Supernaut (Australian band)

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Supernaut were an Australian glam rock band from Perth. They formed in 1974 as Moby Dick, a pub-rock group started by brothers Chris Burnham (guitar) and Joe Burnham (drums). British-born Gary Twinn joined on lead vocals, and bass player Randall Murphy completed the lineup before they changed their name to Supernaut.

The band moved to Melbourne and was signed to Polydor in 1976 after Molly Meldrum recommended them. Their debut single, I Like It Both Ways (May 1976), produced by Meldrum, got heavy TV promotion on Countdown and reached No. 16 on the Kent Music Report singles chart. Their self-titled debut album followed in November 1976, peaking at No. 13 and earning double gold status. Murphy left in June 1976 and was replaced by Philip Foxman in August. A second single, Too Hot to Touch, appeared in September 1976, reaching No. 14. That year they won TV Week’s King of Pop Awards for Best Australian TV Performer (Countdown) and Most Popular New Group of 1976.

In 1977 they released two originals, Young and Innocent and The Kids Are Out Tonight, plus a cover of Let’s Spend the Night Together. They spent time on recording sessions for a planned second album, which was eventually abandoned. In 1978 they left Polydor, moved to Sydney and signed with Wizard Records, returning to a heavier pub-rock feel with a quasi-punk/new wave edge. Noel Kennedy joined on keyboards. They released Spies (Dec 1978) and began playing covers by Bowie, the Stranglers, XTC and the Doors. They shortened the name to the Nauts in April 1979 and released Black Market World, followed by a Nauts album in December 1979, produced by Rob Porter. The group broke up in March 1980.

The members later pursued other projects, and the band reformed briefly for the Countdown Spectacular 2 tour in 2007. In 2016, to mark the 40th anniversary of I Like It Both Ways, they did a three-day Perth tour in June and a show at the end of the month.

Origin of the name: Supernaut references the Black Sabbath song of 1972. The lineup included Chris and Joe Burnham, Gary Twinn, Randall Murphy (later replaced by Philip Foxman), with Little Russ Silver briefly standing in on bass and Noel Kennedy on keyboards.