The Eastern Dark - Johnny And Dee Dee / Julie Is A Junkie The Eastern Dark

When the single originally came out 40 years ago, there were different coloured sleeve variants; this time out, we’ve been allowed to make different coloured vinyl variants. Mixed and remastered from the original multi-track tapes under the band's supervision, it now sounds more alive than this seminal Australian 7" ever has.

Heavily influenced by Ramones - the band opened their first live show with Blitzkrieg Bop and from then on opened with a new Ramones song every time they played, working through the band's complete catalogue in chronological order - as all manner of hyper-melodic and high energy rock. The Eastern Dark were a classic trio powered by former Celibate Rifles bass player James Darroch's blazing guitar and anchored by former Lime Spiders backing vocalist Bill Gibson's hard driving and melodic bass playing (and supreme backing vocals) and Geoff Milne's untouchable beat keeping.

They set Sydney's Radio Birdman-influenced scene alight in 1984 and quickly built an international following on the back of their classic single. Sadly, just hours after completing what would become their next release - the mini-LP Long Live the New Flesh - the band's life, and that of 26-year-old James Darroch, was brutally ended in a road accident whilst the band was on its way to Melbourne.

On the back of the tragedy, the band's music lived on and its global impact was reflected in the influence it bore on numerous bands, from Boston's The Lemoneads to Tokyo's Teengenerate, and obviously a succession of Australian bands from Hard-Ons through to God and The Meanies and beyond.

After years of searching, surviving members Bill Gibson and Geoff Milne recently found the single's original multi-track tapes, and for the new release, the original recordings have been both remixed and remastered for maximum impact under their supervision.