The Mavis's were an Australian pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 band from Ballarat, Victoria

Ballarat, Victoria

Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...

. The band was composed of Matt Thomas (guitar, vocals), his sister Becky Thomas (vocals), Nick Gill (guitar), Andrea Vendy (drums), and Josh Alexander (guitar). They are best known for their 1998 synth-driven single "Cry", which appeared on the Triple J Hottest 100

Triple J Hottest 100

The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...

 for 1998. The band also performed the song on Hey Hey It's Saturday

Hey Hey It's Saturday

Hey Hey It's Saturday was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 27 years , debuting on the Nine Network on 9 October 1971 and broadcasting its last episode on 20 November 1999. Its host throughout its entire run was Daryl Somers, who would later...

.

History

The band was formed as a post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 band in Ballarat in 1987 by singer-guitarist Matt Thomas, his sister Becky Thomas on vocals, guitarist Andrew Craw, bassist Katherine McNulty, and drummer Andrea Vendy. Matt described forming the band as "a way to get away from Ballarat". They were named after a cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

 called Mavis that they saw while jamming in a friend's basement.

In 1990, the band moved to Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 and guitarist Andrew Craw was replaced by Nick Gill. They released their debut single, "Rollercoaster", the following year. 1993 saw the release of their first EP, Spindrift, and Poseidon was released the following year.

Their popularity grew, and the band signed to Mushroom Records

Mushroom Records

Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...

' White label in 1995, releasing their second single, "Moon Drone Gold", in December. The Mavis's released their debut album, Venus Returning

Venus Returning

Venus Returning is the debut album by Australian pop band The Mavis's, released in 1996 on Mushroom Records. It reached #33 on the Australian Albums chart.- Track listing :# "Moon Drone Gold" - 3:10# "Thunder" - 3:32# "Box" - 3:59# "Giant" - 3:32...

, the following year, which reached number 33 on the Australian albums chart and contained the singles "Box", "Thunder", and "Lost". It featured a poppier, more mainstream sound than their previous releases. "Thunder" made it into the Triple J

Triple J

triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...

 Hottest 100 of 1996

Triple J Hottest 100, 1996

The 1996 Triple J Hottest 100, counted down in January 1997, was a countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. A CD featuring 31 of the songs was released. A countdown of the videos of most of the songs was also shown on the ABC...

 at number 96. They toured with Def FX

Def FX

Def FX was an Australian industrial-dance-rock group, formed in Sydney. The core of the group was keyboardist and vocalist Sean Lowry and vocalist Fiona Horne ....

.

The band's next single, "Naughty Boy", was released in 1997 and made it into the Hottest 100 for 1997

Triple J Hottest 100, 1997

The 1997 Triple J Hottest 100, was a countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J, and was broadcast on Australia Day 1998. A CD featuring 31 of the songs was released...

. In April 1998, the band released their second studio album, Pink Pills

Pink Pills

Pink Pills is the second studio album by Australian pop band The Mavis's. It was released in 1998 on Mushroom Records. It reached number 12 on the Australian albums chart. At the 1998 ARIA Awards Pink Pills received ARIA Award nominations for Best Pop Release and Best Cover Art.- Track listing :...

, which reached number 12 on the albums chart. The album's production was wrought with troubles, with group fighting including drummer Andrea Vendi throwing boiling hot coffee on Matt, and singer Becky running away from the studio into town barefoot. A single from the album, "Cry", reached number 13 on the singles chart and came in a number 61 on the Hottest 100 of 1998

Triple J Hottest 100, 1998

The 1998 Triple J Hottest 100, announced in January, 1999, was the sixth such countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. As in previous years, a CD featuring 36 of the songs was released...

. They performed the song live on Hey Hey It's Saturday

Hey Hey It's Saturday

Hey Hey It's Saturday was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 27 years , debuting on the Nine Network on 9 October 1971 and broadcasting its last episode on 20 November 1999. Its host throughout its entire run was Daryl Somers, who would later...

. At the 1998 ARIA Awards Pink Pills received ARIA Award nominations for Best Pop Release and Best Cover Art, and "Cry" was nominated for Single of the Year and Song of the Year. At the next year's awards, their single "Puberty Song

Puberty Song

"Puberty Song" is a single by Australian pop band The Mavis's, taken from their 1998 album Pink Pills. At the 1999 ARIA Awards "Puberty Song" earned a nomination for Engineer of the Year.-Tracklisting:# "Puberty Song" - 3:54...

