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Spy vs Spy are an Australian band from Sydney formed in 1981. They became known for tackling
political issues through their music, including racism, homelessness and contemporary drug
culture. They were named after a comic strip, "Spy vs. Spy" in the US Mad magazine.
The band's initial line-up was the trio of Craig Bloxom on bass guitar/lead vocals, Cliff
Grigg on drums/percussion and Mike Weiley on lead guitar/vocals. Spy vs Spy's early
music was ska-influenced indie rock, exemplified by their debut single "Do What You Say" on
the independent Green label in April 1982. They released an EP Four Fresh Lemons in August.
Their music became more straight forward hard rock for their pub audiences. The band broke
up in early 1983 only to reform mid-year, by which time they were using the name v.
Spy v. Spy to avoid legal problems with Mad magazine. They were eventually signed to Midnight
Oil's label Powderworks and managed by Oils manager, Gary Morris. Their first full-length
album Harry's Reasons was released in March 1986 and produced by Leszek Karski. They switched
labels to WEA and had their highest charting success in February 1987 with their single
"Don't Tear It Down" on the Australian singles chart and the associated album A.O. Mod. TV.
Spy vs Spy's follow-up album, Xenophobia (Why?) was released in March 1988 peaked at #15 in
Australia. It was produced by Karski and Guy Gray and released by WEA in 14 countries.
releases reached the Australian Top 40. The band split and reformed a number of times
but still developed a strong following in Brazil.