Brian Mannix: Uncanny X-Men lead singer opens up ahead of band’s final ever Queensland show

The lead singer of one of Australia’s best-loved bands of the 1980s has revealed the true story behind one of its biggest hits ahead of their final Queensland show. THE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW

Old rockers don’t die – they move to the Gold Coast and keep on playing.

Brian Mannix has been one of Australia’s best-known performers for more than four decades, from his years as the frontman of the Uncanny X-Men to a solo career which saw him headline the entertainment at the AFL Grand Final.

But instead of burning out or fading away, Mr Mannix has found himself living on the Gold Coast and back on stage on Friday night for what is being billed as the final Queensland appearance of the Uncanny X-Men.

Uncanny X-Men frontman Brian Mannix Picture:Supplied

The gig, at Southport’s SOPO, will see the five-piece group revisit some of their biggest hits, from Still Waiting and 50 years to Best Looking Guy.

“I wrote (Best Looking Guy) when I was working at a tap factory and it wasn’t about me being especially good looking but that everyone else was ugly as s**t,” he said.

“I wrote what I honestly felt and people thought it was funny.

“We also did a song back then called Pakistan which was a silly song but it’s a great track and we’ll probably play it.”

It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll but for Mr Mannix it will be a short trip across the Sundale Bridge from his Surfers Paradise home.

Despite being a lifelong Victorian, the draw of the Glitter Strip proved too much and, like 15,000 other people annually, Mr Mannix relocated to the Gold Coast in 2022.

“I should have done it 30 years ago because you’re surrounded by people who are on holidays and happy while now I go back to Melbourne and you think ‘my god it’s intense’ there,” he said.

“The Gold Coast has a much better lifestyle.”

As for why he finally decided to take the move, the rocker was blunt: “280 days of lockdowns, curfews and Dan Andrews”.

“The weather and the lockdowns finally convinced it was time,” he said.

“The only bad thing is that it can be hard to get anything done because you can just look out at the ocean and think ‘I’ll go for a swim’ or mates will invite you out for lunch.”

Brian Mannix and band The Uncanny X-Men.

The 62-year-old was born in Melbourne in 1961 and grew up in Victoria where he and his friends formed The Uncanny X-Men, named for the Marvel Comics superhero team, in 1980.

The band, like many others of the era, worked the pub circuit before getting signed up to Michael Gudinski’s Mushroom Records in 1982, the same year it released its debut – the six-track EP ‘SaliveOne!

It charted, reaching No. 40 and led to a second EP – Beach Party – which was released in August 1984 and reached No. 32.

Line-up changes occurred while the band continued to tour and performed on well-known television series Countdown.

Mannix with Kids in the Kitchen’s Scott Carne and The Models’ Sean Kelly

The year 1985 proved to be the Uncanny X-Men’s peak, with the release of their debut studio album ‘Cos Life Hurts which was a significant hit, going to No. 3 and selling more than 100,000 copies in Australia.

The same years saw them perform at OZ for Africa, part of the Live Aid event and secure a nomination for Most Popular Australian Group at the Countdown Australia Music Awards, losing to INXS.

A second album, What you Give is What You Get, was released in late 1986 to lesser acclaim but was still a top-20 hit but the Uncanny X-Men broke up in 1987, bringing down the curtain on short but highly successful career.

Brian Mannix performing at the 2006 AFL Grand Final.

Mr Mannix went on to have a solo music and acting career, with the band reuniting occasionally over the years.

This year’s tour, mooted to the last, will be different – it’ll feature new music by the band.

“We’re all getting older but can still do it well so we wanted to play on because we may not be so good in five or 10 years time,” he said.

“It’s so great to catch up with the blokes in the band given we all live in different states but this week we are releasing two new songs so that is exciting too.

“I get a huge kick out of it and you wouldn’t do it if you didn’t because if we’re not having a good time, you can’t expect others to it.”

While both the rockers and their fans are getting older, Mr Mannix said neither had lost their enthusiasm.

“One of the great things about our shows is that there are some people out there who came and saw us when they were 14 years old and now they come and see us and they’re bit older but it lets them reminisce,” he said.

“It’s a nice thing for them to remember something they did back.”