Models play ‘Local &/Or General’

This Christmas the indestructible Models have some very special festive presents for one and all. Two big nights at the Flying Saucer Club will see the band perform in their entirety what are arguably the two records which most dazzlingly showcased both their artistic verve and pop smarts. First up on Friday the 11th December the band will present Local & Or General, the 1981 album recorded in England with the line-up which will also form the frontline for the shows this summer – that being Sean Kelly on guitar and vocals, Andrew Duffield on keyboards (and some vocals) and Mark Ferrie on bass (and vocals here and there, especially on his own classic ‘Unhappy’). Drumming duties will again be placed in the hands of the vastly experienced Ashley Davies. Then the very next night the band will change gears for a unique comprehensive performance of their breakthrough 1983 LP The Pleasure Of Your Company. Re-united with his ex-Teenage Radio Stars cohort James Freud, Sean Kelly along with Duffield and drummer Barton Price eased back on the surreal, and with Nick Launay producing, conjured some classic pop anthems which catapulted the band into the mainstream. The sublimely funky ‘I Hear Motion’ gave the group its first top 20 hit, and was equalled by panoramic tracks like ‘God Bless America’ and ‘No Shoulders, No Head’. The album peaked at number 12 in the charts and is listed in the top 50 in the encyclopaedic 100 Best Australian Albums book. Many of these tracks haven’t been aired for a few decades and so this is one show you simply can’t miss. Spend a summer weekend with Models this year at the Flying Saucer Club for two nights which are sure to kick start your Christmas celebrations in the best possible way. Supporting the Models on the night will be Penny Ikinger.

They’ve popped up now and again over the past few years to celebrate a re-release or launch a bite-sized new record or simply to keep their devoted and lifelong fan base happy with a gig for the hell of it. Once more the question will be asked; ‘Is that an encephalogram?’ as plain peculiar subject matter, wiry, jerky, experimental instrumental jiggery-pokery, and amazingly, above all that, tunes –albeit weird- that you’ve all no doubt sung in the shower at some point will be sticking their hooks in you once again.