The Riptides

Yep.
On a (slight) tangent, I met John Foy the other week. I told him that ''R.I.P.TIDES'' was one of my favorite posters ever. He knew exactly what I meant.

So hang on, you do like them or you don't?

Yes, I like them.
And John Foy's poster for their farewell shows is one of my favorite posters ever.

Oh, that's good – the R.I.P. being linked with one of your favourite posters concerned me. : )

I knew them from their two songs on the Tales From the Australian Underground compilations. But I recently found their self titled album on a blog. Hearts and Flowers is such a great song! I had no idea about the GANGgajang connection

It's weird huh? Listen to MC's singing voice on your Riptides rekkids closely; you can hear it's the same bloke as in GANGgajang.

That sounded really stupid – but you know, it's just interesting.

Anyway, I've been listening to Resurface all weekend and it's made me extremely happy.

I used to like seeing them live, but I went off them in the late '80s for some reason or other.

'Only Time' is a really cheesy infectious song that gets stuck in my head a bit. I also like the ''Tomorrows Tears 7''. Read a story how it was released on valentines day as a joke?

They never did release an actual studio album did they? Apart from the mini LP ''Swept Away, everything else is a comp/anthology release I think.

Apparently they did – Wave Rock – but it dates from 1991 and to my mind doesn't really count as it was so far after the fact.

hmm, i think andyr just wrote about them in brag this week.

Also in regards to the John Foy poster mentioned above, all the posters he did that I've seen are great. I'd love to grab some of his posters on display in Rockinghorse Records.

How odd!! Collective consciousness strikes again.

xpost

You're correct postergirl, the info here states that 'Wave Rock' was their first full length studio album.

Also some great miming of Tomorrows Tears

hmm, i think andyr just wrote about them in brag this week.

well, sort of.

here is what i wrote.

The Riptides
Resurface
PolyGram, 1987

Sometimes I wish there was space for a subtitle to this column, but I never get around to actually organising it – so you'll just have to use your imagination to pretend this week's is called ''In Praise Of Liner Notes''. Toby Creswell is the writer behind the recent Great Australian Albums series on SBS, which covered, in wonderful detail, classic records by The Triffids, The Saints, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and, ahem... Silverchair. Anyway, Creswell was also the editor of Rolling Stone in the late 1980s and, after that, one of the founders of Juice magazine and the author of a biography of Jimmy Barnes. I've never met him, but I'm told he is a very nice man.

I first heard The Riptides on one of those compilations of local rock and roll history that I keep crapping on about – Tales From The Australian Underground, I think it was, or Do The Pop, both of which I am still listening to and enjoying – and last year stumbled upon a live double-LP of theirs called Resurface at a second-hand shop. On the inside sleeve is a wonderful review by Creswell, describing his experience of hearing them for the first time. It begins: ''We were in a bar called the Australian Heritage in Kings Cross, Sydney. There I was drowning my sorrows on cadged drinks and the last thing I wanted to hear was a surf band from Brisbane...''

Then he describes how the band, seemingly all of a sudden, had kids dancing on chairs and on tables and how the stage was set up in front of a giant window looking down over Rushcutter's Bay and how it fogged up and turned white from all the sweat. It's meant as no disservice to the music to say this story is the best thing about Resurface. It captures something that microphones simply can't – the feeling of being there, of getting swept up in the moment, of being miserable in some dingy bar in Kings Cross in the winter of 1980 and having your night turn around in the best way imaginable. I have read it more times than I've actually listened to the record.

PS: That said, though, you should also look up the band's single 'Tomorrow's Tears' on YouTube, because it's awesome.

ANDREW RAMADGE

I saw them play once. It was when the Livid Festival came to Sydney (Harold Park Raceway) in 89? I don't really remember anything about it.

That was a good story wasn't it. Wanna hear more. I've got millions of 'em.

Yep, I wanna hear all of them.

big tangent but this instantly got me thinking about MONORCHID

The Riptides were great in their day. I remember seeing them at a lunchtime gig at Syd Uni in 1980, and Andrew ran all the way across the stage and brought his amp crashing to the floor 'cos his guitar lead was too short. I remember surmising that they must never have played a stage that big in Brisbane...

The ''Riptides'' who played at Pig City a few years back, though, were just GangGajang masquerading under another name. The old Angels rhythm section of Bailey and Bidstrup were completely unsuited to the Riptides' music. Memo to Mark Callaghan: you + session dudes doth not The Riptides make!

Ah, wish I'd seen them live in the 80s. I was too yo-ou-oung though.

I also wish I had the vinyl of Resurface but I've had a look around online and it's too 'spensive for me.

Those Creswell liner notes sound great. (I have to say I dislike Creswell himself though.)

There was a rock Arena feature on them once. I remember it was on Rage a few years ago.

i liked the riptides but hated gangajang.

i was too young for the riptides, methinks, but i think uncle stu (as he fondly called himself when writing for dolly mag) gave them awesome reviews. (just found whosgotthecrack's note: i always liked stuart coupe (for telling teenage dolly readers that bros were shit and we had not taste, and that we really should be listening to rem's life's rich pageant) ). stu was an awesome thing for dolly.

on another far more important note, them crazy kids @ 4ZzZ have announced on disgracebook ''The Riptides reforming for 1 off show April 18. 4zzz subscribers can win tickets closer to the date''. oh, zzz. there are days when i could go into that record library, shut the door, and not come out again.

wow so the riptides are playing on the 18th @ UQ

Wish they'd come to Melbourne.

they were crap at that pig city thing. just awful.

wow so the riptides are playing on the 18th @ UQ

might check this out

Some cool John Foy Riptides posters for sale, although they're pricey:

Posters