Tuff Monks foi uma banda-relâmpago formada em 1982, fruto de um encontro improvável (ou inevitável) entre membros de dois pilares da cena alternativa australiana: Nick Cave, Mick Harvey e Rowland S. Howard, do The Birthday Party, e Robert Forster, Lindy Morrison e Grant McLennan, do The Go-Betweens. O único lançamento do grupo foi o single em 7" e 45 rpm "After the Fireworks", lançado pelo selo australiano Au Go Go Records.
A colaboração surgiu quase por acidente: as duas bandas haviam reservado, sem saber, horários sobrepostos no estúdio AAV, em Melbourne. O The Birthday Party enfrentava dificuldades para finalizar seu disco Junkyard (lançado em maio de 1982), e, entre uma pausa e outra, decidiram unir forças com os Go-Betweens para registrar uma faixa. A ideia da música, bem como sua letra, partiu de Nick Cave. A batida marcante leva a assinatura inconfundível de Lindy Morrison. O nome “Tuff Monks” foi inventado por Anita Lane, então namorada de Cave.
O grupo tocou ao vivo uma única vez, no Tiger Lounge em Richmond, apresentando um cover de "Ring of Fire". After the Fireworks" foi lançado naquele mesmo ano por Keith Glass, dono do selo Missing Link. Segundo ele, a decisão veio para recuperar parte do prejuízo com os altos custos de estúdio do The Birthday Party.
Eles estavam no AVV, custando uma fortuna,mil dólares por noite... Uma noite surgiu ‘After the Fireworks’ porque não tinham nada melhor pra fazer. Então eu disse: ‘Vamos usar isso como moeda pra compensar os custos’. Acho que foi o Nick Cave que teve a ideia de lançar como Tuff Monks... Vendeu até bem.” Keith Glass
Porém, a versão de Mick Harvey é bem diferente. Para ele, o single não deveria sequer ter saído: “Aquela faixa foi basicamente uma jam de duas horas que nem chegamos a terminar... Como conseguiram lançar aquilo, não faço ideia. É absurdo, um verdadeiro ultraje... A proposta era que ninguém fosse creditado. Era pra ser só ‘The Tuff Monks’, sem explicação, sem nada.” Mick Harvey
Keith Glass contesta. Ele reivindica a escolha da capa do single e a criação do lado B, uma versão dub da faixa principal, batizada "After, After the Fireworks".
Com o passar do tempo, “After the Fireworks” ganhou vida própria. Foi incluída na versão em CD de Drunk on the Pope’s Blood (split entre The Birthday Party e Lydia Lunch), na box set The Definitive Missing Link Recordings 1979–1982 do Birthday Party, na reedição de 2002 do álbum Send Me a Lullaby dos Go-Betweens, e na compilação australiana No Worries, lançada pela Hot Records. Tal projeto foi um encontro fugaz, mas explosivo, uma joia rara para colecionadores.
Discografia
After the Fireworks (single) 1982
Tuff Monks was a lightning band formed in 1982, the result of an unlikely (or inevitable) encounter between members of two pillars of the Australian alternative scene: Nick Cave, Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard from The Birthday Party, and Robert Forster, Lindy Morrison and Grant McLennan from The Go-Betweens. The group's only release was the 7" 45 rpm single "After the Fireworks", released by the Australian label Au Go Go Records.
The collaboration came about almost by accident: both bands had unknowingly booked overlapping times at AAV Studios in Melbourne. The Birthday Party was struggling to finish their album Junkyard (released in May 1982), and during a break, they decided to join forces with The Go-Betweens to record a track. The idea and lyrics came from Nick Cave. The striking beat carries the unmistakable signature of Lindy Morrison. The name “Tuff Monks” was coined by Anita Lane, Cave’s girlfriend at the time.
The group played live only once, at the Tiger Lounge in Richmond, performing a cover of "Ring of Fire". “After the Fireworks” was released that same year by Keith Glass, owner of the Missing Link label. According to him, the decision came as a way to recover part of the high studio costs from The Birthday Party.
They were at AAV, costing a fortune, a thousand dollars a night... One night, ‘After the Fireworks’ came up because they had nothing better to do. So I said: ‘Let’s use this as currency to offset the costs’. I think it was Nick Cave who had the idea to release it as Tuff Monks... It even sold well.” Keith Glass
However, Mick Harvey’s version is quite different. To him, the single shouldn’t even have been released: “That track was basically a two-hour jam we didn’t even finish... How they managed to release that, I have no idea. It’s absurd, a real outrage... The idea was that no one would be credited. It was supposed to be just ‘The Tuff Monks’, with no explanation, nothing.” Mick Harvey
Keith Glass disagrees. He claims the choice of the single’s cover and the creation of the B-side, a dub version of the main track titled "After, After the Fireworks".
Over time, “After the Fireworks” took on a life of its own. It was included in the CD version of Drunk on the Pope’s Blood (a split between The Birthday Party and Lydia Lunch), in the box set The Definitive Missing Link Recordings 1979–1982 by The Birthday Party, in the 2002 reissue of the album Send Me a Lullaby by The Go-Betweens, and in the Australian compilation No Worries, released by Hot Records. It was a fleeting but explosive project, a rare gem for collectors.
Discography
After the Fireworks (single) 1982
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