German Humour

After the demise of Stray Tapes, Nigel Harford and Peter Bates were determined to continue writing music together. Disillusioned by indifferent drummers and disfunctional band dynamics, they began using a Linn Drum for the beat, and approached newcomer Adrian Wood to join them and form a tight-knit trio that would in principle be a three-way democracy of ideas. Adrian, whose only major performing experience up to this point had been a part-time stint in the Western Australian Youth Orchestra, augmented the other two's abilities with his synth and sequencer prowess and keen pop sensibilities.

German Humour were one of a handful original bands in Perth at that time that used a drum machine. They were hearing bands coming out of England at that time such as New Order and ABC who were using rigid, programmed drum beats to great effect, and were interested in following this direction themselves, augmenting the electronic drum sound with snare drum and toms and other percussion, primarily played by Adrian, who also played synth, as well as trumpet on many songs. Added to this were Nigel's fretless bass and Peter's 12 string Rickenbacker, all combining to create a very unique sound. The lyric content was provided by Nigel, and was often acerbic and sometimes earnestly autobiographical.

The band's game plan was to not play too often, but just regularly, and hopefully gradually build up an audience over time. Their debut gig in November 1982 was a benefit gig at the Northbridge Hotel for a retail outlet called Manic Exposeur. They played three more times up until the end of the year, ending with a Christmas Eve show at a venue called the Dream, at which point Nigel Harford went to England for two months. A three track demo tape had been recorded, which gained airplay on the two campus radio stations 6NR and 6UVS over the summer.

Upon Nigel's return from abroad, the band returned to live performances, including a short residency at the Broadway with House Above The World and Scant Regarde, took another couple of months off to rehearse new material, then returned to another residency, this time at the Shaftsbury, as well as regular gigs at the Wizbah and the Red Parrot. They played support gigs for tourings acts such as John Cooper-Clarke and the Models. They sometimes shared the bill with And An A, who Nigel also played bass for. In November they celebrated their first anniversary with a show at the Captain Stirling, advertising themselves somewhat grandly as "Perth's best original band".

In the Spring of 1983, German Humour began recording songs at Soundwest and Planet Studios for what would eventually become their cassette album "Dutch Courage", which saw release in early 1984. This excellent debut release also turned out to be their swan song, as the band split up around this time, feeling that they had gone as far as they could.

Peter Bates went on to produce And An A, Nigel Harford spent the balance of the decade in Sydney with the band White Cross, while Adrian Wood's next band was Just Add Water, which he joined later in the year.

The band's name derives from Peter and Nigel's appreciation of the ironic sense of humour in the German movies they were watching at the time.

On the sleeve of "Dutch Courage" Linn Drum is credited as their "fourth member".

When he first heard played one of the first run of "Dutch Courage" cassettes, Subiaco-based booking agent Les Hinton (who was managing the band) rang the band in a panicked state, worried that the lead vocal on the first track "Young Man's Old Girlfriend" could not be heard, and thinking that a horrible mistake had been made somewhere in the duplication process. But the decision to mix the voice low had in fact been a deliberate decision.

Nigel gave Peter "Couldn't Be Wrong" to sing, as he found it too hard to sing himself while playing bass.

Incredibly, when they supported the Models at W.A.I.T., they were required to help lug the main act's gear.