Editing The Saints (Australian band) (section)

===1973–1976: Formative years===
The Saints' original members were Brisbane schoolmates Bailey, Kuepper and Hay.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="ARDb"/> They had formed Kid Galahad and the Eternals in 1973 with Irish-raised Bailey on vocals, Brisbane-born Hay on piano and German-born Kuepper on guitar.<ref name="Howl"/> Their musical inspirations came from 1950s [[rock and roll|rock 'n' roll]] musicians such as [[Little Richard]] and [[Elvis Presley]] (their name referenced his 1962 film ''[[Kid Galahad]]'')<ref name="J Files" /> and 1960s [[proto-punk]] bands like [[the Missing Links (band)|the Missing Links]], [[the Stooges]] and [[MC5]].<ref name="McFML"/> They rehearsed in a shed at the back of Hay's place, which was opposite the local police headquarters.<ref name="Cockington"/> 

The band renamed themselves the Saints in 1974, inspired by [[Leslie Charteris]]'s character [[The Saint (Simon Templar)|The Saint]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tomatrax.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/interview-with-ed-kuepper-from-the-aints/|title=Interview with Ed Kuepper from the Aints!|date=2019-05-10|website=Tomatrax|language=en|access-date=2019-05-18}}</ref> They played covers of [[Del Shannon]], [[Connie Francis]] and [[Ike and Tina Turner]] – "exploding them almost beyond recognition with energy".<ref name="Howl"/> Jeffrey Wegener joined on drums and Hay switched to bass guitar. Wegener had left by 1975, Hay moved to drums and Kym Bradshaw joined on bass guitar.<ref name="McF"/> Contemporaneous with [[Ramones]], the group were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzz saw" guitar that characterised early punk rock. Kuepper explained that they played faster and faster as they were nervous in front of audiences.<ref name="Cockington"/> The police would often break up their gigs, and arrests were frequent.<ref name="Cockington"/> Unable to obtain bookings, Bailey and Hay converted the [[Petrie Terrace, Queensland|Petrie Terrace]] house they shared into the 76 Club so they had a venue to play in.<ref name="Howl"/> According to Australian rock historian, [[Ian McFarlane]], they had developed their "own distinctive sound as defined by Kuepper's frenetic, whirlwind guitar style and Bailey's arrogant snarl".<ref name="McF"/>