The Celibate Rifles

Sydney, Australia's Celibate Rifles (the name a wink or a nod to Johnny Rotten & Co.) were the vanguard of the second wave of Australian punk, fusing the raw power of countrymen Radio Birdman with the cartoon punk of the Ramones and the more cerebral hard rock of Blue Oyster Cult. Formed in 1979, the Rifles didn't release debut SIDEROXYLON until 1983. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Rifles--centered on singer Damien Lovelock and guitarist Kent Steedman--issued a series of consistent, charming LPs including 1986's THE TURGID MIASMA OF EXISTENCE, 1987's ROMAN BEACH PARTY, and 1994's SPACEMAN IN A SATIN SUIT, only the first of which saw issue stateside.