The Hitmen were brash, bombastic and inventive. They were also
victims of their status as the first in a long line of Australian
underground bands of the late ‘70s to cross the battlelines and take
their rock and roll campaign to the suburbs. The Hitmen peddled a
broad mix of metallic pop, flamethrower Detroit rock and re-vamped
‘60s standards, as well as their own wide range of originals. With
their roots in the ground breaking Radio Birdman, the Hitmen sought
overground success and clearly influenced dozens of bands that
followed in their wake.
That their status as one of the Australia’s hardest-working bands
never translated to huge record sales probably came down to the fact
that the major labels that courted, and signed the band had no idea
what to do with them. But the thousands of fans whose ears they
opened to new sounds did - and voted with their feet by packing
venues the length and breadth of Australia.
Johnny and the Hitmen
The Hitmen began life as Johnny and the Hitmen, a part-time, party
band led by Radio Birdman Master of Ceremonies and Glutonics
backing singer Johnny Kannis in 1977. The ranks were populated by a
shifting cast of Birdman members and friends. Three tracks were
recorded under the Johnny Kannis name with Birdman as the backing
band, minus Deniz Tek who was producing, and with the addition of
Hellcats guitarist Charlie Georgees. “King of the Surf” and “Under the
Boardwalk” surfaced on the RCA label, with the former and a cover of
the Seeds’ “Pushin’ Too Hard” surfacing on Dog Meat years later.
THINGS GET SERIOUS In 1978 when Birdman member Chris Masuak
returned from Radio Birdman’s fatal European tour, he joined Kannis
in a new, more stable Hitmen outfit. Gigs and demos followed
with a long line of players passing through the ranks. Ex-Birdman
bassist Warwick Gilbert signed on as a guitarist in late ’78. A
concerted move to play the ‘burbs resulted in many Birdman fans
looking elsewhere for their kicks.
By March 1979, WEA had signed the band and in July the Hitmen
issued their first single, the guitar-pop classic “Didn’t Tell the Man”
b/w “I Am the Man”, with a live line-up of Kannis (voc), Masuak (gtr),
Gilbert (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums) and Tony Vidale (gtr). Ron
Keeley (ex-Radio Birdman) played on the single after Ivor Hay quit.
“I Want You” b/w “Telltale Heart” was the next single and in
December 1980, the band went into the studio with hotshot producer
Mark Optiz (Cold Chisel). It hit the racks in July 1981, hot on the
heels of a single (“I Don’t Mind” b/w “Rock and Roll Soldiers”) by
which time Vidale had quit, shooting through midway through
recording. He was replaced by future Hoodoo Gurus guitarist Brad
Shepherd (ex-Fun Things). Cue lots of serious touring. The album sold
moderately well but the band was one of the best live drawcards in
the land…
Pay Up or Shut Up
A national tour supporting a reformed Steppenwolf took up the
balance of 1981. Warwick Gilbert parted ways with the band to
concentrate on his animation career, being replaced by Brisbane’s
Tony Robertson. The Hitmen split with WEA in early ’82 and was
snapped up by RCA, who wasted no time putting them in the studio
with former Birdman producer Charles Fisher. The result was an
overtly commercial single, “Everybody Knows (I Don’t Like Love)”
b/w “Dancin’ Time”.
Work began on album number two with RCA making a fatal mistake,
imposing Mental as Anything producers Bruce Brown and Russell
Dunlop on the band. “It Is What It Is” was the result and it was
released in November 1982. The songs were good and a single
“Bwana Devil” b/w “I Didn’t Want to Love You” was released. (A
Masuak 1990 re-mix on Rattlesnake leaves this album for dead). Brad
Shepherd’s departure to become a Guru left the Hitmen as a four-
piece, with Kannis taking up guitar.
The band stood at the crossroads, debating the wisdom of a relocation
to Canada from where they could assault the US market.
