MACHINATIONS BIG WEEKEND TOUR
MACHINATIONS BIG WEEKEND TOUR

MACHINATIONS BIG WEEKEND TOUR

Crowbar Sydney (Leichhardt, NSW)
Saturday, 22 February 2025 7:00 pm
93 days away
18 Plus
POP
Australian Artists

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Remember the big weekend? Days spent at the beach before heading out to a live venue?

Sweating it out on the dancefloor to the liveliest and most danceable electro-funk combo of the

1980s? Machinations are back with their steamy, rhythmic gigs – big music, big beats, big

weekend.

It all started in the summer of 1979 when guitarist Tim Doyle and keyboardist Tony Starr started

writing songs with a drum machine. They were Joined by vocalist Fred Loneragan fresh home

from 12 months in London. The band played their first show at the infamous ‘Garibaldis’ in East

Sydney in March 1980, with a sound combining post-punk, modern funk and moody jazz fused

with a relentless rhythmic itch. The band soon added bass player Nero Swan and before long

were recording in 2JJ’s 221 Studio, and then with Lobby Loyde in Trafalgar Studios.

The result of this collaboration was the seminal first single Average Inadequacy and the

Machinations of Dance EP, both released on Phantom Records in the summer of 1981. With the

support of 2JJJ both releases received wide airplay and increased the bands following.

Machinations quickly built a national reputation and were signed to Mushroom Records’ White

Label.

In 1983 the film clip for the single Jumping the Gap came second to Michael Jackson’s Thriller at

the prestigious US Industrial Film Festival.

Their first Album Esteem was recorded and produced with Lobby Loyde in the summer of 1983,

with a late addition of Pressure Sway recorded at Alberts Studios, produced by Dunlop &

Brown. Pressure Sway blazed a trail nationally and had chart success across the US West Coast

on the A&M label, reaching #1 in the US Billboard Dance Charts.

The band added drummer Warren McLean and Naomi Star on backing vocals. In 1985 they

joined with producer Julian Mendelsohn (Kate Bush, Frankie goes to Hollywood, Art of Noise) to

record their second album Big Music at EMI and Rhinoceros Studios.

‘Big’ became the buzz word and the album spawned four BIG singles: No Say In It, My Hearts

on Fire, You Got Me Going Again and Execution of Love

Big Music was released in the US on CBS Empire Records and No Say In It appeared on the

soundtrack to the Bette Midler/Danny Devito movie Ruthless People which also featured Mick

Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie and Darryl Hall.

The band toured extensively through ’84 and ’85 after which Naomi moved to the US to marry

Frank Zappa’s drummer and Warren left to join Aussie Rock icons Divinyls. Machinations added

new members John Mackay (drums) Jenny Andrews (backing vocals) and a brass section led by

Ralph Franke (sax).Machinations recorded their third album Uptown in New York with US producer Andy Wallace

(Jeff Buckley, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, The Cult and Prince). The album features singles: Do To

You, Intimacy, Do It To Me and Cars and Planes.

After returning from the US and a short Australian tour, singer Fred Loneragan suffered a broken

neck in a hit and run accident whilst riding his bicycle. The long hiatus as Fred recovered led to

the band members moving on to other things and whilst they never formally broke up, they

didn’t play a gig together for about another ten years.

In the early 2000s Machinations began playing sporadically around the country – their infectious

beat and haunting melodies completing a picture that has always, and is still, at the forefront of

contemporary Australian music.

Over the last several years Machinations have had more lineup changes. John Mackay retired to

be replaced by the indomitable Adrian Cannon (Kevin Borich, Rupert B Funkified Filth). The

band lost Tony Starr to Motor Neurone Disease, and Tim’s son Larry has taken over playing keys.

More recently Nero Swan has also retired. Now Machinations are delighted to welcome Craig

Hooper from The Reels to their ranks on bass guitar.

Machinations hit the road with another hot summer east coast tour in Feb 2025.

Join them for the Big Weekend tour and Dance the Machinations!