Greedy from the Get wet series 1979
Reg from the Get wet series 1979
Martin from the Get wet series 1979
David from the Get wet series 1979
Peter from the Get wet series 1979

by Paul Worstead (b. 1950)
screenprint
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Paul Worstead (b.1950) met these five band members while they were all at art school, and it was he who gave them the name Mental as Anything. Worstead designed the cover for the band’s first album, Get Wet (1979), as well as three series of posters promoting Mental as Anything releases, including Get Wet, Creatures of Leisure (1983) and Garage (1998). He has designed album covers for a number of other well-known Australian recording artists, such as the Sports and Stephen Cummings. Worstead is a designer for the surf and streetwear label, Mambo.

Mental as Anything - Martin Plaza (guitar, vocals), Reg Mombassa (guitar, vocals), Peter O’Doherty (bass, vocals), Greedy Smith (keyboards, harmonica and vocals) and David ‘Bird’ Twohill (formerly Wayne ‘C-Bird DeLisle) (drums) - were a group of cash- strapped art students who formed the band in 1976, reputedly to get free beer at their local pub. Counting more than a dozen songs about drinking in their discography, the ‘world’s greatest garage band’ now have more Top 40 singles to their credit than any other Australian group, and have sold over two million records world-wide. Plaza, Twohill and Smith still play together; they released both Beetroot Stains and Borscht in 2001. All the original band members are also successful visual artists, and they have staged three critically acclaimed group exhibitions. The Mentals 3rd Octennial show is currently on tour throughout Australia.

Mental as Anything offical website: http://www.mentals.com.au/ment005.htm

Mambo’s offical website: http://www.mambo.com.au