Ed Kuepper

Australian Post-Punk Pioneer

Born Bremen, Germany, 20th December 1955, emigrated to Brisbane, Australia as a child Founding member of seminal Australian punk band The Saints (2) he left the band after their third LP "Prehistoric Sounds" to found Laughing Clowns. in 1985 he released his first solo LP, "Electrical Storm" followed by "Rooms of the Magnificent" in 1986 and a further 14 studio albums between 1987 and 2000. In a stunning burst of creativity in 1992 and 1993, he recorded 3 of his best regarded records - Honey Steels Gold, Black Ticket Day and Serene Machine - in 18 months, and also found time to record 2 albums with his side project The Aints Although in the 90s his records did break into the lower reaches of the charts, commercial success has largely eluded him, and in recent times this may be at least partially due to the wide range of musical styles he has covered - from blues (on "Today Wonder") to experimentation with beats ("A King In The Kindness Room), ambient ("The Blue House") and soundtracks ("Starstruck"). After a 7 year hiatus, Kuepper's 17th solo studio album "Jean Lee And The Yellow Dog", a concept album about Jean Lee, the last woman hanged in Australia, was released to critical acclaim in 2007 In early 2009 Ed Kuepper played in reformed original versions of The Saints and reformed Laughing Clowns to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival curated by Nick Cave. In 2009 & 2013 he toured Europe as part of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. A new album by The Aints was released in 2018