Returning to the stage with longtime Perth rockers The Never Never

Local 1980s band The Never Never, formerly known as Silent Type, are set to ride with an upcoming show featuring an abundance of tunes written by WAM award-winning songwriter and author Simon Goodridge. The Never Never hit Port Beach Brewery on Friday, March 27, with tickets on sale now. BOB GORDON catches up with The Never Never vocalist/guitarist, Simon Goodridge, to find out more about the original Silent Type band, the evolution of The Never Never and the experience of writing a memoir.

Before The Never Never there was Silent Type. Describe the formation and those early days.

Silent Type was first formed with two school chums, Ross Philpott and Sean Diggins, in 1981. Our baptism of fire was encountered at a venue called the Cat & Fiddle in Mount Lawley, an exciting experience all round as we were swept up in the euphoric tsunami that was dubbed New Wave, although I prefer post-punk pop as a better handle to hang off.

In our early days we supported such local legends as INXS (Farriss Brothers), Cold Chisel, Men at Work and The Church and chart-topping international acts like Adam & The Ants and The Clash—yes, The Clash—in front of 8,000 screaming nutters at the Entertainment Centre. So young, so naive, so fast! Every song was pedal to the metal, though we were not metal by a long shot. Peter Busher and Phil Morgan had joined the band in 1982 and 1983, respectively, with Phil replacing Sean, who went on to form the Sweet Blue Midnights.

What motivated the evolution into The Never Never? Was it from a creative/songwriting perspective or a bit of everything?

The Never Never was basically Silent Type. The band moved to Sydney in 1983, but there were a bunch of surfers from Maroubra called the Silent Types. Bugger! We had to come up with a new moniker, and we agreed on the Never Never from a list of hundreds of names I’d written down whilst out of my mind. In 1984 Ross left, and we acquired a real rockstar, Jim Toomey from the Tourists—yeah, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics precursor—on drums.

The Never Never were one of the go-to bands of the era in many classic Perth venues back then. What are your memories of those gigs at that time?

I have fond recollections of gigs such as the Shenton Park and Cottesloe Hotels being packed to the rafters. Ditto the Red Parrot in Northbridge. Speaking of Northbridge, Adrian’s Nightclub was ubercool in the early days. We were cool too. I was gobsmacked. All of a sudden I had girlfriends… one at a time, of course! It was amazing because we played our original songs, whereas, contemporaneously, that was atypical in Perth, to say the least.

What about the Never Never’s eastern states adventures?

In Sydney we hardened up. We gained an edge. The intercity scene was buzzing, and we eventually found our feet amongst a thriving polyglot of the weird and wonderful. We managed to gain some traction and then moved back to Perth. D’oh! We suffered from the ‘headless chicken parading as a band’ syndrome. If there was a crucial decision to be made, we were always up for the wrong one. Hindsight has 20-20 vision. We returned home and were soon joined by everybody’s favourite human being, Gus Warburton, on the drum stool.

There were plenty of gigs for great Perth bands of the time, but what were the main challenges back then?

Ostensibly the aforementioned quandary of playing your own tunes in a bastion of cover bands. We were always peripheral, but the periphery was strengthening. Eventually, you wouldn’t have to move ‘over east’ to hit the big time. Original bands were making headway. Thankfully we all gained great succour from your august publication, X-Press Magazine. Joe Cipriani was crucial to this, and we owe a lot to him, your good self and the team.

What preceded the breakup of The Never Never and the new adventure with Spacecake?

The Never Never never signed the amazing record deal that we’d chased for years all over the country. When it finally arrived, it “wasn’t good enough”. Que? A five-album worldwide recording deal through Warners! Don’t ask me why; I was just the founding member/main songwriter/spiritual leader. It’s convoluted. I don’t have the answers. At least not without therapy. After we blew it big time, Peter Busher soon left for the Grand Ole Opry, but by then Pete Stone had joined on keyboards, and this is the lineup we will now have moving forward.

I’d like to point out I have reformed the band. This is not a one-off reunion, as has happened spasmodically in the past. Now, where was I? After the ‘deal or no deal’ we soon had a new suitor in Albert’s Music. We recorded in their studio in Sydney, but there was no deal forthcoming, and eventually, after a ten-year lifecycle, the band folded. I met a lovely Swedish woman and moved to Sweden—wouldn’t you?—and formed Spacecake upon my return in 1993. Great band. Great energy. Sore neck!

What can people expect from the show on Friday?

Drawing from the abundance of tunes I have written, the evening will consist of a set of songs from each era. The first will feature mostly Silent Type songs played from 1981 to ’83, including some not since played live.

The second set will feature songs performed by The Never Never from 1984 through to the band’s swan song in 1991, plus a few surprise inclusions.

You released your memoir, Parkour With Guitar, in 2023. What was the best thing about writing it?

It was a truly cathartic experience. I know it’s an overstated phrase, but there’s a reason for that. I had no idea I could write. Apart from songs, of course. The best thing about writing Parkour With Guitar was to get the ‘I did this; we played there.’ This, this and this happened out of the way, and after trying to get it published during Covid—a logistical nightmare, and I ain’t just talkin’ ‘bout the virus—I could move on to my next book, Twentieth Century Boy, and actually give more of myself, my influences and my opinions.

Unlike that difficult second-album syndrome bands can suffer from—I wouldn’t know—I found writing my second book easy. It leapt out from within me. I was doing the Jack Kerouac stream of consciousness thing. It was a hoot.

The Never Never hit Port Beach Brewery on Friday, March 27. Tickets are on sale now from oztix.com