Geoff Helisma
Steve Kilbey and his seminal 1980s group, The Church, kick-started the ’80s when Unguarded Moment’s opening riff rung out across the airwaves and in pubs, clubs and nightclubs around Australia.
But, in his occasional sometimes-I’m-my-own-worst-enemy fashion, he is quoted as saying in Tracy Holmes’ book, Your Name’s on the Door, “The song [Unguarded Moment] just doesn’t appeal to me.
“It doesn’t give me any pleasure at all.
“Maybe it was exciting for people who thought the country was going to be bogged down with The Human League and Buggles for the decade.”
However, when Kilbey performs solo, stripped-down versions of the songs from the Church’s first two albums, Of Skins and Hearts (1981) and The Blurred Crusade (1982) at Bowlo Sports and Leisure Yamba on Friday March 4, there will be nowhere to hide.
He’ll be asking, is this where you live and reliving those 1980s memories in the future tense.
True to his artistic self, Kilbey says a few words on the website, https://thetimebeing.com/, the lower-case letters and punctuation are his preferences.
“in 1980 i formed the best group in the uni-verse called the church
“we’ve made 2 million albums and sold over 30 copies
“no hang on…
“its the other way around ho ho
“(i’m quite the cosmick joker, arent i?)
“anyway i made loadsa records
“i recorded loadsa songs
“i wrote loadsa poems n blogs n a couple of books”
Kilbey, always the enigmatic, sometimes aloof, once psychedelic musician has words for his audience when they come to the Yamba Bowlo to indulge his music on Friday March 4: “i am excited and deliriously happy to bring you
“the time being
“lets get together and make it what we want
“a work in constant progress
“looking forward to the pleasure of yer company
“much love”
Tickets are on sale, through the club’s website, for Steve Kilbey in solo mode. He will be performing the Church’s first two albums, Of Skins and Hearts (1981) and The Blurred Crusade (1982), with the songs stripped down to their basic essence, “the way they were intended to be heard,” his promo says.
The Church was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2012.