Roddy Radalj
Rodney John "Roddy" Radalj is a Croatian-born Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He has provided guitar, bass guitar and vocals in several influential Australian bands starting with Perth punk bands in the late 1970s before relocating to Sydney to become a founder of the Hoodoo Gurus in 1981 and of Dubrovniks in 1988. Since 1989, as Roddy Ray'Da he has released a number of solo albums, including Guns Girls & Guitars in 2005. Biography Perth punk bands Born in Dubrovnik, Croatia, former Yugoslavia, Radalj got his start with Perth punk band The Exterminators who, via The Invaders, eventually became The Scientists in May 1978. Their earliest line-up were Kim Salmon (later a crucial member of the Beasts of Bourbon and The Surrealists) and ex-Victims drummer James Baker. Radalj stayed long enough in The Scientists to appear on their debut single, "Frantic Romantic", long regarded as one of the most collectable artefacts of the Australian punk rock era. Sydney bands His next band, The Rockets issued one single, "Mean Mistress" before Roddy relocated to Sydney where, in January 1981, he joined Baker, Dave Faulkner (another Perth expatriate and ex-leader of the Victims) and Kimble Rendall (ex-XL Capris) as founders of Le Hoodoo Gurus. Their debut single, "Leilani" on the Phantom label (October 1982) was an instant classic: it had three lead guitars and no bass. Just as the single appeared Radalj left the band (which became Hoodoo Gurus) to form irreverent cow-punk trio The Johnnys, nevertheless he had been a Guru long enough to have co-written with Faulkner several outstanding songs – "Leilani", "(Let's All) Turn On", "Arthur" and "Death Ship" – which appeared on the band's 1984 debut album, Stoneage Romeos. Hoodoo Gurus' iconic status on the Australian rock scene was acknowledged when they were inducted into the 2007 ARIA Hall of Fame. Once again, Radalj only remained long enough with The Johnnys to appear on one single, "I Think You're Cute". In 1985, Radalj together with James Baker (ex Hoodoo Gurus) released a single, a cover of The Troggs' "I Can't Control Myself" with an original, "Born to Be Punched" on the B-side. The single was credited to The James Baker Experience. In 1986 Radalj teamed up again with Baker (by then ex-Beasts of Bourbon), plus Boris Sujdovic (ex-Rockets, The Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon) and Peter Simpson (ex-Spectre's Revenge) as the Adorable Ones. Within a year the Adorable Ones had renamed themselves the Dubrovniks in honour of the fact that both Radalj and Sujdovic had been born in the historical Croatian city of Dubrovnik. The band's clattering yet accessible rock'n'roll appealed on record in the shape on two 1988 singles for the Citadel label, "Fireball of Love" and "My Coo Ca Choo" and contributed to their album Dubrovnik Blues before Radalj was involved in fisticuffs onstage at the Greek Theatre in Melbourne and he moved on again. His next sideline project, the Punjabbers, issued one single, "Rock'n'Roll Loveletters", on the original Timberyard label in 1988. Roddy Ray'Da With backing from