James Freud

Colin McGlinchly came into the world in 1959 and later performed under the name James Freud, building a varied career both on his own and through affiliations with the Models, Beatfish, and Moondog. In 1977 he and longtime schoolmate Sean Kelly launched Teenage Radio Stars, a glam-punk outfit that placed Freud on lead vocals and guitar; the group dissolved the following year, prompting him to establish James Freud and the Radio Allstars. The new ensemble secured a deal with Mushroom, issuing its first single, “Modern Girl,” in 1980, where it climbed to number 12 on the national Australian charts. That same year the band opened for Gary Numan on his Australian dates. Their debut album, Breaking Silence, arrived in June 1980; Numan was sufficiently impressed to ask Freud to cut a record in the U.K., yet the completed project satisfied neither party and remained unreleased. A subsequent rechristening as James Freud and Berlin became necessary when another U.K. act already used the name Radio Stars. March 1981 saw the release of the single “Automatic Crazy,” helmed by Gary Numan, yet Freud dissolved the Berlin lineup only a month later. Following a journey to England, he rejoined Sean Kelly’s group the Models in 1982. Once that band achieved considerable success it disbanded in June 1988, freeing Freud to resume solo work. Step Into the Heat, widely regarded as the most costly album Mushroom had ever financed, was tracked in New York and reached number 16 on the national Australian chart in June 1989; its single “Hurricane” peaked at number 15. At a career nadir, Freud spent 1990 playing bass for Kylie Minogue’s touring ensemble. Late that year he teamed with Mental as Anything’s Martin Plaza to form the dance project Beatfish. Subsequent years brought songwriting and production assignments for television advertisements. In January 1996 Freud abandoned another solo effort, Big Mouth; only one track, “Postcard to Hawaii,” met his standards, and it appeared under the Moondog moniker, a fresh partnership with guitarist Phil Ceberano. The single fared well, leading to the full Postcard to Hawaii album in January 1997.