Do The Pop
The announcement of the first Iggy Pop tour of Australia in ’83
changed everything. Ex-Radio Birdman singer Rob Younger was asked
to play the support spot. That translated to an offer to three-quarters
of the Hitmen (plus Celibate Rifle Kent Steedman) to join Younger in
the first live line-up of the New Christs. Irony: Iggy was due to tour
Australia in 1977 with Birdman supporting, only to cancel when
tickets failed to sell in the required numbers. Kannis simultaneously
put together a soul band, Johnny Kannis and the Night Train, while the
rest of the Hitmen were on the road. A car accident on the way to a
Night Train show put Kannis in hospital with critical injuries from
which he took a year to recover.
The New Christs continued after the Iggy tour.
Kannis and Masuak decided to put the lid on the Hitmen in early 1984,
undertaking a brief farewell tour when the singer was sufficiently
well. The resulting live album “Tora Tora Tora DTK” was a good
representation of the band. The Hitmen did reform again, briefly, in ’
85 to promote its release.
Members continued with other bands. Masuak became a long term
member of the Screaming Tribesmen (Robertson and Kingsmill passed
through) who worked with Kannis as management. Kannis
also played with the Johnny Kannis Explosion, a good-time rock and
roll band with a set that drew heavily on the Hitmen.
U.E.LA. The dissolution of the Tribesmen after a US tour prompted
Masuak and Kannis to re-constitute the Hitmen with new players, this
time under the name “Hitmen DTK” to avoid clashing with a US band.
Gye Bennetts (drums), Matt Le Noury (guitar) and Brad Ferguson
(bass) completed the ranks. An EP “UELA” (Utopian Emotional Love
Aura) was a return to the record racks but by the turn of the decade,
the line-up was no more.
Surfing In A Different Direction
A new Hitmen DTK line-up travelled to Houston, Texas USA to record
what would be the “Moronic Inferno” album, with ex-Birdman mixer
Mort Bradley at the controls and the same band’s guitarist,
Deniz Tek, guesting. (The recording sessions marked a return from
premature retirement for Tek, then living in the USA and not playing
much music). The album was a strong slice of pop-orientated rock and
roll with some of the songs dating from the Hitmen’s earliest days. It
was issued in November 1991 with a four track CD single “Surfing in
Another Direction” accompanying it. The band – with Tek guesting –
played out in Australia in late ’91 to promote it. The Hitmen then went
on to support Dark Carnival (featuring ex-Stooges guitarist Ron
Asheton and Detroit's Queen, Niagara on Vocals) on their
Australian tour in December. The band folded soon after, Kannis
moving to Queensland to promote music and Masuak going on to the
bluesy Juke Savages, a career in natural healing and, eventually, a re-
formed Radio Birdman and his own Klondike’s North 40.
Undeniably spirited, the Hitmen left a lasting mark. Too rockin’ to be
pop, and too hooky for the metal-heads, they similarly confounded
record company marketing departments but
delighted a generation of gig goers all over Australia. Since then,
there have been threatened Hitmen re formations, all to no avail –
UNTIL NOW!!!!!!
Divine Providence
Call it what you like, but there’s no doubt that history, good fortune
and destiny have conspired to deliver the cleanest, most pre-
determined HITMEN line-up since 1981. Drawing together ONLY
members with previous service to the HITMEN, (or bands with only
one degree of separation), these five men have truly earned their
Rock 'n' Roll commissions. •Johnny Kannis, Chris Masuak & Tony
Robertson all return as original soldiers. •Tony Jukic is re-called to
active service from The Johnny Kannis Explosion. •Muzz Shepherd,
chief Tribesman and brother of original member Brad (currently
serving in another war), now proud to serve in his stead. NOT a loose
collection of reformed musicians!! Rather, a genetically spliced
SupaHuman, featuring both original and family DNA. This is
truly the Next Generation of THE HITMEN.
The Creature is Re-Born!!
