Modular People

When you meet Tom Ellard it's hard to ignore a resonating desire to forget about the past. His groundbreaking ideas as a musician came about from a contempt for rock 'n' roll and guitar oriented bands. It was a formula Tom had seen for years, one that felt tired and repetitive as the seventies drew to a close.

When he joined the band Mr And Mrs No Smoking Sign (soon to be Severed Heads) synthesisers, drum machines and tapes took centre stage while guitars only appeared if muffled through feedback. An unplanned revolution was starting driven by untrained musicians looking for new ways to have fun.

It's easy to step into the future if you ignore the past. Severed Heads' music churns analogue electronic sound into something we can all understand. Tracks such as "Lamborghini (Petrol)" and "Dead Eyes Open" sent shockwaves through the Sydney Underground as Severed Heads bounced from genre to genre dubbed a disco band one day and an industrial group the next. Tom's avant-garde poeticisms were coupled flawlessly with electronic noise that remained melodic.

At the same time the band poked fun at every form of convention they came across. A record deal with Virgin was cut short after Tom sent the company a recording with a locked groove on the first track (the silent loop at the end of a vinyl record). The jests continued with a list of perplexing song names including: "Mr And Mrs No Smoking Sign Go Cruisin' Fer Burgers", "Hello Donald Merry Christmas" and "Hawaii Torso 97 Cigarettes". In fact Tom insists this was the very point behind the name Severed Heads, a title he dislikes to this day.

Along with their music Severed Heads are also renown for experimental film and video the like of which had never been seen before. By using the home made video mixers of band member Steven Jones Super 8 film loops and synthesised sound was transformed into mind-altering imagery that influenced music videos for the rest of the decade.

Severed Heads are performing at the Becks' Festival on January 14th as part of Circa 1979: Signal to Noise and The Sydney Festival.

Tickets on sale now.