Techo/Alternative Rock
Australia

Formed in Australia in 1983 - iDeA were a techno rock 4 piece who toured extensively around Australia. Band Members were: Rod Boucher, Billy Nielson, Steve Lyne, and Darryl Thompson.

They released their early music the mainstream Powderworks label - the same label that Midnight Oil were on. They opened for Leon Patillo in Australia in the mod-80s.

“iDeA morphed out of “La Bouche”, a four piece band formed in Sydney in 1982 when Rod Boucher moved from Adelaide to audition for a kid’s TV show ‘Simon Townsend’s Wonderworld’. After failing the audition, David Smallbone, who became their manager, suggested forming a band based in Sydney.

Bill Nielson (bass/keys) and Steve Lyne (drums) were contacted and La Bouche began. After a few months of gigging around Sydney, Darryl Thompson came up to Sydney from Melbourne to audition for Avion with the Waller brothers, stayed with the Bouchers and instead of joining Avion joined La Bouche.

We four wrote many songs together rehearsing in the Nielson’s lounge, toured across Australia in churches, schools, youth nights, clubs, pubs, unis, community festivals and supported several overseas acts on tour. While La Bouche was the support act for Canadian Bruce Cockburn, the music paper Juke sent along a Reviewer who absolutely destroyed us in his write up, one by one. It was difficult criticism to take but it rang some bells.

Rod said that we needed to change, so we went totally electronic as synthesized guitars and drums were just emerging and the electronic revolution was upon us. We changed our name to ‘iDeA’, our instruments, our staging and our songs to become prophets rather than funsters. Some existing bookings were very unimpressed when we turned up so different, yet we were still a strong act.

Once again, we threw ourselves into work, composing, rehearsing, playing and touring, often coming home to our growing families very early in the morning. We remember the massive (and brilliant) iDeA banners that we took to gigs and that one of the US artists asked us not to use as support band.

In 1986, one of the American artists that we supported, Tim Miner, who was starting a well-supported new music production company in the States, invited us overseas. Rod was convinced that this was the next step in the iDeA musical adventure so the Bouchers gave away all their belongings, packed their clothes into 6 suitcases and as the Thompsons headed to Melbourne, the Bouchers headed to Adelaide for Christmas to wait for the air tickets… that never came.

Rod was 39, Bill 34, Darryl 29, and Steve 24, so we’d seen some rock’n’roll decades. After several months of desperation and a few shows, with the Thompsons and Bouchers waiting at St Joseph’s House of Prayer in Goulburn and a final tour in 1986 with Larry Norman, we gave up. Steve married, started a family, a sales business and is still writing and recording percussive based pieces. Steve and Bill formed a duo “Swim” for a few years. Bill went on to demonstrate and teach electronic music in schools and TAFE, generate sound-track material for children’s games and release two albums with a third in the works. Darryl and family left Goulburn, went back to Melbourne and continued to pursue a range of artistic endeavors with churches, organizations like Fusion and others, then started teaching in 2000, all the while playing in bands, recording, encouraging, supporting and keeping the flame alive. Rod and family continued on their life adventure of drama, community, productions, touring, and performances over the globe.

From 1982-1986, five rich musical journeys joined, from years of previous playing and promoting through a very concentrated and explosive creative period into a lifetime of musical adventures. We released 3 recording projects: Turn Up the Tapes (a political comment single); Stone Sharpens the Blade (a mini album through Powderworks including our version of “Eve of Destruction” for its 20 year anniversary); a national 40 Hour Famine promotional EP, and film clip “Now is the Time.” We recorded many more of our original compositions but these were the projects that saw the light at the time.

Our personal faith inspired each of us in composing, playing and touring as we went about being a beacon in a dark world, yeast in the dough of life, salt in the cultural soup, in a very modern style. We created from our heart and soul with everyday language. Unfortunately, many detractors were looking for more religious words to give a clue to our purpose. It is a fine line to tread.”

1984 Powderworks (POW 0239)

1. Turn Up the Tapes (2:48)
2. The Other Side (3:10)

1985 Powderworks ‎(POWT 2015)

Rod Boucher - Guitar, lead vocals
Darryl Thompson - Guitar, guitar synth, vocals
Billy Nielson - Keyboards, bass synth, vocals
Steve Lyne - Drums, percussion, vocals

1. Lucky One
2. Voice Crying in the Wilderness
3. Now That We Found Out
4. Daring
5. Light the Light
6. As the World Turns
7. Eve of Destruction
8. Ambushed (cassette bonus track)

“iDeA, a serious techno band which morphed from La Bouche, a fun rock band, was formed and based in Sydney 1982-1986 while touring around Australia. We drastically changed direction after a savage magazine review of our support show for touring Canadian Bruce Cockburn! We went from all-join-in, sing-a-long fun into seriously intentional, cutting edge technology and intent, expressing our faith as a tough word into our surrounding society.

We all wrote songs in rehearsal, pre-rehearsal and on-the-spot (walk-on-water). This album is a small selection of those heartfelt expressions of our glimmer of hope in a darkening world, our call to live life differently, daringly.

This is a real DIY mini-album after recording in expensive studios a topical single, “Turn Up the Tapes” about political phone tapping and “Eve Of Destruction” for its 20-year anniversary, wonderfully but upward spirally financed by a friend. We had no financial backing for an album, so we hired an extra mixer desk, plenty of FX modules, some good fold-back speakers and with our normal onstage gear, we set them all up in Darryl and Lyn’s lounge room rental house in Menai and recorded live in one take onto a Revox stereo 1/4” tape machine. Powderworks, the releasing record company was shocked that there was just the one Master tape that we played them. It was quick, in our control and fresh. We loved it.”

1985 Powderworks (POW 0282)

1. Eve of Destruction (3:56)
2. Come to Me (4:01)

1986 Powderworks (POW 0341)

1. Now That We Found Out
2. As the World Turns

1986 Priority (X 14288)

1. Now is the Time
2. Stand Up and Be Counted (3:04)
3. Glide
4. The Reason

“World Vision Australia’s theme for their 1986 40 Hour Famine project was “Now is the time!” so we wrote a song. David Smallbone, iDeA’s manager, has always been closely associated with overseas aid charities and still supports Compassion on tour around the world with his sons and daughter.

This 12” single/EP was produced by Randall Waller, who led Avion and later was guitarist with Shania Twain around the world for many years. It was recorded in a Sydney radio studio with friend Wyn Wynyrd tweaking the knobs.

We loved the process as it was a much bigger production than we had experienced up until then. It was great to include 3 more songs from our ever expanding repertoire. Unfortunately, it was near the end of iDeA.

We also went into a TV studio and shot a Music Video to promote the 40 Hour Famine and single but it didn’t ruffle any feathers.”

• iDeA Bio and Free Downloads