A decidedly non-mainstream friendly name and an uncompromising punk ethos may have resulted in the Hard-Ons being more of an underground concern over the decades, but the band formed in the Sydney south-west suburb of Punchbowl in 1982 are finally getting the recognition they deserve thanks to director/producer Jonathan Sequeira’s excellent documentary, The Most Australian Band Ever.
Not that Hard-Ons have been flailing in obscurity: famous fans include Dave Grohl and PM Anthony Albanese, last year’s LP I Like You a Lot Getting Older reached Number Five on the ARIA Chart, and years of relentless touring has earned them the reputation as one of the country’s greatest live acts (the current line up consists of original members Peter “Blackie” Black on guitar and Ray Anh on bass, plus drummer Murray Ruse and frontman Tim Rogers, of You Am I fame).
Image: Gig flyer Credit: Supplied
Ahead of sequel documentary Harder and Harder, which charts the band’s history from the Nineties onwards and is due for release mid-2025, Black and Anh — the latter showing off a diary that has details of every gig Hard-Ons have ever played between 1984 and 1991 — sit down to recount the gigs that were highlights among the thousands they’ve played.
1. Unknown Venue, Tucson, Arizona — October, 1989
Blackie: I loved every show that we played in America, but the thing that was memorable about this particular gig was there was this old fucker helping us roll the gear out to the van, and then Ray fucking starts shaking me, he goes, “It’s fucking [bassist] Mike Davis, he’s from MC5!” And I’m like, “Fuck off!” And then we went up to him and he’s just pushing our gear, helping us lug gear at the end of a fucking show, and then Ray goes, “Are you Mike Davis?” And he’s like, “Yeah.” And we just fell to our knees going, “I can’t fucking believe this.” One of the guys from MC5, it was almost like meeting one of the Beatles. It was just fucking overwhelming, so I’m never gonna forget that.
2. The First Hard-Ons Gig, Vulcan Hotel, Sydney — Friday July 20th, 1984
Ray: I think the first one is really important. The first one was very similar to the first time you have a carnal encounter with another person — it’s very memorable. I felt that we were due to play a gig, but obviously I was pretty hesitant about how we were gonna go. It went so well that from there it felt like we were unstoppable. I was in a band with Blackie and Keish [original drummer and lead singer Keish de Silva], and they were a little bit more outwardly confident than I was, and they were completely convinced that we were gonna just be really great. I was too, but I really was a lot more nervous than the other guys. After the first gig, everything was just so easy. I only ever had stage fright once, and that was the first gig, first song, but after that I never felt that again.
Blackie: I had just turned 18. You could sneak into venues easily back then, and we went to the Vulcan Hotel a lot. It just had the best bands.
Image: Mike Davis and The Hard-Ons Credit: Supplied
3. Strawberry Hills Hotel Residency, Sydney — Saturday August 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st, 1985
Ray: The reason that’s memorable for me is they thought we were worthy enough to do a residency, and every single one of them was packed and it was kind of like, fucking hell, I don’t know what’s going on, but people seem to dig our band. So it was quite exciting. That happened a little over a year after our first gig, and they gave us four Saturdays in a row. The Strawberry Hills Hotel was a legendary venue where we used to go and watch a lot of bands when we were young. Every night it was really packed, no matter who was playing. It was one of those places where no matter where you stood — it was pretty small — you could see the stage. So you copped this insane, electric atmosphere, no matter where you were standing in the room. It was perfect for a band like us, a band that was only three people but who were able to make maximum noise from a small stage. A guy named Chris Dunn, who ran Waterfront Records, came to a show and cornered the three of us after the show and said he wanted to put our records out, so that was a bit of a turning point.
4. Supporting The Damned at Metro Theatre, Sydney — March 10th, 2017
Blackie: This was memorable because The Damned were one of my favourite bands growing up. The album Damned, Damned, Damned, out of all that 1977 shit, [was amazing]. I loved all of it — there wasn’t a dud album out at that period, whether it was Siouxsie and the Banshees or The Saints or The Ramones, but The Damned were really huge for me. We’d already met [The Damned bassist and guitarist] Captain Sensible, so we knew him and all that sort of shit. But we got there early, and they’re all on stage ambling around, like Dave Vanian’s got his hands in his pockets, they’re all sort of giggling and shit, and we’re sitting watching them sound check. And then without any warning, they just burst into “History of the World (Part 1)”, and I fucking had instant tears. I couldn’t believe it — here’s a band that I fucking worshipped as a kid, and now I’m sharing the stage with them.
Image: The Hard-Ons in 2024 Credit: Supplied
5. Link & Pin, Woy Woy — December 10th, 2021
Ray: That was our very first show with our new lead singer Tim Rogers. To me, that was an exclamation point, that gig, ‘cause we played really, really well. We were rebuilding the band with a different singer and it was something that came together really naturally and when it was first announced that Tim Rogers was joining our band and singing on our record and stuff like that, a lot of people were bewildered to see how this could work out. But the three of us in the Hard-Ons were completely convinced that it was gonna work really, really well, because we know how our band works. Tim brought all this incredible energy on stage, which was really exciting.
Blackie: Looking back on all our gigs, it’s been a fucking endless joyride.
This article features in the March-May 2025 issue of Rolling Stone AU/NZ. If you’re eager to get your hands on it, then now is the time to sign up for a subscription.
Whether you’re a fan of music, you’re a supporter of the local music scene, or you enjoy the thrill of print and long form journalism, then Rolling Stone AU/NZ is exactly what you need. Click the link below for more information regarding a magazine subscription.
