IT WAS a time when mullets were cool and if you went to the pub on a Saturday night, you knew you were going to hear a proper rock band.
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From the early to the mid-1980s, The Shifters made their mark on Tasmania's music scene, culminating in the release of two records Hold'n Out and Sunday Night Blues.
Regarded by many as Tasmania's first professional pub rock band, they drew crowds that matched, if not outdid, visiting interstate outfits.
For Steve Driver (lead vocals), Jim Reece (lead guitarist), Geoff Robson (bass) and Freddy Spiteri (drummer), it was one of the most intense but satisfying periods of their life.
So 30 years on after they split for good, their hair might not be as long but the music is fine-tuned.
After numerous requests, they will reunite on-stage for just two performances - November 21 and 22 at Devonport's Red Hot Music.
While Spiteri, Reece and Robson still live in Tasmania, Driver initially returned to his home country of New Zealand after the band broke up in 1985. But the guys stayed in touch.
"We're kind of like four brothers - we were together so much back then, we know each other pretty well," Spiteri said.
"The reunion started with Jim and Andrew [Argent from Red Hot Music] talking and it just took off from there.
"We weren't too sure how any announcement about it would go, but the first concert sold out in 14 days, so that was a bit of a shock."
Spiteri, Reece and Robson knew each other from playing around Tasmania in the late 1970s but made the decision to come together to try and make a dent in the local music scene.
An advertisement in an interstate music magazine led Driver's brother to contact them to say Steve, who was in New Zealand, would be a good fit.
They performed their first gig together as The Shifters on New Year's Eve 1980 at the Sulphur Creek Memorial Hall.
It was so well received, that just a month later they performed at the Basin Concert to a crowd of 10,000.
"Tasmania was really cooking nationally, as far as the music goes, thanks to a couple of agents who sourced great venues," Spiteri said.
"Up until then, most bands were either a North-West band, a Launceston band or a Hobart band.
"They opened us up to being a Tasmanian band."
The band performed around the state from Wednesday to Sunday night, returning home on Monday morning.
They worked hard to be regarded as a professional band, putting in the hours of rehearsal and performing, to not only be good in Tasmania but compete against interstate visitors.
In 1983, they moved to Sydney, working six to seven shows a week, as well as opening for other acts like Eric Burdon and returning to Tasmania when they could to play.
Yet Spiteri recalls it almost killed them and by the time they eventually got record company interest in 1985, he said they were so run down that they went on for a while before realising it was time to end it.
The members went on to form other bands but the memories of their time in The Shifters will always be remembered fondly.
A new album Live from Sulphur Creek to Somewhere will be released at the November gigs.
