Soundtrack Lloyd Carrick Little Ashley
"What's It like", Written by James Reyne Performed by "The Park Rats", Courtesy of Tumbleweed Music
"Ah, Fuckit", Written by James Reyne Performed by "The Park Rats", Courtesy of Tumbleweed Music
"Pretty Boy", Written and Performed by Randy Newman, Courtesy of Warner's Music
"No Word From China", Written by Graeme Dunne & Judith McGee Performed by "Pel Mel", Courtesy of Gap Records
"Release The Bats", Written by Harvey and Cave Performed by "The Birthday Party", Courtesy of Missing Link
"Deadly toys", Written by Henk Johannes Performed by "St. Vitus Dance"
"Going Down", Composed by Ian Nimmo, Arranged by Tim Piper Sung by Julie Cook, Musical Assassination by Spencer Lee
"Waiting World", Written by Rob Younger and Bruce Calloway Performed by "The New Christs", Courtesy of Green Records
"Waiting", Written by Robert Susz, Performed by "The Dynamic Hepnotics"
"Conspiracy", Written and Performed by "Mad Gorilla"
"New World Wanderer", Written by Tony Cornwall Performed by Little Ashley and The Incurables
"Come Into My Kitchen", Written by Robert Johnson Performed by Little Ashley and The Incurables
"Into the Cross", Composed by Dennis Wilson
"Janes Reverie", Composed and Performed by James Black
"Sunrise", Composed and Performed by James Black "Dancetrack", Performed by "The Dynamic Hepnotics"
"Sunset", Composed by Andrew Thomas Wilson Performed by Andrew Thomas Wilson and Mike Rawlings
Emulated sound by Andrew Thomas Wilson
Music Tracks Co-ordinated by Kim Cheshire
Composer Andrew Thomas Wilson, who provided the "emulated sound" for the film, and a song, was also known for his work on the score for the nuclear energy thriller The Chain Reaction. See Ozmovies here for more details, including the pdf of music credits.
Lyrics for the opening song, which runs over head titles and action, transcribed from James Reyne's inimitable stylings, which on occasions resemble a cat being strangled, and therefore open to error:
One wish I could ask of you Beaten, not be lost (? - obscured) Sunday Monday Tuesday Is all that we have lost I wish that I could sail away Leave it all behind 'Nall this time that I've been looking So scared what I might find Why do I do I got to die Answer me It can't be like that, I am always crying Crying can't you see .. I wish that I could leave this place Pack it all away Find somewhere and find somebody Some place where I might stay Why do I do I got to die Answer me It can't be like that, I am always crying Crying gets you sleep Crying that's for me Crying that's for me …
The camera ends up on a woman, Jane ( Vera Plevnik), crying, with the dialogue explaining she's been doing crying every night for the week ... Ozmovies hastens to add that it has deep regard for Reyne's inimitable stylings.
Apparently Vera Plevnik, the actor killed in a car crash in 1982, was a former girlfriend of Reyne's. He asked director Haydn Keenan if he could see a rough cut of the film, and he spent a day with the band Australian Crawl in the studio recording two tracks for the film as a tribute to Plevnik. However because the band was under contract they appeared in the credits as The Park Rats.
In his official Facebook page, Reyne mentions the track and its circumstances, as well as a later Keenan film, Pandemonium:
(at time of writing, this was available here)
Lyrics for the song which runs over the end action and tail credits, which is listed in the credits this way:
"Going Down", Composed by Ian Nimmo, Arranged by Tim Piper Sung by Julie Cook, Musical Assassination by Spencer Lee:
'Cause I'm going down Going down I'm going down Tonight, tonight Are you gunna come softly Are you gunna come tonight Are you gunna be coaxing You're going to need to bite 'Cause I'm going down Going down Yes I'm going down Going down And just as I'm beginning to pick myself up I turn around sideways and fall on my back The navigator's saying 'You've hit a rough spot' All the king's men fall back in retreat I just know I should be flying But I'm shot down in flight The sky's made for flying But I'm shot down in flight Don't want to be staying But I'm on my knees So wrap yourself around me There's no time to lose No time for praying We've all gone too far There's no tears for crying They'll dry in the night The world is begging and I'm on my knees I just know I should be flying But I'm shot down in flight The sky is made for flying Hey, I'm shot down in flight The whole world is begging And I'm down on my knees 'Cause I'm going down Yes I'm going down I'm going doooowwwn Yes I'm going ...
Again Facebook provides a clue to singer Julie Cook, with this Smart Street Films listing here: There are a dozen other stories in the music credits for the film - notably the presence of Cave and the Birthday Party, and Dynamic Hepnotics contributing a song, and Newcastle-sourced band Pel Mel (which has its own Facebook page here) and James Black of Mondo Rock, Sydney band the New Christs and even Randy Newman turning up.
The soundtrack is as a result notable as a period-aware compilation of found music, still rare even in the Australian revival cinema of the 1980s, but helping ensure that the film has retained its cult cachet.
Yet there was apparently only one spin off release: 45 EMI Custom Records Dogʼs Head Records 13483. 1983. Side A: Going Down (4'07") Vocals: Julie Cook, written by Ian Nimmo, arranged by Tim Piper Side B: The Blues (3'30") Vocals: Julie Cook, written and arranged by Tim Piper
According to one database, here, there was an LP released containing the song, but this is the only mention of these discs on the internet:
LP EMI YPRX-2121 Going Down Vocals: Julie Cook
And a promotional 45 was also released:
45 EMI MX 63307 1983 Promotional release only Whatʼs It Like Vocals: James Reyne
Three of the songs make it to the screen:
"Waiting", Written by Robert Susz, Performed by "The Dynamic Hepnotics"
"Deadly toys", Written by Henk Johannes Performed by "St. Vitus Dance" Henk Johannes, who plays Ian in the film, is the singer
"No Word From China", Written by Graeme Dunne & Judith McGee Performed by "Pel Mel", Courtesy of Gap Records