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Tlot Tlot

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Tlot Tlot
Also known asMan in the Wood (1986-1991)
OriginMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
GenresAlternative rock, pop rock, indie rock, post-punk
Years active1986 (1986)–1997 (1997)
LabelsManhole, Anubis, EMI
Past members
  • Owen Bolwell
  • Stanley Paulzen
  • Andrew Briant

Tlot Tlot (/təˈlɒt təˈlɒt/) were an Australian pop rock band formed in 1986 as Man in the Wood. The original line-up was Owen Bolwell on bass guitar and lead vocals, Andrew Briant on lead guitar, and Stanley Paulzen on drums and lead vocals. Briant left in 1991 and the band name was changed to Tlot Tlot. Their 1995 single, "The Girlfriend Song", reached the ARIA Singles Chart Top 100 and was nominated for Best Pop Release at ARIA Music Awards of 1995. The group issued four albums, A Day at the Bay (1991), Pistolbuttsa'twinkle (1992), The Live Set - Volume 1 (1993) and Fashion Takes a Holiday (1995), before disbanding in 1997.

History

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Tlot Tlot formed in Melbourne in 1986 as alternative rockers, Man in the Wood, with Owen Bolwell on bass guitar and lead vocals, Andrew Briant on lead guitar, and Stanley Paulzen on drums and lead vocals.[1] Their debut release was a 7-inch single, "Rain" in 1989, followed by an eight-track extended play, Thumper, released in 1990, which included "Rain". The single and 12" EP were produced by Aka Setkya and Malcolm Dennis for the Manhole Productions label.[1][2] All the tracks were co-written by Bolwell and Paulzen.[2] The songs on Thumper were much darker than other Tlot Tlot songs.

In 1991, Briant left Man in the Wood and the group were renamed as Tlot Tlot.[3] This band name was taken from the Alfred Noyes poem, "The Highwayman" (1906). As well as the name change, the music style changed from Man in the Wood's dark and depressing post punk to a more poppy style of music with light-hearted and humorous lyrics. Tlot Tlot's first release was a 14-track cassette album, A Day at the Bay, in December 1991.[3][4] In 1992 they issued their first CD release, Pistolbuttsa'twinkle.[3][5] The title is also from "The Highwayman". It was closely followed by a single, "Old Mac",[6] which peaked at No. 5 on the 2XX Independent chart in April 1993.[7] Their track "Birthday" appeared on the various artists compilation, Live at the Empress.

In 1993 Tlot Tlot issued a compilation album, Pistolbuttsatwinklea'twinkle, which combined material from Pistolbuttsa'twinkle and A Day at the Bay.[3][8] Later that year they followed with another album, The Live Set - Volume 1, which contained previously unreleased tracks and new recordings of older ones.[3] The following year, Paulzen formed a side project called Fred Astereo with Briant.

In 1995 they signed to EMI and issued a single, "The Girlfriend Song" in February,[9] which reached the ARIA Singles Chart Top 100.[10] At the ARIA Music Awards of 1995 it was nominated for 'Best Pop Release'.[11] In May of that year, they supported Things of Stone and Wood at the ANU Bar.[12] They released their next studio album, a covers album entitled Fashion Takes a Holiday, in July that year. The album contained covers of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" and the Romantics' "What I Like About You". The band also produced and co-wrote Merril Bainbridge's debut album The Garden that year, which received worldwide success.

"The Girlfriend Song" appeared on the Collision 4 various artists compilation in 1996. A new track entitled "When We Were Young Stars" appeared in April 1997 on another compilation, A Minute or Less, on Candle Records. On 19 July that year, they supported Sydney band the Simpletons at the Punters Club.[13] Tlot Tlot split up later that year.

Bolwell co-wrote Merril Bainbridge's second album Between the Days, while Paulzen formed Ruck Rover with longtime collaborator Robert Clarkson and former Things of Stone and Wood member Michael Allen in 1998. Paulzen and Bolwell both produced Clarkson's EP Beautiful Girls and Beautiful Boys in 1991. Ruck Rover split up in 2004, and Paulzen resurrected his old Tlot Tlot side project Fred Astereo, who released two albums before splitting up. He is now in a band called the Sublets. Bolwell is no longer producing music. He has been married to Bainbridge since 2003. They have two children. He currently works for Bolwell as Marketing Director.[14]

When Tlot Tlot played live, Bolwell and Paulzen played guitars and sang to pre-recorded backing tracks that contained keyboards, drums, bass, and samples. The backing tracks were played from a CD player, similar to They Might Be Giants' use of a tape player in live performances before 1992. Bolwell operated the CD player. Occasionally, the backing track would often misfire, playing before the band were ready. One such misfiring can be heard in a bootleg of the song "Old Mac", recorded live in Tasmania on 13 September 1992. Shortly after Bolwell brings the backing tape under control, Paulzen says "See what happens if we don't operate our own CD machine".

Personnel

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  • Owen Bolwell – vocals, bass guitar, tape machine (1991–1997), drum programming (1991–1997), lead guitar (1991–1997)
  • Stanley Paulzen – vocals, drums (1986–1991), rhythm guitar (1991–1997)
  • Andrew Briant – guitar (1986–1991)

Discography

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Albums

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Title Album details
A Day at the Bay
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: Manhole Productions (D7476)
Pistolbuttsa'twinkle
  • Released: 1992
  • Label: Manhole Productions (MAN666)
The Live Set - Volume 1
  • Released: 1993
  • Label: Manhole Productions (MAN093)
Fashion Takes a Holiday
  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Manhole Productions

Extended plays

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Title Album details
Thumper
(as Man in the Wood)
  • Released: August 1990
  • Label: Manhole Productions (MAN 597)

Singles

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List of singles, with selecte chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
AUS
[10]
"Rain" (as Man in the Wood) 1989 —
"Old Mac" 1992 —
"The Girlfriend Song" 1995 73

Awards and nominations

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ARIA Music Awards

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The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
1995 "The Girlfriend Song" Best Pop Release Nominated [15][16]

References

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  1. ^ a b Holmgren, Magnus. "Man in the Wood". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b Thumper (album cover). Man in the Wood. Manhole Productions. 1990. MAN 597.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e Holmgren, Magnus; Pyke, Gill. "Tlot Tlot". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  4. ^ Day at the Bay (album cover). Tlot Tlot. Manhole Productions. 1991.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Pistolbuttsa'twinkle (album cover). Tlot Tlot. Manhole. 1992. Man 666.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Old Mac (album cover). Tlot Tlot. Anubis. 1992. ACD9209.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ "01 Apr 1993 - CHARTS SINGLES". Canberra Times. April 1993. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  8. ^ Pistolbuttsatwinklea'twinkle (album cover). Tlot Tlot. Anubis. 1993. ACD9302.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ "New Releases : Product Available from: 27/2/95 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 263)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  10. ^ a b "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 13 Aug 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 1 June 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  11. ^ "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 1995: 9th Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  12. ^ "18 May 1995 - Mission on transmssion". Canberra Times. 18 May 1995. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  14. ^ "The Bolwell website". Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Winners by Year 1995". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  16. ^ "Australia 1995 ARIA Awards". ALLdownunder.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
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