1927 was an Australian pop/rock band formed in Melbourne in 1987 with James Barton on drums, Bill Frost on bass guitar, his brother Garry Frost on guitar and keyboards, and Eric Weideman on vocals, guitar and keyboards.[1][2] They were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s with their major hit songs "If I Could", "Compulsory Hero" and "That's When I Think of You" and their multi-platinum #1 album..ish.[1][3] Weideman had been seen by Garry Frost (ex-Moving Pictures) on a "Red Faces" talent segment of variety TV show Hey Hey It's Saturday.

History

Garry Frost, guitarist and keyboardist, had left Moving Pictures in 1984, after their second album, and was writing songs at his Sydney home studio in late 1986.[1][4] He was watching the Nine Network's variety programme Hey Hey It's Saturday's talent segment "Red Faces" when Erik Weideman appeared and performed a cover of The Police's "Roxanne".[4] Garry Frost drove to Melbourne, about 880 km (550 mi), to recruit Weideman on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards.[1][4] They were joined by Garry's brother Phil Frost on bass guitar and James Barton on drums to form 1927 in Melbourne in 1987.[2] After a year of vainly seeking a recording contract, 1927 signed with Trafalgar Productions[1] and recorded their debut release, "That's When I Think of You", which entered the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles charts in September 1988 and peaked at #6.[3] In November, the band released their second single, "If I Could" which peaked at #4 on the ARIA singles charts.[3] Their debut album,..ish was produced by Charles Fisher and Jim Bonneford and was released in early December.[1][2] Rock historian, Ian McFarlane described it as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems."[1] It peaked on the ARIA albums charts at #1 for four weeks and stayed in the Top 50 for 45 weeks,[3] it achieved 5X-platinum sales (more than 400,000).[1] Two more top 20 singles from the album were "You'll Never Know" and "Compulsory Hero".[3] "That's When I Think of You" was released internationally as a single in 1989, it peaked in the Top 50 in the UK,[5] and just peaked into the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[6]

At the 1989 ARIA Music Awards, 1927 received the 'Breakthrough Artist - Single' award for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist - Album' award for..ish, while at the 1990 awards they won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero".[7] The band added Charlie Cole on keyboards (ex-Moving Pictures) and toured Australia.[1][2] By late 1989, they were commencing work for their second album when Garry Frost announced he was leaving the band early the following year. Dave Dwyer joined on guitars and keyboards and 1927 recorded The Other Side with Weideman as main songwriter and Fisher and Garry Frost producing.[1] The album, which peaked at #3 in July 1990, provided a Top 20 hit with "Tell Me a Story".[3] McFarlane described the album as "full of lush, ambitious arrangements and well-crafted pop, but it lacked the charm and rousing choruses" of..ish.[1] Drummer Barton left in 1992 to be replaced by Phil Campbell,[2] they released their eponymous third album, 1927 produced by Mark Opitz, in November. 1927 just peaked into the Top 40 and the associated singles were less successful.[3] 1927 were suffering financial and internal problems and disbanded in 1993.[1] A compilation album titled The Very Best of 1927 was released in 1996.[2] Weideman subsequently pursued a solo career releasing a single "Nothing I Can Do" in 1996.[4]
[edit] 2009-present

A digitally remastered edition of..ish featuring bonus live recordings of "Propaganda Machine" and "Compulsory Hero" was released in 2009. The band, featuring a new lineup led by Weideman, appeared on Mornings with Kerri-Anne on 17 June 2009 and toured Australia in during the latter half of 2009 and the start of 2010, culminating in a performance in Sydney as support for Simple Minds in March 2010. The second leg of the 20...ish Anniversary Tour began in June 2010.

The new lineup is:

* Erik Weideman (lead vocals, guitar)
* Craig Laird (lead guitar, backing vocals)
* Simon Shapiro (bass, backing vocals)
* Damien Cooper (drums)