The first time I came across the Sunnyboys was at a party I went to on Little Murders first tour of Sydney. They were kicking the crap out of one of those old-school lockers. Together. I don't know if they were trying to get into it or what. But because they looked similar I thought straight away they were a band. This was confirmed by our manager who told me that this was the Sunnyboys and we were supporting them the next night.
On stage, they were electrifying. I mean, they rocked. Great songs, great guitars, solid rhythm. They liked us and they offered us other supports and so we found ourselves in an NSW RSL in god knows where playing to over 1000 rabid Sunnyboys fans. I couldn't get over how good they sounded. And how popular they were. And a lovely bunch of guys to boot.
I bought their first EP when I got back into town. Brought it back to Melbourne and played it to everyone. But Melbourne was ahead of me. The name Sunnyboys was already doing the rounds of the tastemakers. Mushroom Records even left Melbourne to go and sign this Sydney band which was big news at the time.
The result was this brilliant album. When it first came out we supported them at the Crystal Ballroom. Now that was a wild night! Then we did a number of supports with them all over the Melbourne suburbs.
In September 1982 Little Murders supported the Sunny Boys at the Commodore Hotel in Sandringham. The place was packed. It was a hot night and everyone looked like they had just come from the beach. I had a spirited discussion about the words to Australian Crawl's "Beautiful People" with Mick Barclay's girlfriend Sandra. James Reyne's style of singing did leave him open for interpretation.
I've seen the Sunny Boys in recent years and they've still got it! Now just waiting for the next support!
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