THE WHITLAMS - "BLOW UP THE POKIES" (reaction)

Check out Sight After Dark reacting to "Blow up the Pokies" by The Whitlams!
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[@drakebullet4509]

Pokies = poker machines, his bandmate was addicted to gambling and committed suicide just a month or so before this song was recorded

[@SightAfterDark]

Ahhh

[@mikedemike5393]

@@SightAfterDark Not entirely true..These kids come at the grunge period and 100's of crappy guiter bands infested the city of Sydney with one purpose of creating ugly music with a punkish artsy mindset..They played in bands like machine gun fellatio and plunderers but one of the plunderers took a bass part in the lemonheads..leaving his younger brother to form this band which was a spoof 3 piece guitar /piano/and upright bass band that explored political/private in jokes and subvariant musical styles..One day the guitarist was found at the bottom of a cliff...many say he had stabilized his crazy ways of living a million miles and hour lifestyle we all had of''raging''...which is non stop party...the song is about gambling and stevie plunder(psuedonym)had gambling problems but I don't think it is about him entirely.. The song is more about a vibrant pub scene in Australia that was ruined by random breath testing...The pubs or bars were full(elbow room)and all of a sudden that culture evaporated and was replaced by sullen individuals playing gambling machines and now the pubs are funded by that alone and the culture died..We had the greatest band scene anywhere in the world late 79-82 where bands could be seen in the suburbs 3 deep on wednesday night/thursday/friday/sat...bands were doing 300 gigs a year easy..you could see INXS/MIDNIGHT OIL/COLD CHISEL..AND i MEAN 40 MILES FROM THE CITY CENTER....yeah early 80's was when we had the great band scene..The early90's was more an inner city university scene of jesus with a guitar garage bands...The Whitlams were contrary to the grunge noise and that is why they experienced success..plus they worked hard constantly gigging.

[@TheJamieAnderson]

It was about a year after the song was released. On payday he stopped at the pub, put his paypacket through the pokies, and was found dead at the factory where he worked the next day.

[@florencepierce1864]

Oh, my God, I never knew and I grew up with this beautiful but sorrowful song. Knowing this, it's even more heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. Thanks for that information. It puts everything into greater perspective & makes the words, Tim Freedman's & the sad but soaring music even more impactful.

[@miketran4289]

@@mikedemike5393 My god.. stay off the ICE mate.

[@martintayler23]

The song is about a musician looking down from the stage in a seedy casino at a man hooked into a one-armed bandit (aka fruit machine). Spending all of his wages and not having enough to come home to his family and children. A very sad ballad about gambling but Tim Freedman sings it well and it makes its point. Thank you for playing it.

[@hazzamatta368]

(Correction) The song was for the Whitlam original bassist, Andrew Lewis, who had a gambling problem, but still, I can see this interpretation.

[@FlAw88]

Yeh, sorry Martin, lot more personal than that explanation. Hazza Matta is spot-on; although I would also add, on a very tragic note, that the bassist mentioned, Lewis, took his own life a few months after the album containing the track was released...

[@rosiesummer2711]

Their song "No Aphrodisiac" by the same group is really beautiful. You should check it out too.

[@tempsitch5632]

Top choice. One of my favorite.

[@toda304]

a Great Australian band from the 1990's ..named from an Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam....song relates the curse of gambling machines (pokies) ruining lives.

[@fairlyincomplete]

We Aussies have our own vernacular (of course) and it's funny when we see how others are bewildered by our homegrown lingo. Your guess at what "blowing up the pokies" means made me laugh. Much respect. I love you guys! Keep up the great work you're doing. 🙂

[@SightAfterDark]

We love you too!

[@PeteNThat]

Poker machines/Slot machines "So the trains run on time" - meaning the taxes made.

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks!

[@djfuzz01]

Incorrect. The reason he says that line is most people hide their gambling/pokies addiction, so when they go and play them on the way home quickly, they tell their wives the trains were delayed to hide that they snuck to the pokies!

[@damonhines8187]

Good sounding track. Blow 'em up indeed. ;>D

[@mixmmick]

Pokies are Slot Machines (or poker machines as they are called in Australia). The song is about gambling addiction, from memory the inspiration was a band member who was addicted to pokies.

[@PjRjHj]

Timeless song for any addiction. Specifically though, pretty sure New South Wales has the most "pokie" slot machines per capita in the world. The state government earns millions in annual tax from the gambling so that the "trains can run on time". which in the case of NSW, they don't, but in "pokie" free Western Australia, the Trains run on time.

[@theaussiebackflipboy]

Originally the song was about the loss of available venues for live music in Australian pubs (hotels) due to the prevalence of poker machines (slot/fruit machines) but the song took on a more personal perspective when it was revealed that one of the original members of The Whitlams committed suicide due to his addiction to gambling through poker machines/slot machines/ fruit machines.

[@miketran4289]

It's about gambling addiction, the part where he talks about food off the tables to keep trains on time is due to him feeding the pokie machines which the Gov gets a share back in taxes which subsidizes the public trains.

[@dickwilliam3793]

No Aphrodisiac is another great song by the Whitlams, much better imo

[@JohnEdwardBerry]

Hi guys, thanks for playing that song, the Whitlams are named after one of Australia's prime ministers from the 70s, Gogh Whitlam, he is famous for being sacked by the Governer General, it was a big issue constitutionally, the pokies are slot machines that are in casinos, not jail ha ! Also here in NSW WE ARE FREE TODAY !!!

[@SightAfterDark]

FREEDOM!!! Congrats!

[@JohnEdwardBerry]

@@SightAfterDark thanks, its so bloody good mate !

[@peecee1384]

* Gough Whitlam

[@JohnEdwardBerry]

@@peecee1384 wanker

[@aribob2012]

👍🇦🇺Should do ...no aphrodisiac..by the whitlams It about a lonely guy going through a break up trying to find love pre internet through the weird personals felishes etc in the paper ...it's an awesome song guys,👍🇦🇺

[@SightAfterDark]

Thank you!

[@johnhiggins6185]

I've never seen a reaction video where they got it so wrong

[@SightAfterDark]

There’s a first time for everything!

[@grantgraham5201]

Its an excellent song about addiction

[@hughenden6]

there was three people in the group, one killed himself after losing a weeks pay in the pokies, this song is about him, the other band member jumped off a cliff, I think this has a sub name of Charlie No2, there are 3 charlie songs

[@mzwilliams6340]

This song is a big deal for us that have seen and watched a person addicted to gambling on pokies machines. (slot machines) It's a very real and big problem and Woolworth own the majority of them and keep getting richer while, young and old people just get hypnotised. 😔

[@florencepierce1864]

I was born in the USA but grew up in Oz, so I understand the differences in lingo! In Oz "Pokies" are Poker Machines, not Jail. In US, Poker Machines are Slots or Fruit Machines. When you still pulled a lever on the side of the Pokie/Slot Machine, they were also wittily referred to as "One Armed Bandits" in reference to how much money they got out of users, gamblers & gambling addicts! Gough Whitlam (pronounced "Goff") was the Prime Minister of Australia, but I don't know why The Whitlams are named after him!

[@annettepayne822]

Gambling addiction in Australia

[@michelleverner7481]

Hi I'm an Aussie and the band is named after a formal priminister and the song is about gambling and picker machine orb slot machine they are called in America or nicked name the pockies the line I wish I could show you the right to put food on the table and make the train run in time in gambling culture they say train is late but they are gambling wanting to win one game. Love this song so true and honest for live ones who are dealing family breaking addiction

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks for the details Michelle!

[@blackjuju5154]

It’s about a guy who is addicted to slot machines (pokies). You should react to The Whitlams song “Beauty in Me”. It’s about a young 20-something inspiring actress how feels insecure. Beautiful song - otherworldly.

[@rogerredford4010]

You could have Googled 'Pokies'.. probably would have enjoyed the song more listening to it for the first time if you had understood what it was about...

[@SightAfterDark]

Lol it’s called a reaction video for a reason. We don’t look up anything about the songs before to keep the reaction authentic

[@kimscreations0247]

@@SightAfterDarklol, maybe do a follow up video with research and a re-listen to get a reaction to the meaning of it.

[@mikedemike5393]

aUSTRALIAN band named after socialist prime minister Gough Whitlam...who really was a Queens counsel(barrister)whose job was to convert Australia into a corporation...I had a girlfriend who lived directly across the road from the Whitlam's..ie;PRIME MINISTER and wife before they became ..In NSW MOST OF THE STATE MONEY CAME FROM GAMBLING so as he says ''so the trains runs on time.''

[@beachamj]

Your interpretation of pokie might as well be jail!

[@SightAfterDark]

☺️that’s what we thought it was!

[@jennieeveritt7776]

No, in Australia the pikies are poker machines. Gambling

[@queezlemacnamara9801]

Or: blow up the slot machines, I guess. The gambling taxes "keeping the trains running" so the government has let it get completely out of hand. To drag a gambling addict away from their "poison": nigh on impossible. "Drake Bullet", in below comment explains the very personal toll these slots took on the band. Too sad & something most Aussies can relate to on a private level. 🇭🇲

[@carolineburns1816]

Tim Freedman the lead singer, wrote this song about one of the band members who sadly committed suicide because of his gambling problem. The band named themselves the whitlams after Gogh Whitlam, Who was the Australian Governor General in the 1970's.

[@peecee1384]

* Gough Whitlam

[@ImMattFromAus]

Lol, you got none of that.

[@kympridham8267]

Wow how could you miss the point entirely the pokies are poker machines it is all about gambling addiction

[@SightAfterDark]

🤦 ☺️we didn’t know what pokies meant

[@kelly6491]

Pokey lol. No