1927 formed in Melbourne in 1987 as a pop, rock band. In 1984 guitarist and keyboardist Garry Frost had left Sydney-based pop rockers, Moving Pictures, after their second album, Matinée. Frost had co-written Moving Pictures’ 1981 number-one hit “What About Me?” – which was a number-one hit for Shannon Noll in 2004. In late 1986 Frost was writing songs at his home studio for an unformed band project. He was watching Nine Network’s variety series Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s talent segment “Red Faces” when Eric Weideman appeared and performed a cover of The Police’s hit single, “Roxanne”. Garry drove from Sydney to Melbourne, about 880 km (550 mi), to recruit Weideman on lead vocals, guitar, and keyboards.
Prior to joining 1927 Weideman had played in various cover bands including, Mixed Feelings, before starting a brief solo career. He later recalled, “I had only just started performing on my own. I was playing at a pub in Melbourne … Then a friend of mine dared me to go on ‘Red Faces'”.The pair were joined by Garry’s brother Bill Frost on bass guitar and James Barton on drums. The band’s name, 1927, was drawn from a hat of suggestions and was from a favourite saying by Garry, “I haven’t done that since 1927″.
