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Stoneage Romeos

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For the Three Stooges short, see Stone Age Romeos.

Stoneage Romeos
Studio album by
Hoodoo Gurus
ReleasedMarch 1984
StudioTrafalgar
Genre
Length37:23
LabelBig Time
ProducerAlan Thorne
Hoodoo Gurus chronology
Stoneage Romeos
(1984) 		Mars Needs Guitars!
(1985)
Alternative cover
US cover
Singles from Stoneage Romeos
  1. "Leilani"
    Released: October 1982
  2. "Tojo"
    Released: June 1983
  3. "My Girl"
    Released: October 1983
  4. "I Want You Back"
    Released: March 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
PopMatters8/10[3]
Uncut[4]
The Village VoiceB+[5]

Stoneage Romeos is the debut album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. Released in March 1984 by Big Time Records in Australia,[6] the album's release saw them receive record sales to complement their already strong reputation for live performances. With radio and television support for their third single "My Girl" (1983), complete with a film clip about a greyhound of the same name, the band's following grew. The album's other singles were "Leilani", "Tojo" and "I Want You Back". The album peaked at number 29 on the Australian charts.

The band won "Best Debut Album" at the 1984 Countdown Awards.[7]

A&M Records released the album in the United States on 7 September 1984.

Stoneage Romeos was re-released by Arcadia Records on 1 October 2002, with two additional tracks, "Hoodoo You Love" and "Be My Guru". EMI also re-released the album on 24 October 2005 with three bonus tracks, "Leilani Pt. 2", "Be My Guru" and "Hoodoo You Love", a fold-out poster and liner notes by Lindsay "The Doctor" McDougall of Frenzal Rhomb.

In October 2010, the album was listed in the top 30 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.[8]

Release

[edit]

The title Stoneage Romeos is taken from a Three Stooges short film. The Australian LP, designed by Yanni Stumbles, sported a cartoonish nod to the 1966 caveman flick One Million Years B.C., all menacing dinosaurs and Day-Glo colors,[9] whilst in America, consumers got a stylized sleeve featuring arty renditions of the giant reptiles. On the change of covers, the band's frontman Dave Faulkner would later recall:

Bad coffeetable art, very anonymous and boring. On the U.S. tour fans are bringing up the Australian copies for us to sign—they were all getting them on import! Yet at the end of the tour, A&M says to us, ‘Oh well, we don't really think the cover will affect sales at all.’ Like, when they’re right, they’re right, and when they’re wrong, they’re still right.[10]

Track listing

[edit]

Australian release

[edit]

All tracks are written by Dave Faulkner, except where noted[11]

Stoneage Romeos track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."(Let's All) Turn On"James Baker, Darcy Condon, Faulkner, Roddy Radalj3:04
2."I Want You Back" 3:12
3."Arthur"Faulkner, Radalj3:10
4."Death Ship"Faulkner, Radalj, Alan Sharples2:37
5."Dig It Up" 3:36
6."My Girl" 2:40
7."Zanzibar" 3:25
8."Leilani"Faulkner, Baker, Radalj, Kimble Rendall5:36
9."Tojo" 3:23
10."In the Echo Chamber" 3:44
11."I Was a Kamikaze Pilot" 3:12
2002 re-release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Hoodoo You Love" aka "Who Do You Love"Ellas McDaniel2:09
13."Be My Guru"Baker, Faulkner2:40
2005 re-release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Leilani, Pt. 2" 3:58
13."Be My Guru"Baker, Faulkner2:40
14."Hoodoo You Love" (recorded live by Triple J at the Trade Union Club in Sydney in 1983)Bo Diddley2:07

US release

[edit]
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."I Want You Back"3:12
2."Tojo"3:23
3."Leilani"5:36
4."Arthur"3:10
5."Dig It Up"3:36
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."(Let's All) Turn On"3:04
2."Death Ship"2:37
3."In The Echo Chamber"3:44
4."Zanzibar"3:25
5."I Was a Kamikaze Pilot"3:12
6."My Girl"2:40

Personnel

[edit]

Credited to:[6][9][12][13]

  • James Baker – drums
  • Clyde Bramley – bass, vocals
  • Dave Faulkner – guitar, lead vocals, keyboards
  • Brad Shepherd – lead guitar, vocals, harmonica, percussion
  • Michael Farmer – additional percussion
  • Alan Thorne – producer and engineer
  • Bob Carbone – mastering
  • Frank DeLuna – mastering
  • Yanni Stumbles – artwork (cover concept and design)
  • Tom Takacs – photography
  • Stuart Thorne – other ("the boss")

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Stoneage Romeos
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] 29
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 32
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 38
2024 chart performance for Stoneage Romeos (40th anniversary edition)
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 8

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Stoneage Romeos
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[8] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

[edit]
  • Stoneage Cameos – a 2005 tribute album, featuring cover versions of all of Stoneage Romeos' songs by 14 other Australian bands

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Hoodoo Gurus". Trouser Press. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  2. ^ Deming, Mark. "Stoneage Romeos – Hoodoo Gurus". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  3. ^ Raper, Dan (30 January 2007). "Hoodoo Gurus: Stoneage Romeos". PopMatters. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Hoodoo Gurus: Stoneage Romeos". Uncut: 76. Twenty-plus years on, everything from wacky Cramps rip 'Dig It Up' to chaotic call-to-arms 'Be My Guru' sound great.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (25 September 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b Holmgren, Magnus; Georgieff, Didier; Hartung, Stephan. "Hoodoo Gurus". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Countdown Magazine". ABC-TV. July 1985. Archived from the original on 8 November 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
  8. ^ a b O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
  9. ^ a b "Discogs entry Stoneage Romeos (Australian CD)". discogs.com. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
  10. ^ Harp Magazine (February 2007) Archived 14 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  12. ^ "Discogs entry Stoneage Romeos (Australian vinyl LP)". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  13. ^ "Discogs entry Stoneage Romeos (US vinyl LP)". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 141. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – Hoodoo Gurus – Stoneage Romeos". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Hoodoo Gurus – Stoneage Romeos". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  17. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
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