Hard-Ons postpone NSW shows due to Covid

THE HARD-ONS’  I’M SORRY SIR, THAT RIFF’S BEEN TAKEN TOUR HITS HURDLE AFTER FIRST WEEKEND WITH THIS WEEK’S NSW SHOWS RESCHEDULED DUE TO COVID.

TOUR WILL RESUME MARCH 31 IN CANBERRA AND CONTINUE AS PLANNED THROUGH ADELAIDE, GEELONG AND MELBOURNE, WITH SYDNEY, AVALON, NEWCASTLE AND WOLLONGONG SHOWS ALL MOVING TO JUNE.

FIRST TOUR WITH NEW SINGER TIM ROGERS FOLLOWS THE GROUP’S FIRST EVER TOP 5 ALBUM!

The Hard-Ons kicked off their I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Take tour – their first tour with new singer Tim Rogers – with three sold out shows on the weekend, only to hit a hurdle yesterday.  The group issued the following statement this morning:
“We regret to advise that the band has unfortunately been struck with Covid, with one of us testing positive earlier today, so under current Public Health Orders they’re required to self-isolate. As a result, we’ve had to reschedule this week’s shows. These performances will however proceed on the following dates. Existing ticket holders do not need to do anything as tickets will automatically apply for the new date. 

Wed June 1 – Wollongong, La La La’s – tickets here
Thu June 2 – Sydney, Factory Theatre (for Great Southern Nights) (with guests Flowers For Jayne) – tickets here
Fri June 3 – Newcastle, Cambridge Hotel – tickets here
Sat June 4 – Avalon, Avalon RSL (with guests Raising Ravens) – tickets here

With the NSW shows moved to June, the tour will pick up next week. Shows in Canberra, Adelaide, Geelong and Melbourne will proceed as scheduled. 

The run of dates and supports is now as follows.

THE HARD-ONS
I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken
Australian Tour 2022

MARCH
Thu 31 – Canberra, The Basement – with guests GLITORIS and CHARLOTTE & THE HARLOTS – tickets here

Thu 7 – Geelong, Barwon Club – with guests DEAD and EYEROLL – tickets here
Fri 8 – St Kilda, Gershwin Room @ The Espy – with very special guests THE MEANIES and RIVER OF SNAKES – tickets here
Sat 9 – Melbourne, Corner Hotel – with special guests C.O.F.F.I.N and CHEEKY GEEZERS –  tickets here

JUNE
Wed June 1 – Wollongong, La La La’s – tickets here
Thu June 2 – Sydney, Factory Theatre (for Great Southern Nights) (with guests Flowers For Jayne) – tickets here
Fri June 3 – Newcastle, Cambridge Hotel – tickets here
Sat June 4 – Avalon, Avalon RSL (with guests Raising Ravens) – tickets here

The Hard-Ons’ tour follows the unprecedented chart success and fantastic response to their new I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken album –  their first with new singer Tim Rogers.  The tour is gonna be unmissable; the new album reveals the new line-up to be working a treat and a couple of surprise shows – including the line-up’s first, playing under the name Clandestine Sausage at the Link & Pin Cafe in Woy Woy back in December – have shown the band to be in magical form. The magic comes in part from the fact that Tim Rogers has proven himself the perfect new addition to the band, which in turn is partly due to the fact that he has long been one of the band’s biggest fans.  As he recently told Blunt: “I’m a fan first and foremost. [They were] the first band I loved that I could see, the first band I got my nose broken to, [and the first band] I lost my hearing to. There are so many firsts. And then to be in the rehearsal room… I looked over at Blackie’s amp and went, ‘Oh, that’s the amp.’ And I saw the SG, and I was like, ‘That’s the SG.’ I’ve been watching him play with those since 1986.”

The Hard-Ons at the Link and Pin Cafe,  Woy Woy, Dec 10 2021. Pic by Mark Fraser.

One of Australia’s most loved and influential bands from the mid- ’80s through to now, the Hard-Ons came out of the multicultural South-West Sydney suburb Punchbowl and quickly won a large following nationally with their irreverent attitude and catchy, noisy high energy sound. Appearing on the Radio Birdman-influenced Sydney scene of the early ’80s and preceding the punk-pop boom of the ’90s, the Hard-Ons were a musical bridge and became a punk and alternative music sensation, blowing open doors by incorporating disparate elements – like a range of metal styles, from glam to thrash – which were previously unheard in Australian punk.  All the while they were forced to push through other barriers; barriers that appeared because of their mixed ethnicity and their wilfully transgressive and irreverent nature, which was typified by their name, and by Ray’s outrageous artwork.

In their early days, the Hard-Ons shared bills with the likes of the Ramones and Nirvana and appeared on numerous Big Days Out. They scored a never-bettered 17 consecutive number 1s on the Australian independent charts and in 1989 were the only Australian band still based in Australia to hit the top 5 in the NME charts (the only Australian artists to have achieved that – Nick Cave and the Go-Betweens – had both been UK-based).  Despite break-ups and the formation of other bands (Ray & Blackie’s other ongoing band Nunchukka Superfly) and, in Blackie’s case, a solo career, the Hard-Ons undertook their 19th European tour in 2018, when they played the massive metal festival Hellfest, alongside Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Joan Jett. Soon to celebrate 40 years together, their new album with new kid Tim Rogers  is their 13th.

Over the years, the Hard-Ons have won the vocal support of artists like Dave Grohl, Henry Rollins, and Jello Biafra. They’ve influenced subsequent generations of punk bands – from the Meanies to Frenzal Rhomb to Private Function – as well as a wide-ranging groundswell of Australian alternative artists – from You Am I to Spiderbait to Silverchair to Regurgitator to Magic Dirt to Powderfinger to the Dirty Three to the Chats – each of whom have been inspired by the Hard-Ons’ energy, free spirit and uncompromising dedication.

The Hard-Ons’ new album I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken is out now via Cheersquad Records & Tapes. (Distributed by Magnetic South)

https://cheersquadrecordstapes.bandcamp.com/album/im-sorry-sir-that-riff-s-been-taken

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