TISM

TISM are a seven-piece <a href="/facts/Anonymity/HUJJCdv1">anonymous</a> <a href="/facts/Alternative_rock/7xRALNsG">alternative rock</a> band, formed in <a href="/facts/Melbourne/EHY9YxI0">Melbourne</a>, <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a> on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer <a href="/facts/Damian_Cowell/UGJafq2B">Humphrey B. Flaubert</a>, bassist/vocalist <a href="/facts/Jack_Holt_(musician)/dHDNs89L">Jock Cheese</a> and keyboardist/vocalist Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun, with vocalist <a href="/facts/Peter_Minack/xuakWRGm">Ron Hitler-Barassi</a> joining the group the following year. These four members have formed the core of the band since their inception, with the line-up being rounded out by guitarists Leak Van Vlalen (1982–1991), Tokin' Blackman (1991–2004; died 2008) and Vladimir Lenin-McCartney (2022–present), as well as backing vocalists/dancers Les Miserables and Jon St. Peenis.
Noted for their dark humour, sarcastic delivery and melodic songwriting, the seven members of TISM appear in public as a <a href="/facts/Pseudonym/A5EjmWxQ">pseudonymous</a>, semi-paramilitary collective masked in a variety of <a href="/facts/Balaclava_(clothing)/8muvVl5C">balaclavas</a> (usually as part of a more elaborate costume), and are known for their "chaotic" appearances in Australian media, often frustrating interviewers with absurd <a href="/facts/Non_sequitur_(literary_device)/U38mY0Bw">non sequiturs</a> and tongue-in-cheek <a href="/facts/Nihilism/qETgtSKu">nihilism</a>. Their catalogue is replete with references to popular culture, particularly literature, music and <a href="/facts/Australian_Football_League/Pg8x0JDW">Australian rules football</a>; their (usually derogatory) references to celebrities have sometimes incurred controversy and even censorship.
They developed a large <a href="/facts/Underground_music/mAIDxHnU">underground</a> following throughout the 1980s and 1990s, issuing a number of singles, albums, videos, a short-lived line of comics, and a book (The TISM Guide to Little Aesthetics). Backed by the successful singles "<a href="/facts/(He%2527ll_Never_Be_An)_Ol%2527_Man_River/SY6mBcBU">(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River</a>" and "<a href="/facts/Greg!_The_Stop_Sign!!/nsgKCkga">Greg! The Stop Sign!!</a>", their third album, <a href="/facts/Machiavelli_and_the_Four_Seasons/1U9l7dV1">Machiavelli and the Four Seasons</a>, reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995, won <a href="/facts/ARIA_Award_for_Best_Independent_Release/b49xCwBd">Best Independent Release</a> at <a href="/facts/ARIA_Music_Awards_of_1995/eyLP5azB">that year's</a> <a href="/facts/ARIA_Music_Awards/pe5EaLcd">ARIA Music Awards</a>, and was certified Gold in January 1996. TISM split following their first live performance in December 1983; every live show since has been considered a "reunion" concert. The band split again in late 2004 following the release of their sixth album, <a href="/facts/The_White_Albun/TYdVyx9C">The White Albun</a>. Their last single, "<a href="/facts/Everyone_Else_Has_Had_More_Sex_Than_Me/Vsn0UGYl">Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me</a>", enjoyed <a href="/facts/Viral_video/1Nn7oKTu">viral popularity</a> due in large part to its animated music video.
Following an almost 18-year hiatus, TISM reformed in June 2022, returning to the stage for a series of three "secret" shows in Melbourne throughout November, prior to their appearances on the line-up of <a href="/facts/Good_Things_(Australian_music_festival)/RJSAozQs">Good Things</a> festival in December. They released their seventh album, <a href="/facts/Death_to_Art/unF3gmmr">Death to Art</a>, in October 2024, following a 20-year gap since the release of The White Albun.

TISM open-in-new

TISM