He’s an ARIA Award-winning songwriter (he co-wrote the Whitlams’ No Aphrodisiac), esteemed TV scriptwriter (Stingers and Underbelly), and has even tried stand-up – to say Pinky Beecroft, frontman of Machine Gun Fellatio, is talented would be playing it down.
With brash alt-rock hits like P***y Town and Rollercoaster, Machine Gun Fellatio (MGF) gained a cult following in Australia in the early noughties before crossing over into the mainstream, playing the Big Day Out and opening for Robbie Williams and Duran Duran.
Then, Pinky up and vanished…
Now, two decades later, he’s re-emerged with a new sound, a solo album, Lonesome Wolf, and a tour.
Here, he tells Woman’s Day where he went, why he’s back and what audiences have to look forward to.
Where did you go after MGF?
“I left MGF to do my own thing and that project became the White Russians. I’d also started doing stand-up, and then suddenly one day I couldn’t stand up. Literally. Couldn’t walk.
“It was kind of terrifying for a long time, until they figured out I had a chronic disease – rheumatoid arthritis. I had to stop everything and just manage my health… I drifted back into writing for TV. But music was always in my system, it’s my happy place.”
You have many talents… are they fully integrated or is it more like split personalities?
“Split personalities is maybe the best way to describe it. For a long time I tried to keep different roles separate: my day job as a TV screenwriter, for example. I tried to keep that completely separate from life as a musician. But after a while I suppose things overlap. People at work would start asking questions about my activities out of work hours. Them: ‘Are you in a band?’ Me: ‘No, definitely not.'”
This album is a little bit country. What inspired the change of direction?
“Well… I guess it’s where I’m at. I’m older, my listening habits have changed, somewhat, over the years. I come from a big family. I inherited a very wide range of musical tastes. But I think the word ‘country’ is used to describe a vast amount of music, some of which is cool and some of which is really awful. And a lot of it, I think, is not actually very country at all. So… I don’t know. I’ve struggled all my career to find a pigeon-hole for my own stuff. If only I could find an appropriate pigeon-hole…. I could be rich.”
Why make this record now?
“I wasn’t planning on making a record. Damian Cafarella, a Melbourne producer and multi-instrumentalist, asked me to put down some vocals on a record he was making. So I went to his studio and we ended up hanging out, just playing, recording, putting down some ideas… just the two of us in a room. It was a wonderful time, there was no pressure…. Damian is a superb guitarist, but he’s also a great drummer and percussionist. He had a piano I fell in love with. That became the sound of the record. Quite quickly we realised, ‘We’ve got an album here.'”
Which is your favourite song on Lonesome Wolf?
“It changes all the time. Especially since we’ve been out on the road, playing the songs live. ‘Sweeter Than Sunshine‘ is my favourite at the moment – the live version has this bluesy swing to it. We’ve been closing the show with it every night.”
Tell us about your duet cover of ‘Wild Horses’…
“I believe some songs should never be covered. Some songs are so good, they’re kind of sacred, nobody should ever be allowed to sing them. I was ranting about this, and [the Rolling Stones’] ‘Wild Horses’ was the example… I’m (obviously) a hypocrite… [but] I really like playing it on piano. And I always thought, ‘This song would be interesting if it were from a female point of view.’ I wonder that a lot, especially with older songs. What if a woman sang these words? How would it change things?”
You’ve been touring this album. What’s it like performing to audiences now?
“I feel very much older. But I also feel a million times more relaxed. I think I learned to sing a lot better over the years, so that’s nice. And I tend to talk a lot at some shows. I tell stories. I guess that’s the difference between what I do now and what the MGF show was like. I can do anything I want, nowadays. Nobody’s telling me what to do. I feel way more connected to the audience.”
It’s been two decades since your last record, will the next album take another 20?
“That’s a good question. I don’t think so? I don’t expect to be alive in another 20 years, so… I should probably hurry up and make the next one. Immediately.”
LONESOME WOLF IS OUT NOW Visit pinkybeecroft.com for tour info
Featured image by Malina Hamilton-Smith Pinky Beecroft live in Brisbane.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
.png?resize=380%2C285&format=auto)
Native ad body.
