Rockbrat Remembers: The Shivers

For those readers in Australia, who remembers the ABC TV series ‘Sea Change’ from the late 90s? Remember the soundtrack, which featured the very sweet and appealing female vocal? The voice belonged to one Wendy Morrison, who for a brief moment there in 1989/90 was fronting an amazingly underrated and criminally ignored power pop outfit from Melbourne called The Shivers. The Shivers had all the ingredients for success. A well credentialed band (with a pedigree that included stints in bands like The Saints and the Stems), catchy, melodic and original pop songs, and in Morrison an attractive front woman with a very likable voice. Mushrooms Records immediately recognised the bands potential and signed them up, albeit to a one album deal. Yet despite releasing some very catchy singles, and then the album, the band never broke through. The industry, media and audience response to The Shivers was lukewarm, which I just didn’t get. Every time I saw them they were exceptional live, and I really thought they would have made it. My pal Gig lizard hipped me to the Shivers early on in their career, and I remember seeing them with him one wet Thursday night at the Annandale Hotel. Gig lizard was pals with the band’s bass player Archie Larizza (ex The Noise, Innocents, Saints) and as Arch always had a knack for writing good melodic songs (and was also a solid bass player), the prospects for the Shivers looked bright. Yet I don’t think Mushroom ever really got behind them. I didn’t ever recall the Shivers having any big supports either, so the singles and album sunk fairly quickly. The singles were great, ‘Washaway” and ‘Baby Says’, and also ‘Downtown Sister’ and one other I forget. I had a promo copy of their debut album, ‘Big Love’, which I’ve regrettably since sold, and if you find a copy you will be impressed by the quality and calibre of the hooky, pop songs. Then they were gone. By the mid 90’s Morrison was collaborating with Richard Pleasance (ex Boom Crash Opera) on the ‘Lullaby and Goodnight’ album and then the ‘Seachange’ soundtrack from  1998 which really gave her some good exposure. I used to hear that song being played on the radio down Wollongong, and the announcer would always say the singer was Wendy Matthews, and I’d always call him and correct him.  I believed that  Wendy Morrison releasing an album  in 1994 called Underwater Eyes and was also in a band called Felt with Pleasance in the late 90s, yet information on Morrison and the Shivers on the internet is fairly scant, so good luck with your searching!

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