Freud - I am the voice left from drinking : the Models, from the ’burbs to ’Barbados’ and beyond

This book is dedicated to Sally, Harrison and Jackson,
without whose unconditional love and support
I would not be alive to write this story

In memory of Joe McGlinchey

James Freud and I have spent much of our teenage and adult lives living in parallel universes, both obsessed by the awesome power and possibilities of pop and rocknroll music, both traversing the world in pursuit of similar dreams, both indulging in the temptations of the business to a point well beyond what could be considered even remotely healthy.

I wouldnt say that James and I are close friendswe dont have each others home phone numbers or call on birthdaysbut whenever we see each other its like were old mates. Were surviving soldiers from the trenches of that beast known as Australian rocknroll. There are no doubt dozens of friends and acquaintances who are surprised that were both still breathing. Neither of us is in the Keith Richards school of rocknroll obsession, but its fair to say that weve given it a good shot over the last two and a half decades.

Like old soldiers James and I have met up regularly over the years to compare notes. The circumstances usually surrounded the release of a new record featuring James, be it as a member of the Models (most often), Beatfish or as a solo artist. Such is the nature of the music promotions caper that with the release of a new album the artists are dragged around the country talking to folks like me whove made a living out of writing about them and their music.

As such James and I have met on numerous occasions in bars, cafs and record company offices, going through the motions of discussing each new record. I guess James must have decided that my commentary on his careerprinted in the pages of everything from Dolly to the Sun Herald to RAM (Rock Australia Magazine)has been pretty reasonable as some years ago he and fellow Model Sean Kelly asked me to write the detailed sleeve notes for a Models career retrospective CD and here I am writing this foreword.

Rocknroll memoirs are a dime a dozen these days, particularly as the survivors continue to age and find cause to reflect on their life and experiences. The trouble is that the majority are close to if not totally unreadable. Either the participant was too drug and alcohol addled to remember most of what happened, cant write, or is afraid of offending people by telling the truth. A handful of rocknroll memoirs are classics of their type, and the book youre holding in your hands is one of them. Its as captivating, honest and compelling as Ian Hunters Diary Of A RocknRoll Star which is the highest praise I can give for a book that trawls openly through the myriad experiences that make up the rollercoaster ride that is the rocknroll business.

And these stories are universal. Therell hardly be a person on earth who wont relate to James tales of starting a band, slogging it out in rehearsal rooms and playing in dodgy pubs to audiences that often dont number more than the band. Fewer, however, will know what its like to tour the world, hang out with other rock stars who are household names, and have number one recordsbut this book takes you right there.

In the pages of i am the voice left from drinking you encounter a swag of big namesDavid Bowie, Kylie Minogue, Michael Hutchence, Molly Meldrum and so forth, but for me equally as fascinating was the litany of lesser-known figures who blazed brightly and briefly in the Australian music industry, some of whom I hadnt thought about for ages. Theres Pixie, the legendary tour manager who wouldnt allow the Models a loo stop during their endless drives around the country (Im going to remind him of that next time I see him), or my friend Neil Bradbury who died tragically young. Therere so many names herefrom Andy Warhol to record company boss Michael Gudinski, Gary Numan to tour manager John Lever. All part of James great rocknroll adventure.

And one of the many things that makes i am the voice left from drinking fascinating is the number of terrific yarns contained in its pages. Me, I thought I knew all the gossip and insider goings-on in the Australian music industry but frequently whilst reading this book I went, Oh, thats what really happened. Im sure a few names have been changed to protect the guilty but thats hardly the pointthe tales are so wonderfulsometimes poignant, other times side-splittingly funnythat it makes little difference. This is a book of memorable rocknroll stories, superbly told and melded together. And its a book not just for rocknroll aficionadosthis is a book about growing up in Australia in the 60s, 70s and 80s, trying to work out your place in the scheme of things and pursuing a dream, a dream that frequently became a nightmare.

Unlike so many rocknroll memoirs i am the voice left from drinking doesnt shy away from the truth, no matter how unpleasant it is. James book should be read by any aspiring rocknroll musician as it chronicles in often minute detail the ups and downs of life in the business. It doesnt set out to be a primer on the music industry but anyone can learn an enormous amount from the stories recounted in its pages. Reading this book youll have some inkling of what it feels like to be told your song has gone to number one on the charts, youll almost be in the room when a band member is sacked, youll smell the vomit on the walls of a hotel room as the artist desperately tries to pull himself together enough to get onstage in two hours time to entertain thousands. Youll be on board a plane during a tour as it seems to be seconds away from crashing. i am the voice left from drinking takes you on an in-your-face rocknroll journey with James and his fellow travellers.

Reading these pages I was reminded of the last two times James and I ran into each other. One was at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), both heading towards the bar to get a drink, just before THAT game of Australian Rules Football between the Sydney Swans and Essendon in September 1996. We were both wearing our Sydney Swans scarves and had a quick chat about the nights prospects. It was the preliminary final and the game the Swans won with a kick from Tony Lockett after the siren which put the Swans into the Grand Final. We wont talk about what happened the next week.

But sitting high in the stands that night during the closing moments of that football match was unquestionably one of the most exciting experiences of my life. James writes in i am the voice left from drinking that it was one of the most extraordinary adrenaline buzzes of his life as well, only slightly behind the time when he performed his song One Tony Lockett on the SCG the day the great footballer kicked his 1300th goal. And lets not forget that James wife Sally is the author of A History of the Sydney Swans. I imagine that the next time James and I meet up well spend most of the time discussing the Swans lousy 2002 season, why Lockett came out of retirement and whether Rodney Eade should have quit as coach. Its funny, the majority of Australian rocknroll musicians I know are obsessed by Australian Rules Footballand with One Tony Lockett James managed to fuse the seemingly disparate matters of football and music. Most non-Swans fans hated that song, but I still find it running through my head whenever Im preparing to watch a Swans game.

And the last meeting with James was a strange onean encounter that I didnt really understand until I read the opening pages of his book. It was early in 2001 and the announcement had been made that the Models had decided to re-form for a limited run of shows. Amongst the rocknroll mafia this was greeted with a fair degree of derision. Reformation tours dont have a good track record and have become associated with bands trying to cash in and/or pay off old debts. I think James and his fellow Models would agree that this wasnt an exception. And also there comes a time when a musician has been playing all their life when they begin to ask themselves that age-old question: Hey, Im 40 and Im not really qualified to do anything elserocknrolls a young persons game so what am I going to do for the rest of my life?James was luckyhe had a number of skills to fall back onbut the lure of rocknroll is a hard one to beat. Can I still do it? Will it be like the old days?