Ups and Downs is an Australian pop band. Their single "The Living Kind" was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best New Talent at the ARIA Music Awards of 1987.
History 1983-1990 Ups and Downs was formed in Brisbane in 1983 by brothers Greg and Darren Atkinson with John Flade. Peter Shaw soon joined the lineup. After the release of two singles through Basketcase in 1984, they relocated to Sydney, where they built a cult following.
In 1986 they released the single "The Living Kind" through True Tone which saw them nominated for an ARIA Award at the ARIA Music Awards of 1987.
In 1987 Trevor O'Neil joined the band. They signed with Mushroom Records and released their debut album Underneath the Watchful Eye in 1988. Flade left the band in 1989 and they released one more EP before breaking up in 1990.
2007-present In 2007 they played at Pig City, a celebration of Brisbane music, and for the 4ZZZ Flashback, a 40th anniversary of the Brisbane radio station.
They reformed in 2011 for a series of shows and they released a compilation album of old tracks, Out of the Darkness: Sleepless, Singles & Other Stories.
In 2017 they released their album "The Sky's In Love With You" on Basketcase Records, with bass player Alex Ronayne.
In September 2019, they recorded a cover version of The Hummingbirds' "Two Weeks With a Good Man in Niagara Falls" for the Shake Yer Popboomerang Volume 3 compilation. Before re-recording and releasing "The Real World", which was featured on the 1983 cassette Darling It's Wonderful.
Band members Members Darren Atkinson - drums, vocals Greg Atkinson - bass, vocals John Flade - guitar Trevor O'Neil - keyboards Peter Shaw - guitar Alex Ronayne - bass
Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions AUS Sleepless Released: August 1986 Label: Truetone Records (830269-1 / 830269-4) Format: LP, Cassette 84 Underneath the Watchful Eye Released: November 1988 Label: Mushroom Records (D38951/ C38951) Format: CD, Cassette 75 The Sky's in Love With You Released: 4 November 2017 Label: Basketcase Format: Music download, streaming -
Compilation albums Title Details Anthology Released: 2001 Label: Big Heavy Stuff Web Release Format: CD Note: Limited to 100 copies Out of the Darkness (Sleepless, Singles & Other Stories) Released: July 2011 Label: Feel Presents (FEEL 010) Format: CD, DD
Extended plays Title Details Darling It's Wonderful Released: 1983 Label: Ups And Downs Format: Cassette Rash Released: 1990 Label: Volition (VOLT 31) Format: CD, 12" LP
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album AUS "Darling It's Wonderful" 1983 — Darling It's Wonderful "Living Inside My Head" 1984 — "Perfect Crime" 1985 — "In the Shadows" 1986 — "The Living Kind" 75 Sleepless "Lit by the Fuse" 1988 94 Underneath the Watchful Eye "Moments Away" — "Untie Ian" 1991 — "True Love Waste" 2017 — The Sky's in Love with You "Disco in My Head" 2018 — "Some Sleep" — "The Real World" 2019 —
Awards and nominations ARIA Music Awards The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
| 1987 | themselves | Best New Talent
Countdown Australian Music Awards Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.
| 1986 | themselves | Most Promising New Talent
References