47 years on from the original Fatal label release comes a 21st century reissue of the iconic 7” “(I’m) Stranded” by Australian proto-punks The Saints. PLUS The Saints’ guitarist Ed Kuepper has launched an extensive catalogue campaign of solo material, beginning with remasters of seminal debut solo album Electrical Storm (1985) and Honey Steel’s Gold (1990) AND Ed’s hitting the road with The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper tour, the first live band experience of Ed Kuepper’s solo material since 2009.
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips sat down with Ed Kuepper over zoom call to talk about the I’m Stranded re-release, the remastered solo albums and the tour, which begins Friday September 1st.
MORE ABOUT THE RE-RELEASES AND TOUR
I’M STRANDED
Manufactured originally at Astor Records Melbourne and received by guitarist Ed Kuepper on August 2nd 1976 in Brisbane the limited run of approx. 530 copies of “(I’m) Stranded” were split up and sent variously to overseas music publications, a handful of Australian shops plus Rough Trade London and Greg Shaw’s Bomp mail order in the USA.
What happened next is history and paved the way for three of the greatest albums not just of the era but any era; (I’m) Stranded (’77), Eternally Yours (’77) and Prehistoric Sounds (’78).
Proudly presented by Los Angeles record label In The Red (Osees, Ty Segall, Sparks, Kid Congo) the 2023 7” edition of “(I’m) Stranded” appears in a limited run of 2000 copies across three different coloured vinyl versions and three different sleeves using the original 1977 UK, USA and Netherlands artwork.
But wait, there’s more; in addition to the single reissue comes the first ever official merch line from the original line-up of The Saints. Three designs across two t-shirts and a hoodie open the collection and feature Ed Kuepper’s original hand-painted logo, the Fatal label 7” design and the rear sleeve graphic of Savage Pencil as featured on the 7” UK release “(I’m) Stranded”.
Available in all sizes and all cuts the collection will also be made available locally in the UK via Wax Face Toys, in the USA via In The Red Records and in Australia via Artist First – https://artistfirst.com.au/collections/the-saints-73-78.
ED KUEPPER’S ELECTRICAL STORM + HONEY STEEL’S GOLD REMASTERED REISSUES OUT NOW
Iconic co-founder of arguably the most significant Australian band, The Saints (‘I’m Stranded’), and of the post-punk era-defining Laughing Clowns, Ed Kuepper launches an extensive catalogue campaign with remastered reissues of his long-out-of-print, seminal debut solo album Electrical Storm (1985) and Honey Steel’s Gold (1990) through Remote Control Records. Both albums are now available for the first time on streaming services, and on vinyl formats for the first time in 30 years. Coloured vinyl and black vinyl pressings, CDs and digital formats are all out now.
Kuepper has said of the new reissues:
“Both titles have been remastered from the original analogue tapes by the very experienced and very good Don Bartley. This is the first time either title has had a remaster since their initial release. So in the case of Electrical Storm that’s almost 40 years and for Honey Steel’s Gold 30 years. Both titles have been mastered using the most up to date technology and prepared for all formats; vinyl, CD and streaming. They are the best ever sounding versions of both albums.”
MORE ABOUT ED
One of Australia’s most culturally significant and influential musicians, with an ARIA Hall Of Fame induction, 2x ARIA Awards and several other nominations to his name, Ed Kuepper has, since 1985, released over 20 studio albums under his own name, winning countless awards along the way. It’s an unequalled catalogue of work – idiosyncratic, forward-moving, always searching – that has been acquired by Remote Control.
Remote Control label co-founder Steve Cross reiterates this feeling, saying “For me Ed is a prime mover, a musician who has transformed music numerous times over, always swimming upstream, always seeking new terrain, always creating on his own terms. It’s a vast, singular body of work, no one else could have produced it. I get the same pleasure listening to these albums as I do listening to Neil Young or John Martyn or Patti Smith or Michael Rother. And it’s a pleasure to share Ed’s music and make these records available again.”
Kuepper is a figure whose influence down through the generations remains unparalleled in Australian music, both in terms of the way he has made music, and his uncompromising attitude and fearless spirit. Of the catalogue campaign, Kuepper shares “It’s very satisfying to be involved in the long overdue reissue of these, to me, pivotal albums. And best of all there will be more… ”
Kuepper began playing music in the early-to-mid ’70s with what would become The Saints. Their 1976 debut single ‘I’m Stranded’ (which predated records by The Sex Pistols, The Damned and The Clash) helped shift the tectonic plates of music and brashly announce the advent of punk, although Kuepper and his bandmates (including the late Chris Bailey) steadfastly maintained a cautious distance from the scene that eventuated. Nick Cave would recall the band “tore their way through Sydney and Melbourne with their famously anarchic shows… these legendary performances changed the lives of so many people, myself included.”
Through the end of the ’70s and the early ’80s, Kuepper’s new band Laughing Clowns broke free of the musical shackles of the previous decade and ventured into new musical territory. Fans included once again Nick Cave, along with Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Bill Callahan and Radio Birdman’s Deniz Tek. Warren Ellis also gleefully recalls stealing from Laughing Clowns to write music for Grinderman. The Guardian described them as “A band unparalleled in Australian rock history, contemporaries of The Triffids, The Go-Betweens, The Birthday Party and The Moodists, with a clear (acknowledged) influence on all.”
Kuepper would go on to help break down the commercial barriers that faced independent music, proving a long stay in the chart (peaking at #28) with 1991 album Honey Steel’s Gold. Ever prolific, he would also release a number of albums by the blistering power outfit The Aints, spend time as a guitarist in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, write various film soundtracks including Last Cab To Darwin, have three of the Top 50 records in Pedestrian’s list of the Greatest Australian Albums, and most recently, perform rapturously received concerts working as a duo with Jim White of The Dirty Three.
THE EXPLODING UNIVERSE OF ED KUEPPER NATIONAL TOUR
The Ed Kuepper tour follows the launch of an extensive catalogue campaign of iconic Saints co-founder Ed Kuepper’s solo material through Remote Control Records, beginning with remasters of seminal debut solo album Electrical Storm (1985) and Honey Steel’s Gold (1990), and the announcement of The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper, the first live band experience of Ed Kuepper’s solo material since 2009.
Featuring Ed’s legendary sparring partner Mark Dawson on drums, Sunnyboys bassist Peter Oxley plus celebrated pianist Alister Spence and brass maestro Eamon Dilworth, The Exploding Universe will tackle the best of Electrical Storm and Honey Steel’s Gold and more this September. All shows are fully seated and on sale now.
THE EXPLODING UNIVERSE OF ED KUEPPER | Feel Presents
SEPTEMBER 2023
Fri 1st: Wyong, Arthouse
Sat 2nd: Blue Mountains Theatre
Wed 6th: Melbourne, National Theatre
Fri 8th: Queenscliff Town Hall
Sat 9th: Meeniyan Town Hall
Wed 13th: Fremantle, Freo Social
Fri 15th: Adelaide, The Gov
Sat 16th: Hobart, Theatre Royal
Wed 20th: Canberra, The Street Theatre
Thu 21st: Sydney, City Recital Hall
Thu 28th: Brisbane, Princess Theatre
Fri 29: Gold Coast, Twin Towns
Sat 30: Sunshine Coast, Imperial Hotel
Info & Tickets
Stream / Download / Order Electrical Storm: https://ed-kuepper.lnk.to/electricalstorm
Stream / Download / Order Honey Steel’s Gold: https://ed-kuepper.lnk.to/honeysteelsgold