PRIVATE FUNCTION: ON TOP OF THEIR GAME

With a Private Function gig scheduled for March 1, Adelaide is on notice to expect the unexpected. Lead singer Chris Penney talks to The Note about urine-filled records, getting banned in SA — and creating a stage show that’ll literally ‘slap’.

Words by Tyler Jenke | Photos by Wild Rose Pictures and Nash Blight

Melbourne punk outfit Private Function are the wildcards of the Australian music scene. They’re anarchic, surreal and counter commercial, and it’s impossible to predict their next move. They’ve released albums filled with urine, had a record banned in South Australia and they consistently sell out live shows. But despite an ethos almost built around self-sabotage, it’s clear Private Function are – as their longtime catchphrase asserts – still on top. 

When frontman Chris Penney picks up the phone for a chat, he’s fresh from painting a shelf in his laundry – a far cry from the rock star lifestyle his band’s last 12 months might suggest.

Last year saw the release of their controversial third album, ‘370HSSV 0773H’, a debut tour of Europe, shows with Aussie rock legends Grinspoon and their first ARIA Award nomination. Penney, however, is far more humble than such a year of highlights might suggest, remaining surprised at how the band has snowballed.

“Things have definitely spiralled out of control – it wasn’t meant to have been this big,” Penney admits.

Adopting a confident, Dadaist approach to their craft in the same vein as noted Melbourne band TISM, Private Function have always operated under the premise of making things as difficult as possible for themselves. Even their moniker, ‘Private Function’, should theoretically serve to turn potential audiences away, yet the group’s fanbase has grown, overcoming their self-imposed challenges to undertake what Penney calls the “slow-burn”.

This slow burn began back when Private Function formed in Melbourne in 2016. Releasing their first EP before they’d even played a show, the group soon became a staple of the local music scene thanks to their intense live shows, their off-kilter brand of humour and releases such as 2019’s St. Anger, which was named for Metallica’s much derided album of the same name.

Their attitude toward mocking rock stardom and industry tropes continued with 2020’s ‘Whose Line Is it Anyway?’, and in 2023, they returned with their third record.

Dubbed ‘370HSSV 0773H’ and released through their own Still On Top Records label, the new album’s release was on par with the group’s reputation. The special liquiddisc vinyl version of the album was filled with the band members’ urine, while the record’s cover featured three scratch-and-win panels, awarding the fan that uncovered three matching images a $2999 cash prize. 

It was the scratchie-inspired cover which caused the biggest furore, with the record being banned in South Australia by Liquor and Gambling Commissioner, Dino Soulio. The prohibition generated huge publicity for the band, and even resulted in South Australian Privateers (the band’s SA fanbase) circumventing the ban by shipping the record in from interstate sources. 

“It became the central point of the entire campaign,” Penney remembers. “It was sick! I didn’t even have to do much, ’cause I fucking hate album campaigns. I think it’s such a tiresome, arrogant, boring experience to do for months on end.”

Though Soulio would grant an exemption for the band to sell the record to South Australians, for Penney, it raised greater questions about art, conceptuality and the notion of banning albums in the modern age.

“I write a lot of songs, but at the end of the day I think, ‘Well, every song has already been written, someone’s already written the same theme that I’m going for here, they’ve done it better and I’m just recycling this idea.’ But the conceptuality of music and what you can do within those confines is endless.

“I always try to keep to more surrealist ideas, because you can do that forever,” he adds. “The fact you can still get an album banned is surreal too. People immediately thought there were vulgar lyrics or the cover art was vulgar. But even that wouldn’t do it anymore, so there had to be this higher concept that would get it banned.”

This focus on the surreal and the art surrounding the band has clearly paid off, however. In November, the band were at the 2023 ARIA Awards, having been nominated for the Best Cover Art award. Sadly, they went home empty-handed.

“We laughed so goddamn much when we found out we were nominated,” says Penney. “But everyone in the Australian industry knows who we are and if they don’t, well, then they shouldn’t be part of the industry.”

It’s not just Australia where Private Function have made a reputation for themselves, though. Across June and July, the band toured Europe, performing almost non-stop across their 40-day trip around the continent.

“You can’t do that sort of tour in Australia,” Penney notes. “So it was a case of, ‘How can we do this? What’s it going to be like? And even if we’re able to do it, we’re probably going to break up…’

“But it was incredible, and after a couple of shows it seemed to us that word had gotten around Europe.” In fact, word had spread so far that their 2020 song ‘Albury Wodonga’ had gained traction throughout Spain due to radio airplay, prompting the band to add it back into their setlist.

“It turned out the reason that we did a two-week tour in Spain alone was because of the song’s popularity, and no one told us,” Penney recalls. “It didn’t translate, no one knew where Albury–Wodonga was, but we played it, it went off, the entire place was singing along, and it was insane.”

It’s moments like these – Private Function’s intense live shows – that garner the most attention. Fast, ferocious and never lacking in onstage antics, the band will bring that experience to Adelaide on March 1, returning to SA to perform at one of Penney’s favourite venues, Jive.

“It’s such a unique, awesome venue, especially with that wraparound balcony and its theatre aesthetic,” he says. “I can’t really think of another venue in Australia that compares.

“Another thing about Adelaide is that every band we play with is just always so excellent,” he adds. “I love Adelaide and I absolutely can’t wait to go back there.”

Despite their Melbourne home, neighbouring Adelaide has witnessed some classic Private Function antics in recent years. While Penney previously gave himself an alcohol enema onstage at a Jive show in 2022, other memorable shows have included an onstage proposal, and fans wearing masks of Dino Soulio following their album’s ban.

In December, they brought their annual Christmas show to the Theatre at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, with the set featuring a special appearance of Frosty The Snowman. In true Private Function fashion, Frosty instead took the form of a bucket of water with a carrot in it due to the summer heat.

However, it’s these onstage antics which keep fans coming back for more. While Private Function’s biggest dream is to have an opening act consisting of a brick in a tumble dryer, the band are always thinking about how to improve the live spectacle with bigger concepts, wild ideas and immersive experiences.

“Yesterday’s idea was of a slap fight breaking out on stage, where we just start slapping each other and then maybe a slap competition between the audience,” Penney explains. “I guess that’s quite easy to do, so maybe we’ll bust that out in Adelaide and see what happens.”

Despite the slow burn that accompanied their growth, Private Function now appear unstoppable. With a new album already done (complete with “high concept” artwork), and an ideas bank that never seems to run dry, Penney remains proud of the band’s popularity despite their own best efforts to sabotage themselves.

“Everything that’s happened for us is because we have tried to make it difficult and as stupid as possible,” he adds. “I wouldn’t ask for anything else.”

See Private Function play Jive on March 1. Tickets on sale now.