Mental As Anything | |
|---|---|
 Mental As Anything in a 1983 publicity shot | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Death Barrels |
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | New wave, pop, rock |
| Years active | 1976–2019 |
| Labels | Regular/Festival, Liberation, WEA/Warner, CBS, BMG |
| Past members | Martin Plaza Jacob Cook Martin Cilia Craig Gordon Peter Gray Steve Coburn Wayne de Lisle Reg Mombassa Greedy Smith Peter O'Doherty David Barraclough Murray Cook Mike Caen Robbie Souter Zoltan Budai James Gillard |
| Website | mentalasanything |
Mental As Anything are an Australian new wave and pop rock band that formed in Sydney in 1976.[1][2][3] Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of their charting singles and albums) was Martin Plaza (birth name Martin Murphy) on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa (birth name Christopher O'Doherty) on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne de Lisle (birth name David Twohill) on drums; and Andrew "Greedy" Smith on vocals, keyboards and harmonica.[1][2][3][4] Their original hit songs were generated by Mombassa, O'Doherty, Plaza and Smith, either individually or collectively;[1] they also hit the Australian charts with covers of songs by Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, and Chuck Berry.
Their top ten Australian singles are "If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?" and "Too Many Times" (both from 1981), "Live It Up" (1985) and "Rock and Roll Music" (1988).[5] Internationally, "Too Many Times" made the Canadian top 40 in 1982,[6][7] and "Live It Up" peaked at No. 3 in the UK,[8] No. 4 in Norway,[9] and No. 6 in Germany,[10] after it featured in the 1986 Australian film Crocodile Dundee.[1]
All of the early members are visual artists and have had combined studio displays,[1] some have had solo studio displays with Mombassa's artwork also used as designs by the Mambo clothing company.[1] The majority of the group's record covers, posters and video clips have been designed and created by the band members or their art school contemporaries.[1] On 27 August 2009, Mental As Anything was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame alongside Kev Carmody, The Dingoes, Little Pattie and John Paul Young.[11] Most of the original group members left during the 2000s, and Andrew "Greedy" Smith—the only original band member still touring with Mental As Anything—died on 2 December 2019, aged 63, after a heart attack. Mental As Anything has not been active since that time, nor have they announced any future plans.
- ^ a b c d e f g McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Mental as Anything'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-86508-072-7. Archived from the original on 13 August 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
- ^ a b Nimmervoll, Ed. "Mental As Anything". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music. White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd (Ed Nimmervoll). Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
- ^ a b Atkinson, Ann; Linsay Knight; Margaret McPhee (1996). The dictionary of performing arts in Australia. Allen & Unwin. pp. 155–156. ISBN 978-1-86373-898-9. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
- ^ Holmgren, Magnus; Johns, Shane; Warnqvist, Stefan. "Mental As Anything". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Australian chart peaks:
- Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 12 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 198. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
- Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from 13 June 1988: "australian-charts.com > Mental As Anything in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- "Baby You're Wild" (ARIA) peak: "Chartifacts: Week Ending 12th March 1995 – Issue No. 265 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 265)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 185.
- "Overwhelmed" (ARIA) peak: "Response from ARIA re: chart inqury, received 4 April 2017". Imgur.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- "Whole Wide World" (ARIA) peak: "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 26 Nov 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 17 July 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
- ^ "Volume 36, No. 25, July 31, 1982". RPM 50 Singles. Library and Archives Canada. 31 July 1982. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ "Volume 36, No. 25, July 31, 1982". RPM 50 Albums. Library and Archives Canada. 31 July 1982. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ "Official Charts > Mental As Anything". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com > Mental As Anything in Norwegian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ "Mental As Anything – Live It Up (song)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ Cashmere, Paul (18 July 2009). "Mental As Anything, John Paul Young head to the Hall of Fame". Undercover.com.au. Cashmere Media Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 19 July 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009.