Supernaut
 Supernaut was formed in Perth (Australia) by Gary Twinn (vocals),
Chris Burnham (guitar) and his brother Joey
Burnham (drums), all of whom had emigrated from England with
their families in the 1960s.
The Burnham boys formed a pub band called Moby Dick (after the Led
Zeppelin track) which Twinn joined in 1974. Randall Murphy
(bass) rounded out the line-up which was soon renamed Supernaut,
in reference to the Black Sabbath
song.
Supernaut began playing glam rock
and built a solid reputation in Perth before heading East to
Melbourne in February 1976.
The group came to the attention of Countdown
compere and record producer Ian 'Molly' Meldrum, who fast
tracked them into the recording studio and by May the group had
released their debut single, I Like It Both Ways. Meldrum
gave the band national television exposure via Countdown and
the single climbed to number 16 on the Australian charts.
Randall Murphy left the band while I Like It Both Ways
was still climbing the charts and was replaced by Phil Foxman in
August. The band's second single, Too Hot To Touch, was
released soon after and reached number 14 nationally.
Their eponymous debut album was released in December and it
shot into the national top 20, peaking at number 13. Supernaut
then won the prestigious TV Week King Of Pop award
for Most Popular New Talent. Three more singles were lifted
from the album during 1977, the best performing being Young
And Innocent (number 40).
Work on a second album became bogged down as the band looked to
reinvent themselves both musically and stylistically to
accommodate the broader shift from the now dated glam movement to
the immerging punk/new
wave scene. The first product of the makeover was the 1978
single, Unemployed.
The group then relocated to Sydney, got their hair cut short,
signed a new recording contract, dumped their satin and flares,
added keyboardist Noel Kennedy, and
completely changed their sound to emulate groups like The
Stranglers, The Jam and XTC.
Finally they changed their name from Supernaut to The Nauts.
The initially highly anticipated, but now long overdue, second
album was released late in 1979. Titled simply The Nauts,
the LP was well received by critics but barely registered with the
record-buying public. A fruitless attempt to crack the UK market
led to the band breaking up just a few months later.
The band reunited for a series of concerts in Australia in
2007.
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