It's usually the sign of a good night out in the Melbourne music scene when the mere mention of the band whose name adorns the marquee is met with confusion or – at best – a bit of a side-eye.
Needless to say, there’s nowhere better to find a strange, intriguing, or just plain weird band name than the creative hub that is Melbourne. After all, what is the Music Capital Of The World without a few strange names at our myriad venues?
With that in mind, we’ve decided to take another look at some of the wildest, ingenious, and attention-grabbing band names from the history of the city’s ever-eclectic music scene.
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Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice
A name so unusual that the word even fits into the moniker itself. Led by the ever-prolific Dougal Shaw, the group itself is an eclectic bunch of rockers who aren’t ones to find themselves fitting into a specific genre box. Loud, raucous, and forever pushing their musical limits, maybe the name is the least Unusual thing about them?
Drug Sweat
Part of Aarght Records featuring Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants, Alien Nosejob, Hierophants, Leather Towel), Drug Sweat represents Melbourne’s provocative nomenclature tradition. The name evokes an uncomfortable reality: clammy chemical excess, the physical manifestation of nights pushed too far. Unglamorous, honest, slightly revolting; perfect for a city unafraid of nightlife’s messier aspects. While others romanticise excess, Drug Sweat focuses on aftermath, cold sweats, consequence. Punk rock as brutal realism.
Private Function
It’s a little difficult to mention any band names in the Melbourne music scene that are a little strange without paying mind to Private Function.
Chosen for the sheer hilarity of what a name like this would look like when plastered on a poster, it says a lot when pubs and venues across the state (and the rest of the country) are forced to add ‘Not The Band’ to any warning that they’re closed for a… ahem, Private Event.
Add in the fact that a group that once promised a Private Function at The Tote has since brought that seemingly-throwaway joke to stadiums around the country, and you have to admit it’s gone from being funny, to outplayed, to hilarious once again.
Thrush and the Cunts
Original little band scene provocateurs appearing in Dogs in Space with the song Diseases. The name was designed for maximum offence when punk’s shock value was currency. They represented everything the scene stood for: brevity, disposability, complete disregard for commercial viability. While others chased radio play, Thrush and the Cunts remained gloriously unmarketable, leaving just enough documentation to prove they existed.
Admiral Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge
For a band that’s been going since 2011, a special level of kudos needs to be given to Admiral Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge. Not just for their commitment at keeping at it with their blend of punk-infused ska, but for keeping their slightly-unwieldy moniker for the entire time.
Come for the Star Wars reference, stay for the immersive tongue-in-cheek humour, and remember them for an experience (and band name) you won’t soon forget.
Dynamo & The Hornosexuals
Keeping in the theme of bands that used horns in their music, it’s hard to go past the funky explosion that was Dynamo & The Hornosexuals. Former staples of the Melbourne music scene, these days, the group is likely best known for appearing in TISM’s ‘Thunderbirds Are Coming Out’ music video alongside an impressive roster of other Victorian outfits.
Though they would later simply rename to the plain ‘Dynamo,’ there was definitely a period of time when typographers (and street press editors) around Melbourne had to make sure the group’s name was spelled correctly, lest an entirely different evening be promised to music-lovers.
The Frank Vitkovic Jazz Experience
On the topic of TISM, it’s hard to mention wild band names without looking toward Melbourne’s masked musical mirthmakers and the names they’d adopt for their secret shows. Recent years have seen the band’s reunion result in names such as Open Mic Tryouts, Banjo Paterson-Lakes, Rex Oedipus And Jack ‘Elephant’ Titus, and Dua Liposuction, but their earlier years were a little more attention-grabbing.
While 1987 saw them adopt the easily-guessed sobriquet of The Mist, the preparations for their third album Machiavelli And The Four Seasons resulted in myriad monikers utilised around Melbourne. Alongside using the title of their record and Late For Breakfast, a series of shows in August 1994 featured The Frank Vitkovic Jazz Quartet on the marquee at the Prince Of Wales, the Evelyn Hotel, and the Punters Club.
Alternately named The Frank Vitkovic Jazz Experience, the name made mention of the perpetrator of 1987’s Queen Street massacre and gave it a jazzy twist. No word if Beck or The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (who were also on the bill) had any idea who the masked group were or what they were referring to. Special mention also needs to be made to when TISM paid tribute to The Prodigy and late vocalist Smacka Fitzgibbon when they performed as Smacka My Bitch Up Fitzgibbon in 1998.
C.W.A.
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It’s always a good sign when a band’s sound is described as a ‘nauseating blend of hardcore and outsider music’, but it’s an even better sign when you’re never sure what the name will be on the night.
That’s the case for C.W.A., a relatively nascent addition to the Melbourne music scene, who have been performing a string of impressive shows in recent months…each with a different interpretation of their name.
Much like how Texas alt-rock icons the Butthole Surfers would adopt a new name for every gig, so too do C.W.A. utilise a different meaning for their acronym each time. Could you be lining up to see Cooking With Asbestos this evening? Or could you simply be mistaken and find yourself in the mix for a meeting of the Country Women’s Association? That’s exactly the sort of wildcard antics C.W.A. like to deliver.
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Ask anyone who was a fan of New York City’s !!! back in the day, and you’ll know how hard it is to tell your mates about your favourite band when their name is a series of unpronounceable symbols. That was the same situation for → ↑ → back in the late ’70s.
Much like how !!! was often pronounced “chk-chk-chk,” Philip Brophy’s now-defunct experimental outfit was given the verbalisation of “tsk-tsk-tsk” to make it easier to talk about, though it didn’t make the acquisition of mainstream success any easier.
For fans of awkward band names, it’s also worth giving a special mention to Canberra’s equally-defunct *****,***** – you’ll need to cough twice to say that one accurately.
