Listening to the Echo
Written by Ryan Stevenson on 5 September 2020
Between 1983 and 1989, Pseudo Echo released three studio albums, one compliation album and thirteen singles in their first stint as an active band.
The band was formed in 1982 with Brian Canham taking on vocals, guitars, and keyboards with Pierre Gigliotti (aka Pierre Pierre) on bass and keyboards.
The duo were joined by Tony Lugton on guitar and keyboards and Anthony Argiro on Drums to make Pseudo Echo a four piece band.
Molly Meldrum saw the band performing in Melbourne and that led to an unprecedented performance on Countdown as Pseudo Echo were the first unsigned band to play on the hit show.
Countdown being the show of opportunity opened the way for the band to sign with EMI Records and the song that they heard on Countdown, “Listening” was re-recorded for their debut single.
“Listening” was released in November 1983 and it had peaked at No. 4 on the Kent Music Report chart with the song peaking at No. 37 in New Zealand.
Their debut album “Autumnal Park” peaked at No. 11 on the chart as well as peaking at No. 13 in New Zealand.
Their second single “A Beat For You” peaked at No. 12 and the song peaked at No. 6 in New Zealand.
The last two singles from the debut album were not as successful as the first two with “Dancing Until Midnight” peaking at No. 53 and “Stranger in Me” peaking at No. 58.
Another song titled “His Eyes” was heard on the movie Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning.
Tony Lugton left the band in October 1984 and he was replaced by James Leigh (aka James Dingli).
Their second album “Love an Adventure” was released in November 1986 and peaked at No. 14 in Australia, No. 21 in Sweden and No. 57 in the United States.
The lead single “Don’t Go” peaked at No. 4 followed by “Love an Adventure” peaking at No. 6, “Living In A Dream” at No. 15 and “Try” peaking at No. 60.
Anthony Argiro left after the recording of “Love an Adventure” and his place was taken by Vince Leigh (aka Vincent Dingli).
“Funkytown” (sometimes written as Funky Town) was released in November 1986 and it gave the band their first and only No. 1 single in Australia, it was also No. 1 in Canada and New Zealand and it had reached the Top Ten in Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
James and Vince Leigh in that year performed on the music video to John Farnham’s hit single “You’re the Voice” though neither of them had actually performed on the recorded track.
While “Funkytown” was included as part of the 1987 compilation album “Long Plays 83-87” in Australia, “Funkytown” was included in the United States version of the album “Love an Adventure”.
“Long Plays 83-87” peaked at No. 44 in Australia but made it to No. 1 in New Zealand with the album title of “Funky Town – The Album”.
“FunkyTown” was heard in the movie Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, the movie made thirty million dollars but holds a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The band’s 1987 release of the single “Take On the World” was only for the Japanese market and while it did not chart, they did win the 1987 World Popular Song Festival (aka Yamaha Music Festival) and were the last ones to win the event.
1988 saw the release of the third album “Race”, it was another Top 20 album as it peaked at No. 18, the album was notable for the band changing their sound as the new wave sound made way for rock.
Race’s singles were “Fooled Again”, “Over Tomorrow” and “Eye of the Storm” with the former two peaking at No. 33 and No. 40 but “Eye of the Storm” did not chart.
The band broke up in 1990 and their second compilation album “Best Adventures” was released in 1995.
The band was back in 1998 for their second stint though James and Vince Leigh did not join Brian Canham and Pierre Gigliotti.
The 1985-1990 lineup reunited for a couple of shows in 2007 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band before the lineup reverted back to its 2007 lineup.
Pierre Gigliotti left the band in 2012 having been part of the band (break included) for thirty years leaving Brian Canham as the only original member left in the band.
The band has been busy since 2000 with the albums “Teleporter” (2000), “Ultraviolet” (2014) and “Acoustica” (2020) being released with “After Party” expected to be released later this year.
Live albums “Autumnal Park – Live” and “Live at the Viper Room” were released in 2005 and 2010 as well as the compilation albums “The 301 Demo Sessions” in 2006 and “The Essential” 2008.
Five singles were released between 1999 and 2017 with “Funkytown Y2K: RMX” (1999), “Suddenly Silently” (2012), Fighting the Tide (2013), “Ultraviolet” and “Nutbush City Limits” (2017), none of the five charted.
Pseudo Echo was one of the many successful Australian bands of the 1980’s who made an impact on the local and international music scene and have kept going for decades after their initial success and will for some time to come.
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