Tex, Don and Charlie are an Australian supergroup formed by Tex Perkins, Don Walker and Charlie Owen. Their first studio album Sad but True was released in 1993, two others were released in 2005 and 2017.

Tex, Don and Charlie
OriginSydney, New South Wales Australia
GenresFolk blues, country[1]
Years active1992 (1992)–1994, 2004-2006, 2017-present
MembersTex Perkins
Don Walker
Charlie Owen

Career edit

 
Tex and Charlie at the Port Fairy Folk Festival

The band was founded in 1992 as Tex Perkins recalls "I saw Charlie and thought 'Jesus Christ'. He was easily the best rock guitar player I had seen. He was really dexterous, but gutsy. Not flashy. I think it had a lot of jazz in him as well. I made a mental note that I'd like to work with Charlie and about one year later I heard he was playing with Don Walker in Catfish. Then somebody suggested I do something with Don Walker and I said 'Sure, as long as Charlie Owen is there'."[2]

In early 1992, the as yet unnamed band performed an acoustic live performance for alternative radio station Triple J with James Cruickshank also contributing guitar.[3]

Six months later, Perkins proposed to Walker that they record an album together. Walker described the recording as a number of informal afternoons spent jamming in the studio. "It wasn't an album approached with any sort of seriousness. It wasn't until we had it all done that we started to realise we might have something special."[4] The trio released Sad but True in November 1993 and album peaked at number 40. A live album was released in February 1995 titled Monday Morning Coming Down....

Over the next 10 years they all went their separate ways, but remained in contact.

In March 2005, Tex, Don and Charlie re-united and recorded All is Forgiven which was released in September 2005 and was supported by a tour. The song "Harry was a Bad Bugger", was described by Chris Johnston as, "the Australian song of the year",[5] and by Mess & Noise as, "one of the finest Australian compositions of the last 20 years."[6] The album was shortlisted for the inaugural Australian Music Prize.[7]

In October 2010, Sad But True was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.[8]

In May 2017, Perkins announced via his Facebook page that new music from Tex, Don and Charlie would be coming in 2017. The following week, a national tour was announced alongside the news of a new album from the trio, You Don't Know Lonely. A new single, "A Man in Conflict with Nature," was released on the same day. The album, released in June, peaked at number 14 in the national charts.

Discography edit

Studio albums edit

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
[9]
Sad but True 40
All is Forgiven 58
You Don't Know Lonely
  • Released: June 2017
  • Label: EMI Music (5768318)
  • Format: CD, DD, streaming
14

Live albums edit

List of live albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
[9]
Monday Morning Coming Down...
  • Released: February 1995
  • Label: Red Eye/Polydor (RED CD43)
  • Format: CD
96

Awards and nominations edit

Australian Music Prize edit

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The commenced in 2005.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2005[10] All Is Forgiven Australian Music Prize Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ "Bio". texdonandcharlie.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Tex Perkins & Charlie Owen". Forte. 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
  3. ^ Chris Mundy. "Random Notes". Australian Rolling Stone (June 1992). Sydney, NSW: Tilmond Pty Ltd: 13.
  4. ^ Mike Gee (16 December 1993). "Melancholy Muso". Canberra Times. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  5. ^ Chris Johnston (30 December 2005). "So, what have you been listening to?". Age. Fairfax. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  6. ^ Aaron Curran (20 February 2013). "Report: All Tomorrow's Parties Day 2". Mess+Noise. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  7. ^ "The Drones Take Out The Inaugural AMP (Australian Music Prize)". Faster Louder. 9 March 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  8. ^ O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
  9. ^ a b "Discography Tex, Don and Charlie". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
    • Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 296.
  10. ^ "Winners & Shortlists". australian music prize. Retrieved 22 August 2020.

External links edit