In September 1978, a new band formed in Sydney - The Radiators. 40 years later, after thousands of shows, numerous records, and a career that’s seen more highs than lows and left them with a committed fan base and countless old fans with very fond memories, they’re still at it. We caught up with founding member and the still current bass player, Geoff Turner, to wish the band a happy 40th and to get the lowdown on one of Oz rock’s enduring favourites.

ILYOS: Hi Geoff. Happy 40th Anniversary. A few questions for you about the band’s early days…

GT: Thanks for your 40th anniversary best wishes, much appreciated. I will endeavor to answer your questions to the best of my ability although it has been 4 decades! 

So, three of the band’s four founders kept the Radiators going for decades. What’s kept you guys at it for so long?

Two of the bands' founders are still with the band. Myself and lead singer Brian. Fess retired nearly 6 years ago to concentrate on his recording studio work and do guitar and amplifier repairs. After 35 years he was just tired of the traveling and the associated grind. He did, however, recommend his replacement to us, Brent Dehn of Dee Minor and the Dischords and Wrecking Crew fame. We are fortunate that Brent agreed to step in and allow the band to continue at a time when we were obviously concerned for our future. Brent is an amazing guitarist. It has been a seamless transition and he has given the band a lift with his energy and enthusiasm.

Going right back, the Radiators formed out of an earlier band called Twister. Tell us a bit about that band, what it was like musically and why it came to an end.

The Rads formed from a band called Big Swifty. I joined them about 9 months before we changed our name to The Radiators. My band Twister had broken up and I was offered to join Swifty with a plan for Brian to drop the bass guitar (which he was most adept at) and free him up to concentrate on vocals and frontman duties. The same as what happened with Doc from the Angels. Twister, who had done a couple of shows with Big Swifty, had a recording contract with RCA and had released a couple of singles. Unfortunately, they sunk without trace and the inevitable disillusion led to the band's demise. Twister was a hard rocking boogie band heavily influenced by Status Quo and ZZ TOP. Lots of hair, lots of denim.

How were the Radiators different to Twister and Big Swifty? There was a bit of punk in the aggression and directness of the early Radiators sound. Were the Sex Pistols an influence? How did that go down with older musicians on the scene? Anyone on the local punk scene take your fancy? Or was heavy metal more of an influence? Who were your local heroes?

I guess I brought a more rockier vibe to Swifty who were influenced by Bowie and Pink Floyd to a degree. I also had a swag of originals, as did they. The punk era was in full force at that time and although not fans of the genre, you couldn't help but get caught up in the energy that was swinging us away from the 8-minute jam filled 70s type songs to writing much shorter sharper tunes. This change led us to reimagine the band with a new look, new short haircuts and a new name... The Radiators!

The Radiators released their first single “Comin’ Home” 12 months after they formed, so it all happened pretty quickly. What do you attribute that to? Did anyone or any other bands give you a leg up? How did you come to the attention of WEA?

"Comin' Home " was a song I had written for Twister. Luckily it was adopted and upgraded by the Rads. It was a regular in our set and must have caught the attention of the WEA A&R guys, who "discovered " us by chance at the Civic Hotel on a Monday night playing to about 50 people. Pure chance, pure luck. A meeting ensued and a recording contract offered.

Charles Fisher produced Feel The Heat. What are your memories of that experience, and your thoughts on the record?

With the success of “Comin’ Home” WEA were keen for us to do an album and they brought Charles Fisher in to produce what was to become Feel The Heat. We recorded it in a couple of weeks at the Music Farm Studios in Northern NSW. The place had accommodation and was a real farm at one stage. We stayed there in a camp like atmosphere, eating, sleeping, and recording every day well into the night. A lot of fun was had. We loved the songs and many are still our bread and butter tunes in today's set. We didn't quite capture our big live sound though and it came out a lot " tinnier" than we had wanted, unfortunately.

The band was riding very high in the early 80s. Any memories of favourite gigs and bands to play with?

So many gigs in the early days, often playing 7 nights a week. One of our faves was the Narara shows in 1983 and 1984. Australia’s "Woodstock". Huge… 80,000 people. Another was a 2SM Rocktober gig on the steps of the Opera House in front of 150,000! Loved playing gigs with Mi Sex, The Church, Cold Chisel and the Angels. Always competitive but challenging and fun.

You left WEA after one album which was kind of weird for the time and went with Powderworks. How did all that happen?

Not sure exactly what happened with Warners. I think we left because they had sacked a few A&R guys and promo guys who were a lot of the reason we had signed initially.  I can't recall the details that led to their dismissals but we had enjoyed a great relationship and were miffed at losing the team that knew us and believed in the band. This is my recollection of it but others may have a different story. A long time ago.

Some of your subsequent records – things like “Roomful of Diamonds” reflected a more produced sound and more 80s new wave type influences. Fair to say? What was influencing the band musically at the time?

“Roomful of Diamonds” was a Brian song that was played in Big Swifty for a few years and was carried over into The Rads. Chopped about 10 minutes off it and it fit nicely into the new wave style of songs of that era. Still a very popular song to this day. We were listening to a lot to Elvis Costello, the Cure and XTC.

So have you got much planned for your 40th anniversary? Any other plans or releases you can mention, and what can people expect of the band when they come out and see them play these days?

We plan to milk the whole 40th year thing for the next 12 months. Why not? It's been quite an achievement that we are proud of but could never have guessed that we could possibly be still playing and loving it when we first started out in September 1978. We plan to get to as many places as we can. We still have a large and loyal following and are eternally grateful for their support. We have been tinkering with some new tunes and hope to release something soonish, but in celebration of our 40th year we will be doing a greatest hits and favourites set for all our beloved Rad’s "tragics".

The Radiators play CLASSIC HITS LIVE alongside Dragon, Ross Wilson, Swanee, Mark Gable of the Choirboys and others at Goulburn Workers Arena on Sat 13th October. And they are constantly playing the pubs and clubs. 

Check out The Radiators website for full dates, more videos, merch and much more!