Mouseatouille
An ever-evolving indie folk project that swelled from two members to over 30 and back to 10, Mouseatouille’s 2019 album Out Of The Hospital and Into The Morgue stands as a crown jewel of Melbourne’s fringe scene. Written during lead singer Harry Green’s final high school days, it confronts mortality through youthful naïveté; confused country music for ants, orchestral arrangements for the emotionally unprepared, something genuinely profound emerging from teenage existential dread.
Chocolate Starfish
Founded in Melbourne in 1992, Chocolate Starfish hit the grunge era with one rule: no denim, no black T-shirts. Fronted by theatrical Adam Thompson, described as part Yul Brynner, part man-eating boiled egg, they achieved two platinum albums and played over 700 gigs between 1993 and 1997. While everyone else was shoegazing, they remembered rock’s first rule: be entertaining. Their cover of You’re So Vain hit number 11, followed by original hit Mountain.
Corpse Grinders
A mid-1980s Melbourne band featuring Fred Negro before members joined The Band Who Shot Liberty Valance. Part of the scene that spawned I Spit On Your Gravy, Corpse Grinders represented the city’s penchant for horror-inspired punk and deliberately provocative spirit.
Glen
On paper, calling a band ‘Glen’ doesn’t seem that strange, but it’s when you realise how much that name pervades everything about the group that it becomes a little weird.
A four-piece punk outfit, Glen comprise of four musicians (who all adopt the name Glen) and harness a manifesto of “spreading positive Glenergy all over the world.”
Featuring songs such as ‘Are We Not Glen?’ and ‘Banana Man’ (which is also the title of a song once performed by… Glen Hansard), and sharing a love of bands such as the Misfits (fronted by Glen Danzig), it makes one ruminate on how easily a band name goes from being a referential term to an all-encompassing concept.
Quality Used Cars
One only need ask the inaugural triple j Unearthed High winner about the importance of having a band name you can Google. That musician was [is], who since changed his name to Tom Ugly to make the project much easier to find.
That was back in 2008, and fast-forward to an age when we’re even more reliant on the majestic algorithm, can you imagine how hard it is to find one of your favourite bands if their name is a tad – for lack of a better word – generic?
If you need any proof, simply look up Quality Used Cars. No, we’re not talking about decent secondhand vehicles, but rather the quintet of the same name who are currently in the midst of a national trek. Their music is singular, their profile is cutting edge, but their name might just get lost amongst the noise.
That said, a simple Google actually does show the group amidst recommendations for nearby auto dealers, but the point still stands. Just spare a thought for the band Google Earth and their 2024 album Street View.
My Friend The Chocolate Cake
One of Melbourne’s most revered and beloved chamber pop outfits, My Friend The Chocolate Cake was formed back in 1989 by David Bridie and Helen Mountfort, who had previously performed in the great Not Drowning, Waving.
While the ambient outfit took their name from Stevie Smith’s 1957 poem Not Waving But Drowning, My Friend The Chocolate Cake lifted their name from the opening track on Sydney group Ya Ya Choral’s 1983 album. Sadly, they’ve been inactive since 2018, so let’s manifest a long-awaited comeback.
The Fish John West Reject
Originally from Launceston, Tasmania, they moved to Melbourne in 1988 calling themselves “acoustic pop thrashabilly.” The name came when a John West tuna ad appeared during a desperate rehearsal. They blended folk traditions with quirky rock before disbanding in 1991. Former members formed The Dunaways, eventually returning to The Fish John West Reject name in 2013 after reissuing their debut album.
The Shower Scene from Psycho
Active from the 1980s to 1991, this Melbourne band featured Jack Bloom, Simon Grounds on vocals and theremin, and Tim Costigan. They combined fuzz guitars with virtuosic theremin solos, helium vocals and musique concrète noise; post-punk reimagining of 1960s bubblegum. Initially deconstructing covers like Purple Haze and Georgy Girl, they evolved into producing otherworldly originals. Championed by John Peel as bubblegum gone to seed.
Ooga Boogas
Founded by members who established Aarght Records, Ooga Boogas became central to Melbourne’s 2000s garage punk renaissance. With Mikey Young and Rich Stanley leading, they stripped rock’n’roll to its elemental components; scrappy, immediate, unpolished. The primitive, childish name matched their approach: maximum energy, minimum pretension. They toured Gonerfest, inspired countless local bands, and helped define an era of Melbourne underground music.
Deaf Wish
Featuring Sarah Hardiman (Brick Head, Moon Rituals), Deaf Wish carved space in Melbourne’s experimental punk landscape; abrasive yet hypnotic. The name suggests futility: wishes unheard, desire screaming into voids. Hardiman’s cult status across multiple projects guaranteed something challenging, refusing accessibility. Deaf Wish wasn’t about compromise; it created sound demanding attention whilst simultaneously suggesting attention might be impossible. Beautiful brutality personified.
Anything By Fred Negro
No, ‘Anything By Fred Negro’ isn’t the act we’re talking about (though it’s definitely one to save for a later musical project…), but rather a suggestion that anything from the varied discography of the St Kilda icon could be a fitting entry for a list such as this.
Alongside his iconic graphics and impeccably-clean penmanship, Negro has been a staple of the Melbourne music scene for well over 40 years, with his myriad bands often featuring an attention-grabbing name which might cause some second looks if adorning a t-shirt.
So, pick your poison: You could pick from his work as part of I Spit On Your Gravy, The Band Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Brady Bunch Lawnmower Massacre, Squirming Gerbil Death, and much more. Of course, if you want something a little more family-friendly you could choose from the comparatively-banal Editions, Shonkytonk, The Twits, or the short-lived The Eggs.
Alternatively, you could just go all out and pop on something from his late-’90s effort, The Fuck Fucks.
