The Meanies
alternative_rock
About
The Meanies got together in Melbourne, Australia in 1989 and immediately made a name for themselves with a succession of sold out 7" singles on the Augogo label. They continued the relationship with Augogo (home to Australian groups like Magic Dirt, Scientists and Spiderbait) with the EP "Gangrenous" and the album Come 'n' See in 1991. In this time The Meanies had established themselves as one of Australia's pre-eminent underground rock bands through cultivating a huge all-age following and upsetting the rock establishment by breaking attendance records in the nation's capital cities. Meanies songs were also released as singles on international labels around the world such as Sympathy For The Record Industry, Merge, Lance Rock, Get Hip and Munster.
In 1992 The Meanies took their mutual admiration for The 5.6.7.8's a step further with combined tours of Australia in August '92 and Japan in September. Osaka based label Time Bomb Records released their CDs "In Search Of..." and "Come 'n' See" and the Japanese tour also saw The Meanies do shows with Jackie & The Cedrics, Concrete Octopus, Blow One's Cool and Rise From The Dead.
In 1993 the "Cruelty's Fun" EP and "The Meanie of Life" compilation of early deleted singles were released in Australia. The Meanies toured Australia to support those releases and then ventured to Seattle America to record their second album, "10% Weird". While recording in Seattle they squeezed in shows with the likes of The Supersuckers and made friends and fans with many of the locals including Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, who invited The Meanies onto Pearl Jam's 1994 Australian tour (much to the chagrin of Pearl Jam's promoter who was heard to yell in his office, "who the fuck are The Meanies?").
10% Weird spurned the hit singles Ton of Bricks and the title track 10% Weird and set the band up to tour solidly from then on for a good 18 months. As well as touring with the aforementioned PJs, The Meanies have performed with such international luminaries as Nirvana, Beastie Boys, Bad Brains, Redd Kross, Superchunk, Fugazi and the Hard-Ons and performed aat festivals including the Big Day Out, Livid and Push Over. The Meanies also toured through countries such as Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland.
The Meanies had a relatively quiet 1997 and 1998. The various members found some side projects were proving popular and followed through in those groups such as Tomorrow People (Link), Even (Wally), Skivvy (Ringo), and Seaweed Gorillas (Tas).
It was in fact an invitation from The 5.6.7.8's who returned to Australia in September 1998 that got The Meanies back into performing mode. In front of a huge house in Melbourne The Meanies performed an incredible set that reaffirmed their stature as one of the great bands of the era. They toured around Australia in March 1999 and have since focused on recording their third long anticipated album.
Upcoming events
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THE MEANIES x DAD FIGHT split 7" Tour - Norton Music FactoryNorton Music FactoryFri 31.07.2026 18:30View event -
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The Meanies X DAD FIGHT split 7" tour - VINNIES DIVE (AA with guardian)Vinnies DiveSun 02.08.2026 13:00View event
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