The poppy Australian new wave rock band Mental as Anything formed in Sydney in
1976. The classic line up of guitarist Reg Mombassa, guitarist and lead singer
Martin Plaza, bass player Peter O’Doherty (Mombassa’s brother), drummer Wayne
Delisle, and keyboard player Andrew “Greedy” Smith eventually coalescing in
1977. All of them were art-school students, and they immediately embraced a
pointedly quirky, which still undeniably catchy, approach to music. Their
idiosyncratic style brought them a cult audience during their early live
performances, and their debut single, 1979’s “The N...