THE SAINTS: Stranded Eternally (2024)

By BRIAN GIFFIN

IN late 1974, guitarist Ed Kuepper of The Saints came up with a song while on a train in Brisbane. After writing a verse, he passed it to singer Chris Bailey, who came up with the rest. When the band independently released it two years later, “(I’m) Stranded” became one of the most significant singles in Australian music history, immediately striking a chord in the UK where punk was about to take hold, while being reviled or ignored at home. It is now considered the first punk single released anywhere outside of America and is routinely name-checked as one of the era’s most important tracks.

With the 50th anniversary of the song’s creation looming, Ed Kuepper is doing a lot of press about the band’s early days, thanks to the imminent release of a glorious box set containing all the band’s live and studio recordings from 1976 to 1978. With some amusement, he recounts the reaction to “(I’m) Stranded” when it first appeared.

“The funny thing is when we released ‘Stranded’ ourselves, the single, initially there was this absolute, ‘Oh this is awful!’ But within a week or two we started to get these rave reviews. So there was real excitement. And oddly enough, there seems to be a similar level of excitement in a completely different world and so many years down the track. It’s like, ‘Wow!’ I’m getting ready to sign lots of really shitty deals, like I did back in the day, I’m so excited.”

He notes that there’s “been a really surprisingly strong response to the box set. It’s been great, actually.”

The Saints have long been a cornerstone of the Australian independent scene. Their songs has been revered the world over, and yet it has often been difficult to trace their history and even the course of their music. After the third album Prehistoric Sounds was released in 1978, three quarters of the group departed, including Kuepper, leaving Bailey to front a myriad of line-ups right up until his death in 2022.

“Part of the problem has always been that there’s been so many Saints,” Kuepper says. “I’ve always drawn a very strong distinction between the bands. To me, there’s The Saints, which … I asked Chris and Ivor to join a band in 1973 which became the Saints. That’s one band. The others are all different. I don’t feel much connection with them. It’s amazing to me that almost 50 years after the recording there’s still interest in that stuff. That is kind of gratifying.”

 Not all the reactions to the release have been positive, however. Chris Bailey’s estate has been vehement in their opposition to it. A statement, recently published by LouderSound, claimed that the re-issue and the tour celebrating it were being done without their knowledge or consent. The guitarist’s manager, Tim Pittman, hit back at the claims. In an article with The Music, he says the name The Saints ‘73-’78 was agreed upon by Bailey before his death and subsequent merchandise and releases were approved by the singer’s estate.

“The 7″ last year,” the statement reads in part, “and the merchandise was approved by the Bailey estate: the artwork, the idea, and the bank details that they gave me for payment for the supposed unapproved releases.”

Kuepper also refutes the claims: “He was on board for doing it and he’s well represented in the booklet and what he did artistically and musically is there for everyone to hear on the records.”

Mudhoney vocalist Mark Arm, who is fronting the band for the tour, has been drawn into the imbroglio. LouderSound’s article quotes the Bailey estate as “surprised” the singer will be taking part. In a reply to the ABC, Arm said: “I want to be true to Chris and try to honour him […] It’s not about me. This isn’t about me at all. I just get to participate in it.”

A long time champion of the Saints, Arm feels like a natural choice for the role and Kuepper agreed as soon as his name came forward.

“I wanted a singer who could lead the band and do the vocals without me having to do that,” he explains. “Mark was brought up by a mutual friend, and I thought that was a really fucking good suggestion. We got in touch with him and he was really keen.”

It was important that whomever he chose had an affinity not only with the Saints and their music, but the times and artists that were an influence on them. Joining Kuepper, Arm and original drummer Ivor Hay for the tour will be Bad Seed Mick Harvey and Peter Oxley of the Sunnyboys. It’s a formidable line up that very much reflects a credo Kuepper has about legitimacy. 

“I wanted someone who had a sense of the band’s history – as much as he could, being in the States. That would be the case irrespective of where the singer came from. I wanted them to have a sense of, not only the Saints, but of the bands that influenced the Saints. Not just some guy who joined a punk band in 1980 and knew the Sex Pistols and that was it, so there was a greater depth to what they’re going to bring, and I think Mark’s going to do that really well.”

Going out officially as The Saints ‘73-’78, the tour supports the release of the exhaustive box set that includes a re-mastered version of (I’m Stranded), the album, plus live recordings and follow-up singles from 1977 as well as the demo mix of the album. There’s also, of course, a photo essay and booklet. Kuepper and Pittman were the driving force behind the collection, as the guitarist explains.

“Quite a lot of the archival material comes from my archives,” he says, expelling a long cloud of vape smoke. “[I was] basically, you know, involved in the tracking down of the proper tapes, getting it mastered. I didn’t master it myself, Don Bartley did. He was the person I put forward to do it. So I’ve had a significant involvement in it. I think the person as responsible more than anyone in getting it done is Tim Pittman, my manager. Without his energy and perseverance…because there was a lot of things that had to be sorted before we could even consider the release, Tim got a lot of that going.”

Along with the tour that will be a live celebration focusing on the early years of The Saints, the box set will serve as a remarkable and long-overdue salute to one of the most important rock bands in Australian musical history.

“I think it will be really exciting. I’m very much looking forward to it. The response has been fantastic. It should be really good.”

Order the (I’m Stranded) Deluxe Edition now.

THE SAINTS ’73-’78 AUSTRALIAN TOUR

13/11 Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide

15/11 Theatre Royal, Castlemaine

16/11 Northcote Theatre, Melbourne

20/11 Freo Social, Fremantle

22/11 Enmore Theatre, Sydney

23/11 Princess Theatre, Brisbane