SACRED AND PROFANE

While punk history often focuses on the Pistols and the Ramones as the prime movers in a global countercultural scene, in Australia, The Saints were arguably causing just as significant a stir around the same time. Now preparing to tour as The Saints '73-'78, surviving members tell their story

- Nick Dalton

It was autumn 1976 and (I’m) Stranded, debut single by The Saints, was released, a frenetic, three-minute, angst-ridden roar, a record that would find its place in history.

It was, it’s generally accepted, the first punk record to be released by anyone other than a US band (and comfortably ahead of The Damned’s New Rose) – and it came from Australia. Not even the big city streets of Sydney but the musical backwater of Brisbane, almost 600 miles distant.

Little over six months later The Saints - punk with tousled rather than spiky hair, weathered not ripped jeans - were on a triple bill with the Ramones and Talking Heads, two nights at London's Roundhouse.

And yet barely 18 months - and three classic albums - after that it was all over. Bob Geldof declared: “Rock music in the 70s was changed by three bands: the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and The Saints,” and the legacy is stronger than ever.

Singer Chris Bailey kept the name close to him down the years with an ever-changing European lineup, while group founder, guitarist Ed Kuepper, had his say with The Aints!, sporadic appearances and records. Now, though, Bailey’s death in 2022 followed by a four-album box set celebrating the band’s debut album – (I’m) Stranded, obviously - has prompted Kuepper to celebrate that and the two other albums, Eternally Yours and Prehistoric Sounds, with something that’s ended up not far short of a world tour.

The Saints ’73-'78 are a blistering all-star combo who started out with a late 2024 sellout Australian tour that’s sparked a string of major American dates, followed by the UK and then on to Europe.