The Tim “Napalm” Stegall Substack Interview: James Baker, Part Four
We’re still serializing the Australian punk legend’s comprehensive 2024 interview past his recent death. Now it’s his final testament.
As everyone who tuned in to Part Three of our David Johansen memorial knows, Australian punk/garage percussion/songwriting legend James Baker passed away May 5, 2025 at age 71, after a long battle with cancer. He knew he had entered his final days when he sat with us over the phone from his home in Perth and gave us every word of his life story, laughing and joyous the whole way.
As I’ve explained in slightly different form before, James Baker didn’t just play drums. He built the backbeat of Australian punk. With every stomp, every snap, every off-kilter roll, James wasn’t just behind the beat, but the song. He was the rare sticksman who also wrote songs, and damned good ones at that. A Jerry Nolan disciple with a pen in one hand and a drumstick in the other, he helped shape the pulse of Aussie punk. When James and The Hoodoo Gurus dropped “Let’s All Turn On,” it didn’t feel like a song. It felt like someone kicking the lights on in a dark room you didn’t know you were trapped in.
And he entrusted The ‘Stack to be his PA, as he laid out his tale for all of us to hear.
Part One ran November 11th, 2024. Part Two followed January 15th, and Part Three on February 7th. Then the book pulled me away for two months, just long enough for time to slip through our fingers.
The night of May 6th, as I planned The ‘Stack’s return to action, I got the email: James was gone. Cancer had finally taken him.
Am I ashamed that we didn’t complete this series before he was gone, after he had so vividly poured out his extraordinary life for all of us? Yes. His publicist, Australian publicist-to-the-punk-rock-stars and longtime Friend of The ‘Stack Dave Laing, told me he enjoyed our talk, and was getting a kick out of each installment of the series. None of us had the idea at the time this would likely be his most comprehensive interview ever.
And now, it’s James Baker’s final testament. There’s enough material that it will conclude with seven parts.
James gave us a gift with this Q-and-A. He granted us the responsibility of delivering his voice and his story to the world, as he spoke it to me nearly a year ago. It is an honor. He is still speaking to us now, even as he is but a memory, etched into some of the greatest Aussie raunch ever writ.
Now it’s on us to keep the echo alive.
So, we resume carrying this legacy he gave The ‘Stack, with James recounting his life and times with two bands he’s most strongly identified with, The Scientists and Hoodoo Gurus.
The Scientists, 1979: (l-r) Ben Juniper, Ian Sharples, Kim Salmon, and James Baker. (📸 Pic courtesy Grown Up Wrong! Records)
TIM: Well, once The Victims came to an end, you and Kim Salmon started up The Scientists.
JAMES: Yes, the same day The Victims broke up. I told Kim, “We're finished and I'll see you later.” I wasn't expecting him to do anything. And he said they had a drummer [who] couldn't play properly, really. He was a cool guy, but…I mean, in punk, you can do what you want. But he couldn't play. So Kim asked me to join, and I said, ‘Yeah, okay.” And that's how The Scientists formed.
TIM: I know that the early posters said, “Rock ‘n' roll in the tradition of the [Flamin’] Groovies and The Heartbreakers.” That just about boils it up, doesn't it?
JAMES: [chuckles] Yeah, that properly sums us up, yeah. We were all big fans of Johnny Thunders, and Cyril Jordan as well. So, those were our influences. Like more the “Teenage Head” Groovies than the “Shake Some Action” Groovies.
TIM: Yeah, I mean it was good, hip-shakin’ rock ‘n' roll, with those great pop songs and that raunchy guitar action.
JAMES: [excited] Yeah, yeah, yeah! That's how we sounded! The actual sound of the band really got captured on that pink album. That's got an awful mix that I can't even listen to. I never play it. Larry Hardy's done some reissues of stuff, and also Dave Laing has put out a double album of old Scientists stuff. It's live, but it's also got demo tapes and two-track recordings.
TIM: That was a band that was good in whatever incarnation, whether it's the more straightahead rock ‘n' roll stuff that they were doing when you were in the band, and then later on, doing the more swampy, Suicide-type stuff.
JAMES: Yes, that's what influenced Kim, apart from the same people like the Groovies and Johnny, and then we still like them as well. But yeah, about the same time as The Birthday Party. I don't know if they liked The Birthday Party or not. I think they did. But it was around that time when music was going into The Cramps and The Gun Club – you know, that style of music.
