{"artistName":"The Whitlams","artistId":113156,"artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/ee9/ee98ea8057c6885169ff9c56b53b5549_xl.jpg","srcset":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/ee9/ee98ea8057c6885169ff9c56b53b5549_sm.jpg 50w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/ee9/ee98ea8057c6885169ff9c56b53b5549_md.jpg 80w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/ee9/ee98ea8057c6885169ff9c56b53b5549_lg.jpg 200w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/ee9/ee98ea8057c6885169ff9c56b53b5549_xl.jpg 340w","artistBio":"\u003cp\u003eThe Whitlams are a rock band based in Sydney, Australia. The original band consisted of Tim Freedman, Stevie Plunder and Andy Lewis. \nThe Whitlams formed in 1992 in Newtown, and began their career performing acoustically on Saturday afternoons at the Sandringham Hotel in King Street, Newtown. \nAlthough the band line-up has changed numerous times, the current group has remained unchanged since 2001, consisting of Tim Freedman on piano and vocals, Jak Housden on guitar, Warwick Hornby on bass guitar and Terepai Richmond on drums. \n History\n Formation and early years (1992-1995): \n\nThe Whitlams were formed in late 1992 when a former Penguin on Safari and a former Plunderer crossed paths at the annual independent music festival the Big Day Out. While missing Nirvana perform inside the arena, the two musicians lamented the local music scene and decided to form a musical alliance, and The Whitlams were born. The initial band members were Tim Freedman, Stevie Plunder and Andy Lewis. Being without a drummer, the band developed their songs acoustically on Saturday afternoons at the Sandringham Hotel in King Street, Newtown, an inner west suburb of Sydney, Australia. This lineup produced two albums, Introducing the Whitlams and Undeniably the Whitlams. \n Eternal Nightcap and Love This City (1996-2000): \nAt the same time that the band was enjoying the success of their single \"I Make Hamburgers\" (1996) founding member Stevie Plunder was found dead on Australia Day, 1996, from what was believed to be an act of suicide. After a break of several months, Tim Freedman reformed the band with several new members. After several more months, there was another lineup change and this is when the process of starting to record the album Eternal Nightcap began. This album sold over 200,000 units and in 1998 won the band ARIA awards for Best Independent Album, Song of the Year and Best Group. This last award was presented by the band's namesake Gough Whitlam. \"No Aphrodisiac\", a single from this album, made it to number one in the 1997 Triple J Hottest 100. \nSeveral of the band's songs were played during the 2000 Sydney Olympics as examples of Australian pop culture (for example, \"Sydney 2000 Olympic Theme\", a b-side from the \"I Make Hamburgers\" single that was reworked as \"You Gotta Love This City\" on Love This City -- an ironic choice, as the song's protagonist commits suicide by jumping in the Harbour at the end of the song, disgusted at the city's crass pursuit of money: It dawns on him / The horror / We got the Olympic Games). \n\nDuring the band's Canadian tour in April 2000 supporting Blue Rodeo, the band received word that founding member, Andy Lewis, had committed suicide back in Australia. Andy had been battling a gambling addiction for a long time prior to his death. \nThe single \"Blow Up the Pokies\" had been co-written by Tim with Greta Gertler as a statement on the destruction he saw in Andy's life due to his gambling not long before Andy's death, and was awaiting release as a single at the time. Tim soon after wrote \"The Curse Stops Here\", describing being the 'last one' from the original line-up of the band, and voicing his determination to survive. \"The Curse Stops Here\" was included as a B-side track on the \"Blow Up the Pokies\" single. \nA month after Andy's death a benefit concert was held at the Metro club in Sydney to raise money for his wife and child. The event was hosted by Paul McDermott, Mikey Robbins and Steve Abbott (The Sandman), and performers included Max Sharam, and The Gadflys (another band Andy performed with). \n Torch the Moon and Little Cloud (2001-2006): \nTorch The Moon (2002), their next album, received moderate success, with the singles \"Fall For You\" (AUS#21), \"Best Work\" (AUS#35), \"Royal in the Afternoon\" and \"Don't Believe Anymore\". Another song from the album which received a fair amount of airplay was \"I Will Not Go Quietly (Duffy's Song)\", which was used on the Australian TV series Love Is A Four Letter Word (2001). \nThe latest release, a double-album titled Little Cloud (loosely referred to also as Little Cloud and The Apples Eye) was released on 19 March 2006 in Australia. Several songs received considerable airplay, including \"I Was Alive.