Chasing success is never an easy or predictable thing. Sometimes a hit will arrive when one least expects it. Take Australian synth-pop quartet Pseudo Echo, one of the most underrated groups of that genre from the 1980s. Like many of their musical brethren from Down Under, they didn’t get quite the same exposure up here even though their debut Autumnal Park (1984) is a classic. In the following year, their song “His Eyes” was included in the soundtrack to Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning.
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The single that got Pseudo Echo a short time in the spotlight here was a rocked-up version of the Lipps Inc. hit “Funkytown.” The 1980 original was a Platinum hit, reportedly selling millions worldwide. While Pseudo Echo’s cover from late 1986 did not sell those kinds of units, the song still soared to No. 6 in America the following spring, making them one of the few Australian bands at the time to crack the U.S. Top 10. It also went No. 1 in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and Top 10 in the UK and Sweden.
What’s unusual is that the “Funkytown” cover represented a big shift for Pseudo Echo, who had abandoned their original sound in favor of a hard rock approach that had become more popular, especially in the States. Synth-pop and new wave had their time in the American spotlight in the first half of the ‘80s, but this country’s continually shifting trends meant a lot of such talented groups would find more success in Europe or elsewhere. By 1987, Bon Jovi and various pop-metal bands had altered the mainstream landscape significantly.
Pseudo Echo’s rendition of “Funkytown” was interesting because it combined hard rock riffs, funky licks, and poppy keytar sounds into a blend infectious to the masses. Frontman Brian Canham already played guitar on the band’s first two albums and got to showcase his chops with his six-string solo with this cover. No doubt this crossover hit then influenced the melodic hard rock direction of their third studio release.
Changing Lanes on Race
Although Pseudo Echo’s 1988 album Race was their third straight Top 20 album Down Under, it did not achieve the Gold status there of their debut or the Platinum status of the 1985 release Love An Adventure. Even though the Race sound was pop-oriented hard rock with Canham having injected guitars into the group’s original sound, the switch felt awkward and was also a reflection of the rocky musical terrain of late ‘80s popular music. Race is their only album not available on Spotify.
Truth be told, the band faced a crossroads at that point, and even many popular Australian groups of that time did not last more than three or four albums. The industry was smaller there, and promoting one’s music and traveling internationally were more expensive and difficult, especially without the internet to easily spread the word. In a 2006 interview with Countdown Memories, Canham said he felt Pseudo Echo were screwed no matter what.
“We could either stay as Pseudo Echo and get called a bunch of old fuddy duddys and dags and poofs and it’s all over and you guys are dated,” Canham said. “It wasn’t going to happen, that music was so dead in the water in Australia. You’ve got to remember, we in this country have the smallest focus on music. It’s only even in the last decade that it’s slightly broadened. But it’s always been a fine line of what’s in and what’s out. So we were screwed, unless we moved to the UK. That’s probably in hindsight what we should have done, but we’re all mummies’ boys and we had family here.”
The frontman shouldered the blame for the directional shift. During management meetings, Bon Jovi had been brought up along with the Aerosmith/RUN-DMC cover of “Walk This Way.” Thus the band and its management tried to retool the direction of Pseudo Echo to fit the times. The songs on Race were just not that memorable, and they were very different than what the group had achieved previously. Canham felt that 1987 and 1988 was a confusing time in music, and this writer certainly thinks it was a lousy time for mainstream pop and rock that foreshadowed the cookie-cutter music of today. Pseudo Echo disbanded in 1990.
A New Lineup
Canham revived the group with a new lineup in the late ‘90s, and the 2000 release Teleporter featured classic songs remixed with four engaging new tunes meshing the band’s classic ‘80s vibes with some modern electronic influences. In 2014, Canham presented yet another new lineup of the band and the first full new album of music in 26 years. Ultraviolent was a really strong album that invoked their classic sound and is on par with their debut. Now a sextet, the group still play in Australia and are touring there this year.
Another fun Pseudo Echo release came out three years ago. 1990: The Lost Album Demos features nine songs that could have been on a post-Race release. At first listen, it sounds like a hybrid of their two ‘80s styles.
All these years later, Canham emanates positivity about his career. “We’ve had so many wonderful moments,” he told Glam Adelaide earlier this year. “When we had a huge international success with ‘Funkytown,’ that was a massive defining moment for the band. But also when we took out a couple of awards at [Australian music TV show] Countdown for best male performer and best band [in 1987], as well as the first time we heard ourselves on radio, and being presented gold records—these were all incredible moments. Back then, we were just young lads from the northern suburbs of Melbourne, and we still cannot believe what we’ve achieved all these years later.”
If the success of their cover of “Funkytown” has gotten more people intrigued by Pseudo Echo, so much the better. The song has nearly 4 million YouTube views and more than 12 million Spotify plays. Autumnal Park is a great album, and its follow-up Love An Adventure has a lot of good songs as well. It’s a shame the group didn’t get larger here, but for one shining moment they did manage to get some attention in the States. The band played at least a dozen live dates in the U.S. in 1987, including the New York City rock club The Ritz. Fans of ‘80s synth-pop and new wave should definitely check out their first two albums and the excellent Ultraviolet. Their ears will thank them.
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Photo by Australian Press/Shutterstock
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