David John Graney (born 1959) is an Australian rock musician, singer-songwriter and author. Since 1978, Graney has collaborated with drummer-multi instrumentalist Clare Moore. The pair have fronted or been involved with numerous bands including The Moodists (1980 to 1987), Dave Graney and the White Buffaloes (1989 to 1990), Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes (1987 to 1989, 1991 to 1997), The Dave Graney Show (1998 to 2003), Dave Graney and Clare Moore featuring The Lurid Yellow Mist or Dave Graney and The Lurid Yellow Mist (2004 to 2011) and Dave Graney and The mistLY. Many albums since Let's Get Tight in 2017 have been credited to Dave Graney and Clare Moore.
Graney was awarded the ARIA Award for Best Male Artist at the 1996 ARIA Music Awards for his work on The Soft 'n' Sexy Sound, while "Feelin' Kinda Sporty" won the ARIA Award for Best Video in 1997 and he has received seven other ARIA Award nominations. Since 2009, Graney has co-presented a radio show on Melbourne's 3RRR called Banana Lounge Broadcasting or BLB. He has published two memoirs, 1001 Australian Nights (2011) and WORKSHY (2018) and two lyrics books It Is Written, Baby (1997) and There He Goes with His Eye Out (2023)
Biography Early years to The Moodists
Graney grew up in Mount Gambier, South Australia. He attended St Mary's Primary School, Marist Brothers College, McDonald Park Primary School and Mount Gambier High School. He finished school after Year 12. In 1978, he relocated to Adelaide and, as lead vocalist, he teamed with drummer Clare Moore to form Sputniks with Liz Dealey on bass guitar, Phillip Costello on guitar and Steve Miller on guitar. Sputniks released one single, "Second Glance" on an independent label before moving to Melbourne in 1979 where they disbanded. Graney, Miller and Moore formed post-punk group The Moodists with Steve Carman on bass guitar in 1980. They released a single "Where the Trees Walk Downnhill"/"I Should Have Been Here" on the Au Go Go label. Carman was soon replaced by Chris Walsh on bass guitar. This line-up released a single "Gone Dead"/"Chad's Car", and an EP "Engine Shudder" on the Au Go Go label. In April 1983, Mick Turner (previously in Sick Things, Fungus Brains, later in Dirty Three) joined on guitar and they relocated to the United Kingdom in October. They released their studio album "Thirsty's Calling" in 1984 on the Red Flame label with Victor Van Vugt co producing with band along with engineer Tony Harris . Red Flame also released a six track mini album in 1985 called "Double Life". A single "Justice and Money Too" was released on the Creation label. Chris Walsh left in the same year, 1985. David McClymont joined on bass and the band recorded two 12" EPs "Take the Red Carpet out of Town" and "Someone's Got to Give" on the T.I.M. label in the UK.
1986–1998: The Coral Snakes and White Buffaloes In late 1986, The Moodists ground to a halt and after taking a break Dave Graney and Clare Moore formed Dave Graney 'n' the Coral Snakes (also seen as Dave Graney with the Coral Snakes) in late 1987 and played in London pubs and clubs. Other members were Gordy Blair on bass guitar, Malcolm Ross (ex-Orange Juice, The Moodists) on guitar and Louis Vause on piano and keyboards. In 1988, with Barry Adamson (former member of Magazine, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) producing, they recorded enough material for an extended play, "At His Stone Beach" released in September on the Fire label. The cover had ornate Edwardian lettering by UK illustrator Dave Western. By 1989, Graney and Moore were ordered out of the country by UK immigration authorities. The four tracks, "World Full of Daughters", "Listen to Her Lovers Sing", "A Deal Made for Somebody Else" and "The Greatest Show in Town", were later included on CD version of the Dave Graney with the White Buffaloes album, "My Life on the Plains".
Back in Melbourne, the couple formed Dave Graney with The White Buffaloes with Rod Hayward (ex-Little Murders) on guitar, Conway Savage (Boy Kings) on keyboards and Walsh (The Moodists) on bass guitar. Graney sported an Edwardian/Western image, wearing snakeskin and brown suede, sporting a curled moustache and waxed goatee. The band released "My Life on the Plains" in 1989 with Phil Vinall producing. Vinall, a friend of Graney and Moore, later worked with The Auteurs, Placebo and Magic Dirt (among others). The album included tracks written by other artists, such as Gene Clark, Fred Neil, Gram Parsons and the traditional "Streets of Laredo". In their live shows they included songs by Doug Sahm, Lou Reed, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Tim Rose. The title was from an autobiographical tome by George Armstrong Custer in 1876, the year he died at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The cover featured images of a young Jesse James, Custer and ornate Edwardian lettering by London artist Dave Western, based on a Frederic Remington cowboy painting. It reflected Graney's obsession with wild western myth and late 1960s psychedelic bands with similar tastes, The Charlatans and Quicksilver Messenger Service from San Francisco. No singles were released from the album, although a video was shot by Tony Mahony for "Robert Ford on the Stage". Savage left to join Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and they were joined on pedal steel guitar by Graham Lee (The Triffids). This line-up recorded "Codine", a live in the studio four track extended play, which was issued late in the year. It was later added to the CD version of the "I Was The Hunter... and I Was The Prey" album. "Codine" was written by Buffy Sainte-Marie and had been performed by The Charlatans in swaggering space cowboy style while the Dave Graney with the White Buffaloes cover version was equally tough. The EP sleeve was another Dave Western illustration.
