Gerling: 9/11 Changed the Australian Band’s Album Release
Australian band Gerling was preparing to release When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun when the September 11 attacks forced a rethink of its title, cover and track names. Twenty-five years later, the group is releasing the album on vinyl with re-imagined artwork and five bonus tracks.
Australian band Gerling was in Broome when the September 11 attacks changed plans for its album When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun, guitarist and vocalist Burke Reid recalled. The record, due out days after the attacks, was pulled from shelves and its artwork and song titles were changed.
Now, 25 years later, the album is being released on vinyl with re-imagined artwork and five bonus tracks. For a band whose career was building toward bigger tours, the sudden changes brought a halt to that momentum.
A release pulled from shelves
Gerling had just returned from a Japanese tour that included Fuji Rock, where it played alongside Oasis, Eminem and Neil Young. Australian shows with Regurgitator then brought the Sydney band to Broome.
Reid remembered watching the news from the remote Western Australian town. “Seeing this on TV, we're in the middle of nowhere, we've probably had a few drinks … it was all a bit surreal,” he said. “Obviously, very, very tragic.”
The album’s cover showed two running men with their faces hidden; one wore a checked keffiyeh-style scarf. Its third track was titled High Jackers Manual.
“I mean, the repercussions … everything just got pulled from the shelves, and everything had to be redone,” Reid said. “It was a major hiccup.” The album had already been released early in Japan, where it was withdrawn. For its UK release, the title became Headzcleaner, and the artwork and song titles were amended.
The record returns on vinyl
When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun had been intended as a step up for the band after the success of its 1998 album Children of Telepathic Experiences. Reid said larger tours and the prospect of making music their work had made the period exciting.
“It was our first big foray into bigger things,” he said. “It felt like a professional album.” He added that the band could quit its jobs as tours grew.
Reid had not listened to the album for about 25 years before revisiting it for the new release. “I was a bit nervous to put it back on,” he said. “It's a bit like opening up a photo album and just like looking back and like, 'Whoa'.”
He described hearing the band’s youthful approach in the songs: “Enthusiasm and no limits.”
