Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything Bio
Mental As Anything are an Australian new wave/pop rockband that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999) was Martin Plaza (birth name Martin Murphy) on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa (birth name Chris O’Doherty) on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter ‘Yoga Dog’ O’Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne de Lisle (birth name David Twohill) on drums; and Andrew ‘Greedy’ Smith on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. Their original hit songs were generated by Mombassa, O’Doherty, Plaza and Smith, either individually or collectively; they also hit the Australian charts with covers of songs by Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.
Their top ten Australian singles are ‘If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?’ and ‘Too Many Times’ (both from 1981), ‘Live It Up’ (1985) and ‘Rock and Roll Music’ (1988). Internationally, ‘Too Many Times’ made the Canadian top 40 in 1982, and ‘Live It Up’ peaked at No. 3 in the UK, No. 4 in Norway, and No. 6 in Germany, after it featured in the 1986 Australian film ‘Crocodile’ Dundee.