GOD visited Melbourne in 1987. Au Go Go Records was a shop and record label located amongst the red brick warehouses, abandoned factories and cobblestone lanes of Abbotsford.
Proprietor, Bruce Milne was one of the first to be touched by the hand of GOD. It was an experience that changed his life, a “golden moment”, recounts Milne.
Milne was handed a demo cassette of My Pal, a song by a young punk band with a precocious name—GOD.
500 copies of the 7” vinyl first-press sold out quickly followed by 1500 more!
It wasn’t only Milne who was touched by this golden musical moment; GOD have been described as possibly the greatest Australian band you have never heard, and My Pal is considered one of the classic punk rock songs in Australian music history.
It may also surprise you to know that many rock gurus think of it as the unofficial rock anthem of Melbourne.
What is it about My Pal that makes it so great? I’m rocking along Citylink on my way to the airport when I enquire of my passenger and music advisor, a conservatorium trained jazz guitarist – who just happens to be my son…
“My Pal, by GOD, have you heard them?.. of course you haven’t—tell me what you think, I want your considered opinion.”
I switch the sound system to my iPhone and crank up the volume and lose myself to the song.
“Aussie pub punk…messy, raw, nice riff and driving bass…I like it—I really like how the outro returns to the intro,” he smiles, who are they again?”
Musically, My Pal has an under-produced sound you might expect of punk but that’s where expectations end.
It intros with a distinctive catchy, chiming riff that revolves around a circular five-note melody; the song is carried by messy, energetic drums and a driving bass, a three-cord progression overlaid with angst-ridden vocals.
The lyrics are barely decipherable but the chorus is raw and emotive:
“You’re my only friend / you don’t even like me.”
Joel Silbersher, GOD’s lead singer/guitarist/songwriter has been compared to Nirvana’s, Kurt Cobain, who followed some years later—while others liken his vocal style to Motorhead’s, Lemmy Kilmister.
The combination, deliver an unexplainable energy, a mojo that resonates. Dave Laing, Record label owner sums up the appeal.
“For indie kids it’s an indie song, for punk kids it’s a punk song, for rock’n’roll people it’s a rock’n’roll song. It can be a pop song if you want it to be. It just seems to appeal to everybody in the alternative kind of world. It just covers all those bases.”
The real surprise is that Silbersher and his band: Matty Whittle, Tim Hemensley and Sean Greenway were just 15 and 16 years old when they recorded My Pal.
Not surprising perhaps, when you consider they were playing in bands since they were 10.
In the space of three-years, GOD made a raucous appearance on the music TV show Countdown, released two albums and played approximately, seventy live gigs.
However, the huge success of the single My Pal became overpowering for the band, dominating their other material and audience interest. While for a time, it fell out of favour with GOD, it remains an enduring Australian punk classic, feted and covered.
Silbersher and Whittle are still active in the industry but tragically, Hemensley and Greenway could not cling to the GOD-like immortality of My Pal; both dying from heroin overdoses.
As a touch of bitter irony, My Pal featured on the soundtrack to Underbelly, the TV series of the infamous Melbourne gangland wars, for control of the drug trade and racketeering.
CRASHION 