Mental As Anything have been Australia’s party band of choice for generations of music fans. The humble beginnings of five unassuming art students who first got together for a lark playing covers of their favourite songs by performing on top of a pool table in a pub is one of the most endearing tales in Australian music.
They held no lofty ambitions other than to play for the sheer fun of doing it. The fact that they really couldn’t play and that people were still prepared to pay the princely sum of 50 cents to see them was a bonus. By the time they started writing their own material there was no pretense to their music – their collective hearts were well and truly entrenched in the quirks of Australia’s suburban culture.
Songs like The Nips Are Getting Bigger, Come Around, Romeo and Juliet, If You Leave Me Can I Come Too, Too Many Times and Live It Up became perennial crowd pleasers with the band’s humorous, offbeat and energetic performances making them one of Australia’s best live acts. As visual arts students the Mental’s videos were usually low budget, often ground breaking and always amusing.
The line up remained unchanged for over 2 decades with Martin Plaza (vocals and guitar), Greedy Smith (vocals, keys and harmonica), Reg Mombassa (lead guitar), Peter O’Doherty (bass) and Wayne de Lisle on drums. While Martin and Greedy wrote the bulk of the material, the Kiwi imports of brothers Reg and Pete also wrote some fabulous songs.
With Reg and Pete choosing to leave the band at the beginning of the millennium and Wayne ‘s later departure Martin and Greedy have continued on as the Mentals with a changing roster of musicians.
Recently Martin had a kidney removed and has been battling the effects of chemotherapy off and on since then. He continues to play and write although he’s had to stay off the road for extended periods with a number of other musicians covering for him in his absence. Late last year Mental As Anything released a new song written by Martin, sliding into a bluesy new direction with Goat Tracks In My Sandpit, their best song in a long time.
I caught up with Greedy and Martin before his health battles to look back at the band’s career and to chat about their enduring popularity as a touring act. As two of the most down to earth musicians you’re likely to meet it’s not surprising that they’re still regarded as one of Australia’s most beloved bands. As Greedy says on the band’s site: “The audiences have been united in sending their healing thoughts to Martin”.
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