Formed in 1982 by school friends Brian Canham (vocals, guitars, and keyboards) and Pierre Gigliotti (bass, keyboards) the band completed its lineup with Anthony Argiro (drums) and Tony Lugton (guitars and keyboards).
Their first album Autumnal Park was an electronic / new romantic influenced album that yielded the Australian singles "Listening" (produced by Peter Dawkins), "Stranger in Me", "Dancing Till Midnight", and "A Beat for You". Their climb to success in the summer of 1984 was rapid, and they quickly became the second biggest band in Australia after INXS.[citation needed] "His Eyes", a track from their first album, received exposure overseas as it was used in the movie Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.
There was a lineup change before their second album with Tony Lugton being replaced by James Leigh (real surname: Dingli) after a dispute between Lugton and Canham over money, and another lineup change during the making of the second album with Argiro being replaced by James's brother Vince. Lugton went on to join synth rock band Talk That Walk. Canham joined as guest vocalist with The Incredible Penguins in 1985, for a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", a charity project for research on Fairy penguins, which peaked at #10 on the Australian Kent Music Report in December.[1][2]
Their second album, Love an Adventure (1986), was also a success with several singles from that album topping the Australian charts including the title track, "Don't Go", "Try", and "Living in a Dream". The album was re-released the following year to include their remake of the Lipps, Inc. song "Funkytown", which brought the group their biggest international success, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and #8 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1987,[3] as well as spending seven weeks at #1 in Australia from December 1986.
The overseas release of Love an Adventure featured a somewhat different track listing which included re-mixed versions of 3 singles from Autumnal Park: "Listening", "A Beat for You", and "Destination Unknown". These were remixed to sound more rock-oriented, to better-match the other tracks on the album. Brian Canham even re-recorded the vocals for a slicker sound to compliment these rock remixes. Once again, the overseas version of Love an Adventure was re-released to include the re-make of "Funkytown", replacing "Don't Go" in the original track list.
In 1987, the band re-released "Listening" for the movie North Shore starring Nia Peeples. Their third album, Race (1989), went further in the direction of pop rock and metal. The album featured the Australian singles "Fooled Again", "Over Tomorrow", "Eye of the Storm", and "Don't You Forget". The album stopped at #32 on the ARIA chart and it seemed that the band's move to a more rock/metal genre had alienated a good portion of their established fanbase. Pseudo Echo disbanded shortly after touring for Race in 1990.
The band reunited in 1999 to produce the EP Funkytown Y2K: RMX, which included 6 new remixes of "Funkytown". A year later, they released the double-CD Teleporter (2000), which featured 4 all-new tracks, 5 re-mixed tracks, and a live performance in Melbourne. The live performance featured all the tracks from Autumnal Park except for "From the Shore", along with a few tracks from Love an Adventure and a performance of the rare B-side "In Their Time". Since reuniting in 1999, the band has been touring constantly in Australia, and were previously seen touring with the "Idols of the 80s" in 2005. In April 2010 they played two sold out shows in Adelaide, South Australia, and they continue to tour nationwide.
In 2012 Pseudo Echo celebrated their 30th anniversary by putting on a special concert in March at Melbourne's Crown Casino.
It was a gig not only to be seen but one to remembered, with amazing visuals complete with cheer leaders !
After a successful Pledge Music crowd funding campaign, Pseudo Echo released their first album in 15 years. Ultraviolet was written and produced by Brian Canham; the album is more of a throw back to their first release "Autumnal Park" in 1984. Darker overtones of early Pseudo Echo with a contemporary feel is what Brian has been working towards. Constantly touring since 1998 Brian felt the time was right to release new material.
https://youtu.be/uE-itlGNap4