Mental As Anything biography
Mental As Anything (or Mentals to fans) is an Australian New Wave-rock music band formed at an art school in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up was Martin Plaza (real name Martin Murphy) on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa (real name Chris O'Doherty) on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne "Bird" Delisle (real name David Twohill) on drums; and Andrew "Greedy" Smith on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. Their hit songs were generated by Mombassa, O'Doherty (Peter), Plaza and Smith, either individually or collectively.
The phrase "mental as anything" is late 1970s Australian slang for being crazy, outlandish, having extreme fun, or 'going off'.
Their top ten Australian singles are, "If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?" and "Too Many Times" in 1981, "Live it Up" in 1985 and "Rock and Roll Music" in 1988. While their top ten albums are, Cats & Dogs in 1981, Creatures of Leisure in 1983, Fundamental in 1985 and Greatest Hits Vol. 1 in 1986. which followed touring North America in support of Men At Work. #4 in Norway, and #6 in Germany, after it featured in the 1986 Australian film "Crocodile" Dundee.
All of the early members are visual artists and have had combined studio displays,
Style
Mental As Anything's music is characterised by poppy, accessible and well-crafted melodies and lyrics, and their work showcases an ironic, satirical and self-deprecating sense of humour. They are a typically "Australian" rock group, with their music and their satirical, good-time image deeply rooted in the milieu of Australian suburbia,
Mental As Anything is comparable with British band Madness, in that their music is typically delivered with a quirky, ironic sense of humour and a strong visual identity.
The group formed in Sydney in 1976 when Martin Murphy (Martin Plaza) met fellow student, New Zealand-born, Chris O'Doherty (Reg Mombassa) at Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education (later a campus of Sydney College of Advanced Education), the city's leading art school. The duo was soon jamming in guitarist and vocalist O'Doherty's Darlinghurst flat, Murphy, on guitar and vocals, brought in his college friend Steve Coburn (son of artist, John Coburn) on bass guitar, while another student, David Twohill (Wayne "Bird" Delisle), was recruited on drums.
They were first billed as Mental as Anything on 14 May 1976, after some early party appearances without a name. Prior to the gig at a Chippendale Settlement Dance, they provided the promoter, Paul Worstead, with a list of possible names. Worstead chose Mental As Anything-which was how fellow artist Ken Bolton described them after one of their earlier party performances-and designed an accompanying poster featuring an image of a truck hauling a giant cabbage (see at right).
Late in 1976, another fellow student, Andrew "Greedy" Smith made guest appearances with the band on harmonica whilst still a member of another band, and by year's end Smith had joined full time and he also played keyboards. Coburn left the fledgling band in 1977 and Mombassa's younger brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty joined on bass guitar completing the "classic" line-up. The first performance of the new line-up was at Sydney's Cell Block Theatre on 17 August, the day news broke in Australia of the death of Elvis Presley. They played numerous Elvis covers and two original songs, together with their usual set of Blues, Rockabilly, Country and 1960s covers including Roy Orbison and The Monkees. The band built up a live following in Sydney with their residencies at the Unicorn Hotel in inner-city Paddington on Mondays and the Civic Hotel in the CBD on Thursdays. At the Unicorn Hotel, their stage was on top of the pool table to free up floor space.
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