Biography
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Years Active
1990 – present (34 years)
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Founded In
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1990 was the year Dreamkillers busted their way onto the Aussie underground scene via the culmination of two local Brisbane punk outfits; “Mystery of Sixes” and “Insane Hombres”. The name Dreamkillers came after a conversation regarding the 1957 Williams Burrows classic, The Red Planet, where he refers to the “dream killers”.
Disillusioned with the inferior commercial offerings of the time, Dreamkillers soon channelled this angst into a raunchy punk-inspired, hardrock / heavy-metal tour-de-force that became their trademark sound. Initially the band struggled to find a reliable drummer until coming across heavy-metal enthusiast Paul McCullam. Vocalist Les Jobson and Bassist Terry McDougal took on Sid Roberts and Sean Witcher as rhythm guitar and lead guitar, respectively. Paul McCullam would later be replaced by legendary, double-kick merchant, Lindsay Beasley. With the help of agent, visual artist and manager Paul Curtis, Dreamkillers smashed everyone with their debut EP “Poison in the Soup”.
A favourite staple of non-commercial radio, Dreamkillers found their music feature in the charts and also saw their single “Sarah” on a compilation album from popular radio station Triple J. In describing the trials and tribulations from the success during this time Les Jobson has recently recalled the wild ride Dreamkillers’ took through “riots, adulation, heroin addiction, homelessness, court trials, violence, rolling the tour van, getting mobbed in Adelaide, mid performance arrests, stalkers, and all ages sell outs”. Whilst Dreamkillers may have not gained the widespread acclaim for their rare blend of music, their prowess in blowing crowds away was marked by opening for some of the biggest international groups at the time including, Sepultura, L.7, Body Count, The Damned, and Rollins Band.
4 albums, 3 EPs and two singles would follow the Dreamkillers to their last album aptly named “Character Building Helltrip”. It would be this album that would see the demise of Dreamkillers in their original form. Much like the narrative of one of their songs, “Fight On”, despite years of publishing dramas in 2006 Les Jobson reignited the flame in the form of “Jobson’s Dreamkillers”.
With the help of younger Brisbane punk compatriots “the Psychotic Lemmings”, Jobson found himself once again at the front of a notably new and tight Dreamkillers outfit bashing out tunes during ‘2006 Marketday’ with arguably more passion than ever thanks to the pent-up aggression brewing during the downtime. A swarm of internet interest has since propelled the band into many gigs and Aussie tours. As this resurgence has proved, much can be learned from the lyrical reminder in their classic namesake song; “lose sight of your dreams and you have nothing”. Luckily for fans, Les and the boys continue to dream.
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