Wild Pumpkins At Midnight
Encyclopedia
Wild Pumpkins at Midnight was an Australian blues/roots rock
band which formed in Tasmania
in 1984, with Debra Manskey on vocals and guitar, Dan Tuffy
on bass guitar and vocals and Michael Turner on guitar and vocals.
The band relocated to Melbourne
in 1987, Manskey left before they moved on to London in 1990 and Ashley Davies joined on drums. They subsequently shifted to The Netherlands, in 1993 Davies returned to Australia and was replaced by Greg Hynes and Nick Larkins
joined on guitar. By 1995 the band had returned to Australia. They toured extensively in both Europe and Australia, including a spot on the 1996 Big Day Out
and released nine albums under various labels before disbanding in 1998.
In 1990
, at the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Music Awards
, they won 'Best Independent Release' for their album This Machine Is Made of People.
ns, Debra Manskey on vocals and guitar and Michael Turner on vocals and guitar joined with New South Wales
-born Dan Tuffy on bass guitar and vocals to form Wild Pumpkins at Midnight. They played blues/roots rock
and their debut single, "Birth of a Nation" was released early in 1987 on WPAM, it was followed in March by 10-track cassette
, Scenesville on Dex. They relocated to Melbourne
and signed with Major Records in 1987 and released, Wild Pumpkins at Midnight, a five-track EP
in 1988. After signing with Sydney
label, Mighty Boy, they released "Watermelon Patch" as a single in March 1989 followed by albums Living in April 1989 and This Machine Is Made of People in August.
In 1990
, at the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Music Awards
, they won 'Best Independent Release' for their album This Machine Is Made of People. Little Victories was released in 1990, Manskey left prior to the band relocating to London in June with new drummer, Ashley Davies.
, The Netherlands and then were based in the village of Wageningen
. Their first European release was a four-track CD EP, Sending a Vampire on MDS in October 1992 and was followed by albums, Strangeways (Current/MDS, April 1993) and Going Sick (Current/MDS, April 1994). In 1993, Davies had returned to Australia and was replaced by Greg Hynes and guitarist Nick Larkins
had joined. From their base in Wageningen they toured Europe.
in 1996, Sad Trees followed in July which had both studio and live tracks. In February 1997, Hot Records released a compilation
, The Secret of the Sad Tree ahead of their European tour from June. At the conclusion of the tour, in 1998, Wild Pumpkins At Midnight disbanded.
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
band which formed in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
in 1984, with Debra Manskey on vocals and guitar, Dan Tuffy
Dan Tuffy
Dan Tuffy is an Australian-born musician, he was bass guitarist and vocalist for Tasmanian band, Wild Pumpkins At Midnight from 1984. The band relocated to Melbourne in 1987, then to London in 1990 and subsequently to The Netherlands...
on bass guitar and vocals and Michael Turner on guitar and vocals.
The band relocated 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...
in 1987, Manskey left before they moved on to London in 1990 and Ashley Davies joined on drums. They subsequently shifted to The Netherlands, in 1993 Davies returned to Australia and was replaced by Greg Hynes and Nick Larkins
Nick Larkins
Nick Larkins is an Australian rock musician who has played with various Australian acts, and solo. Nick was born in London but raised in Hobart, Tasmania. Larkins has been highly nomadic for much of his career...
joined on guitar. By 1995 the band had returned to Australia. They toured extensively in both Europe and Australia, including a spot on the 1996 Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
and released nine albums under various labels before disbanding in 1998.
In 1990
ARIA Music Awards of 1990
The Fourth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 26 March 1990 at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. Australian host Glenn Shorrock of Little River Band was assisted by presenter Quincy Jones to distribute 24 awards...
, at the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
, they won 'Best Independent Release' for their album This Machine Is Made of People.
Formation and early years
In 1984, TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
ns, Debra Manskey on vocals and guitar and Michael Turner on vocals and guitar joined with New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
-born Dan Tuffy on bass guitar and vocals to form Wild Pumpkins at Midnight. They played blues/roots rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
and their debut single, "Birth of a Nation" was released early in 1987 on WPAM, it was followed in March by 10-track cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
, Scenesville on Dex. They relocated 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 signed with Major Records in 1987 and released, Wild Pumpkins at Midnight, a five-track EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
in 1988. After signing with Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
label, Mighty Boy, they released "Watermelon Patch" as a single in March 1989 followed by albums Living in April 1989 and This Machine Is Made of People in August.
In 1990
ARIA Music Awards of 1990
The Fourth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 26 March 1990 at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. Australian host Glenn Shorrock of Little River Band was assisted by presenter Quincy Jones to distribute 24 awards...
, at the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
, they won 'Best Independent Release' for their album This Machine Is Made of People. Little Victories was released in 1990, Manskey left prior to the band relocating to London in June with new drummer, Ashley Davies.
London and Amsterdam
Wild Pumpkins At Midnight had relocated to London by June 1990, they subsequently moved to AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, The Netherlands and then were based in the village of Wageningen
Wageningen
' is a municipality and a historical town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specializes in life sciences. The city has 37,414 inhabitants , of which many thousands are students...
. Their first European release was a four-track CD EP, Sending a Vampire on MDS in October 1992 and was followed by albums, Strangeways (Current/MDS, April 1993) and Going Sick (Current/MDS, April 1994). In 1993, Davies had returned to Australia and was replaced by Greg Hynes and guitarist Nick Larkins
Nick Larkins
Nick Larkins is an Australian rock musician who has played with various Australian acts, and solo. Nick was born in London but raised in Hobart, Tasmania. Larkins has been highly nomadic for much of his career...
had joined. From their base in Wageningen they toured Europe.
Later years
The group returned to Melbourne in 1995 and released, Low-Fi Lucy's Mobile Temple in November on Way Over There. They toured Australia including Big Day OutBig Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
in 1996, Sad Trees followed in July which had both studio and live tracks. In February 1997, Hot Records released a compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, The Secret of the Sad Tree ahead of their European tour from June. At the conclusion of the tour, in 1998, Wild Pumpkins At Midnight disbanded.
Members
- Debra Manskey – vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(1984–1990) - Dan TuffyDan TuffyDan Tuffy is an Australian-born musician, he was bass guitarist and vocalist for Tasmanian band, Wild Pumpkins At Midnight from 1984. The band relocated to Melbourne in 1987, then to London in 1990 and subsequently to The Netherlands...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals (1984–1998) - Michael Turner – vocals, guitar (1984–1998)
- Ashley Davies – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(1990–1993) - Greg Hynes – drums (1993–1998)
- Nick LarkinsNick LarkinsNick Larkins is an Australian rock musician who has played with various Australian acts, and solo. Nick was born in London but raised in Hobart, Tasmania. Larkins has been highly nomadic for much of his career...
– guitar (1993–1998)
Albums
- Scenesville (WPAM/Dex, March 1987)
- Living (Mighty Boy, April 1989)
- This Machine Is Made of People (Mighty Boy, August 1989)
- Little Victories (Mighty Boy, 1990)
- Strangeways (Current, April 1993)
- Going Sick (Current/MDS, April 1994)
- Low-Fi Lucy's Mobile Temple (Way Over There, November 1995)
- Sad Trees (Way Over There, July 1996)
- The Secret of the Sad Tree (Hot Records, February 1997)
- Instant Ocean (Way Over There, 1998)
Extended Plays
- Wild Pumpkins At Midnight (Major, 1988)
- Sending a Vampire (Current/MDS, November 1992)