As the unmistakable pulse of the ’80s continues to echo through Australian music history, few names carry the same weight as Pseudo Echo. Led by frontman Brian Canham, the band that brought us Listening, A Beat for You and their powerhouse cover of Funky Town is back on the road, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their landmark album Love an Adventure.
For Canham, the milestone feels surreal.
“Yeah. Yeah, it sort of does. Yes,” he reflects when asked if four decades have really passed.
“I was 20 or so when we did that album… I didn’t really think so far ahead. I just did what I did and I kept doing it and I’m still doing it. So, it just passes and you don’t realise until one day you look back and there’s 40 years.”
The anniversary tour has already been a joy for the band.
“Oh, fantastic. The audiences are great. They’re there to party and reminisce and we’re loving doing it.”
Countdown, Molly, and the Moment Everything Changed
Like many great Australian music stories, Pseudo Echo’s rise began on Countdown — thanks to Molly Meldrum.
“Somebody… there was a mutual friend that knew Molly and they worded him up about the band and gave him a demo or something,” Brian recalls.
“And then next thing he came to a show which was kind of unannounced… He came back and introduced himself after the show and within a couple of days we got a call with an invitation to say that they wanted to do this little segment on Countdown.”
At the time, Pseudo Echo had no label and only rough demos.
“We quickly got in the studio and did a more polished demo… the ABC were fantastic. They built a set for us and scripted out a little story… Molly gave us a great rap and introduced us to the country really — into the world really.”
From Anonymous to Mobbed in the Mall
Overnight, the band went from suburban musicians to national icons.
“Pretty much,” Brian laughs.
He shares one vivid memory in a Melbourne shopping centre: a coffee catch-up with an old schoolmate that turned into a scene from A Hard Day’s Night.
“There was like a crazy mob of young teenage girls screaming… next thing I’m running out of the store getting chased like a Beatles cartoon.”
Evolving the Sound, and Picking Up the Guitar Again
Love an Adventure wasn’t just a hit record — it marked a shift in Pseudo Echo’s sound. Tracks like Living in a Dream were rockier and more guitar-driven than earlier synth-pop singles like Listening or A Beat for You.
“Well, the funny thing is that song predates Pseudo Echo,” Brian says.
“We thought it was too rocky for Autumnal Park… but when we paired up with an American producer for the second album, he was pushing a bit more that way.”
By then, Brian had returned to his first musical love… The guitar.
“I was a guitarist in the 70s… emulating Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen,” he says.
“When Pseudo happened, I could see the guitar kind of took a left move, and synths became the big thing. So I embraced that… But when the cue for guitar came back, well, I was in my element.”
Is guitar his preference?
“Absolutely. Yeah absolutely.”
The Birth of Funky Town: From Soundcheck to Global Hit
One of the great stories in Australian music history: how Pseudo Echo’s cover of Funky Town came to life.
Brian was touring Love an Adventure when a friend played him the original Lipps Inc. track over coffee. At soundcheck soon after, he started noodling with it.
“We said, ‘Why don’t they throw it in the encore tonight? That’ll surprise everybody.’ And we did, and it brought the house down… We put it in the set every night.”
Radio legend Lee Simon heard it and insisted it be released. The label hesitated, “disco’s dead,” they said, but Brian pushed ahead.
“So I just said, look, let me take the helm… I’ll be the producer. I’ve got all the ideas in my head… once we recorded it, it was unanimous. Everybody wanted to go with it. It was an instant hit, and it snowballed right around the world.”
The Live Show: Bigger, Sharper, Still Pseudo Echo
For anyone heading to Belmont 16s, Brian says today’s Pseudo Echo is the best it’s ever been, musically and visually.
“It’s much more of a show these days. It used to just be four guys on stage playing songs… Times have changed, and the show is a big part of it now.”
The band is now a six-piece, including guitarist Andrea Krakovska and vocalist Valentina Taylor.
“It’s a bigger look, bigger sound… It’s moved forward greatly just visually as well as sonically… We still do the same songs the same way. They are just injected with a bit more energy.”
For the Gear Heads: Brian’s Tour Rig
“Oh, my rig is sacrilege, really,” he laughs.
Constant touring means practicality wins.
“I use an old Line 6 HD500X pod guitar thing… a sim. I have a few vintage modelled cabinet sounds. I have a big driven sound, then a really big driven sound, and then a clean sound.”
His main guitar?
“My main baby is the Ibanez Pia, the Steve Vai guitar… Very blingy… Sounds fantastic. And then I have a little Barbie pink dinky as a backup.”
Looking Ahead: More Evolution to Come
Will there be another album?
“I’ve shuffled out a couple over the years… I’m currently working on the Machine remixes album… pumped up steroid versions of the originals… sort of harks back to the synth wave thing.”
As always, Pseudo Echo is still evolving.
SEE PSEUDO ECHO LIVE
Pseudo Echo will perform Love an Adventure and more at Belmont 16 Foot Sailing Club on Friday, October 31. Tickets are available now via Belmont 16s.
