- Album list
- Singer Intro
The Church are an Australian psychedelic rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave, neo-psychedelia and indie rock, their music later came to feature slower tempos and surreal soundscapes reminiscent of dream pop and post-rock. Glenn A. Baker has written that 'From the release of the 'She Never Said' single in November 1980, this unique Sydney-originated entity has purveyed a distinctive, ethereal, psychedelic-tinged sound which has alternatively found favour and disfavor in Australia.' The Los Angeles Times has described the band's music as 'dense, shimmering, exquisite guitar pop'.
The founding members were Steve Kilbey on lead vocals and bass guitar, Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper on guitars and Nick Ward on drums. Ward only played on their debut album, and the band's drummer for the rest of the 1980s was Richard Ploog. Jay Dee Daugherty (ex-Patti Smith Group) played drums from 1990 to 1993, followed by 'timEbandit' Tim Powles (ex-The Venetians) who remains with them to the present day. Koppes left the band from 1992 to 1997, and Willson-Piper left in 2013. He was replaced by Ian Haug, formerly of Powderfinger. Kilbey, Koppes and Powles also recorded together as The Refo:mation in 1997.
The Church's debut album, Of Skins and Heart (1981), delivered their first radio hit, 'The Unguarded Moment', and they were signed to major labels in Australia, Europe and the United States. However, the US label was dissatisfied with their second album and dropped the band without releasing it. This put a dent in their international success, but they returned to the charts in 1988 with the album Starfish and the US Top 40 hit 'Under the Milky Way'. Subsequent mainstream success has proved elusive, but the band retains a large international cult following and were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in Sydney in 2011. The Church continue to tour and record, releasing their 24th studio album, Further/Deeper, in October 2014.
Members
Current members:
Steve Kilbey – lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, guitar (1980–present)
Peter Koppes – guitars, keyboards, vocals (1980–1992, 1997–present)
Tim Powles – drums, percussion, vocals, guitar (1994–present)
Ian Haug – guitars, vocals (2013–present)
Prior members:
Nick Ward – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1980–1981)
Marty Willson-Piper – guitar, vocals, bass guitar (1980–2013)
Richard Ploog – drums, percussion (1981–1990)
Jay Dee Daugherty – drums, percussion (1990–1993)
Discography
Of Skins and Heart (1981) Released internationally as The Church in 1982 with variant tracks
The Blurred Crusade (1982)
Seance (1983)
Heyday (1985)
Starfish (1988)
Gold Afternoon Fix (1990)
A Quick Smoke at Spot's: Archives 1986-1990 (1991) Outtakes from the Starfish & Gold Afternoon Fix eras
Priest=Aura (1992)
Sometime Anywhere (1994) The first pressing contained the bonus disc Somewhere Else
Magician Among the Spirits (1996) Re-released in 1999 as Magician Among the Spirits Plus Some with variant tracks
Hologram of Baal (1998) The first pressing contained the bonus disc Bastard Universe
A Box of Birds (1999) Covers album
After Everything Now This (2002)
Parallel Universe (2002) Remixes (disc 1) and outtakes (disc 2) from the After Everything Now This sessions
Forget Yourself (2003)
Jammed (2004)
Beside Yourself (2004) Outtakes from the Forget Yourself sessions
El Momento Descuidado (2004) Acoustic remakes plus five new songs
Back with Two Beasts (2005) Outtakes from the Uninvited, Like the Clouds sessions
Uninvited, Like the Clouds (2006)
El Momento Siguiente (2007) Acoustic remakes plus three new songs and a cover
Shriek: Excerpts from the Soundtrack (2008) Short film soundtrack
Untitled #23 (2009)
Further/Deeper (2014)
Man Woman Life Death Infinity (2017)
EPs
Too Fast for You (1981)
Sing-Songs (1982)
Remote Luxury (1984)
Persia (1984)
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