Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
The Apartments was an Australian indie band that first formed in 1978 in Brisbane, broke up in 1979, and reformed several times since.
History
The constant in the band was songwriter and frontman Peter Milton Walsh (vocals, guitar). The original line-up also included Michael O'Connell (guitar, vocals), Peter Whitby (bass, vocals), and Peter Martin (drums). While in The Apartments, Walsh briefly joined the Go-Betweens. The Go-Betweens commemorated Walsh's time with them on their track "Don't Let Him Come Back".
The Apartments' first release was the "Help" single on the Able Label (also home to the Go-Betweens) in 1979. The band's last show was to ~5000 people, opening for Rockpile. Walsh then relocated to New York City, and playing with The Colors. The Go-Betweens' song "That Way" was written by Walsh's dear friend Grant McLennan to commemorate his departure from Australia.
The Apartments released an EP "Return of the Hypnotist" in 1979. Walsh moved on to the Laughing Clowns, playing alongside Ed Kuepper. After spending some time in London, Walsh then reformed the Apartments, with a new supporting line-up of Graeme Beavis (guitar), Gary Warner (piano), Joseph Borkowski (bass), and Bruce Carrick (drums). This line-up recorded the "All You Wanted" single in 1984, before a new line-up was formed, now with former Triffids guitarist Graham Lee. O'Connell moved on to Zero with Lindy Morrison and John Willsteed who both later played with The Go-Betweens; then briefly to Died Pretty, the Sleepers with Jim Dickson (later with the Barracudas) and Peter Mengede (later with Helmet), Tender Mercies and Blood Brothers with Amanda Brown and some with John Willsteed (both later with The Go-Betweens), and the Killer Sheep who recorded on the Au Go Go label.
On the Apartment's first album, The Evening Visits...and Stays For Years (1985, Rough Trade), Walsh and Lee were joined by guest musicians Clare Kenny (formerly of Orange Juice, bass), and Ben Watt of Everything but the Girl. The album became a cult hit in France. After a tour with Everything but the Girl, a new line-up emerged that included Jurgen Hobbs, Judy Anderson and Nick Allum. This incarnation of the band played shows in the UK, France, Switzerland and released a single, "The Shyest Time", in 1988; which was included in the film Some Kind of Wonderful.
After this, the band split up again, with Allum going on to join The Fatima Mansions and Walsh returning to Australia. The Apartments reformed for a 1992 album, Drift, released on the French New Rose label, touring France, with Allum back on drums, and going on to record three further albums, A Life Full Of Farewells (1995), Apart (1997), and Fête Foraine (1998), the latter an acoustic album. Rolling Stone praised A Life Full of Farewells, saying "for the most part, Walsh's songs enable listeners to enjoy time spent in places we would usually rather not be". Walsh reformed The Apartments for a few gigs in 2007.
The Apartments appeared in July 2007 at the Pig City event at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, along with The Saints, Regurgitator, Kev Carmody and many others.
French tour, autumn 2009
"Peter Walsh, of The Apartments" played three shows in France in November 2009. Peter Walsh played with Eliot Fish (and also two french musicians on some of the songs) in Chinon, Paris (L'Européen) and Clermont Ferrand, to critical acclaim (many articles in the french press to celebrate this come-back). The band was supported by french act 49 Swimming Pools, whose members are fans of The Apartments and helped to organize the small tour.
Peter Walsh is said to be considering more shows in France in 2010.
Covers
The song "Mr Somewhere" was covered by This Mortal Coil in their 1991 album Blood.
Other notable covers include "Knowing You Were Loved" by Renée Geyer in 1999 on her Sweet Life album and Ed Kuepper's reading of "Places Where The Night Is Long" on his 1995 album, Exotic Mail Order Moods.
