The Dagoes

Formed in 1979, the Dagoes were an Australian rock band who played a freewheeling mix of '60s garage, new wave, and punk. Early denizens of the Adelaide indie scene, they were known for their spirited live shows which would occasionally feature up to nine players, most of them adopting silly Italian pseudonyms like Johnny Tomato and Tony Rome (real name Neil Perryman), the latter of whom acted as the group's principal songwriter and lead singer. Between 1980 and 1983, the Dagoes issued a variety of singles and EPs on bandmember Doug "Frankie" Thomas' Adelaide-based indie label Greasy Pop (the Spikes, Exploding White Mice, Primitive Painters). Though a crafty and highly charismatic force, their music made little impact outside of their native South Australia and they disbanded in 1983. In 2015, American reissue label Light in the Attic released a compilation of Dagoes singles called Supreme, which marked the band's first ever worldwide release.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo