Neon (Australian band)

Neon were a three-piece Australian rock band from Melbourne. Founders were Josh Bitmead on guitar and vocals, Britt Spooner on bass guitar and Jamie Gurney on drums. Their four-track extended play, A Man (October 2004) reached the top 50 of the Australian singles chart. It received critical acclaim in the British music media.<ref name="smh">Template:Citation</ref> Their debut album, Neon, appeared in July 2005.

History

Two Neon members, Josh Bitmead and Jamie Gurney, were originally from Broken Hill, New South Wales.<ref name="hun">Template:Citation</ref> The pair had played in a band, Porcelein,<ref name="Blackman" /> which won a Triple J Unearthed contest in the mid-to-late 1990s. After finishing year 12 they moved to Melbourne in 1996,<ref name="Revi" /> Bitmead recalled "I had to start life in a new town, looking to play in bands whilst holding down a boring job."<ref name="90.7 syn">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> Neon were formed in 2001 in that city to work on songs written by Bitmead (guitar, vocals), which included Gurney on drums and Britt Spooner on bass guitar.<ref name="ARIA Report 766">Template:Cite journal</ref> Spooner moved from Mildura in 1999 and is the sister of Bitmead's friend; Bitmead and Spooner became a domestic couple before forming the trio.<ref name="Blackman">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="90.7 syn"/> In the early years of Neon, Gurney also worked as a University admissions officer.<ref name="Revi" /> Their first performance was in July 2001.<ref name="Blackman" /> The band started recording demos and supported shows by Dallas Crane, Magic Dirt, Rocket Science and You Am I.

Neon signed a record deal with Ivy League Records in 2001.<ref name="Blackman" /><ref name="courier">Template:Citation</ref> Rocket Science's lead guitarist Roman Tucker had passed on their demos to Ivy League's Pete Lusty in October.<ref name="Blackman" /><ref name="Revi">Template:Cite journalTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Early in 2002 the trio signed with talent management company Winterman & Goldstein, owned by Lusty and Andy Cassell (also co-owners of Ivy League).<ref name="Blackman" /> A demo tape was also sent to Steve McDonald of United States group Redd Kross who offered to produce a record for them in Los Angeles.<ref name="hun"/> In November 2002 Neon performed in LA, New York and London.<ref name="Blackman" /> A year late they took up McDonald's offer and recorded an album's worth of tracks.<ref name="Blackman" /> Recordings included contributions from Pat Smear and Dale Crover (Melvins drummer). Former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon had also heard their demo tape and released their extended play, A Man, on his Transcopic Records in April 2004.<ref name="Blackman" /> They followed with another EP, Hit Me Again in August, which Johnny Loftus of AllMusic rated at three-out-of-five, describing how their "spry, sugary harmonies lock into guitars that rev like muscle cars racing over California viaducts" while "drums are pretty loud throughout" which prevent this work from becoming "contemporary power pop".<ref name="Loftus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Note: review of Five-track V2 Records version released in February 2005</ref>

Their four-track EP A Man was released in Australia on 29 October 2004, which included the title track and re-recordings of three demo tracks – it was produced by McDonald and issued by Ivy League/Warner Music Group.<ref name="ARIA Report 766" /><ref name="Elissa">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> The EP received good reviews from the NME, Kerrang! and BBC Radio 1. Oz Music ProjectTemplate:'s Andrew Tuttle praised the title track, "power pop of a high calibre" and the "excellent" track, "Hit Me Again".<ref name="Tuttle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> The EP reached No. 48 on the ARIA singles chart.<ref name="ARIA Report 766" /> Neon also supported Jet, the Vines and the Living End on their Aussie Invasion tour of the US.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

The band signed a record deal in November 2004 with V2 Records for international distribution.<ref name="Blackman" /><ref name="courier"/> The trio's four-track EP Dizziness was issued on 27 May 2005, which reached the ARIA singles chart top 100.<ref name="ARIA Report 796">Template:Cite journal</ref> Their debut self-titled album followed on 8 July 2005 through Ivy League/Warner.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> It peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Hitseekers albums chart.<ref name="ARIA Report 804">Template:Cite journal</ref> Gareth Bowles of Hybrid Magazine was disappointed by Neon, "[it] has some appealing tunes, but they tend to be subsumed by the trite lyrics and over-eagerness of the players".<ref name="Bowles">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Anthony Troiano replaced Gurney on drums in early 2009.<ref name="Crowe">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> This lineup spent three months in a studio recording two new songs, "Hello" and "Never Again".<ref name="Crowe"/> Troiano later worked as a jeweler after being tutored by a relative.<ref name="Harris">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref name="Te Koha">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From 2013 to 2016 he was the drummer for Palace of the King.<ref name="Bradshaw">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref name="APRA You Got">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Band members

• Josh Bitmead – guitar, vocals
• Britt Spooner – bass guitar
• Jamie Gurney – drums
• Anthony Troiano – drums<ref name="Crowe" />

Discography

Albums

• Neon (8 July 2005) – Ivy League/Slanted/Warner Template:Small<ref name="ARIA Report 804" /><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions
		AUS <ref>Peaks of EPs in Australia: A Man: {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} Dizziness: Template:Cite Ryan</ref>
A Man	2004	48
Hit Me Again		—
Dizziness	2005	84

Singles

• "Hello" / "Never Again" 7" (2009)