"I've always been a huge fan of AC/DC, but I've also got eclectic tastes," says the Choirboys'

Mark Gable. "We're always looking for something new, a breath of fresh air, ways of casting a different light on what we do. Big Bad & Acoustic has been revitalising. It's like having a bloody Red Bull."

 

The pub fridge metaphor is apt: the Choirboys have almost lived in its glow since '79. But they're also one of precious few bands of the pub rock era to chart an uninterrupted course into the 21st Century. Theirs is a story of commitment, adaptation and unflagging energy in one of the most challenging environments of modern times: the live, electric, rock'n'roll stage.

 

About two typically long and raucous tours ago, Mark took a new friend on the road. It was an acoustic guitar: "We did a couple of acoustic songs in the show, just for fun, but then I found myself for the first time in years, sitting in a motel room playing songs and just loving the sound of it."

 

Last Night of My Life was a Choirboys B-he Mark rediscovered between the wood and wires of his acoustic guitar. Now it's track one of Big Bad & Acoustic, an album neither he nor bassist Ian Hulme ever thought they'd make.

 

"The approach was an acoustic guitar or two, light drums, bass, and very little voice," says Mark. Drummer Paul Wheeler completes a strikingly minimal set-up, with the occasional return of estranged lead guitarist Brad Carr adding an historic touch.

 

Run to Paradise, Boys Will Be Boys and Never Gonna Die are still the rock classics that helped define an Australian genre, only after a bracing shower has rinsed a lifetime of sweat from their pores.

 

More thoughtful, narrative tunes like James Dale and Don't Say Goodbye remind us that this band cut its teeth on the same storytelling tradition as Chisel, Australian Crawl and Paul Kelly.

 

The wild cards are a series of covers that commemorate key moments in the Choirboys' 27-year reign. Hey St. Peter is a tribute to former Easybeats and studio colleagues George Young and Harry Vanda; Bad Boy For Love rekindles memories of dozens of stages shared with Rose Tattoo.

 

As for the more cryptic logic behind their cover of The Cars' My Best Friend's Girl, just put it down to unfinished business, clearing the decks for yet another new lease of life.

 

"This album has come at an amazing time for us,"

says Mark. "We've never stopped doing what we do and we've always done it with total energy and enthusiasm, but this album is a whole new adventure. "