Fifty years after a British music magazine praised Brisbane punk pioneers The Saints, a 1976 radio interview has resurfaced as Ed Kuepper prepares to bring his music back to Queensland.
On 16 October 1976, British music weekly Sounds singled out The Saints and their self-released debut, (I’m) Stranded, for extraordinary praise. Half a century later, the Brisbane band’s contribution to punk still echoes well beyond Queensland.
Brisbane punk before the world caught on
The Saints recorded ‘(I’m) Stranded’ in May 1976 and issued it on their own label after struggling to find record-company support. The single preceded key early releases and performances by several British punk acts, placing a Brisbane group in the story of a movement too often told exclusively through London and New York.
While the international music press was taking notice, the band’s relationship with the Australian music industry was considerably more complicated.
A newly unearthed 1976 Brisbane 4IP radio interview with original Saints singer Chris Bailey, highlighted in a new release from Dave Laing Publicity, provides a fascinating counterpoint to the band’s growing overseas reputation. The contrast captures a band being celebrated overseas while still facing scepticism at home.
Ed Kuepper and The Saints return to Queensland
Kuepper’s schedule remains busy. His Exploding Universe national tour is due at The Princess Theatre, Brisbane, on November 15, 2026, with Michael Beach.
Then The Saints ’73–’78 return to Queensland in January 2027, performing at The Tivoli, Brisbane, on January 29, with Tape/Off, and Miami Marketta, Gold Coast, on January 30, with Mick Medew & the Ursula 4.
Those Queensland dates were already announced; the latest additions to the Australian Saints tour are Adelaide on February 3 and Archies Creek on February 6.
The anniversary connects an unlikely Brisbane punk breakthrough with the musicians still performing that material today.
Tickets and tour information: Feel Presents.
Find your next Queensland gig
From punk legends to emerging local bands, see what’s coming to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Featured image: The Saints performing in Amsterdam in 2006, not the original 1976 lineup. Photo: Elisabet Corlin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Tour information: Dave Laing Publicity / Feel Presents, October 16, 2026.
