Stevie Plunder

Stevie Plunder

Stevie Plunder (born Anthony Hayes) (1963 – January 26, 1996), was an Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as founding member and guitarist for Australian pop band The Whitlams

Biography

Early years

Born in Canberra, Australia in 1963, Stevie played in bands from his late teens, most notably forming The Plunderers with Nic Dalton, as well as playing with other acts such as The Shouties and Hippy Dribble.

The Whitlams

In 1992, while outside the Hordern Pavilion where Nirvana were playing the first Big Day Out, Stevie and Tim Freedman decided to form a band to go against the current local music scene, which neither were happy with.

Adding Andy Lewis on Double Bass, The Whitlams began developing their songs acoustically on saturday afternoons at The Sandringham Hotel in Newtown. In 1993, The Whitlams released their debut album, Introducing The Whitlams.

With Stuart Eadie on drums, The Whitlams toured extensively up and down the east coast of Australia, before returning to the studio in 1994 to record their follow up album, Undeniably The Whitlams.

Death

On January 26th, 1996, exactly four years since The Whitlams were formed, and as their single I Make Hamburgers was breaking into the Triple J Hottest 100 chart, Stevie Plunder was found dead at the bottom of Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains, apparently a suicide.

Stevie's memorial service, held at St Stephen's Church, Newtown in February 1996, was attended by hundreds of friends and fans. The Whitlams first album after Stevie's death, Eternal Nightcap, was dedicated to his memory.