During June 1990, Graney, Moore and Hayward travelled to London and recorded "I Was the Hunter... and I Was the Prey" with Blair on bass guitar, Ross on guitar, and Vause on piano. The album was produced by Vinall at a Croydon home studio run by former Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher. The cover by Western shows Graney with full 'Hickok' curled moustache and velvet pomp. It was not issued until May 1992, due to a crisis with indie distribution in the UK, under the name Dave Graney with the Coral Snakes. In mid-1991, the band had moved back to Melbourne with a line-up of Blair, Graney, Moore, and Hayward; with Robin Casinader on keyboards (ex-the Wreckery). In July 1992, they released a live album, Lure of the Tropics on the Torn & Frayed label on Shock Records. It was recorded at St Kilda's Prince of Wales Hotel. The cover art was by Tony Mahony, the album featured three other improvised tracks (along with the title piece) and was originally mixed by Phil McKellar – it was re-released in 1997 with extra tracks and remixed by Tony Cohen.
For their April 1993 album, Night of the Wolverine, the band signed with PolyGram, Andrew Picouleau (ex-Sacred Cowboys) provided the bass guitar and Tony Cohen co-produced. The album has been described as "a certified Australian rock classic. It captured Graney at a new peak of his songwriting powers ... [tracks were] full of elegant and eccentric detail". Tex Perkins (The Cruel Sea) guested on lead vocals for "Night of the Wolverine II" with Amanda Brotchie on backing vocals. The title track and "You're Just Too Hip, Baby" reached No. 48 and No. 59 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 1993. Cover art was by Mahony who directed the video for "You're Just Too Hip, Baby". The band toured outside the inner city of Melbourne and Sydney for the first time backing Hunters & Collectors, then The Cruel Sea before heading their own national tour. The album and tours had raised their profile with mainstream music critics. "Night of the Wolverine" earned an ARIA Award nomination for 'Best Alternative Release' at the 1994 ceremony. It was released on the This Way Up label in the UK in 1996.
The band's next album, "You Wanna Be There But You Don't Wanna Travel", which peaked at No. 10 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Album Charts, was released in June 1994. With Blair back on bass guitar, it was co-produced with Cohen. The singles from the album were, "I'm Gonna Release Your Soul" in April, and "You Wanna Be Loved" in August. A limited edition of the album included a bonus disc, Unbuttoned, with seven extra tracks. The promotional film clip for "I'm Gonna Release Your Soul", directed by Mahony, was nominated as 'Best Video' in 1995.
The group's July 1995 album, The Soft 'n' Sexy Sound, was produced by Victor Van Vugt. It reached the Top 40 and earned Graney the 'Best Male Artist' accolade at the 1996 ARIA Music Awards. Graney was wearing a hot pink, crushed velvet suit and a wig and said (under his breath) 'King of Pop'. This was a reference to a 1970s pop award which was presented by teen magazine, Go-Set. The album also received nominations as 'Best Cover Art' for Mahony and 'Producer of the Year' for Victor Vaughan . "I'm not Afraid to Be Heavy" (June), "Rock 'n' Roll Is Where I Hide" (August) and "I'm Gonna Live in My Own Big World" (February 1996) were issued as singles. The limited edition album's bonus disc, Music for Colourful Racing Identities, featured seven live tracks. It was also accompanied by a media CD with an interview of Graney by HG Nelson called A Word in Yer Shell, Like. It was released in the UK and Europe on the This Way Up label in 1996. Graney and Moore spent six months of the year recording and working in London.
The next album, The Devil Drives, was released in May 1997, and reached the Top 20. It was recorded in Melbourne and mixed in London at Maison Rouge studios and co-produced by Graney, Moore and David Ruffy along with engineer Kenny Jones. It spawned the single, "Feelin' Kinda Sporty" (co-written with Clare Moore) . The single won 'Best Video' by Mahony in 1997, the album was nominated for 'Best Cover Art' by Mahony and Graney received a nomination as 'Best Male Artist'. The single was promoted with an appearance on the daytime soap Neighbours, in which Dave sent up his sinister lounge-core persona in a pastel blue suit and a fedora – in one memorable scene holding the character Toadfish upside down and shaking him for the return of his mobile phone. It is unknown what if any impact this had on sales of the record. The second single was "A Man on the Make". The Devil Drives was the last studio album for Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes and with Universal Music as Graney and Moore disbanded the group and parted ways with the label in December. Album also accompanied by a media CD with an interview with Dave Graney called Coffins Have no Pockets, which was part of a media booklet based on a Holden Monaro owner's manual. In 1997 Graney released his first book, It is Written, Baby, a collection of his lyrics interspersed with fragments of journalism, memoir and opinion, with photographs by Mahony.
Dave Graney 'n' the Coral Snakes released a compilation, The Baddest, in September 1999. It included an unreleased version of "The Sheriff of Hell" from The Devil Drives which was re-recorded and remixed with Andrew Duffield (ex-Models) on keyboards, Phil Kenihan and Billy Miller (The Ferrets) on guitar and vocals. The same team had remixed "Feelin' Kinda Sporty" the previous year. It also featured an unreleased cover version of the AC/DC song "Show Business". Cover art was provided by Tony Mahony.
1998–present: The Dave Graney Show- the Royal Dave Graney Show – the Lurid Yellow Mist to the mistLY