Forgotten Australian James Baker Experience Punk Gem Returns After 40 Years

Cheersquad Records (AUS) and Folc Records (Spain) will mark the 40th anniversary of one of Australian punk’s most infamous singles, I Can’t Control Myself / Born To Be Punched by James Baker and the James Baker Experience. The limited-edition reissue arrives on October 7, 2025, in five vinyl variants.

The original single was released in 1985, not long after Baker’s departure from Hoodoo Gurus. The topside is a thundering cover of The Troggs’ I Can’t Control Myself — a track Baker regularly fronted during Hoodoo Gurus encores, leaving the drums to Brad Shepherd. The flipside is Baker’s notorious New York Dolls–inspired anthem Born To Be Punched, a chaotic slice of proto-punk attitude.

The lineup featured a young Tex Perkins on bass, Baker’s Scientists and Dubrovniks bandmate Rod Radalj, and Stu Spasm on guitar. Beyond its musical punch, the single holds a special place in Australian music history: it was the very first release on Red Eye Records, featuring sleeve artwork by label founder John Foy.

Unavailable for decades outside a 1990 Red Eye compilation, the reissue is set to be in demand worldwide. Cheersquad’s 40th anniversary edition arrives in strictly limited runs of 100 copies each: opaque purple, opaque white, opaque burnt orange, dark recycled (near-black) and classic black.
Pre-orders are available now via Bandcamp. Streaming pre-saves are open at bfan.link.

James Baker’s passing on 6 May 2025 marked the end of one of Australian rock’s most significant lives. Known as the godfather of Perth punk and a genuine tastemaker, Baker co-founded some of the nation’s most influential acts: The Victims, The Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon, The
Dubrovniks and more.

Born in March 1954, Baker was steeped in rock’n’roll from the start. In his late teens, he played in Perth underground bands Black Sun and the Slink City Boys, before travelling to the US and UK in 1976. There he brushed shoulders with members of the Ramones, Dictators, New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Damned and The Clash, returning home inspired to form The Geeks and later The Victims with Dave Faulkner.

Across his career, Baker balanced drumming duties with raw frontman energy. Beyond his bands, he recorded as James Baker Experience, James Baker & The Eternal Teenagers, and later The Painkillers.

Even while battling terminal cancer, Baker remained musically active. In May 2024 he released Born To Rock, his first solo record since I Can’t Control Myself. He followed with a collaborative single alongside Dom Mariani in January 2025, and took part in a final Victims run and Beasts album, appearing on stage with Hoodoo Gurus in Perth as recently as December 2024.

James Baker wasn’t just a musician — he was a cultural figure who embodied rock’n’roll’s rebellious heart. This anniversary release is both a tribute and a time capsule, preserving the spirit of one of Australia’s true originals.

James Baker Discography Highlights
James Baker Experience – I Can’t Control Myself / Born To Be Punched (1985)
James Baker Experience – Born To Rock (2024)
With The Victims – Television Addict (1977)
With The Scientists – The Scientists EP (1980)
With Hoodoo Gurus – Stoneage Romeos (1984)
With Beasts of Bourbon – The Axeman’s Jazz (1984)
With The Dubrovniks – Dubrovnik Blues (1989)
With The Painkillers – multiple releases 2000s

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Tagged as: Beasts of Bourbon, Born To Be Punched, Cheersquad Records, Hoodoo Gurus, I Can’t Control Myself, James Baker, James Baker Experience, Perth punk, Red Eye Records