scene and where The Panadolls fitted in - or didn't fit in, as the case may be.
KENNY: The scene on the Northern Beaches was very vibrant and there were venues everywhere. There was the Royal Antler at Narrabeen, Brookvale Hotel, The Sands, Manly Vale Hotel - including the Basement and Bryant's - Manly Fishos, Mona Vale Hotel and Dee Why Hotel. There were also things like Newport Market Day barbecues and parties, so live music wasn't confined to the regular pub circuit.
We had ties with a lot of bands, including Asteroid B612 and the Celibate Rifles, and did some great shows supporting the Rifles, The Damned and the Powder Monkeys. We were never an easy fit with the Detroit-style bands - or with plenty of other people, for that matter - but we pushed our way in on the strength of the music and the quality of the songs the band created.
I-94 BAR: Your own history goes back to Hellmen. Tell us about that and the Big Day Outs that the band played.
KENNY: The Hellmen had taken a break and reformed for the first Big Day Out in 1992 - the one Nirvana played. After playing bass in a number of bands, including World War 24, Dr Fruitworld and Itchy Rat, I was asked to join The Hellmen. We played that first Big Day Out and then kept doing shows in Sydney and interstate.
We released "Meltdown" around 1993 and wound up doing the second Big Day Out as well, the year Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop and Helmet played. "Absolute Filth" came out around 1994. We also did live-to-air work for Triple J, including recordings at Manly Youth Centre, and The Hellmen played acoustic Sunday sessions on 2JJJ.
We reformed again for the Monster Sessions around 2011, playing the Manning Bar with the Hard-Ons, the Celibate Rifles, The Meanies and a host of all-star bands.
I-94 BAR: I never saw your band The Cynics - that I recall - but did catch Dr Fruitworld at a gig on the south side of Sydney, and maybe Itchy Rat somewhere there or in town as well. Did you guys play much outside of the Beaches?
KENNY: Yeah, plenty. The Cynics was a three-piece formed in 1986 with Al Creed, Andrew Warren and me, and it lasted about six months. Before that I'd played bass in World War 24 and then Itchy Rat from 1983 to 1986. We asked Bird, the singer from World War 24, to join The Cynics and that became Black And Blue, which ran from 1986 to 1990. We played all over Sydney and released the video single "On My Own" as well as the cassette "Live at Penshurst Hotel".
Across those bands, and later Dr Fruitworld, The Hellmen and The Panadolls, I played places all over Sydney: the Trade Union Club in Surry Hills, Selina's at Coogee Bay Hotel, the Piccadilly in Kings Cross, the Lansdowne, Hopetoun, Annandale Hotel, Max's Petersham Inn, Strawberry Hills Hotel, Mosman Hotel, Penshurst Hotel, Bexley Hotel, General Bourke Hotel and Seven Hills Inn - everywhere from North Bondi RSL to Panthers at Penrith. Back in the 1980s the punks would even organise Sydney Harbour ferry cruises, which could get pretty crazy.
We also got well outside Sydney. There were shows at the Wollongong Ironworkers' Club and Newcastle Uni Bar, and interstate gigs in Melbourne at places like the Esplanade, the Tote, the Palace in St Kilda, the Great Britain Hotel and the Prince of Wales. In Brisbane we played a couple of Fortitude Valley venues and the Crash and Burn in the city; on the Gold Coast, the Kirra Beach Hotel; in Byron Bay, the Great Northern; in Adelaide, a club on Hindley Street and the Seacliff Hotel; and in Perth, a city nightclub, and the Newport Hotel in Fremantle. Plenty of Australian shows and tours, but no overseas tours for me.
Dr Fruitworld formed in 1991 with Al Creed, Andrew Warren - RIP - and me while Al and I were living together on the Northern Beaches. Phil Van Rooyen joined the line-up and I was in the band for about a year, playing on the "Early Demos" release on Crankinhaus Records before I took up the offer to join The Hellmen. I was replaced by Justin "Charlie" O'Neill, who played on the "Noisefix" and "Pain" releases and is now in Daredevil, who recently reformed. Dr Fruitworld and Itchy Rat both played on the south side, as you remember, Craig, and Dr Fruitworld went to Melbourne a few times as well. In the 2000s I also filled in on bass for The Kelpies for charity reunions and other gigs.
