Innocent Bystanders
Encyclopedia
Innocent Bystanders were a Perth
based band formed in 1983 featuring vocalist/songwriter
Brett Keyser and guitar
ist Johnny Diesel
.
n music landscape, "Bystanders" were one of the few original acts to make a dent and after a few years of hard work eventually pull very respectable crowds. Their Monday night residences at the Herdsman
Hotel drew crowds of over 250 people, many of them music industry types there to listen to this powerful Australian band heavily influenced by Cold Chisel
and Bruce Springsteen
. The standout features were the depth of Keyser's songwriting and his powerful vocals and the amazing young teenage guitar
ist Mark Lizotte aka Diesel
.
The band's songs drew heavily from their local environment of beaches, hot summers, weekends down South and even the demolition of the Scarborough Beach Hotel. In addition Keyser soaked up many influences and ventured into the realm of story-telling with his songs.
In 1983 the band released a cassette entitled Live at the Subi, recorded at the Subiaco
Hotel with a mobile recording truck.
In 1984 the band flew to Sydney and recorded their debut single, "Lebanon", with Peter Walker (Midnight Oil
and Cold Chisel
producer) with the lineup of Lizotte, Brett Keyser (vocals), John ‘Yak’ Sherrit (drums), John ‘Tatt’ Dalzell (bass) and Cliff Kinneen (keyboards). The single reaching #98 on the Australian singles chart.
Innocent Bystanders travelled to Sydney
to record their second single, "Dangerous", released in July 1986, which reached #97 on the Australian singles chart. They attracted the attention of hard rock
ers, The Angels
, however Lizotte had already left the band in June 1986 taking Bremond, Dalzell and Sherritt, and they formed Johnny Diesel & the Injectors with George Dalstrom as a second guitarist. Keyser then recruited new players John Heussanstamm (guitar) and Al Kash (drums; ex-Blackfeather) and went on to record the band's first album, Don't Go Looking Back, which was released later in 1986 on the Chase label. reaching #59 on the Australian album charts.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
based band formed in 1983 featuring vocalist/songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Brett Keyser and guitar
Guitar
The 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...
ist Johnny Diesel
Johnny Diesel
Johnny Diesel is an Australian musician, who has released material as leader of Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, under his birth name, or by the epithet Diesel...
.
Biography
At a time when cover bands dominated the Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
n music landscape, "Bystanders" were one of the few original acts to make a dent and after a few years of hard work eventually pull very respectable crowds. Their Monday night residences at the Herdsman
Herdsman, Western Australia
Herdsman is a light industrial suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.In the earlier days of settlement, cattle were raised near the lake area...
Hotel drew crowds of over 250 people, many of them music industry types there to listen to this powerful Australian band heavily influenced by Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel is a rock band that originated in Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the most acclaimed Australian rock bands of all time, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s and huge sales that continue to this day, although its success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to...
and Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. The standout features were the depth of Keyser's songwriting and his powerful vocals and the amazing young teenage guitar
Guitar
The 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...
ist Mark Lizotte aka Diesel
Johnny Diesel
Johnny Diesel is an Australian musician, who has released material as leader of Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, under his birth name, or by the epithet Diesel...
.
The band's songs drew heavily from their local environment of beaches, hot summers, weekends down South and even the demolition of the Scarborough Beach Hotel. In addition Keyser soaked up many influences and ventured into the realm of story-telling with his songs.
In 1983 the band released a cassette entitled Live at the Subi, recorded at the Subiaco
Subiaco, Western Australia
Subiaco is an inner western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, situated to the north west of Kings Park. Its Local Government Area is the City of Subiaco.-History:Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Noongar Indigenous people....
Hotel with a mobile recording truck.
In 1984 the band flew to Sydney and recorded their debut single, "Lebanon", with Peter Walker (Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
and Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel is a rock band that originated in Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the most acclaimed Australian rock bands of all time, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s and huge sales that continue to this day, although its success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to...
producer) with the lineup of Lizotte, Brett Keyser (vocals), John ‘Yak’ Sherrit (drums), John ‘Tatt’ Dalzell (bass) and Cliff Kinneen (keyboards). The single reaching #98 on the Australian singles chart.
Innocent Bystanders travelled to 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...
to record their second single, "Dangerous", released in July 1986, which reached #97 on the Australian singles chart. They attracted the attention of hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
ers, The Angels
The Angels (Australian band)
The Angels are a hard rock band that formed in Adelaide, Australia in 1970. The band later relocated from Adelaide to Sydney and enjoyed huge local success until well into the 1990s. For the purposes of international release, their records were released under the names Angel City and later The...
, however Lizotte had already left the band in June 1986 taking Bremond, Dalzell and Sherritt, and they formed Johnny Diesel & the Injectors with George Dalstrom as a second guitarist. Keyser then recruited new players John Heussanstamm (guitar) and Al Kash (drums; ex-Blackfeather) and went on to record the band's first album, Don't Go Looking Back, which was released later in 1986 on the Chase label. reaching #59 on the Australian album charts.
Members
Listed alphabetically:- Bernie Bremond — saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, backing vocals (1983–86) - John Dalzell — bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1983–86) - John Heussanstamm — 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...
(1986–89) - Al Kash — 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 ....
(1986–89) - Brett Keyser — vocals (1983–89)
- Cliff Kinneen — keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(1984–89) - Paul Luckas; Piano (1984)
- Mark LizotteJohnny DieselJohnny Diesel is an Australian musician, who has released material as leader of Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, under his birth name, or by the epithet Diesel...
— lead guitar, vocals (1983–86) - Jamie Manifis — guitar
- Yak SherrittJohn Sherrit (musician)John "Yak" Sherrit, born 1962, is an Australian drummer best known for his drumming on several studio albums of Johnny Diesel and the Injectors, and touring with Diesel, Jimmy Barnes, and Richard Clapton.-Biography:...
— drums (1983–86) - Dave Skewes — keyboards (1983–84)
- Brett Townshend — saxophone
Albums
- Live at the Subi - Independent (1983) Cassette only
- Don’t Go Looking BackDon’t Go Looking BackDon't Go Looking Back is the debut album by Australian rock band Innocent Bystanders, originally released in 1986. The album reached #59 on the Australian album charts in September 1986.-Track listing:All songs written by Brett Keyser....
- Chase (CLP8) (1986) AUS #59
Singles
- "Lebanon"/"Young Hearts" - A.I.B (AIB 01) (1984) AUS #98
- "Dangerous"/"I Don’t Care" - Chase (CXP9) (July 1986) AUS #97