The Beards (Australian band)


The Beards were an Australian comedy folk rock band which formed in 2005 in Adelaide and disbanded in October 2016. The group played music themed around the virtues of having a beard. They had developed from a four-piece rock band, the Dairy Brothers, which were established in 2003.

The Dairy Brothers (2003–07)

The Dairy Brothers were a four-piece rock band based in Adelaide, which formed in 2003, and performed at local pubs and clubs. The band members were Tom Bettany on bass keytar and vocals, Michael Bidstrup on drums, Joshua Fielder on guitar and Joel McMillan on vocals and keyboard. The Dairy Brothers released a six-track extended play, Full Cream Ahead, and followed with a second EP, Got Rock?.
Andrew Crosbie of MediaSearch caught a performance in Melbourne in December 2006, "their sound, although not completely original, is a breath of fresh air into what can be a slightly stale Australian rock scene. They combine the humorous lyrical stylings of Tenacious D with the driving piano of earlier Ben Folds and a guitar sound that shifts through pinnacle elements of rock from the past thirty years, giving a performance that will keep you in a well humoured and merry state of being."

Formation and early years (2005–09)

Bettany, Bidstrup, Fielder and McMillan formed the Beards in 2005 in Adelaide to play a one-off show. They rose in popularity and developed a cult following with the release of their first album, The Beards, in July 2007. The band played at the Adelaide venue of Big Day Out in 2008 and 2009. They were active in the Adelaide music scene but were largely unknown beyond their hometown.
In 2009 they released a follow-up album, Beards Beards Beards, and a music video for "If Your Dad Doesn't Have a Beard, You've Got Two Mums", which received positive acclamations and garnered increased interest online, as well as airtime on Australian Broadcasting Corporation music video program, rage. The Beards travelled to Alaska to perform at the opening ceremony of the World Beard & Moustache Championships. Upon returning to Adelaide, the band began to tour Australia for the first time.

Tours and further releases (2009–16)

The Beards went on to tour Australia extensively, releasing their third album Having a Beard is the New Not Having a Beard and producing video clips for the tracks "Got Me a Beard", "Beard Accessory Store", and "You Should Consider Having Sex With a Bearded Man", with the latter single coming 99th place in Triple J's Top 100 list of 2011.
In 2012, "You Should Consider Having Sex with a Bearded Man" was nominated for an APRA Award and the band's third album was nominated for an ARIA Award.
In 2013 the band travelled to North America, playing multiple performances at SXSW and Canadian Music Week as well as performing showcase sets in LA, Houston, New York and Toronto. They returned to Australia, performing at Bluesfest in Byron Bay. In May 2013, they embarked on the First World Tour, playing shows in Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and the UK, where they appeared at the Bearded Theory Festival, before returning home for the Australian leg of the tour.
In early 2014, The Beards travelled Europe on the Euro-Bout To Grow A Beard Tour with stops in Britain, Denmark, The Netherlands and Germany. In Cologne a 90-minute show was recorded for Rockpalast.
On 9 May 2014, The Beards released their fourth studio album, The Beard Album. This coincided with an Australian launch tour, which continued on to Europe in November and December. They stopped again in UK, Denmark, The Netherlands and Germany with additional stops in France, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. The Beards released the music video of Strokin' My Beard in July 2015. It consists of footage of their last tour shot by fans in the audience.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary as a band, The Beards released a 2-disk compilation/live album Ten Long Years, One Long Beard, featuring never before heard songs and versions, as well as a live concert recording.
A new single, also called "Ten Long Years, One Long Beard" was released with an accompanying music video. The Beards' anniversary tour Ten Long Years, One Long Beard started in September 2015 with stops in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK, before returning home to finish the tour in Australia.
In 2016, the band members announced their decision to discontinue the band as a live touring act. A Farewell Tour commenced in February 2016, with the final date booked for 28 October at The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel in Adelaide. Bettany later recalled, "After cutting our teeth on the local scene following high school and during uni we formed a band called The Dairy Brothers which actually landed us a Front Bar residency at The Gov. At the time were so stoked to be actually playing at The Gov; was a bit of a dream to be playing there. The Dairy Brothers slowly morphed into The Beards and that became our life for over a decade; something we never could have predicted happening!"

Members

Singles

Videography

DVDs