PRESS RELEASE PREAMBLE

One of the most unlikely rock'n'roll bands to reach hero status in Australia and elsewhere are The Hard-Ons.

Originating from the underprivileged Sydney suburb of Punchbowl, this multi-racial trio of high-school kids firstly stormed local parties. Sydney's underground live music scene thereafter succumbed, quickly followed by its Australian equivalent. Then finally, the underground rock'n'roll stages of the world.

How was this possible? From all angles The Hard-Ons were doomed and headed for obscurity. They collectively hated fashion and fads - the two fulcrums upon which many bands' fortunes turn; they deliberately chose to alienate potential fans and rock critics alike with their irreverent, scathing and divisive imagery and 'humour'; they played at what was then considered unthinkable volume and velocity.

But on closer inspection, the Hard-Ons could not fail. Armed with a care-free, nothing-to-lose attitude, the band showcased a uniquely localized yet global sound and image. They were utterly Australian yet so utterly unique. Inspired by their hero counterparts from bygone eras, The Easybeats, The Saints and the like, The Hard-Ons showed the world that an unassuming rabble of immigrants could make the world's music underground fall in love with them and their stockpile of simply GREAT TUNES.

DICKCHEESE: 1988

1988 saw the Hard-Ons move by leaps and bounds into a more violent and chaotic sound than that expressed by their earlier garage-punk incarnation. This would have been unremarkable except for the fact that the band managed not only to keep, but also to refine, their not so secret weapon of boundless melody.

Originally released in 1988, Dickcheese is an astonishing series of musical explosions, a barrage of metal, punk and sweet pop where most songs clock in under less than two minutes. Across a broad spectrum of genres it's a release whose no holds barred rawness went on to influence many a band in Australia as well as internationally. This is the album claimed to be the 'greatest punk album ever' by Jerry A. from Poison Idea.

Finally, Dickcheese is available again, remastered and expanded lovingly by the band members into a double CD deluxe tour-de-force. Included are extensive liner-notes, restored original art and previously unpublished photographs from personal archives.

"The Hard-Ons are a unique musical force that spins on its own axis. Dickcheese is an uncompromising and violent bare-chested brutal beast of an album that showcases of all things, sweet love songs, proving itself ultimately to be a truly unique and historical release in the annals of independent music."

Rod Swenson - Yagoona Tribune