As the last wave of pub rock rolled through Australia, the Cockroaches were one of the wildest bands in the country. In one calendar year they drove their Tarago from Sydney to Brisbane thirteen times: tearing up every venue from The Patch at Coolangatta to inner-city pubs and the QIT lawn at lunchtime.

For almost a decade the Cockroaches were the hardest working band in Australia. From late night gigs to Saturday morning television slots, the Cockroaches took a scorched earth policy to this great southern band and toured  relentlessly.  One year alone they notched up 300 shows. Vans were reduced to scrap metal as the band tore across the continent honing their skills, cutting hit records and playing to sold out houses.

Now, after playing two sold out nights in Sydney earlier this year, the original line-up are returning to Brisbane for one last stand.

A fuse of rockabilly, soul, R&B and pop, the Cockroaches have also  released a definitive compilation CD, Hey Let’s Go – The Best Of The Cockroaches. The band’s collection of studio albums, The Cockroaches, Fingertips, Positive and St. Patrick’s Day 10am are now, for the first time, available digitally.

Starting out in 1979, after the odd personnel shuffle, the classic Cockroaches line-up settled on three Field brothers: Paul [vocals], John [guitar/vocals and the bulk of the song writing duties] and Anthony [lead guitar and charisma]. Jeff Fatt, who had earned his stripes playing in such rockabilly blasters as the Roadmasters, took care of the keyboards and organ. Schoolmate Tony Henry pounded the drum kit, and Phil Robinson (later replaced by Peter Mackie) handled bass duties.

The Cockroaches name was lifted from an obscure Rolling Stones non-de-plume and … as Anthony Field later explained … “it sounded kind of punkish and that scene was blossoming in Sydney at that time”.

Starting life at St. Joseph’s College in Sydney, Paul Field took on early managerial duties as well as fronting the band. School dances soon gave way to bars and Paul often booked the boys into venues they weren’t legally allowed to enter.

“The music we loved was a source of inspiration,” explains Paul of the band’s formation. “Elvis, the Beatles and, especially, the Stones were our obsession. And when you are that obsessed… we had every album, book, magazine and bootlegs that cost nearly a weeks wages …  the next logical step is forming a band. We had to do it! Then it was like, wouldn’t it be amazing to get a gig?”

“Even though I was only a year older than John and two years older than Anthony, I assumed a type of manager role and booked our gigs in the early days. I booked us into pubs in Kings Cross when I was a teenager”.

For many the Cockroaches took hold with their massive hit ‘She’s The One’ from their 1987 debut platter The Cockroaches. Hard core fans knew better. The band, who were known as one of this country’s best party bands, cut a slew of indie singles for various labels such as Refugee Records, Phantom or Powderworks. Titles such as ‘I Want A Leather Jacket’, ‘See You In Spain’ and the sublime ‘My Whole World’s Falling Down’ caught the attention of Double J and hip radio play lists. In certain venues, house attendance records set by Cold Chisel were broken! The legend of the Cockroaches’ on stage prowess soon went national.

A major label deal with Regular Records was inked and the band was soon recording with producer Charles Fisher (Radio Birdman/Hoodoo Gurus/Savage Garden).

The singles, and then the album, started to sell by the truckload. ‘She’s The One’, ‘Wait Up’, ‘Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)’, and ‘Some Kind Of Girl’ blasted over the radio. Commercially, the Cockroaches had arrived.

“It was very exciting,” recalls Paul from the vantage point of 2014. “It is like that scene in “That Thing You Do”, when you first hear your song on the radio! And for some reason we always thought that it could end at any moment so we savoured the moment. And there is really nothing like walking on stage to the strains of ‘Amazing Grace’ (piped into battle) as a thousand or more people scream you on stage, as it used to be, in the big beer barns of the 1980’s”

More laps of Australia followed and then it was back into the studio for the second album, the Fisher produced Fingertips [1988], and another rash of 45rpms such as the Top 40 hit,  ‘Hey What Now!’ Another highlight came as the band played one-of their biggest shows with a televised simulcast from Brisbane’s Expo ’88.

Sadly in 1988, while the Cockroaches were touring, Paul Field’s eight-month-old daughter Bernadette passed away as a result of SIDS. The loss had a profound effect on not only Paul, but also the band. The Wiggles dedicated their debut album to Bernadette’s memory.

“Losing a child is like being thrown off a cliff,” explains Paul of the loss, “you honestly don’t know that you can survive. Suffice to say that Bernadette’s death is a wound that will never heal, so it has changed me utterly. Words can never be enough but there are some songs where I directly touch on it.  ‘Rely on Me’ [a Cockroaches’ song from Positive] is for my wife who was shattered and lost. “Nothing is certain, nothing remains, but I’ll give you my love again and again“.

Regrouping under the production wing of Mark Moffatt (Tim Finn/Mental As Anything) the band released Positive in 1991, which was preceded by the song ‘Hope’ in 1990 while a cover of Brenda Lee’s ‘Don’t Hold Back That Feeling’ featured in the Russell Crowe film The Crossing.

As the Wiggles, which featured Anthony Field and Jeff Fatt (with tunes from John Field and later management from Paul Field) took hold, the Cockroaches returned to their independent roots. Consistently working, though on hiatus from the Cockroaches, Paul led rockabilly legends the Sacred Hearts while John joined the Honeymen and the Oomph! John later wrote musicals and started the John Field Band. Finally, the Cockroaches headed back into the studio to cut the acclaimed St. Patrick’s 10am album on their own dime: soon after the disc was fetching a $100USD a copy on eBay.

The Cockroaches enjoyed a helluva ride: providing a great night out for anyone who ever saw them and a great night in if you owned their albums. Now the band are re-releasing their music and commemorating it with special reunion shows.

“It’s nice to revisit that time in our life for lots of reasons,” concludes Paul. “We rode the last wave in of the pub rock era. You could play every night… the biggest acts in the country would come to YOUR suburb! And of course, it’s great to belt out songs that we performed for a decade when we were considerably younger! It’s a challenge, but, during rehearsals, we’ve found that they’re hard wired to the brain!”

“I did post something on social media saying ‘Warning, we don’t look the same as the young guys in the photo’. One woman wrote back to say “Nor are we!” So, apart from the grey hair and wrinkles, we’ll be sweating it out as much as back in the day!”

The Cockroaches play Broncos Leagues Club on November 21. The Cockroaches have collected their classic singles, album tracks and rarities onto one album: Hey Let’s Go: The Best Of The Cockroaches. Their entire studio catalogue featuring the albums The Cockroaches, Fingertips, Positive and St. Patrick’s Day 10am will be available in digital format.