The Victims

The Victims were formed in Perth in mid-1977 with James Baker on drums (ex-Beheaded / The Geeks), Dave Flick (real name Dave Faulkner) on guitar and vocals (ex-Beagle Boys) and Rudolph V (real name Dave Cardwell) on bass guitar. Earlier in that year Baker and Cardwell had founded another punk band, The Geeks, with Ross Buncle on guitar and a vocalist, Lloyd. That group folded in May and their original songs formed the core of The Victims' initial repertoire. The group's sound was based on United States punk pioneers, The Flamin' Groovies, The Heartbreakers, New York Dolls, and The Stooges.

In 1977 The Victims recorded their debut single, 'Television Addict / I'm Flipped Out Over You' of which only 1,000 copies were pressed. In August 1978 they released a five-track extended play, 'The Victims' (also known as 'No Thanks to the Human Turd'). Only 500 copies of the EP were released

Their performance at Hernando's Hideaway in Perth in January 1978 was recorded: it was issued on the live album, 'Culture Shock', in 2014. By mid-1978 The Victims had disbanded, they briefly reunited in early 1979 to provide a farewell gig. Baker was a founder of The Scientists (1978–81). Flick reverted to using his surname, Faulkner, and briefly joined Midget and The Farrellys. In late 1979, he joined Manikins. Baker and Faulkner reunited in January 1981 and founded Hoodoo Gurus in Sydney. Rudolph V became a member of Love Assassins with Mark Hutchinson on guitar, John Rowlings on vocals and Marc Siddall on drums.

In December 1989 The Victims material was issued as a compilation album, 'All Loud on the Western Front', on Timberyard Records. This included all the tracks from their first single and EP, as well as a previously unreleased track, "Perth Is a Culture Shock". It was re-issued on CD in 2005. 

"Television Addict" has been covered by Hoodoo Gurus and recorded by You Am I, The Hellacopters and Teengenerate. It is also a mainstay of Australian punk compilations. The song was also played live by United States band The Bronx on their 2007 Australian tour. The 2011 compilation, 'Sleeping Dogs Lie', was issued by Japanese label 1977 Records and distributed in Australia by the Fuse label. In addition to the tracks on 'All Loud on the Western Front' it added two demo songs.

In August 2014 Baker and Faulkner were joined by Ray Ahn (of Hard-Ons) on bass guitar as the Television Addicts at the Rosemount Hotel in North Perth. They performed The Victims material and in February of the following year gigged in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]