" earned a nomination for Engineer of the Year. After the album's release, the band was asked to tour with Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

 by Minogue herself, and later supported Green Day on their 1998 Australian tour.

The band contributed a cover of the Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach

Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...

 and Hal David

Hal David

Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...

 song "Walk on By

Walk on By

"Walk On By" is a song composed by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David. The song was originally recorded by, and a hit for, Dionne Warwick...

" for the tribute album, To Hal and Bacharach, released in April 1998. This was followed by a cover of the Duran Duran

Duran Duran

Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...

 song "Planet Earth

Planet Earth

Planet Earth may refer to:* Earth, the third planet from the Sun* Planet Earth , a 2006 BBC documentary series* Planet Earth , a 1974 sci-fi TV movie...

", which was featured on the tribute album, Undone: The Songs of Duran Duran in October 1999. In 2000, they contributed a cover of the ABBA

ABBA

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

 song "Bang-a-Boomerang" which was featured on the soundtrack to the film The Wog Boy

The Wog Boy

The Wog Boy is a 2000 Australian motion picture comedy starring Nick Giannopoulos, Vince Colosimo, Lucy Bell, Abi Tucker, John Barresi, Stephen Curry, Hung Le, Geraldine Turner, Tony Nikolakopoulos and Derryn Hinch. -Plot:...

.

In February 2000, they released the single "Happiness", which appeared on a television advertisement for Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 and Australian Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Motor Company is a Korean multinational automaker based in Seoul, South Korea which, along with Kia, comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the world's fourth largest automaker as of 2009. As of 2011, it is the world's fastest growing automaker for two years running...

. The company's original slogan was "Hyundai is happiness". This was followed in May by another cover, this time of Jim Keay's "The Boy from the Stars", which was included in the soundtrack to the film Sample People. The second single from the album, "Coming Home", was released in May. Three months later, the band decided to break up, and ended with a farewell tour.

Since their split, Becky Thomas, Nick Gill, and Josh Alexander formed Junkatique, and later, Beki and the Bullets

Beki and the Bullets

Beki and the Bullets is a rock band from Melbourne formed by ex members of The Mavis's and Junkatique, Beki Thomas and Nick Gill. Other members are Matty Ray, Nick Cunneen and Bobby Manila. Their music is describe as a mix between Gwen Stefani, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie and Mötley Crüe...

 with Becky Thomas and Nick Gill. Matt Thomas currently fronts electropop bands The Blow Waves

The Blow Waves

The Blow Waves are a five-piece electropop/new wave band from Melbourne, Australia fronted by Matt "Doll" Thomas and Jamie "Wave" Slocombe ....

 and Video Video.

Albums

• Venus Returning
  Venus Returning
  Venus Returning is the debut album by Australian pop band The Mavis's, released in 1996 on Mushroom Records. It reached #33 on the Australian Albums chart.- Track listing :# "Moon Drone Gold" - 3:10# "Thunder" - 3:32# "Box" - 3:59# "Giant" - 3:32...
  
  (1996)
• Pink Pills
  Pink Pills
  Pink Pills is the second studio album by Australian pop band The Mavis's. It was released in 1998 on Mushroom Records. It reached number 12 on the Australian albums chart. At the 1998 ARIA Awards Pink Pills received ARIA Award nominations for Best Pop Release and Best Cover Art.- Track listing :...
  
  (1998)
• Rapture
  Rapture (The Mavis's album)
  Rapture is the third album by Australian pop band The Mavis's, released in 2001 on Mushroom Records.- Track listing :# "Burst Into Space" - 4:56# "Wrong Side of Town" - 4:09# "Coming Home" - 3:51# "Only in My Head" - 3:49# "You Come Through" - 3:46...
  
  (2001)

Singles

• "Rollercoaster" (1990)
• "Spindrift - Live" (1992)
• "Moon Drone Gold" (1995)
• "Thunder" (1996)
• "Box" (1996)
• "Lost" (1996)
• "Naughty Boy" (1997)
• "Cry" (1998)
• "Cry - Remixes" (1998)
• "Lever" (1998)
• "Puberty Song
  Puberty Song
  "Puberty Song" is a single by Australian pop band The Mavis's, taken from their 1998 album Pink Pills. At the 1999 ARIA Awards "Puberty Song" earned a nomination for Engineer of the Year.-Tracklisting:# "Puberty Song" - 3:54...
  
  " (1998)
• "Coming Home" (2000)
• "Happiness" (2001)

Compilations

• So Far... (2001) (promo only)
• Throwing Little Stones (2001)
• Kids in the Basement: Volume One (2011)