Pseudo Echo’s coming to Funkytown for ‘80s show

Big hair, bold make-up, synthesiser magic … there’s much to love about the ‘80s. We chat to Pseudo Echo’s Brian Canham before the band comes to Funkytown for an ‘80s show to remember.

Pseudo Echo in 1984: Pierre Gigliotti, Brian Canham, Tony Lugton, Anthony Argiro.

While it’s true Pseudo Echo had a make-up artist before they had a sound guy, for lead singer Brian Canham creating cutting edge music has always been the priority.

The band’s use of keyboards and synthesisers before the technology really took off in Australia set them apart from others looking for a big break in the early 1980s.

Brian formed the band in 1982 with Pierre Gigliotti, a kid he saw carrying a guitar case across the schoolyard one day.

“I didn’t really know him that well but I just said to him, ‘what’s in the case?’,” Brian recalls. When he revealed the Fender bass guitar inside, Brian was impressed and asked him if he wanted to join his band.

“I thought, ‘wow that’s a pretty good bass he must be good’. It turns out it was his cousin’s and he was just loaning it,” Brian recalls laughing.

They started playing, while getting through the last couple of years of high school, finetuning their sound and looking for a point of difference.

“At that period of my life, it seemed like everyone was in a band in the northern suburbs where we grew up. There was a lot of competition,” he explains.

“I thought to myself, ‘I just need a sound that’s our sound so it’s not comparable’.”

Brian’s brother was dating a girl who worked at Mushroom records and shared new music coming in from overseas that hadn’t been released yet.

“I noticed there was a lot more keyboard, a lot more production. I didn’t know anyone that played keyboard — they either played bass guitar or drums,” Brian explains.

“I started to become obsessed with keyboards and synthesisers and dying to know more about them. I can remember in my last year of high school, there was a music course and they had this synthesiser there … I couldn’t even make it make a sound.”

By the end of the term he managed to produce a sound and the rest … is history.

Pseudo Echo, back in the day.

“That was the start of my love affair with synthesisers. I said this is what I need in my band. If I’ve got one of these, I’ll take on the world,” Brian explains.

He met keyboard player Tony Lugton in 1981 and it was Tony who suggested the name Pseudo Echo.

Not having a drum kit made the band a good option for venues looking for support for bigger acts, and gigs started to flow.

Looking back, Brian says things happened quickly from that point and within 12 months, they had a record contract and hit in the charts.

Brian recalls a mixed reaction from the crowd in the beginning, particularly if they were supporting a rock’n’roll band.

“(There were) a lot of arms folded and people looking at us, guys huffing and puffing about how effeminate we looked but a group of people would always venture forward and start dancing,” he recalls.

“Our music had a good beat back then … we’d always end up on a good, high note at each gig. We’d win them over. We were on the right track.”

“It was quick but I actually didn’t think that at the time, I just thought it was the standard and that’s just what everyone does,” he says.

The 80s is remembered as a fun era for music, something fans are guaranteed to experience during the 80s Mania show at Eatons Hill Hotel on November 22. Pseudo Echo are on the bill as are Go West, A Flock of Seagulls, The Cutting Crew and Wang Chung.

The current line-up of Australian band Pseudo Echo. Picture: Raquel Canham

Brian, 57, loves to play Funkytown, a song that almost didn’t get recorded, so it will definitely be on the playlist.

In 1987, the band released a cover of the song, originally released by Lipps Inc in 1980, after enthusiastic reaction to it when they played it as an encore at gigs.

A sound guy recorded it one night so they could hear how it sounded, and it was brought to the attention of the head of Triple M radio who suggested they record it for real.

Brian says the band’s Australian and American record companies were hesitant because it was so soon after the original song’s release. They came around and the song was a massive hit.

“People usually cover songs from 10-15 years ago … I was determined to record it at this point because I had so many ideas in my head and sort of said, ‘screw you all, I’m going to record it and I’ll finance it or do whatever I have to do’.

“It eclipsed all the other successes … in America we did have two other hits but because we had a No.1 no-one remembers the other ones. In Australia, of course, people remember all our heritage and all our hits but in America they mainly remember Funkytown,” Brian says.

Pseudo Echo’s line-up has changed over the years, but Brian remains a constant and he loves the energy of his younger band members, and the new material they’re creating.

“We know our fans feel that energy on stage between the band members. We have a lot of fun with the crowd,” he says.

‘80S MANIA CONCERT

What: Relive the vibrant ‘80s in this show with Pseudo Echo, Go West, A Flock of Seagulls, The Cutting Crew and Wang Chung

Where: Eatons Hill Hotel

When: November 22, 7pm

Tickets: $90.63

Visit: eatonshillhotel.com.au