Area-7
Area-7 (also known as Area 7) are an Australian ska punk band. Formed in Melbourne in 1994, they have released four studio albums, No Logic!, Bitter & Twisted, Say It To My Face and Torn Apart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000, Bitter & Twisted was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Rock Album.[1]
Area-7 | |
|---|---|
 Area-7 in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Pop punk, third wave ska, ska punk |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Zomba, Jive, Shock |
| Associated acts | Mad Not Madness |
| Website | Area-7 on MySpace |
| Members | John "Stevo" Stevens David 'DJ' Jackson Charles "Chucky T" Thompson Andy Gardiner Paul West Dennis "Ocker" O'Connell Warren Lenthall Tim Williams |
| Past members | Walter Eskdale Ivan Downey Rohan Pacey Alistair "Albags" Shepherd Toby "Tobias" Dargaville Chris Meighen Dugald "Doogs" McNaughtan Matt Sanders Craig Selak Dan Morrison (deceased) |
History
The original Area 7 band was an English band from Birmingham in 1985 moving to Walthamstow in London in 1986, with brothers Mark (vocal) and Craig Voice (guitar), Andy Taylor (Drums), Phil Everton (Bass), being joined by solo artist Rikki Brooks (Rick Brooks from Plymouth) on Keys and vocal. Their demo song Last Train was recorded at Crystal Rooms in Portsmouth and featured on the John Peel show on Radio One. Area 7 played support to various bands around London, including Ice House and the Thomson Twins. A record deal with RCA records fell through, and the band parted. Rick Brooks went on to move into the Christian music scene and had a European top 10 single "You Alone" in 2001.
The totally different and more popular Australian Area-7 formed in 1994 from the ashes of Madness cover band Mad Not Madness. In 1994 three members, Dugald "Doogs" McNaughtan (keyboards), Charles "Chucky T" Thompson (guitar) and Dan Morrison (drums) left the group and began to write their own songs. In 1994, Area-7 self-released a cassette titled Demo Tape 1994 featuring 4 tracks. Alistair Shepherd (sax), Toby Dargaville (trumpet) and Rohan Pacey (bass) joined in 1995 and the same year released their debut studio album No Logic.
In 2000, the group released Bitter & Twisted, which at the ARIA Music Awards of 2000 was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Rock Album.
In October 2001, the group released Say It to My Face which peaked at number 36 on the ARIA charts.
Whilst AREA-7 has never "officially split", since 2005 the band has been playing "when they feel like it" or as they put it, "for special occasions".
Drummer and founding member Dan Morrison died on 1 December 2020.[2]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [3] | ||
| No Logic |
|
- |
| Bitter & Twisted |
|
- |
| Say It to My Face |
|
36 |
| Torn Apart |
|
- |
Extended Plays
| Year | EP details |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Demo Tape 1994
|
| 1997 | Road Rage
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [3] | |||
| 1998 | "Bitter Words" | — | Bitter & Twisted |
| 1999 | "Second Class Citizen" | 29 | |
| 2000 | "Start Making Sense" | 37 | |
| "Bitter Words" / "Himbo" | — | ||
| 2001 | "Leave Me Alone" | 38 | Say It to My Face |
| "Individuality" | 90[5] | ||
| 2002 | "Nobody Likes a Bogan" | 46 | |
| 2004 | "Big Issue" | — | Torn Apart |
References
- "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- Cashmere, Paul (1 December 2020). "R.I.P. Dan Morrison of Area-7". Noise11.com. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- "Area 7 Australian Discography". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- "Area-7". MySpace. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- "ARIAnet The ARIA Report!" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. 19 November 2001. Archived from the original on 21 February 2002. Retrieved 11 August 2015.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
External links
Authority control  |
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