The Hard-Ons

The Hard-Ons

The Hard-Ons are an Australian punk rock band formed in 1982 in Punchbowl, New South Wales. The English Wikipedia article categorises the group across punk rock, hardcore punk, and power pop.

Formation and early activity

The founding lineup was Keish de Silva on lead vocals and drums, Peter “Blackie” Black on guitar and backing vocals, and Ray Ahn on bass. The group developed through the names Dead Rats and The Plebs before becoming The Hard-Ons by the end of 1982. Before they were old enough to play pubs, the members performed at birthday parties and school dances. Their first official show took place at the Vulcan Hotel in Ultimo on 20 June 1984.

1980s to hiatus

The band released its debut EP, Surfin’ on My Face, on ViNil Records in August 1985. In 1989, The Hard-Ons recorded a split EP with The Stupids; in 1991 they recorded a cover of AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock” with Henry Rollins. They also played the inaugural Big Day Out in January 1992. Following the 1993 album Too Far Gone, the band paused activity in 1994.

Reformation and lineup changes

A reunion show in October 1997 was followed by the Yesterday and Today EP in 1998 and the compilation The Best Of in 1999. When de Silva left in 2001, Black assumed lead-vocal duties and Peter Kostic joined on drums. Murray Ruse became drummer in 2011. In August 2021, Tim Rogers was announced as the group’s lead singer.

Recordings and musical approach

The studio albums listed by the English Wikipedia article include Smell My Finger (1986), Dickcheese (1988), Love Is a Battlefield of Wounded Hearts (1989), Yummy! (1990), Too Far Gone (1993), This Terrible Place… (2000), Very Exciting! (2003), Most People Are a Waste of Time (2006), Most People Are Nicer Than Us (2007), Peel Me Like a Egg (2014), So I Could Have Them Destroyed (2019), I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken (2021), and Ripper ’23 (2023). Early recordings have been described as combining punk tempos and hardcore attitude with heavy-metal riffs and surf-pop melodies.

Sources

This article is limited to information documented in Wikipedia: Hard-Ons (retrieved 2026-10-14). The MusicBrainz artist identifier was checked through Wikidata item Q2246721, property P434.