Editing Radio Birdman (section)

=== Origins ===
[[Deniz Tek]] and [[Rob Younger]] formed Radio Birdman in the mid-1970s (around 1974) in [[Sydney|Sydney, Australia]], having recently left their former projects, [[TV Jones]] and the Rats.<ref name=":0" /> They recruited classical keyboard player Philip "Pip" Hoyle, drummer Ron Keeley, and bassist Carl Roke. The band took their name from a [[mondegreen]] of the phrase “Radio 'burning'” in [[The Stooges]]' song "[[Fun House (The Stooges album)|1970]]".<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Stafford |first=Andrew |date=2024-01-28 |title=Radio Birdman on their last shows – and their legacy: 'It's a bit of a wank to acknowledge all that' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/jan/29/radio-birdman-australian-band-final-live-tour |access-date=2024-09-25 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

[[File:DSC19610 PSMS-2.jpg|thumb|Rob Younger, during a performance by Radio Birdman in Melbourne in 1996.]]

In 1975, after facing rejection from various venues and performing in rented garages and community halls{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}, Radio Birdman secured a residency at the Oxford Tavern{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} at [[Taylor Square]] in [[Sydney]]. They eventually took over the venue's management, renaming it The Oxford Funhouse.<ref name=Thompson/> By then, Carl Roke had been replaced by former Rats member Warwick Gilbert.

Radio Birdman developed a following within the emerging Sydney [[Punk subculture|punk]] scene.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-04 |title=From stage dives to infights: the birth of Australian punk |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/musicshow/the-saints-ed-kuepper-radio-birdman-murray-engleheart/104068104 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}</ref> With the help of [[Rock Australia Magazine|''Rock Australia'' Magazine]] editor, Anthony O'Grady, the band selected a recording studio and recorded an EP, ''[[Burn My Eye]]'', and their first album, ''[[Radios Appear]],'' both produced by [[John Sayers]] and Charles Fisher at Trafalgar Studios in [[Annandale, New South Wales|Annandale]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Bell |first=Steve |title=When The Birdmen Fly: Part One |url=https://themusic.com.au/features/radio-birdman-when-birdmen-fly-part-one/51v4-_r9_P8/30-10-14 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=The Music |language=en}}</ref>

Under [[Michael McMartin]]'s management, Trafalgar Studios signed the band and financed the recordings. ''Radios Appear'' was critically acclaimed, earning 5 stars in the Australian edition of [[Rolling Stone Australia|Rolling Stone]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bell |first=Steve |title=How To Get Your Head Around Eight Discs Of Radio Birdman |url=https://themusic.com.au/news/how-to-get-your-head-around-eight-discs-of-radio-birdman/uoetrK-u0dA/09-10-14 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=The Music |language=en}}</ref> The album was influenced by Detroit bands of the late 1960s, such as [[MC5]] and [[the Stooges]].<ref name=Thompson/><ref>{{Cite news |last=McKenzie |first=Simon |date=2014-05-27 |title=Australian anthems: Radio Birdman – Aloha Steve and Danno |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/27/australian-anthems-radio-birdman-aloha-steve-and-danno |access-date=2024-09-25 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The album's title comes from the [[Blue Öyster Cult]] song, "Dominance and Submission", from their 1974 ''[[Secret Treaties]]'' album, which influenced Radio Birdman's sound.<ref name="Thompson" /> ''Radios Appear'' was played on Sydney station [[Triple J|2JJ (Double Jay)]].<ref name=":3" /> Released on the newly-created independent label Trafalgar Records, the album was sold by mail order and distributed by band members and friends to a few record stores, never achieving widespread sales or commercial success.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |author=Staff Writer |title=When The Birdmen Fly: Part Two |url=https://themusic.com.au/features/when-the-birdmen-fly-part-two/5Ff39vn4-_o/07-11-14 |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=The Music |language=en}}</ref> 

Several years after the initial release and following the band's breakup, Trafalgar Records licensed the recordings to [[Warner Music Group|WEA]], who took on the album and gave it a wider release. However, sales remained limited.<ref name=":4" />

When [[Sire Records]] president [[Seymour Stein]] came to Australia to sign [[Brisbane]] punk band [[The Saints (Australian band)|the Saints]], he saw Radio Birdman and invited them to join his label.<ref name=":4" /> Under Sire, licensed by Trafalgar, Radio Birdman released a new version of ''Radios Appear'' featuring a mixture of re-mixed, re-recorded, and some new material.<ref>{{Citation |title=Radio Birdman - Radios Appear |date=2023 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/29005615-Radio-Birdman-Radios-Appear |access-date=2024-12-10 |language=en}}</ref>

As the [[Punk rock in Australia|punk movement in Australia]] continued to grow, the underground scene at the Funhouse began to attract some outsider groups, including the Sydney chapter of the [[Hells Angels]]. Following a concert at [[Paddington, New South Wales|Paddington]] Town Hall with [[The Saints (Australian band)|the Saints]] and the Hot Spurs in April 1977, Radio Birdman left the Sydney scene, playing sporadically in other cities and working on new material.<ref name="Needspublished"/>

The band returned six months later and performed their most well-attended show at [[Paddington Town Hall]] on 12 December 1977, with approximately 2,000 attendees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RADIO BIRDMAN: MOVIE MAELSTROM |url=https://eastsidefm.org/radio-birdman-movie-maelstrom/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=89.7 Eastside FM |language=en}}</ref> After this show, the band moved their base of operations to London and toured in the UK and Europe, headlining and as support for Sire label-mates the [[Flamin' Groovies]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Raoul |date=2007-06-22 |title=Descent Into the Maelstrom |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2007-06-22/494060/ |url-status= |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=Austin Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref> 

Their overseas operations were short-lived, as [[Sire Records]] began having financial difficulties and dropped Radio Birdman and many other bands from the label. A planned American tour with [[Ramones|the Ramones]], scheduled for the second half of 1978, was cancelled.<ref name=":5" /> In May 1978, they recorded their second album, ''[[Living Eyes (Radio Birdman album)|Living Eyes]]'' at [[Rockfield Studios]] in [[Wales]]. Unreleased by Sire, the tapes were released in 1981, long after the band's 1978 breakup.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Doe |first=John |date=April 1981 |title="Albums" |url=https://issuu.com/libuow/docs/up104_4_03__2_ |access-date=10 December 2024 |work=[[Roadrunner (Australian music magazine)]] |pages=27}}</ref>