The Sports

The Sports originated in Melbourne, Australia, during 1976, with Steve Cummings on lead vocals, Martin Armiger and Andrew Pendlebury sharing guitar duties, Jim Niven handling keyboards and vocals, Robert Glover on bass, and Paul Hutchins at the drum kit. Drawing from rock, rockabilly, country, and new wave sources, they crafted several finely tuned pop numbers in the new wave idiom that performed strongly on local charts, above all in Melbourne. Wider national recognition arrived, though successive exits by core members reduced the band’s later reach. After opening for Graham Parker on his 1978 Australian dates, the Sports were asked to accompany him across Europe and England. Releases appeared in those markets yet failed to register notable success in either territory or the United States. Multiple large-scale tours across Australia followed, along with further singles and a fourth album, but forward motion had ceased. Early-1980s personnel shifts replaced Hutchins first with Ian McLennan and then with Freddie Strauks, formerly of Skyhooks. The Sports dissolved at the close of 1981. Cummings subsequently launched a solo career, periodically teaming with Pendlebury, who issued three instrumental guitar albums of his own. Armiger turned to production work in television, stage, and rock music.