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Wednesday 14 August 2013

The Models reunite...apparently

Recently I saw a banner ad on a website advertising Melbourne band the Models reuniting, with their original 1982 lineup. I have since searched the web and I can't find any other information about the tour!

This brings up a number of issues personally. I find this period of the band's work challenging and difficult, largely because I came to the band when they rebuffed their sound with a radio-friendly sheen in 1985 with the "Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight" album. As such, I've found going back to the more arty, post-punk inspired early task quite difficult. Not to mention my issues with nostalgia tours...

Like other local bands like Dragon, Hunters & Collectors and Split Enz, their peak periods coincide with their strongest work, which incidentally happens to be their most accessible for new listeners. Their earlier works seem to be exploring their sound and constantly defining and redefining their identities. But that doesn't necessarily make it any more approachable.

Having said that, the Models' main pre-fame period did give us some excellent tracks, such as the quirky and robotic "I Hear Motion" (1983) and the spacious and breezy "Local and/or General" (1981).

Sadly the band didn't last all that much longer after these tunes were released. A massive lineup change in 1984 saw the band draft in James Freud, late of a solo career, into the lineup for their biggest success with "Out Of Mind Out Of Sight" in 1985, then a final LP "Models Evolution" in 1986 before the band called a hiatus in 1988. Singer James Freud had one solo record in 1990 "Step Into The Heat" before descending into drug-and-alcohol-induced anonymity. The band were inducted into the ARIA hall of fame in 2010 and shortly after Freud was found dead, apparently of suicide.

Check out the original lineup in its glory below:



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