Regurgitator celebrates 25th anniversary of iconic album Unit recorded at site of BMW dealership

The members of Brisbane band Regurgitator have revealed why the site of a BMW dealership holds a special place in their hearts, as they gear up for a mammoth hometown show.

The Brisbane BMW showroom in Fortitude Valley is strangely nostalgic for iconic local band Regurgitator.

The band set up a makeshift recording studio at the site in 1997, when it was simply an abandoned warehouse, and recorded their second album Unit on the fly.

“That was such a great time for us. We had success from our first record and a bit of money behind us,” bass guitarist Ben Ely said.

22/02/2023: Ben Ely (c) from Regurgitator, Simon from DZ Deathrays (L) and Eddie (R) from Butterfingers at Eatons Hill Brisbane. Hitmakers Regurgitator are playing a massive hometown outdoor celebration on March 25 of their iconic 1997 album UNIT. They'll be playing the album in full along with an extended set of hits, joined by a huge line-up of Brisbane-centric mates. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

“A mate had band rehearsal spaces there and he was getting kicked out, so there was a window of time where we took over the space and set up a makeshift recording studio and recorded Unit.

“A lot of it was made on the spot. It wasn’t planned – it was fun. We got on really well and something seemed to click.”

Unit was certified triple platinum and won five categories at the ARIA Music Awards in 1998, including Album of the Year.

It has been followed by another eight Regurgitator albums.

circa 90s: Lismore Uni Union Bar Auditorium- Ben Eli of Pangaea Regurgitator

Celebrating the album’s 25th anniversary – and the subsequent development of their old studio into a luxury car showroom – Regurgitator are putting on a mammoth hometown show at Eatons Hill on March 25, playing the album in full, and joined by Brisbane bands including DZ Deathrays, Custard, Butterfingers, Resin Dogs, and Screamfeeder.

“We’ve always talked about the idea of doing a festival on our own, getting our friends and we’d never done it, so we are using our most popular album as an excuse,” Ely said,

“It’s pretty ambitious for us to do this. But it’s really exciting to be able to put on a show like this.”

“I came up in the scene around the zoo, young in the 90s and there was a lot of people collaborating and supporting each other. It was like minded people open to jamming with other people and that’s how a lot of these bands formed.

“I moved to Sydney and round 2000 and the scene was really strange, people didn’t jam with each other. It wasn’t as community minded

“I came back and realised how great a town this is and how great a scene this is

The band will then take the show on an Australian tour before releasing a new album later this year.