Voting Station

The Church (Band)

Please vote to return to collections.

Musicians

The Resume

    (1980- )
    Born in Sydney, Australia
    Steve Kilbey, vocals, bass guitar, and keyboards
    Peter Koppes, guitar and keyboards (1980-92, 1997-2019)
    Marty Wilson-Piper, guitar and vocals (1980-2013)
    Nick Ward, drums (1980-81)
    Richard Ploog, drums (1981-90)
    Jay Dee Daugherty, drums (1990-93)
    Tim Powles, drums and percussion (1994- )
    Ian Haug, guitars (2014- )
    Jeffrey Cain, guitars and keyboards (2017- )
    Ashley Naylor, guitars (2020- )
    Recorded the albums ‘Of Skins and Hearts’ (1981), ‘The Blurred Crusade’ (1982), ‘Heyday’ (1985), ‘Starfish’ (1988), ‘Gold Afternoon Fix’ (1990), ‘Priest=Aura’ (1992), ‘A Box of Birds’ (1999), ‘Uninvited Like the Clouds’ (2006), and ‘Man Woman Life Death Infinity’ (2017)
    Recorded the singles ‘The Unguarded Moment’ (1981), ‘Almost with You’ (1982), ‘Electric Lash’ (1983), ‘Under the Milky Way’ (1988), ‘Reptile’ (1988), ‘Metropolis’ (1990), and ‘Ripple’ (1992)
    Inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame (2010)

Why they might be annoying:

    Kilbey said of their first Australian hit, ‘The Unguarded Moment,’ ‘It doesn't give me any pleasure at all. Maybe it was exciting for people who thought the country was going to be bogged down with the Human League and Buggles for the decade.’
    They dropped out of a British tour opening for Duran Duran after eight shows, complaining that the audiences were unsympathetic (1982).
    After Kilbey was arrested trying to buy heroin in New York City (1999), he said, ‘A drug bust is something every aging rock star should have under his belt.’
    ’Under the Milky Way’ was their only song to make Billboard’s Top 40.

Why they might not be annoying:

    Their jangly twin-guitar sound was often compared to the Byrds.
    They resisted demands by Capitol Records to produce more ‘radio friendly’ songs, like label-mates the Little River Band.
    They performed ‘Under the Milky Way’ with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the opening ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games (2006).
    In a 2008 poll, readers of ‘The Australian’ named ‘Under the Milky Way’ the best Australian song of the previous 20 years.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying