Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything are an Australian new wave and pop rock band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up was Martin Plaza on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter “Yoga Dog” O’Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne de Lisle on drums; and Andrew “Greedy” Smith on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. Their original hit songs were generated by Mombassa, O’Doherty, Plaza and Smith, either individually or collectively; they also hit the Australian charts with covers of songs by Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. Their top ten Australian singles are “If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?” and “Too Many Times” , “Live It Up” and “Rock and Roll Music” . Internationally, “Too Many Times” made the Canadian top 40 in 1982, and “Live It Up” peaked at No. 3 in the UK, No. 4 in Norway, and No. 6 in Germany, after it featured in the 1986 Australian film Crocodile Dundee.All of the early members are visual artists and have had combined studio displays, some have had solo studio displays with Mombassa’s artwork also used as designs by the Mambo clothing company. The majority of the group’s record covers, posters and video clips have been designed and created by the band members or their art school contemporaries. On 27 August 2009, Mental As Anything was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame alongside Kev Carmody, The Dingoes, Little Pattie and John Paul Young. Most of the original group members left during the 2000s, and Andrew “Greedy” Smith—the only original band member still touring with Mental As Anything—died on 2 December 2019, aged 63, after a heart attack. Mental As Anything has not been active since that time, nor have they announced any future plans.
