The Meanies Silver Jubilee

Melbourne-bred Aussie music icons The Meanies are celebrating their 25th anniversary together as a band - a true milestone for any group, especially so for one steeped in the tumultuous world of punk rock - by embarking on a national tour in honour of their silver jubilee.

The celebratory run will take in six shows this October, kicking off at the Rosemount Hotel, in perth, on Friday, October 3, and taking The Meanies' inimitable brand of mayhem to stages in Adelaide, Sydney, Hobart and Brisbane before they return home for a triumphant closing performance at Melbourne's The Hi-Fi on Friday, October 24.

It's been a long and winding path since the day four friends - going by the monikers Link, Ringo, DD and VB Meanie - came together in 1989 before half a year later trading VB for replacement bassist Wally and settling on a line-up that would stay together for a relatively impressive, in punk terms, six years.

There have been changes since - there was a brief hiatus between 1995 and 1998, while both DD and subsequent guitarist Tasman Blizzard passed away in 2008 - with the current line-up consisting of Link, Ringo, Wally and new guitarist Jaws, but the group still possesses all of the hallmarks that made them one of the most influential acts on the contemporary national punk scene.

Even with this celebration on the horizon, there is little chance The Meanies will be hanging up their well-worn stompin' boots any time soon, with energy levels being maintained by their infrequent though still happening international tours and a handful of new releases both behind and in front of them yet - for example, their forthcoming reissue, via Tym Records, of seminal 7" Never b/w Steve Sex God and Sorry 'Bout The Violence. That's set to drop "in a couple of months", with news of further reissues of treasure from The Meanies' archives expected in due course.