The Busymen (1997 - Present)

[Dario Western]

The Busymen were formed in 1997 by 60's music fans Robert "Boston Bob" Smith (organ, percussion and vocals), "Scratchy" Dave Crawford (guitar and backing vocals), and Richard Buchanan (bass and backing vocals).  They enlisted Ben Jones on drums, and played their first gig at the Melbourne Hotel.  I first saw them at their second gig at the Orient Hotel, where they were supporting The Genies and The Onyas.

The band has had several lineup changes over the years, but the most stable lineup was with Robert Worrall on guitar, Richard on bass, and Danielle Mutton on drums.  They were the last band to record at the legendary Red Zeds studios, their first single being "Hostile" b/w "Evil Hearted Evie" on Wild Eagle Records in late 2002.  A few months later they recorded their second single "Peach Orchard Road", a swamp blues number written by Worrall and his then-wife Ruth Berry and featuring Screamin' Stevie from The Hekawis on harmonica.

Robert Smith's mounting health problems put the band on hold for a while, but in 2005 they ended up touring Sydney, Melbourne, Woolongong and Adelaide.

In 2007, they released their first album "Distort All Levels" on Turkeyneck Records.  The album's music was mostly written by Worrall and contained one cover "I Want My Woman" by The Emporers.  The backing band dissipated in early 2010, and that year I enlisted Michael Bolger as the new guitarist (previously from Perth bands As Is, and The Hoovers), and bassist Jack Mulroney who had also been in The Purple Avengers and The Racketeers along with drummer Russell Smith who replaced Mutton in the lineup.

In late 2014, The Busymen completed recording their second album produced by Sean "Dr. Rock" Tracey from The Dangermen and due to be released in July on his label Swashbuckling Hobo Records.