They have played their music to millions of people in Australia. Recorded over 100 original songs, with two albums being awarded platinum status and two achieving gold. Now they're ready to rock the Bowral Bowling Club.
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The Radiators still tour extensively. They play an average of 100 shows per year and have crossed the generational gap with fans of old and new flocking to their shows.
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Australian rock history will always remember The Radiators and it also had a big hand in helping shape Radiators drummer, Mark Lucas.
"I loved music so much as a kid," Lucas said.
"I just had to get into it. I actually started on guitar. I diddled around on that for a while and then I found my way to the drums.
"That was a much easier thing for me to do at that age. I gravitated towards that direction and got into bands like AC/DC, The Who, Kiss and Led Zeppelin. All the classic rock bands.
"That's what brought me into the drumming world."
Those influences instilled the confidence and passion in Lucas as a child. That rock 'n' roll foundation shaped him into the musician we know him as of today, but like a rock 'n' roll Karl Marx, he shares his wealth of knowledge around.
"To this day I still teach drums," Lucas said.
"I teach about 30-40 students, I've taught in primary schools and high schools as well as playing in a band, it's been a wild ride.
"Passing on my knowledge to the next generation of musicians is unreal. It's a great feeling.
"The parents sometimes know who I am, yet the kids have no clue. It puts you back down onto a level playing field. It also keeps you completely grounded and keeps you from disappearing up your own backside (laughs).
"One of the kids I teach recently said to me "Hey Mark, how come all the pictures of the men in the bands on your wall have ladies hair?"
"You can't buy that innocence can you? (laughs). I'm continually getting ragged on by these eight-year-old kids."
School can be daunting for most, learning an instrument and expressing yourself can be a big brave step. Getting back into the school yard brings back fond memories of Lucas's first time on stage.
"I was around 12-13 and in the The Hawkesbury District Concert Band. In high school I played the Windsor Civic Centre I think it was called. I was nervous as hell, legs shaking like jelly and that was the great thing about the school band.
"I tell all my students, even if you don't like the school band because it's not playing the music you particularly enjoy, you've got to get into it. It teaches you professionalism and confidence.
"By the time you finish school, you're not nervous anymore. When I left school and started doing gigs professionally, I was excited, pumped and ready to go. A big reason for that was due to my time in the school band."
In 1988, Lucas joined the The Radiators after Brad Heaney. Heaney went on to become a founding member of fellow Australian Pub Rock band, The Screaming Jets.
"I didn't actually replace Heaney," Lucas said.
"It didn't work out with Heaney, I got a call from Mick Buckley who was also a former drummer for the Rads (Radiators)
"In the 80s, all Sydney drummers knew each other. We all hung out together, there was no Facebook, or let alone a computer. So we knew each other from hanging out at the same clubs.
"Mark had seen me play a number of times and one night basically said, "You'd be perfect for the Rads one day."
"I just thought, "Oh yeah, yeah give us another beer sort of thing" (laughs).
" A year later, I got this phone call at two o'clock in the morning from a guy who was managing my old band and he happened to be drinking at the right bar, at the right time. He ran into Mick who told him he was trying to get in touch with me.
"Mick said he was leaving The Radiators and was wondering if I wanted a job. So before you know it, I'm auditioning for the spot and now here we are."
Joining the band in the late 80s with genres such as Hair Metal and keyboard driven music ruling the roost, pressures to conform and be the next hot thing in the moment was running high throughout the music scene. But The Radiators stayed true.
"It felt like a new band," Lucas said.
"The band had an 8-9 year history, we just wanted to keep the band going.
"A lot of the acts that were around were either hair metal bands, keyboard driven stuff and it was the beginning of the rise of grunge.
"We didn't fit any of those molds. We weren't the pretty boys like a Motley Crue and we weren't the grunge guys. We just did our own thing.
"Even with all that happening, we were still pulling in great numbers, playing gigs and touring regularly.
"In the first year I joined, we were doing 150-200 gigs a year. There was no time to stop and think about pressure and genres. We just went out there and played rock 'n' roll."
Every band needs their own Shuddup Your Face.
- Mark Lucas
Surviving several genre shifts in the mainstream music world, The Radiators never sold themselves short and stayed true to their beliefs and sound, meat and potatoes rock 'n' roll.
Sharing the stage with many different sounding bands, it's the kings of meat and potato that Lucas remembers most fondly.
"I loved sharing the stage with Status Quo," Lucas said.
"They were amazing because they totally surprised me. I didn't realise how similar we were to them.
"God did they play well. I also didn't realise how well they played. We played shows with them in early 2000 and around three years ago.
"It was amazing to reconnect with them and the beauty was that they remembered us. We were their support band so that felt pretty special. I know what it's like to have a lot of support bands, it does get a bit tricky to remember them all but there are guys that stand out.
"When Stephen "Fess" Parker retired from the Rads a few years ago, his replacement was from one of the bands that supported us earlier. So to get that recognition from Status Quo was pretty cool."
The Bowral Bowling Club will bare witness to the power of The Radiators rock 'n' roll sound, Saturday, April 13. Fans enjoy hearing their favorite song when they perform live. Lucas's favourite song to play may leave some fans sore.
"The last song," Lucas laughed.
"No, I'm just kidding, it may amaze you but I actually do look forward to playing Give Me Head. I've played that damn thing 4000 times, but you never get sick of the reaction of the people.
"It's virtually our Shuddup Your Face (laughs). Only because we hated it for so long because people would judge us by that song alone.
"We were like "we do have other songs you know" but now we realise it's that song that has helped so many people discover the band and that turns them onto the rest of our music.
"Every band needs their own Shuddup Your Face.
"Room full of Diamonds is always great to play, Life's A Gamble I also enjoy. We have the blessing in the band to give the songs a bit of air and not play them exactly like they are on the album.
"People aren't coming out to see that, they want the live animal.
"We played the Bowral Bowling Club a year ago and it was awesome. At the risk of sounding like all the rock documentaries you see, it felt like we were like The Beatles.
"It was a great gig, we were really looked after by the staff and management. It's such a well run and organised venue.
"They led us in, shone the torches so we didn't trip over on the way to the stage and gave us great hospitality, plus it was a sold out show. It was a great show and an even better local vibe. What a great night."