\" Three of the songs on the album have been released as radio-only singles, with a fourth, \"Beautiful as You\", released as a CD single. The album was followed up with almost non-stop touring around Australia, including performances at political and university events. \nThe band made the news in 2006 when they refused to perform to troops in Iraq for political reasons.3 \n The Whitlams and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (2007): \nThe band performed a short orchestral tour in late 2007, performing shows with the Sydney Symphony, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and The Queensland Orchestra 4. \nIn 2008 The Whitlams released a free CD in The Sunday Telegraph (1 June) and The Australian (26 July) of their live performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. \n Truth, Beauty and a Picture of You (2008-2009): \nThe Whitlams released a 'Best of' compilation album titled \"Truth, Beauty and a Picture of You\" on 2 August 2008. As part of the promotion for \"Truth, Beauty and a Picture of You\" release, and subsequent tour, the Whitlams performed on a number of TV programs including Nine's \"Footy Show (NRL)\" and Seven's \"Sunrise\" and \"The Morning Show\" \nThe Whitlams performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2009 to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the release of their breakthrough album Eternal Nightcap. \n Australian Idle (2011-present): \nThe Whitlams are currently on hiatus. On 11 November 2011 (the anniversary of Gough Whitlam's dismissal), Tim Freedman released a new album titled Australian Idle, featuring a new band named The Idle.\u003c/p\u003e","musicPath":"/music/The+Whitlams","playStationPath":"/stations/282361004/play","stationId":282361004,"bioPath":"/music/The+Whitlams/_full_bio","similars":[{"musicPath":"/music/Mondo+Rock","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/8d7/8d7f90d9503de28181f5103151c9753e_md.jpg","artistName":"Mondo Rock","artistId":110973,"station_id":282142436},{"musicPath":"/music/John+Butler+Trio","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/c74/c74f8bee310ba87d9224141d9b5cfd11_md.jpg","artistName":"John Butler Trio","artistId":7355,"station_id":104993400},{"musicPath":"/music/Skyhooks","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/9bc/9bc6fbcc82a3bf0898e04b6e206f3b70_md.jpg","artistName":"Skyhooks","artistId":139638,"station_id":287829149},{"musicPath":"/music/Powderfinger","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/b82/b825d1d5eba9a64c318db1f96eaadf5c_md.jpg","artistName":"Powderfinger","artistId":2240,"station_id":113344645},{"musicPath":"/music/Art+vs+Science","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/fc2/fc2dfc53b96348d56fdd23f2d4a7b6d5_md.jpg","artistName":"Art vs. Science","artistId":119113,"station_id":283254278},{"musicPath":"/music/Frente+","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/d63/d632c249aa912015ce85b81bb2866be0_md.jpg","artistName":"Frente!","artistId":8152,"station_id":113272377},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Dissociatives","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/246/2462d12f060a0d755de5b61f7817cd22_md.jpg","artistName":"The Dissociatives","artistId":139643,"station_id":287829151},{"musicPath":"/music/Frenzal+Rhomb","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/a96/a96c46dc2f9eec579cc1f821aa0beb02_md.jpg","artistName":"Frenzal Rhomb","artistId":83289,"station_id":268798159},{"musicPath":"/music/Thirsty+Merc","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/a28/a28f1d4b7d6900b388f97e833778447a_md.jpg","artistName":"Thirsty Merc","artistId":111444,"station_id":282283435},{"musicPath":"/music/Lior","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/ecc/ecc2164937e11d3acebb5494958f5c4b_md.jpg","artistName":"Lior","artistId":100770,"station_id":280763252},{"musicPath":"/music/Daddy+Cool","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/7e7/7e75a95d012f9acf28458885c9668c2d_md.jpg","artistName":"Daddy Cool","artistId":114494,"station_id":282639544},{"musicPath":"/music/Ball+Park+Music","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/bc6/bc616fafc13221e551d7c79e2e9e170e_md.jpg","artistName":"Ball Park Music","artistId":445161,"station_id":401027343},{"musicPath":"/music/Hilltop+Hoods","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/df3/df3ca5cb0580eaf0c385542fb15ac482_md.jpg","artistName":"Hilltop Hoods","artistId":12758,"station_id":113291512},{"musicPath":"/music/Washington","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/662/662b6473330cf6c5f58839ef7b34b766_md.jpg","artistName":"Washington","artistId":127749,"station_id":284832695},{"musicPath":"/music/Choirboys","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/f83/f8352d51e06fd09b083389bc6ed406e9_md.jpg","artistName":"Choirboys","artistId":250362,"station_id":360184911},{"musicPath":"/music/Kate+Miller+Heidke","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/a9b/a9b3b4f5c49b30079deb2124e9398a8d_md.jpg","artistName":"Kate Miller-Heidke","artistId":13791,"station_id":114136826},{"musicPath":"/music/Shannon+Noll","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/cf6/cf6d5a4787cef4a52b18459c3afc124e_md.jpg","artistName":"Shannon Noll","artistId":101833,"station_id":280763934},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Panics","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/4ac/4ac6093affb2dc05ff24d1791076ab4e_md.jpg","artistName":"The Panics","artistId":114901,"station_id":282865393}]}