Hoodoo Gurus will mark 45 years as a band with a national tour built around their singles catalogue, joined by fellow Australian acts Ratcat and The Stems.
by Paul Cashmere
Hoodoo Gurus will celebrate the 45th anniversary of their formation with a five-date Australian tour in November and December 2026, revisiting the band’s extensive singles catalogue in a career-spanning live show titled Rewind Tour – All Killer, No Filler.
Announced by Frontier Touring, the tour will see the Sydney rock veterans perform across Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The concerts will feature support from Ratcat, who are marking their own 40th anniversary, and Perth garage rock pioneers The Stems.
The tour centres on a concept that Hoodoo Gurus frontman Dave Faulkner says embraces one of the band’s defining characteristics. Over four and a half decades, the group has become known for a catalogue packed with radio favourites and enduring live staples.
“We’ve often been described as a ‘singles band’ so for this Rewind tour we’re gonna embrace that notion by only playing songs that were released as singles,” Faulkner said.
“No b-sides, no album tracks, we’ll just be concentrating on the hits, and quite a few misses as well.”
The significance of the tour extends beyond a simple anniversary celebration. Hoodoo Gurus remain one of the few Australian rock bands from the early 1980s still performing at a major level with key members intact. Since forming in Sydney in 1981, the group has maintained a presence across multiple generations of Australian music fans while continuing to tour and record.
The band’s influence stretches across Australian alternative rock, garage rock and power pop. Their catalogue includes classics such as “Leilani”, “My Girl”, “I Want You Back”, “Bittersweet”, “Like Wow – Wipeout!”, “What’s My Scene?”, “Come Anytime”, “1000 Miles Away” and “Miss Freelove ’69”.
Faulkner indicated that the setlists will not be limited to the obvious chart successes. Instead, the band intends to revisit lesser-known singles that have developed a strong following over time.
“Axegrinder horrified radio programmers back in the day. ‘We can’t play that!’ seemed to be their collective response, but within 12 months Axegrinder had become a fan-favourite, which it remains to this day,” he said.
“Along with all our bona fide hits, we’re hoping to play every one of our 42 singles at least once somewhere during this tour.”
That focus on singles reflects the band’s history. Hoodoo Gurus emerged from Australia’s post-punk scene and quickly evolved into one of the country’s most successful rock exports. Their 1984 debut album Stoneage Romeos became a landmark Australian release and topped the US college radio chart. Follow-up albums Mars Needs Guitars!, Blow Your Cool! and Magnum Cum Louder established the band internationally, earning Billboard 200 chart placements and building a strong following in the United States, Europe and Brazil.
The group’s most commercially successful Australian single remains “What’s My Scene?”, which reached the national Top 3 in 1987. During the late 1980s and early 1990s they also achieved significant success on the American Modern Rock chart with songs including “Come Anytime” and “Miss Freelove ’69”.
After disbanding in 1998, Hoodoo Gurus reunited in 2003 and have remained active ever since. They were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007 and released their tenth studio album, Chariot Of The Gods, in 2022.
The tour also brings together three bands with intertwined histories. The Stems have maintained a long association with Hoodoo Gurus dating back to the mid-1980s. Stems founder Dom Mariani said the relationship stretches back more than four decades.
“The Stems have had a long association with the Hoodoo Gurus that started over 40 years ago, going back to the early support slots in Perth in 1984,” Mariani said.
“I’ve always admired the Gurus, not only for their great music but for their dedication and longevity to stay on top of the Australian music scene.”
Ratcat’s inclusion adds another significant chapter in Australian alternative music history. The Sydney group achieved national success with the chart-topping Tingles EP and Blind Love album, becoming one of the defining Australian acts of the early 1990s.
With three influential Australian bands sharing the bill, the Rewind Tour offers a rare opportunity to revisit several eras of Australian rock history in a single event. For Hoodoo Gurus, it also provides a chance to reflect on a catalogue that has remained a fixture of Australian radio and live music culture for more than four decades.
Hoodoo Gurus Rewind Tour – All Killer, No Filler
28 November 2026, Adelaide, Hindley Street Music Hall
1 December 2026, Perth, Ice Cream Factory
5 December 2026, Sydney, Tumbalong Park
6 December 2026, Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens
11 December 2026, Brisbane, The Fortitude Music Hall
Tickets go on sale Tuesday 23 June 2026 at 1pm local time. Frontier Touring members can access a presale from Monday 22 June 2026 at 12 noon local time.
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