The Hitmen


The Hitmen are an Australian hard rock band formed in November 1977 by long-term members, Johnny Kannis on lead vocals and Chris Masuak on lead guitar as Johnny and the Hitmen. The group went through numerous line up changes in its first run from 1977 to 1984. They regrouped under a new name, Hitmen DTK, between 1989 and 1992. They have issued three studio albums, Hitmen, It Is What It Is and Moronic Inferno. The Hitmen reformed in 2007; Masuak left in 2015.

History

The Hitmen were formed in November 1977 in Sydney as a hard rock group by Charlie Georgees on guitar, Warwick Gilbert on bass guitar, Johnny Kannis on lead vocals, Ron Keeley on drums and Chris Masuak on lead guitar. Kannis and Masuak had been bandmates in the Jackals from 1974 to 1975 alongside Rubin Acosta, Archie Archilles, Alf Azzopardi and Steve Willman.
According to Kannis the Jackals were "a school band that Chris Masuak and I started while we were in year 10 Maltese rhythm section." They played cover versions of material by Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Ted Nugent, Lou Reed and original country rock tracks written by Masuak, including "Death by the Gun". Masuak joined Sydney-based punk rockers Radio Birdman in October 1976 alongside Gilbert and Keeley. Kannis was that group's MC and he formed the new group, as Johnny and the Hitmen, "for a series of fun gigs" between Radio Birdman commitments.
Radio Birdman started a European tour early in 1978, and Kannis formed a new line-up of Johnny and the Hitmen with Georgees, Clyde Bramley on bass guitar, Alan Brown on drums, Steve Harris on keyboards, Angie Pepper on vocals and Lynne Phillips on vocals. Johnny and the Hitmen recorded three tracks and released two on a 7" single, "King of the Surf" backed by a cover version of the Drifters' 1964 single, "Under the Boardwalk", as Kannis' solo effort in November 1978. In the interim Radio Birdman had disbanded and, in July 1978, Kannis and Masuak reformed the Hitmen with Ivor Hay on drums and Phil Sommerville on bass guitar. In September Gilbert rejoined, on rhythm guitar.
The Hitmen were signed to WEA in March 1979 and released their debut single, "Didn't Tell the Man", in July of that year. By that time Hay had already quit and was replaced by Geoff Peterkin until August when Mark Kingsmill joined on drums. Soon after Sommerville left, Gilbert switched back to bass guitar and Tony Vidale joined on guitar. A second single, "I Want You", appeared in March 1980.
In December 1980 the band entered the studio to record their debut self-titled album, which was released in the following July, with Mark Opitz as producer. Vidale had been replaced on guitar by Brad Shepherd during the recording sessions – Shepherd re-recorded the guitar parts. Susan Moore of The Australian Women's Weekly described the group as "keeping the riotous rock flag flying with a crystal clear production... The songs are well-crafted although it's the overall onslaught that's the most memorable; the direction is decisive and determined. And there's a lucid layering of instrumentation – each component rubbing shoulders comfortably." Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, opined that the album and lead single, "I Don't Mind", were "excellent slices of melodic hard rock. Opitz had achieved a full-throated production sound in the studio that did justice to the band's fierce live reputation."
The group supported United States group, Steppenwolf, on the Australian leg of their tour during November 1981. Gilbert left during that tour and was replaced on bass guitar by Tony Robertson. Early in 1982 the group left WEA and signed to RCA Records: they released their second album, It Is What It Is, which was produced by Bruce Brown and Russell Dunlop. Shepherd had already left, a month earlier, to join Hoodoo Gurus and the Hitmen continued as a quartet. According to McFarlane " continued to draw big crowds on tour, but could not sell records. Consequently, RCA dropped The Hitmen and the band went into hibernation."
When Iggy Pop toured Australia in June 1983, Radio Birdman's singer, Rob Younger, was asked to provide his opening act. Younger formed the New Christs with three of the Hitmen: Kingsmill, Masuak and Robertson, as well as Kent Stedman on guitar. Kannis formed a soul music band, Johnny Kannis and the Night Train, during this hiatus. The line-up alongside Kannis was Harris and Phillips from an early version of the Hitmen, together with Michael Buckley on drums, Rohan Cannon on guitar, Don Raffael on saxophone, Paul Reed on bass guitar and Mick Thornton on trumpet. In July 1983 Harris, Kannis and Phillips were all injured in a car accident while on tour; Kannis was hospitalised for months and that group broke up.
By June 1984 Kannis had recovered sufficiently for the Hitmen to reform with Kingsmill, Masuak and Robertson joined by a new member, Richard Jakimyszyn, on guitar. While on tour they recorded a live album, Tora Tora DTK, at the St George-Budapest Soccer Club and Family Inn by ABC Mobile with Ian Davies and Masuak producing. Soon after the tour Kingsmill, Masuak and Robertson all joined the Screaming Tribesmen and the Hitmen disbanded.
Kannis and Masuak re-formed the group as the Hitmen DTK in April 1989 with a new line-up: Gye Bennetts on drums, Brad Ferguson on bass guitar and Matt Le Noury on guitar. They issued a four-track extended play, U.E.L.A via Survival Records in November 1989, which was produced by Masuak. During 1990 they toured Australia co-headlining with Voodoo Lust, and Peter Wells' group, Heart Attack, as support.
The line-up of Hitmen DTK changed with Kannis and Masuak joined by Shane Cooke on bass guitar, Gerald Presland on drums and Bob Sattler on guitar. They recorded a studio album, Moronic Inferno, in Austin, Texas, with Andy Bradley and Masuak co-producing. In December of that year they toured Australia opening for US rock group, Dark Carnival, but they broke up early in the following year.
The Hitmen reformed in 2007, with Kannis, Masuak and Robertson joined by Tony "Juke" Jukic on guitar and Murray "Muzz" Shepherd on drums ; they undertook a set of Australian shows. Re-issues of Hitmen, It Is What It Is and Tora Tora DTK occurred via Savage Beat/Shock Records: each with detailed liner notes and extra discs of bonus material. A one-off gig on 23 February 2008 with former Dark Carnival and Destroy All Monsters singer-visual artist, Niagara, at The Crest Hotel, Sylvania, was recorded and released as St Valentine's Day Massacre in October 2009 via Savage Beat/Shock Records in Australia and US label, Steel Cage, around the world. The band gigged solidly with a national tour with Niagara undertaken in April 2010.
The Hitmen marked their 30th anniversary with a one-off show at the Sandringham Hotel, Newtown, in Sydney on 21 May 2010. Another retrospective collection, Dancin' Time, of studio and live material was released in November of that year. The band went into hiatus when Masuak moved to Spain in 2015. Kannis finished recording his solo single which was produced by fellow Hitman, Jukic, at the Alchemy Music Group Studios.
In 2017 the Hitmen regrouped for a national tour to promote their compilation album, Solid as a Rock, Kannis, Jukic, Robertson and Murray Shepherd were joined by Vince "the Wiz" Cuscuna on guitar. They continued to tour during 2018.

Members

Timeline



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at:01/01/2006 color:black layer:back
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bar:Pepper text:"Angie Pepper"
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bar:Cuscuna text:"Vince Cuscuna"
bar:Georges text:"Charlie Georges"
bar:Vidale text:"Tony Vidale"
bar:Shepherd2 text:"Brad Shepherd"
bar:Jakimyszyn text:"Richard Jakimyszyn"
bar:Sattler text:"Robert Sattler"
bar:Jukic text:"Tony Jukic"
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bar:Somerville text:"Phil Somerville"
bar:Bramley text:"Clyde Bramley"
bar:Robertson text:"Tony Robertson"
bar:Banesevic text:"Peter Banesevic"
bar:Keeley text:"Ron Keeley"
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bar:Hay text:"Ivor Hay"
bar:Kingsmill text:"Mark Kingsmill"
bar:Peterkin text:"Geoff Peterkin"
bar:Bennetts text:"Gye Bennetts"
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bar:Shepherd from:01/01/2007 till:end color:drums
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Drums 1990-1993

Discography

Studio albums

;As the Hitmen
;As the Hitmen
;As Niagara & Hitmen
;As the Hitmen
;As Hitmen DTK
;As Hitmen DTK
;As Johnny Kannis
;As Hitmen