DOORS OPEN 7PM // WITH THE CASANOVAS & BABY 8 // MUSIC STARTS 8.30PM

It’s 40 years since the release of “X-Aspirations”, the seminal album that put a notorious then-Sydney band called X on the international music map.

Recorded with guitar maestro Lobby Loyde in an afternoon at the legendary Trafalgar Studios in Sydney in 1979 and released on the band’s own label, it has been re-issued many times around the world.

Little wonder, because “X-Aspirations” set a benchmark for primal rock and roll that few could match.

X co-founder Steve Lucas is marking the album’s anniversary with the release of a deluxe vinyl edition and a series of select shows.

You can catch X with very special guests The Casanovas and Baby 8 at The Spotted Mallard on the 15th of May. A solid slab of music.

The X line-up of Lucas, Geof Holmes (guitar), Kim Volkman (bass) and John Butler (drums) that played the Sue Telfer Tribute show in Sydney in late 2019 to rave reviews will headline.  Copies of the deluxe LP re-issue will be available on the night.

X formed in the fertile Sydney underground rock and roll scene in 1977. On their night, the original line-up of Ian Krahe (guitar), Ian Rilen (bass), Steve Lucas (vocals) and Steve Cafiero (drums) was untouchable.

The untimely death of Krahe in 1978 almost broke the band, but they re-convened as a three-piece with Lucas adopting guitar duties and headed into the studio, intending to record a single.

The resultant album turned the underground scene on its head. X had their roots in traditional rock and roll, albeit with a raw edge, but the punks embraced them with open arms. Venues banned them. As for X, they reveled in their outsider status.

It’s been a long and storied ride for X, one littered by inter-personal turbulence, geographical shifts, bust-ups, reunions, births, re-births and deaths. The biggest constant has been the music. Raw, emotionally-laden and definitely X. This is what you'll get live.

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