The Drugs

The Drugs were a five-piece Australian alternative rock/concept band. Formed in 1998 by Matt Downey (Ian Baddley) on lead vocals and keyboards; Downey had developed the idea while playing and touring in bands such as Drop City, IntrOverse, BILL and Mr Blonde, desiring an opportunity to incorporate his passion for concept/show bands like TISM, Devo and The Residents.

Downey; a reformed alcoholic and passionate anti-drug ambassador, felt that a band called The Drugs would be resonant and controversial enough for a fresh and broad audience. He had hoped to use the controversy to throw a torch on the societal hypocrisy of pharmaceuticals.

Having developed a general concept of political satire, silliness and pop culture references, he had many of the tunes, costume designs and characters; centred around drug-slang e'in', snow, track marks before approaching old friend and former bandmate Tim Paxton (David Live) who would operate as co-writer and co-frontman. Paxton; himself well established in the Sydney music scene would offer a perfect observational critique to Downey's ignorance of more domestic cultural staples like Cricket and Rugby.

Paxton would also offer a more politically centrist counterpoint to Downey's more Leftist and Punk approaches.

Paxton was prepared to participate on the condition that he choose his own pseudonym (David Live) which had been his favourite David Bowie album.

Paxton would be pivotal in also suggesting the band tour with a dedicated additional member, whose job it would be to operate the band's stage projection and heckle the band from the audience perspective. This suggestion separated The Drugs from comparable concept-shows and the additional member would himself have a pseudonym (John Citizen). The role would go to three separate men during the band's life.

The two would record their first four-track demo which included three of the songs that would eventually become singles. Playing only one show before being signed by David Vodicka to Rubber Records. Vodicka had been keen to use producer Chris Dickie (Annie Lennox, Morrissey, The Pogues) for an upcoming Even record and thought the pairing of The Drugs and Dickie would be a good opportunity to both trial the producer and offer The Drugs a better than average chance, the session would yield "Pop Song", in April 2000.

A transitional cast of members filled the standard rock band positions, but the studio sessions would feature a swathe of contributing artists including members of Insurge, Klinger, The Anyones, Frenzal Rhomb, Kids In The Kitchen, Yidcore, Indecent Obsession and Bluebottle Kiss.

Their EP The Only Way Is Up would follow in September 2000 for which they were nominated for Best Comedy Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 2001; they received two further nominations in the same category, in 2002 for their single, "The Bold and the Beautiful" and in 2002 for Music's in Trouble.

The Bold and the Beautiful" – a rap style satire about the TV show of the same name, would be performed live on an episode of Rove and would feature the special appearance of (the show's cast member) Ron Moss; dressed in the same costume as the other members and playing bass guitar.

Their debut album, Music's in Trouble, appeared in October 2002 and contained only their radio-supported works. "The Bold and the Beautiful" would go on to secure position #33 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2003 but the band would sever ties with Rubber Records for their second album, The Very Next Of, released in September 2004 through Craig Harnath's Wrinklepup Records.

They broke up in 2005, and reunited in 2008 for a national tour before disbanding again. A heavily fictionalised mockumentary about the band, Masking Agents, was released in November 2011.