I-94 Bar
The Girlies with Dr Bombay and The Spivs
Dr Bombay, The Spivs
PFR Lounge (Fortitude Valley, QLD)
Friday, 24 April 2026 7:30 pm
From the smoke-choked seedy back rooms of Brisbane's 1980s underground scene to the rehearsal dens of Melbourne's inner north, The Girlies have blasted their way back out of the garage with that same snarl and grit that made them one of the most beloved cult bands of their era.
In the year of the 40th anniversary of their debut single, original member Heyden Wilson will unleash a re-tooled version of the band for one show at Brisbane’s PFR Lounge on Friday, April 24, to celebrate its legacy and pay tribute to fallen members.
Supports will be Dr Bombay and Gold Coast garage rockers The Spivs. Tickets are on-line at oztix.com.au with
Formed in 1986 at the tail end of Brisbane's punk heyday, The Girlies were a brash and unapologetic force, proudly wearing their Detroit Rock influences -The Stooges, MC5 and Australian counterparts Radio Birdman squarely on their sleeves.
Descendants of a scene that birthed The Saints and fed the fire of Australian garage rock, The Girlies quickly became a fixture in the east coast pub circuit, alongside other Brisbane contemporaries like The Vampire Lovers, Voodoo Lust and The Screaming Tribesmen.
The “Pussycat” b/s “Feelin's Gone” gained fast cult traction, prompting a second pressing and setting the stage for their follow-ups: “Felon” b/w “Back to The City” in1988, the raw EP “Common Thing” (1990), and their contribution to the 1989 Stooges tribute album “Hard to Beat”, a fierce cover of “Tight Pants”.
.
Tragically, singer Tony Brassington passed away in the '90s, and guitarist Mark Wilkinson, who play with The Lime Spiders and The New Christs, died in 2012.
Late in 2025, with more a reincarnation than a reformation in mind, original drummer Heyden Wilson and Melbourne guitarist Robert Sumerac put out the call for a suitable singer-bassist, finding Murray Johnstone (ex-seminal Brisbane band, Unknown Soldiers).
That line-up delivered a blistering set at The Tote in Melbourne and cut three tracks at the iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl band room for a digital-only release.
The band is marking the anniversary of their debut single with a video to go with the original single and a set of old and new material that channels its Detroit blues soaked post-punk energy into simple, powerful, unfiltered fun.
As drummer Heyden Wilson wryly puts it, "This is in the spirit of what was originally written on the box, and that's definitely what's still inside".
In the year of the 40th anniversary of their debut single, original member Heyden Wilson will unleash a re-tooled version of the band for one show at Brisbane’s PFR Lounge on Friday, April 24, to celebrate its legacy and pay tribute to fallen members.
Supports will be Dr Bombay and Gold Coast garage rockers The Spivs. Tickets are on-line at oztix.com.au with
Formed in 1986 at the tail end of Brisbane's punk heyday, The Girlies were a brash and unapologetic force, proudly wearing their Detroit Rock influences -The Stooges, MC5 and Australian counterparts Radio Birdman squarely on their sleeves.
Descendants of a scene that birthed The Saints and fed the fire of Australian garage rock, The Girlies quickly became a fixture in the east coast pub circuit, alongside other Brisbane contemporaries like The Vampire Lovers, Voodoo Lust and The Screaming Tribesmen.
The “Pussycat” b/s “Feelin's Gone” gained fast cult traction, prompting a second pressing and setting the stage for their follow-ups: “Felon” b/w “Back to The City” in1988, the raw EP “Common Thing” (1990), and their contribution to the 1989 Stooges tribute album “Hard to Beat”, a fierce cover of “Tight Pants”.
.
Tragically, singer Tony Brassington passed away in the '90s, and guitarist Mark Wilkinson, who play with The Lime Spiders and The New Christs, died in 2012.
Late in 2025, with more a reincarnation than a reformation in mind, original drummer Heyden Wilson and Melbourne guitarist Robert Sumerac put out the call for a suitable singer-bassist, finding Murray Johnstone (ex-seminal Brisbane band, Unknown Soldiers).
That line-up delivered a blistering set at The Tote in Melbourne and cut three tracks at the iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl band room for a digital-only release.
The band is marking the anniversary of their debut single with a video to go with the original single and a set of old and new material that channels its Detroit blues soaked post-punk energy into simple, powerful, unfiltered fun.
As drummer Heyden Wilson wryly puts it, "This is in the spirit of what was originally written on the box, and that's definitely what's still inside".