
Southend is an Australian house-techno band formed in 1992. The original lineup consisted of synthesiser-keyboardists Stuart McCarthy, Steve Younan, and Sameer Sen-Gupta, and vocalist Melinda Page. The group met by chance in 1991 when McCarthy and Younan were lining up to buy tickets for a Depeche Mode concert.
Their debut release was a four-track 12-inch single, "600 Miles from Nowhere" (1992) via Volition Records. This was followed by the six-track extended play, Fanatical (1993) on Volition Records/Second Nature, which provided another 12-inch single, "Get Down". The EP was recorded at Sony Music Studios (Sydney) and D.T.U., with the group producing. McCarthy provided guitar and programming, Sen-Gupta on machine effects and programming, Page and Younan were both on vocals and keyboards.
The group's biggest success came in June 1994 with the release of the single "The Winner Is..." which was co-written by McCarthy, Sen-Gupta and Nik Fish (a.k.a. Nik Vatoff), an Australian trance DJ. The single reached No. 9 on the ARIA Charts. They followed this up with the re-mix album, Fanatically Remixed (1994) with eleven tracks.
In 1995, Sen-Gupta left the band to start his solo career and was replaced by guitarist Justin Frew. The group have performed at the annual Big Day Out from 1993 to 1996.
Southend has also produced local and international releases for Hoodoo Gurus, Paul Holden, Acid Babies, the Whitlams, Kim Salmon, and Michal Nicholas. They undertook a remix collaboration with Sasha Vatoff on Vagen's track, "Buggin", and a cover of Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy", which appeared on Groovescooter Records' compilation album by various artists, Re:fashioned 2.
After disbanding in 1997, Frew and McCarthy formed Antenna with Dave Faulkner (of Hoodoo Gurus) on lead vocals and guitar, and Salmon (ex-the Cheap Nasties, the Manikins, the Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon) on vocals and guitar in 1998. Antenna's sole album, Installation (1998), was the first release on Mushroom International. That group broke up early in the following year.
In 2004, Southend reformed to play the Utopia NYE event in Sydney (a first for a reunited electronic act) and were asked to be the first band to appear live on Channel V's ‘Room 208’ show. Undercover Music's Yep! Records have since released Southend's entire back catalogue (including previously unreleased material) through MGM Distribution and iTunes.
Members
1992 - 1995: Stuart McCarthy (programming/guitars), Melinda Page (vocals/keyboards), Steve Younan (vocals/keyboards), Sameer Sen-Gupta (programming/machines)
1995 - 1996: Stuart McCarthy (keyboards), Melinda Page (vocals), Steve Younan (keyboards), Justin Frew (guitars)
2003 - now: Stuart McCarthy, Melinda Page, Steve Younan
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Artist biography from last.fm