I-94 BAR: How did The Panadolls form? Initially, you played bass. Why the move off?
KENNY: The Panadolls originally formed as a three-piece side project with rotating members. At first it was John Nolan from Porcelain Bus on drums, Ash Thomson on guitar, and me on vocals and bass. Other members included Brad McKnight from World War 24 on guitar and Peter T from the Splatterheads on bass. Then Al Creed and Phil Van Rooyen joined and remained in the 1993-98 line-up.
Matt Bannerman from The Hunchbacks came in on bass so I could concentrate on being the lead vocalist. I wanted to move away from bass, take on more of a frontman role and express myself more theatrically.
I-94 BAR: The recorded legacy of The Panadolls is pretty skinny - the "Beyond The Valley of the Panadolls" EP and the "From The Glitter To The Gutter" album over five years. Why?
KENNY: The skinny recorded legacy was really down to being a genuinely independent band. Albums cost about $5,000 to record, so we had to play a lot of shows to cover the costs of touring and recording, with very little industry support, as well as paying for videos.
A big debt is owed to Carol Stubbley and Ash through Head Miles Management for making things happen. Still, with those two releases, contributions to compilations here and overseas, and all the live shows, I think we did pretty well in the quality-over-quantity stakes.
I-94 BAR: The band's sound was fairly typical of Sydney at the time - Detroit crunch with some Oz Rock bleeding in - but you weren't afraid to mix things up with trumpet either. Tell us about that. Wanna talk about some broader influences?
KENNY: The Detroit and Oz Rock influences were definitely there, and early Rose Tattoo was part of that for me, but the influences went a lot wider. Ian Rilen from X was a big one - I saw X so many times before they moved to Melbourne in late 1984. As bass players go, I also love JJ Burnel from The Stranglers, and Les Claypool from Primus is pretty handy.
With trumpet, I love listening to Chet Baker and a lot of Miles Davis. Then there are people like Tom Waits and Bukowski, the drunken poet, plus old bluesmen like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Lightnin' Hopkins, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, some dub reggae, comedy and all sorts of different literature. A lot of different kinds of music and writing seep in.
That mix helped give The Panadolls something different. The trumpet wasn't added as a gimmick; it became another element in the sound and developed organically from us playing together.
I-94 BAR: I recall a bill of Powder Monkeys, Yes-Men, Brother Brick and Panadolls which was the work of your drummer Ash Thomson, aka Head Miles Management, if I remember correctly. Wanna talk about that? Do you remember that bill, or one from a subsequent tour, being banned from Headlands Hotel in Wollongong?
KENNY: The Head Miles bills were great. I remember Iron Duke shows with the Powder Monkeys and Brother Brick, as well as a great show with Dead Moon and the Powder Monkeys at Dee Why Time & Tide, and another in Newcastle. My memory of the Headlands Hotel gig is pretty vague, though.
I-94 BAR: Lyrically speaking, is it accurate to say that a lot of that was your work? I could never read the credits on the album cover - when the artwork was done for CD format it needed a microscope - but all is revealed on Apple Music. Was writing an outlet for you?
KENNY: I did most of the lyrics on most of The Panadolls songs, give or take one or two. But every member contributed a lot to the way the finished songs came together and to the overall feel of the band.
I-94 BAR: When Big Al joined the New Christs, Mick Poole came in on guitar and I believe some recordings were made. Will they surface? What ended the band?
KENNY: Mick Poole played guitar on "Road Hog" and "Used Car Salesmen". Those tracks have surfaced - they're on the "Dirty Hits" album and were previously released on the "Road Hog" EP.
I-94 BAR: What caused The Panadolls to call it a day?
KENNY: What ended the band? I thought we were back together! We just had a 15-year rest. Bands are complex, but The Panadolls have a great love for each other and for our songs.
I-94 BAR: Have you seen anything of Big Al and Phil's most recent band, Van Ruin?
KENNY: Van Ruin? I'm keen to see their comeback show on November 1 at Wings and Tins in Dee Why.
