Party Girl Jenny

Rip It Up, Issue 82, 1 May 1984, Page 2

Party Girl Jenny

Jenny Morris popped home to New Zealand for Christmas in the belief nothing was happening for her Sydney band Q.E.D. Their debut single ‘Everywhere I Go’ had been released in October and barely caused a ripple. “I'd given up on it,” she says.

“But when I got back to Sydney everyone was saying ‘Where have you been? We've been trying to get hold of you. It’s taken off!’.” The single eventually charted well in most centres and went to number three in the band's home city. The band was keen to bring in an overseas producer for the follow-up, ‘This One’, but such was the record company’s (EMI) enthusiasm that it was dictated that the task go to local aces Ricky Fataar and Mark Moffat, who will now also produce Q.E.D.'s debut album.

Q.E.D. was begun just over a year ago by Morris and guitarist Rex Goh (who had earlier wisely left Air Supply). The pair and bassist lan Dalton are presently looking for a new drummer and keyboardist after firing the former members because “we decided their musical ideas were not what Q.E.D. was all about.” Morris writes most of the band’s songs but one recent song came from fellow former Croc, Fane Flaws, who now works mainly as an artist. She also sees Tony Backhouse, who now resides with the Vulgar Beatmen and Barton Price who, of course, is drumming with the Models. DD Smash have had something of a problem in Australia in that they don’t present an "image.” Have you had any problem there? “I’m still working that out. I’m

afraid I’m not a very easy artist to work with in that respect because I don't believe that someone should be moulded into an image and I constantly rebel against that. People in the record company are always saying to me ‘You wear so many different clothes you've got to be able to be identified'. And I’m afraid my answer is ‘Why should I? My identity is me, Jenny Morris'.” Morris has now winged her way back to Australia to make a new video, do a short tour and then begin work on the album. She’s looking forward to the studio as a rest from constant live work. Q.E.D. play five or six nights a week par for the course in the big city. She says any NZ band going over can expect the same sort of grind. "They’ll soon find out what we all find out every single band that’s gone over there you’ve got to go back to scratch. It doesn't matter how big you are here. Dave Dobbyn's an institution in New Zealand now but he’s a nobody over there.” RB