Young Modern

Australian music scribe Andy Bradley once hailed Young Modern as "the first power pop band from Down Under," and the group's bright, energetic sound together with its memorable melodies clearly anticipated the skinny-tie pop wave that would dominate charts by the close of the 1970s. The band arrived just slightly ahead of power pop’s short-lived commercial peak, yet its historical role and impact on acts such as the Hoodoo Gurus and the Sunnyboys remain broadly recognized. John Dowler, an Irish expatriate who had lived in Europe, the Netherlands, and England before making Adelaide his home, assembled Young Modern in 1977. Earlier he had fronted Spare Change, a forward-looking outfit devoted to direct rock & roll laced with pop sensibility and drawing inspiration from Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, the Velvet Underground, and Sparks. After Spare Change disbanded in 1976, Dowler searched for compatible players; in 1977 he connected with Andy Richards, whose older brother had attended school with Dowler. At the time Richards played bass in the stagnant Suggestion, so Dowler enlisted both him and the band’s guitarist Vic Yates. Once he had steeped his new colleagues in his musical outlook and his admiration for the Flamin' Groovies, Big Star, and the Byrds, Dowler, Richards, and Yates added guitarist Michael Jones and drummer Mark Kohler, completing the original lineup of Young Modern, a name borrowed from a 1960s pop fanzine. Their debut performance came in November 1977, supporting Radio Birdman, and they soon built a loyal Adelaide audience with their concise, hook-driven rock & roll. The industrious group toured clubs across southeast Australia, honing their craft before varied crowds. Through his friendship with Steve Cummings of the pub-rock band the Sports, Dowler secured production help for the band’s first single; Cummings oversaw “She’s Got the Money” backed with “Automatic,” issued in 1978 on the band’s own Top Gear imprint. The record received strong rotation on Sydney’s Double J and Melbourne’s Triple R, extending Young Modern’s reach nationwide. That exposure prompted an offer from Dirty Pool, the management company behind Cold Chisel and the Angels; the band signed and shifted base to Sydney, though Mike Jones remained in Adelaide and Mark Carroll stepped in on guitar. Despite Dirty Pool’s track record, the firm appeared uncertain how to position Young Modern, frequently routing them into hard-rock venues while newer pop groups that had followed in their wake enjoyed greater traction. Momentum waned, prompting the group to disband in summer 1979; Local Records later issued the album Play Faster, pairing the single with previously unreleased demos, and the members staged a short-lived 1980 reunion for a handful of shows. Spare Change’s previously unheard recordings were also gathered into an album after Young Modern’s initial split. Dowler subsequently launched the Glory Boys, later renamed Talk Show, and found further success in the late 1980s with the Zimmermen. He reconvened Young Modern in 2006 to record the album How Insensitive, released the next year, after which the band toured; a second reunion run in 2010 yielded the live set Live at the Grace Emily 22.12.2010.