The Johnnys

Billy Pommer Jnr and Hoody tell it like it is what it is

From Wikipedia…

The Johnnys are an Australian pub rock band from Sydney. The band was formed in 1982 and is still active today. The band combines country and punk musical styles. Members are Graham Hood, Billy Pommer Jr and Slim Doherty and have included founder, Roddy Ray'da (aka Roddy Radalj) and Spencer P Jones.

I had the occasion to talk with Billy Pommer Jnr and Graham “Hoody” Hood about the imminent release of a live recording of the Johnnys from 1990. LIVE IN LYON.

We talked of many things. The beginning of the band and how members appeared and left. The year 1986 when they did almost as many shows as there were days on the calendar. Brutal touring, Neil Young, The Pogues, beer, haybales, making show, record companies, Sydney, Melbourne, old venues they helped wreck and venues they are coming back to play in.

We played a show in Blackwood recently. An annual event at a regional Victorian town. The main focus of which was a woodchopping competition. The Johnnys and Clare and I shared a tent as a dressing room. The preceding sentence does not speak of glamour or pizzazz does it? We were all probably thinking that as well, though we talked a good game in the tent. Clare Moore and myself went over the top first, following a very competent local band playing perfectly respectable popular tunes. We marched out and set up, off to our certain doom at the hands of the cheerful locals all sitting on hay bales. That was our role, and had been for a while. To be irritating, arty types. We were happy to play our part, why stop now? As we set up our foolishly delicate, arcane instruments - vibes, rhythm machine, guitars and and keys - Hoody, Slim and Billy took the opportunity to set up their amps, drum kit and guitars. Hoody looked into my face as he passed and murmured , “so its come to this?”. Gallows humour.

We played a set to an attentive audience and then they got swept up in the occasion - as players must - and hay bales were seen to be destroyed.

In 1984 the Moodists returned to Melbourne from a year in the UK and did a tour of Australia opening for PIL. The Johnnys were also on the bill on some dates, notably Canberra where there was more security around the band than people in the audience. John Lydon refused to play at first and then begrudgingly came on for a few songs. As they left the stage the audience began to chant “Johnny! Johnny! Johnny!” We had all been drinking copious cans of beer by the side of the stage and our bass player Chris Walsh did his best to convince the Johnnys that the small crowd was actually calling out for the first band on the bill to came back and play some proper music…

I think thats as far back as we went with the Johnnys. We have run into them again over the decades. Spencer Jones was the most visible and active of them all. Hoody lived on the Central Coast of NSW, Billy was on the Gold Coast in Queensland and then returned to Melbourne. Paul aka Slim was somewhere else, doing something else?

They were easy friendships anyway. We also had working relationships and friendships with people they mention in the interview. Roger Grierson who connected us to the music business in the early 90s and was our music publisher at Polygram. Matt Crosbie who did Front Of House for the Cruel Sea and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds for decades. Speedy the extraordinary roadie for the Johnnys who worked with everybody we knew as well as us. No alternative bands had or knew roadies. Speedy was the guy. RIP Speedy. He appears in this clip , with mohawk.

The Crackajacks in 1980, part of the incredible Melbourne rockabilly scene of the time. They were the best of the best. This is pre Cramps stuff.

In the interview they talk of seeing Spencer Jones in Melbourne as part of Slim Whittles Country Killed in 1981. Couldn’t find any video of this band but there is this show by The Whittle Family. RIP Slim…

They also talk of Spencer Jones being in the North 2 Alaskans. Led by Johnny Topper and including Frank Savage (father of Cash and brother to Conway) and Gary Adams.

Most of the same musicians were in the Pete Best Beatles, but then including Rod Hayward (future guitarist for Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes).

The Johnnys in 1988 covering Chris Spedding.

Roddy Ray’da is mentioned in the interview as to forming the Johnnys with Hoody. He was in at the beginning of several influential bands in Perth and Sydney but strangely not present when the bands were breaking through.

The Johnnys live in Adelaide 1984

Roger Grierson managed the Johnnys from their earliest days. I recommend his book, Lobrow. (Though it seems to be sold out everywhere).

https://www.lobrowthebook.com/