Radio Birdman Radios Appear

When Deniz Tek left Michigan to study medicine in Sydney in 1971, little did the 19-year-old know he’d be a sort of human pipeline, exporting the bruising power of his Motor City rock heroes to a new land with explosive results. In 1974, the guitarist formed Radio Birdman with vocalist Rob Younger and other allies, naming the band after a misheard lyric in the Stooges’ “1970”. Originally released in 1977, Radios Appear burns with the vigour of a band that knows it’s blazing a new path. What the exhilarating, Ramones-like “Do the Pop” or more brooding “Hand of Law” may lack in finesse, they supply in aggression. Radio Birdman sounded even more focused when they revamped their debut for an international edition that included several new songs plus remixes and re-recordings of others. Alas, a problem-filled U.K. tour led to the band’s dissolution not long after Sire released this second version in 1978. But by then, Radio Birdman had already lit the fuse.