The Chancres (circa 1978 to now) – Canberra punk band The Chancres is pleased to launch our new website on the Wide Wide World of Web, containing links to recordings of live performances up to July 2022, short videos, band history, lyrics and photos, from 45 years of economic punk and guff rock.

The Chancres was formed in 1978 by Weston Creek teenagers Mark Jarratt (drums and vocals) and Greg Powell (guitar and vocals). The duo was notable for tight and fast interplay and energetic drum and vocal performances, with guitar downstrokes, barre and power chords.

Prolific songwriters, now with around 50 all original tracks, some of which even sound musical, Fakery, Stirling College, Shark in the Carpark, Free Enterprise Fans and Royal Blood are a few of the many original economic punk songs the pair wrote in 1978-79.

The Chancres have a unique beat and style: fast, neat and jazzy hard rock with minimal lead and underlying driving drum line on many tracks known as the ‘3-beat-pounder’, with solid bass, dynamic guitaring, and overarching lyrics. The style of Chancres punk rock has been compared to the Ramones and The Saints.

The Chancres debut was as a duo for a Rock Against Boredom gig at the Griffin Centre in 1978, with a minimalist repertoire. In 1979 Mark and Greg enlisted fellow Stirling College students Guy Morrison (bass guitar) and Clive Smith (lead vocals) as new members. At a time when high school rock groups were relatively new, The Chancres gained some notoriety and interest as Stirling’s ‘unofficial’ and ‘unapproved’ act.

From 1980, the group started gigging at venues such as the Deakin Inn, the Captain Cook Hotel, the Wesley Centre and the Hellenic Club (chosen as the ‘odd-match’ to support NZ pop diva Sharon O’Neill). Guy and Greg began writing new material in a more progressive and less hardcore punk rock direction. Some of these songs were Faber Castell, The Differences and What You Said. Greg also wrote some more complex songs such as Red Spider and No Cupid. Guy left on hiatus in 1981 and was replaced by another ex-Stirling student – Christopher Paxman.

In 2008 the band reconvened in Canberra to record live, commemorating the premature decease aged 47 of long term fan and supporter Anna Warden. The Chancres have since reconvened on several occasions, doing a semi-public gig at the Irish Club in 2012 for the 250th Anniversary and again at the same acoustically tuneful venue in 2022 for the 300th Anniversary, on each member becoming sexygenarian.

The Chancres hope you enjoy exploring this site and welcome any comments. The audio file links will be updated as the band continues recording, now with the benefits of modern digital audio wizardry, and ability to reach far beyond our initial Canberra and southeast NSW audience.

Recordings: 1970s live cassettes: Chancres Bootleg Album Take 4, Orange Tape and Scottish Explosion. From 2008 to 2022 the band performed in numerous recording sessions, resulting in an extensive compilation album called Chancres Mega Album Take 2. They also recorded a live collection of songs in Rob’s Garage (Studio) in July 2011, and classic live performances at the Irish Club in July 2012 and July 2022, inspiring creation of this Chancres website. Navigate to Stream The Chancres (economic punk) music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud