The band renamed themselves the Saints in 1974, inspired by Leslie Charteris ‘s character The Saint . They played covers of Del Shannon , Connie Francis and Ike and Tina Turner – “exploding them almost beyond recognition with energy”. Jeffrey Wegener joined on drums and Hay switched to bass guitar. Wegener had left by 1975, Hay moved to drums and Kym Bradshaw joined on bass guitar. Contemporaneous with Ramones , the group were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and “buzz saw” guitar that characterised early punk rock. Kuepper explained that they played faster and faster as they were nervous in front of audiences. The police would often break up their gigs, and arrests were frequent. Unable to obtain bookings, Bailey and Hay converted the Petrie Terrace house they shared into the 76 Club so they had a venue to play in. According to Australian rock historian, Ian McFarlane , they had developed their “own distinctive sound as defined by Kuepper’s frenetic, whirlwind guitar style and Bailey’s arrogant snarl”.
Band renamed themselves
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