Machine Gun Fellatio were an alternative Australian band, composing, recording and playing music of a large range of styles. They were formed in 1997 by three of their line up. They are well known for their on-stage antics and humorous lyrics as well as the musical merits of their songs. Their outrage-provoking name (apparently coined after being spotted in some graffiti) gives some idea of the attitude that pervades the band's work. They are also sometimes compared to the American jack-of-all-trades band, Ween.
Their first release, Unsound Sounds was a collection of songs by themselves and two other bands - The Libertines and Limebunny. The three groups weren't completely separate, as there was some overlap between members.
Machine Gun Fellatio's first well known track was Isaac or Fuzz, a song made of parts of a voice message left at a recording studio (mostly humming the tune to "Reach Up" by the Paul Oakenfold-related project Perfecto Allstarz), put to a fast dance beat.
They remained quiet until 1999 when they released Mutha Fukka On A Motorcycle, and Unsent Letter, which, like "Isaac or Fuzz", were very popular with Triple J listeners. By this stage the band comprised seven members.
In 2002 they performed live at the Big Day Out festivals, and have since played at many others, including Homebake, Livid, the Woodford Folk Festival and Gone South.
Their album Paging Mr. Strike was released in 2002 and was a big turning point for the band. By this time they were very popular on Triple J and also started to receive some airplay on other stations, with "Rollercoaster" being one of their more commercial friendly tracks. In 2003 the album was re-released with a 2nd CD of remixes and rare tracks.
The group has caused some controversy for their wild performances, which often involve both male and female nudity, light bondage gear and implied sexual intercourse with their instruments. After a Student Union organised performance at the University of Melbourne, fellow Victorian universities RMIT University and Swinburne University of Technology cancelled their scheduled performances because of the band's lewd behaviour at Melbourne University. This hasn't stopped other Australian universities in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania allowing the band to perform on their campuses, and didn't stop Melbourne University hiring the band again the following year.
The band's last album On Ice (2004) was met with a relatively muted response.
