Former Machine Gun Fellatio frontman Pinky Beecroft has released ‘My Heart Is In The Wrong Place’, the second preview of his first new album in nearly two decades, with ‘Lonesome Wolf’ due in August 2026.
by Paul Cashmere
Pinky Beecroft has continued his return to music with the release of ‘My Heart Is In The Wrong Place’, the second single lifted from the forthcoming album ‘Lonesome Wolf’, his first full body of new music in 17 years.
The song follows the recent release of ‘Band Of Gold’ and signals a new chapter for the former Machine Gun Fellatio frontman, whose career across music, television and film has kept him in the Australian cultural conversation long after the breakup of one of the country’s most unpredictable live bands.
‘My Heart Is In The Wrong Place’ began in a Hunter Valley pub where Beecroft first heard the song performed live by acclaimed Australian songwriter Ben Salter. The track, originally written by Salter for Vika & Linda, stayed with him long after the show ended.
Beecroft said the melody and emotional weight of the song lodged in his mind immediately.
“Half-way through he played this song and it blew my mind,” Beecroft said. “I walked home afterwards and I was humming the melody, it just lodged in my brain.”
The recording emerged unexpectedly during sessions in regional Victoria with producer and multi-instrumentalist Damian Cafarella. Beecroft had initially only intended to contribute vocals to one of Cafarella’s projects, but the collaboration quickly evolved into something larger.
“We accidentally made an entire album together,” he said.
At first, Beecroft resisted recording the song after learning it had already been cut by Vika & Linda. He believed he already had enough original material for the album. However, the track continued to surface during downtime in the studio until Cafarella suggested recording a version simply to capture the moment.
The result became one of the emotional centrepieces of ‘Lonesome Wolf’.
Beecroft said the song’s themes of endurance and friendship resonated strongly in the current social climate.
“The whole story of friends struggling, trying to stay afloat in a time that can be pretty dark, I think we can all relate to that right now,” he said. “Ben turned it into a song of hope.”
Hope has rarely been central to Beecroft’s lyrical identity. Across Machine Gun Fellatio’s catalogue, his writing often sat in darker, theatrical territory, mixing satire, emotional volatility and absurdist humour. Songs such as ‘The Girl Of My Dreams Is Giving Me Nightmares’ and ‘Roller Coaster’ helped define the band’s reputation in the late 1990s and early 2000s as one of Australia’s most unconventional alternative acts.
Machine Gun Fellatio formed in Sydney and became notorious for chaotic live performances that blended rock, cabaret, spoken word and performance art. While the band polarised audiences, they also carved out a unique place in Australian music culture at a time when alternative rock was shifting from pub circuits to festival stages and mainstream radio.
Beecroft left the band in 2005, effectively ending the group’s original run. He later fronted Pinky Beecroft And The White Russians, releasing the album ‘Somethin’ Somewhere Better’ in 2008 before largely stepping away from recording music.
During the years away from albums, Matt Ford, Beecroft’s real name, established a substantial parallel career as a screenwriter and producer. His television credits include ‘Farscape’, ‘Sea Patrol’, ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Underbelly: Vanishing Act’ and ‘Warnie’. He also contributed to ‘Sweat’, the Australian drama series that featured an early performance from Heath Ledger.
His songwriting credentials extend beyond his own bands. Beecroft co-wrote ‘No Aphrodisiac’ with Machine Gun Fellatio bandmate Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab and The Whitlams’ Tim Freedman. The song became one of the defining Australian singles of the late 1990s and won ARIA Song Of The Year in 1998.
That history gives additional context to ‘Lonesome Wolf’. The album arrives at a time when a growing number of Australian artists from the alternative boom of the 1990s and early 2000s are revisiting recording careers, reconnecting with audiences through touring, streaming platforms and direct-to-fan releases.
Beecroft recently performed ‘My Heart Is In The Wrong Place’ in Hobart, Salter’s home territory, describing the experience as intimidating but meaningful.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking playing this song on Ben Salter’s home turf,” he said. “I love it and respect it as a beautiful piece of songwriting. I hope I do it justice.”
‘My Heart Is In The Wrong Place’ and ‘Band Of Gold’ are available now through Bandcamp and streaming services. The album ‘Lonesome Wolf’ is scheduled for release in August 2026.
Pinky Beecroft will also perform a series of Australian dates with a full band this year featuring material from the new record alongside songs from across his catalogue.
Date:
THURSDAY MARCH 21, Brisbane, Black Bear Lodge
Supports: Mood Board, Jack Carty
FRIDAY MAY 29, Sydney, The Factory Theatre
Supports: Pinky (solo), Dave McCormack
More shows to be announced.
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