TIM: Was it around 1980 when you moved to Sydney and started the Hoodoo Gurus with Dave Faulkner?
JAMES: Yeah. I was thinking about moving to Sydney anyway – it (would have been) easier if I could get in the band there without having to audition and all this other stuff. I already knew the guys—Rod (Radalj) and Boris (Sujdovic). Well, Boris wasn’t in it yet, but Rod was. And the three of us were from Perth and I knew the other guy, Kimble (Rendall), quite well from doing a couple of tours there. And yeah, that was a simple phone call, and I said, “Yeah, yeah, I'll come over.” And we just started rehearsing and it became popular without playing that much. So that was interesting.
TIM: Well, the emphasis was on the songwriting, very obviously, and perhaps having maybe a broader set of influences to draw from than just typical punk rock stuff?
JAMES: Yes, yes. Well, you've got the Stones and The Pretty Things and all those bands. The Kinks, you name it. The Troggs—you can pin that on me, especially the drummer, Ronnie Bond.
TIM: Right. I was going to ask you who were the drummers that really impacted you.
JAMES: Oh yeah, well definitely Ronnie Bond of The Troggs. He had this real primitive style of drums that gave The Troggs their sound. And I like Jerry Nolan, and I like a guy called Mickey Waller, who drummed on early Rod Stewart [records].
TIM: Yes, that's him on “Maggie Mae.”
JAMES: “Maggie Mae!” Yeah, yeah, yeah! Plus the earlier stuff. Gasoline Alley – I think he played some of those [tracks]. An Old Raincoat (Won't Ever) Let You Down. Yeah, he's a great guy. You know, I'm not necessarily into Keith Moon or John Bonham or even Phil Collins. Not my style of drumming.
TIM: Yeah, you're definitely more of a pocket drummer than those guys. I know there's supposed to be a 40th anniversary edition of Stone Age Romeos coming out, right?
JAMES: Yeah, yeah, yeah! I think they're charging 80 bucks here in Australia, so that's about 130 bucks American, I think. Maybe more.
TIM: God, “I Want You Back” is like the New York Dolls playing a Byrds song or something like that. Then, you've got “I Was A Kamikaze Pilot.” That's totally a perfect New York Dolls homage. I loved every track on that record. That was just brilliant.
JAMES: All I did was the first album.
TIM: Well, no wonder they sounded different.
JAMES: Because [second drummer] Mark Kingsmill wouldn't play [those songs] anymore.
End Part Four
We need to start here: thank you.
After a tough couple of weeks—where we lost three paid subscribers and five free ones—you showed up. Two new paid subscribers joined our ranks. Two more free readers signed on. And that tells me you heard what I said last time. That you care. That this isn’t just a newsletter to you. That this is our thing.
Truth be told, the last ‘Stack post to do super-well was that Blasters piece, at 1,059 unique views. That’s a serious number. And it’s not just traffic. I see it when some of you read these posts multiple times. I see it in the comments, the emails, the private messages. I feel your care. Your trust. Your love of this work. And I’m grateful.
But that was posted on June 3rd. At that time, The ‘Stack consistently broke 1000 views. Those numbers have dropped off considerably. Since then, we’re lucky if we reach about 850 views. And I know some of that is due to the audience not being as strong for my non-music/non-punk writing, especially the TV coverage. The piece about Elsbeth and her daughters has done 661 views since it launched May 30. The Animal Kingdom review from July 2nd has fared a little better at 772 views.
That stings a little. I still want to write about TV and film sometimes, especially when I feel like they connect to the bigger cultural picture. But I hear what the numbers are saying. Loud and clear. Still, thank you for sticking around while I keep finding the balance. But I won’t stop writing about TV and film.
Truth is, this isn’t just a stack of articles. It’s a community. It’s you. And it only works because of you.
That said, we’re still not where we need to be. This kind of work—the deep dives, the long interviews, the late nights spent chasing the heartbeat of a story—takes time, labor, and real resources. If you value what’s happening here and want to keep it growing, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
We haven’t gained a new paying reader since June 3rd. If you believe this work matters, now’s the moment. And if you’re already fully dues-paid? Maybe tell a friend. Share the post. Keep the signal moving.
This Substack doesn’t run on grants or sponsorships. It runs on you.
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Now I understand why Stone Age Romeos was the only HGs record I truly loved! Keep it comin’, Tim