Dave Graney and Clare Moore

As part of our commitment to capturing and sharing great Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault asked some of the country’s most influential trailblazers and unsung heroes to open up about their lives in music.

Clare Moore and Dave Graney were born in South Australia and met in Adelaide in the late 1970’s. They moved to Melbourne in 1980 where they joined the St Kilda punk scene and formed The Moodists with Steve Miller and Steve Carmen. In 1983, the group moved to London where they mixed company with Nick Cave and The Go-Betweens and toured Europe. Dave Graney and Clare Moore have performed together in numerous different guises including Dave Graney and The White Buffaloes, Dave Graney and Coral Snakes, Dave Graney and Clare Moore featuring the Lurid Yellow Mist and, at present, Dave Graney and the mistLY.

In this interview with Jane Gazzo, Dave and Clare discuss their intertwined careers growing up in South Australia though the 1970’s, where Clare learnt to play the drums with Sister Janet Mead (best known for her rock and roll version of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’); their touring and recording career in Europe during the 1980s, and Dave’s infamous ARIA Award for ‘Best Male Artist’ which he accepted in a pink velvet suit.

Interviewer: Jane Gazzo

Location: Melbourne Room, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2017