Legendary Adelaide 80s band, The Screaming Believers, are set to head line a massive Three D Radio Fundraiser Gig on Sunday 23 September, supported by the rockin' 60s garage / psychedelic / surf sounds of local bands Ride Into The Sun, Diesel Witch and Slingshot Dragster.

The Screaming Believers began in Adelaide in 1980 as The Shreds, playing a mixture of covers and their own post punk material. In October 1981 they became The Screaming Believers and their original material started to take off, with their distinctive and eclectic sound created through 2 guitars, bass, drums and saxophone. They played frequently until 1993 and during those years graduated to the big stage supporting bands such as Sonic Youth, Human League, The Pogues, The Go-Betweens, The Triffids, INXS, Psychedelic Furs, The Saints, The Church, The Cruel Sea, Wall of Voodoo and a huge list of other musical luminaries from that era.

In their early days The Screaming Believers were hard rocking with a punk edge but always melodic. They had their own scene where bright, young things - mods, punks, goths, university students and the wonderfully, colourfully dressed alternative folk - would congregate. It was the place to be seen and their gigs were packed, sweaty affairs where the whole crowd would surge to the front of stage to feel the energy and sweat coming from the band. Their music was rebellious and difficult to categorize, coming from a much darker place in the human psyche than their contemporaries. Sometimes their lyrics were more existential than direct, but other times could be lighter, with a 60's style pop sensibility.

The early 1980s saw 'The Believers' hitting No. 1 on Three D Radio (then known as Triple M Radio) and other Australian alternative music charts with their live EP Show Me Your Money. By 1985 the band had achieved international success with their first album, Communist Mutants From Space, entering the Top 10 on University/College Radio in the USA and alternative radio in Europe - it even entered the mainstream American Billboard Charts. Their 1986 album, Refugees From The Love Generation, was also a hit on alternative charts. In the face of their huge musical appeal, they remained a staunchly alternative, indie, underground band as this was the basic fabric of who they were and the music that had influenced them.

Many music enthusiasts have suggested that The Screaming Believers are quite possibly the best band to come from Adelaide since Cold Chisel. Dubbed "the darlings of alternative music" in the book about South Australian music, This is Our Music, they also received accolades from Sydney rock journalist, Jodie Adams, who declared: "If The Believers are only known for one of their songs in the end, they have far more right to exist than most bands going... They are not one of the best bands from the western states [of Australia], they are the BEST BAND EVER."

This band deserves to be firmly enshrined in Australia's rock history and hopefully that will be achieved upon the release of their back catalogue of material in CD format. Until recently, no CDs of 'The Believers' had ever been made, only vinyl records which are long out of print. However, one CD recording now exists. Entitled Stories from the Other Side, this album was recorded in 1987 and finally released in 2010 after the master cassette stolen in Amsterdam many years prior was found and digitally restored. This album charted at No. 37 in Three D Radio's 2011 Top 101.

When The Screaming Believers hit the stage at the Governor Hindmarsh on September 23 to help raise funds for Three D Radio's investment in new equipment and their move to brand new premises, they will be one completely unified entity - as they have always been - and will 'blow your mind' with the varied sounds they will play in one night. They can travel from psychedelic , to punk, gothic country, pop, ska, and then to Arabesque - all in one performance. Young music fans in particular are encouraged to experience The Screaming Believers live and witness a part of Australian rock history, while at the same time supporting Adelaide's beloved 100% volunteer-run community Radio Station, Three D. The band members have aged since the heady days of their youth, yet this gig will surely be one of the musical highlights of 2012, with Adelaide's finest young groups also on the bill. Don't miss this show - it will be a cracker!

Sunday 23 September 2012
Ticket Price: $20 + BF; ($25 at the door)
Doors Open: 6:30pm

Line Up:
The Screaming Believers
Ride Into The Sun
Diesel Witch
Slingshot Dragster