Philip’s Bio

From his first foray as Punk’s only-known clarinetist in Canberra band The Slammers, through a 40-year career co-fronting the Gadflys, to his off-beat incarnation as The Great Muldavio in Kabaret Noir outfit Mikelangelo & the Black Sea Gentlemen, Philip Moriarty has been, let us say, a little out of step with the mainstream.

Phil’s dad played clarinet in a band called Clean Living Clive’s Good Time Palace Orchestra. He had a record of Benny Goodman performing “Sing, Sing, Sing” at Carnegie Hall, with Gene Krupa’s drums pounding away like a runaway freight train. Moriarty cites this as a foundational part of his musical education. Also, tambourines, 1960s Motown, T-Rex and Bob Dylan.

A three-year stint on TV show Good News Week boosted the Gadflys’ stocks, with the band playing an original song every week as well as collaborating with the likes of Neil Finn, Glen Tilbrook, Steve Harley, Colin Hay, Rich Hall and Paul Mac. Six albums with the Gadflys, five with the Black Sea Gentlemen, a solo album and innumerable tours in Australia and overseas followed, until he finally made his way to a very pretty part of south-eastern NSW called Candelo.

Forming Wrack & Ruin in 2016, Moriarty’s songwriting has progressed in terms of ambition, observational clarity and scope, delivering satisfyingly on the Gadflys’ rootsy eclecticism. These days you might find him at Tathra pub, singing about how to make pumpkin risotto, or leading the band through some modern takes on old-time dance steps like cha-cha, rhumba and tango, or say covering a Bob Dylan song in the style of Eddy Cochran.