Which Guy? That Guy M. Morrison, original Chancres bassist, producer, and keyboardist aka The Gracchus.

The Chancres are one of several Canberra punk new wave groups from the late 1970s still worthy of an audience and the attention of interested fans.

Canberra, the Australian capital, has or had its own unique culture and hence the punk rock “scene” was also quite distinct, with groups such as the (ahem) Young Docteurs, Tactics, Thalidomide, Vacant Lot and the Royal Family to name a few in the serious joke conceptual zone or mode. This collection of nasties basically meant we don’t think people should have to suffer.

The Chancres were side serve interlopers from then outlying Weston Creek near the Murrumbidgee River and Mt Stromlo. Most groups came from older more established parts of inner north Canberra.

Chancres members were the sons of relatively senior federal government executives and military. My father Don Morrison was one of the most senior executive officials in the country. Incidentally, when I joined the Chancres, I was unsure about my future as an apprentice Woolworths fruit and vegetables worker and window cleaner.

I heard the Chancres at Stirling College in 1979 on a “boom box” cassette recorder (the legendary Orange Tape session): the song Stirling College was really outstanding. I commented it was really good, powerful and convincing, with lyrics a witty reflection of our student experience.

Greg and Mark came back a bit later and asked if I wanted to be The Chancres bass guitarist (I was an electronic music and modern composition student trying to catch up on piano skills). I had a quick think and decided to accept their offer, though somewhat daunted at the prospect of playing and performing for a punkish rock group. Further down the track however I was confident to compose music for songs – but – remained doubtful about what the exact nature of the bass and music generally should be!

Off I went on a Japanese p-bass copy doing the Dee Dee Ramone pounding style on the E string at first. We went into rehearsal and filled bass nicely and elaborated and developed some innovative parts, initially one and two finger style and then pick.

I was a conspicuous long haired and bearded punk, but I was taken to an approved hairdresser and bzzzzt off went most of the hair though beard was retained a la Peter Hook. A vocalist was needed, and I suggested my good mate Clive Smith who certainly looked the part with his declamatory “ham” acting, not Enrico Caruso but Clive also had wide experience as a pious chorister.

Clive was a skilled actor, and his forceful vocals filled The Chancres bill, releasing Mark and Greg to concentrate on their instruments.

So there we were, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, attracting some attention and gigging often. Young entrepreneur businessman Brian Evans, brother of Chief Chancrette Jane, was interested and thought he’d try being our manager.

We started getting more gigs, on the Group Makers agency talent register, and Brian generously even invested in some gear (I was happy to pay you back $$ Brian – thanks). I ended up with a nice Kustom bass amp, solid, heavy.

Lots of gigs at pubs, clubs and sleazy wine bars, birthday parties, a Hellenic Club support spot for NZ pop songstress Sharon O’Neill, now 71, aargh, rehearsals, demo recordings, controversy about atonal punk rock, radio interview, almost brawls, but we were looking good by early 1981 with a dedicated following.

Greg and I penned new less punky songs such as Faber Castell, The Differences and What You Said (I was a progressive rock fan e.g. King Crimson, Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra, modern jazz like Cecil Taylor), but fiscal reality, risk of starving and snake bite living in a garage flat meant I made the executive decision to move home and resume university.

I suggested our mate Chris Paxman, another actor, general wit and Stirling College denizen, and The Chancres staging/lighting road crew chief, might want to try bass. That was the end of me and The Chancres Stage 1 but I do not regret doing it.

Between then and Stage 2 I did more music in Canberra and then Sydney including the famous 1000 Plane Raid funk gothic metal band with Marcus Flux and Mark Paxton. I moved to Sydney with my then (female) partner and resumed degree studies, even started working in academia (while she got herself a lifetime sinecure at the ABC!).

I was also hauled back into bass for local groups such as Graham Sandstroms Big Huge and Jason Chans Lovin’ Submission. Anyway I moved back to Canberra in 1994, almost back where I started – Woolworths Weston doing night packing, oh no.

I eventually managed to get a Commonwealth public service job, bought some new music gear, and contacted The Chancres for Stage 2 of our lifelong musical journey.

I can’t quite remember what happened but at one point we got together for some playing and made a studio recording with Greg’s Boss BR8 recorder. I then bought myself a Boss BR900CD recorder to record bass parts over drum programs. Greg, Clive and Mark were hauled in to do guitar and vocals and the result was an album ‘Mega Album Take 2’. There were a few new pieces such as ‘Day of Shame’ and we made an epic slap bass meal of the not yet done Greg song ‘Extension Piece’.

Other live recording sessions followed including two at Rob’s Garage Studio. The 250th anniversary gig at the Irish Club in July 2012 went off like a frog in a blender, we recorded a Clive Smith requested electro album of Chancres songs under the Futuro SPV label, and in July 2022 at the 300th anniversary gig I presented the latest phase of bass style, soldiering on bravely despite a bad back and making several mistakes (never previously done that!). This is our tale over some four decades, now released into the wild by this website of eternal Chancredom.

These days I’m an electronic studio artist with a group arbitrarily called Live in Paris, links on this Home Page, doing lots of keyboarding and production, although I remain the Canberra based Chancres bassist. Have fun with this site, the result of some 45 years musical effort, and watch out for updates from me and other Chancres.