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Craig Regan i94 Bar. Some dates were checked
with various publications, Peter Wise’s excellent retrospective in Ian McFarlane’s
Prehistoric Sounds (Vol 1 Issue 3) being most prominent. (and MUZZ!!!)
victims of their status as the first in a long line of Australian
underground bands of the late ‘70s to cross the battlelines and take
their rock and roll campaign to the suburbs. The Hitmen peddled a
broad mix of metallic pop, flamethrower Detroit rock and re-vamped
‘60s standards, as well as their own wide range of originals. With
their roots in the ground breaking Radio Birdman, the Hitmen sought
overground success and clearly influenced dozens of bands that
followed in their wake.
That their status as one of the Australia’s hardest-working bands
never translated to huge record sales probably came down to the fact
that the major labels that courted, and signed the band had no idea
what to do with them. But the thousands of fans whose ears they
opened to new sounds did - and voted with their feet by packing
venues the length and breadth of Australia.
Johnny and the Hitmen
The Hitmen began life as Johnny and the Hitmen, a part-time, party
band led by Radio Birdman Master of Ceremonies and Glutonics
backing singer Johnny Kannis in 1977. The ranks were populated by a
shifting cast of Birdman members and friends. Three tracks were
recorded under the Johnny Kannis name with Birdman as the backing
band, minus Deniz Tek who was producing, and with the addition of
Hellcats guitarist Charlie Georgees. “King of the Surf” and “Under the
Boardwalk” surfaced on the RCA label, with the former and a cover of
the Seeds’ “Pushin’ Too Hard” surfacing on Dog Meat years later.
THINGS GET SERIOUS In 1978 when Birdman member Chris Masuak
returned from Radio Birdman’s fatal European tour, he joined Kannis
in a new, more stable Hitmen outfit. Gigs and demos followed
with a long line of players passing through the ranks. Ex-Birdman
bassist Warwick Gilbert signed on as a guitarist in late ’78. A
concerted move to play the ‘burbs resulted in many Birdman fans
looking elsewhere for their kicks.
By March 1979, WEA had signed the band and in July the Hitmen
issued their first single, the guitar-pop classic “Didn’t Tell the Man”
b/w “I Am the Man”, with a live line-up of Kannis (voc), Masuak (gtr),
Gilbert (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums) and Tony Vidale (gtr). Ron
Keeley (ex-Radio Birdman) played on the single after Ivor Hay quit.
“I Want You” b/w “Telltale Heart” was the next single and in
December 1980, the band went into the studio with hotshot producer
Mark Optiz (Cold Chisel). It hit the racks in July 1981, hot on the
heels of a single (“I Don’t Mind” b/w “Rock and Roll Soldiers”) by
which time Vidale had quit, shooting through midway through
recording. He was replaced by future Hoodoo Gurus guitarist Brad
Shepherd (ex-Fun Things). Cue lots of serious touring. The album sold
moderately well but the band was one of the best live drawcards in
the land…
Pay Up or Shut Up
A national tour supporting a reformed Steppenwolf took up the
balance of 1981. Warwick Gilbert parted ways with the band to
concentrate on his animation career, being replaced by Brisbane’s
Tony Robertson. The Hitmen split with WEA in early ’82 and was
snapped up by RCA, who wasted no time putting them in the studio
with former Birdman producer Charles Fisher. The result was an
overtly commercial single, “Everybody Knows (I Don’t Like Love)”
b/w “Dancin’ Time”.
Work began on album number two with RCA making a fatal mistake,
imposing Mental as Anything producers Bruce Brown and Russell
Dunlop on the band. “It Is What It Is” was the result and it was
released in November 1982. The songs were good and a single
“Bwana Devil” b/w “I Didn’t Want to Love You” was released. (A
Masuak 1990 re-mix on Rattlesnake leaves this album for dead). Brad
Shepherd’s departure to become a Guru left the Hitmen as a four-
piece, with Kannis taking up guitar.
The band stood at the crossroads, debating the wisdom of a relocation
to Canada from where they could assault the US market.
Do The Pop
The announcement of the first Iggy Pop tour of Australia in ’83
changed everything. Ex-Radio Birdman singer Rob Younger was asked
to play the support spot. That translated to an offer to three-quarters
of the Hitmen (plus Celibate Rifle Kent Steedman) to join Younger in
the first live line-up of the New Christs. Irony: Iggy was due to tour
Australia in 1977 with Birdman supporting, only to cancel when
tickets failed to sell in the required numbers. Kannis simultaneously
put together a soul band, Johnny Kannis and the Night Train, while the
rest of the Hitmen were on the road. A car accident on the way to a
Night Train show put Kannis in hospital with critical injuries from
which he took a year to recover.
The New Christs continued after the Iggy tour.
Kannis and Masuak decided to put the lid on the Hitmen in early 1984,
undertaking a brief farewell tour when the singer was sufficiently
well. The resulting live album “Tora Tora Tora DTK” was a good
representation of the band. The Hitmen did reform again, briefly, in ’
85 to promote its release.
Members continued with other bands. Masuak became a long term
member of the Screaming Tribesmen (Robertson and Kingsmill passed
through) who worked with Kannis as management. Kannis
also played with the Johnny Kannis Explosion, a good-time rock and
roll band with a set that drew heavily on the Hitmen.
U.E.LA. The dissolution of the Tribesmen after a US tour prompted
Masuak and Kannis to re-constitute the Hitmen with new players, this
time under the name “Hitmen DTK” to avoid clashing with a US band.
Gye Bennetts (drums), Matt Le Noury (guitar) and Brad Ferguson
(bass) completed the ranks. An EP “UELA” (Utopian Emotional Love
Aura) was a return to the record racks but by the turn of the decade,
the line-up was no more.
Surfing In A Different Direction
A new Hitmen DTK line-up travelled to Houston, Texas USA to record
what would be the “Moronic Inferno” album, with ex-Birdman mixer
Mort Bradley at the controls and the same band’s guitarist,
Deniz Tek, guesting. (The recording sessions marked a return from
premature retirement for Tek, then living in the USA and not playing
much music). The album was a strong slice of pop-orientated rock and
roll with some of the songs dating from the Hitmen’s earliest days. It
was issued in November 1991 with a four track CD single “Surfing in
Another Direction” accompanying it. The band – with Tek guesting –
played out in Australia in late ’91 to promote it. The Hitmen then went
on to support Dark Carnival (featuring ex-Stooges guitarist Ron
Asheton and Detroit's Queen, Niagara on Vocals) on their
Australian tour in December. The band folded soon after, Kannis
moving to Queensland to promote music and Masuak going on to the
bluesy Juke Savages, a career in natural healing and, eventually, a re-
formed Radio Birdman and his own Klondike’s North 40.
Undeniably spirited, the Hitmen left a lasting mark. Too rockin’ to be
pop, and too hooky for the metal-heads, they similarly confounded
record company marketing departments but
delighted a generation of gig goers all over Australia. Since then,
there have been threatened Hitmen re formations, all to no avail –
UNTIL NOW!!!!!!
Divine Providence
Call it what you like, but there’s no doubt that history, good fortune
and destiny have conspired to deliver the cleanest, most pre-
determined HITMEN line-up since 1981. Drawing together ONLY
members with previous service to the HITMEN, (or bands with only
one degree of separation), these five men have truly earned their
Rock 'n' Roll commissions. •Johnny Kannis, Chris Masuak & Tony
Robertson all return as original soldiers. •Tony Jukic is re-called to
active service from The Johnny Kannis Explosion. •Muzz Shepherd,
chief Tribesman and brother of original member Brad (currently
serving in another war), now proud to serve in his stead. NOT a loose
collection of reformed musicians!! Rather, a genetically spliced
SupaHuman, featuring both original and family DNA. This is
truly the Next Generation of THE HITMEN.
The Creature is Re-Born!!
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Craig Regan i94 Bar. Some dates were checked
with various publications, Peter Wise’s excellent retrospective in Ian McFarlane’s
Prehistoric Sounds (Vol 1 Issue 3) being most prominent. (and MUZZ!!!)
Tell Tale Heart ("Hitmen" Track 3 CD2)
| For more Information on the BAND click on the links below |
| Chris "Klondike" Masuak Stage Gear Setups |
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