Editing Primitive Calculators (section)

==History==
===First era===
Primitive Calculators were formed in 1978 in Melbourne as an electronic music group by Stuart Grant on guitar and vocals, David Light on bass guitar and keyboards, Frank Lovece on drum machine and vocals and Denise Rosenberg on keyboards.<ref name="McFarlane">{{cite book | last1 = McFarlane | first1 = Ian | authorlink1 = Ian McFarlane | title = [[Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop]] | chapter = Encyclopedia entry for 'Primitive Calculators' | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040821133407/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=652 | chapter-url = http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=652 | year = 1999 | publisher = [[Allen & Unwin]] | location = [[St Leonards, New South Wales|St Leonards, NSW]] | archive-date = 21 August 2004 | isbn = 1-86508-072-1 | url-status = dead }}</ref> The members had met as teenagers in [[Springvale, Victoria|Springvale]], a working-class outer suburb of Melbourne,<ref name="Pat">{{cite news|title=Calculated moves|url=http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/calculated-moves-20131206-2yvmn.html|access-date=19 December 2013|newspaper=The Age|date=6 December 2013|author=Patrick Emery}}</ref> in the early 1970s.<ref name="Warbie">{{cite web |url=http://thedwarf.com.au/news/tribute-to-frank-lovece-of-primitive-calculators |title=Tribute to Frank Lovece of Primitive Calculators :: ''The Dwarf'' |first=Carrie |last=Warbie |website=The Dwarf |date=6 January 2018 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20190304181404/http://thedwarf.com.au/news/tribute-to-frank-lovece-of-primitive-calculators |archive-date=5 March 2019 |access-date=25 May 2024 }}</ref> The four moved together in 1977 to [[St Kilda, Victoria|St Kilda]], then the centre of the local [[punk rock]] scene, where they formed the Moths.<ref name="Warbie" /> Despite socialising with [[Nick Cave]] from [[The Birthday Party (band)#The Boys Next Door|the Boys Next Door]] they remained outsiders of that scene.

In 1978 the Moths moved to [[Fitzroy, Victoria|Fitzroy]] and renamed themselves as Primitive Calculations for recording.<ref name="Warbie" /> They found like-minded friends, [[Ollie Olsen]] and [[John Murphy (musician)|John Murphy]] of [[Whirlywirld]]. They drew influence from [[proto-punk]] acts like [[The Godz (NYC band)|the Godz]], [[the Velvet Underground]], Texan 1960s psychedelic punk, [[James Brown]], [[the Silver Apples]] and Australian band [[Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs]].

The band were instrumental in organising a series of gigs named "[[little band scene|Little Band]] nights", where hastily formed bands would play for 15&nbsp;minutes each;<ref name="McFarlane" /> this led to recording a compilation [[extended play]] (EP). They became known for their use of a screeching [[Mosrite]] Ventures model guitar, primitive [[synthesizer|synthesisers]] (a Wasp and Roland SH2), an electronic organ played via effects pedals and an extra fast drum machine ([[Roland CR-78]]). Their live show in 1979 at The Hearts hotel, Carlton was recorded; they had been supporting the Boys Next Door.<ref name="McFarlane" /> Late that year they issued an independent single, "Do that Dance".<ref name="McFarlane" />

The Primitive Calculators played their last gig in March 1980, though their self-titled live album came out in 1982.<ref name="Fish">{{cite web |url=http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/2018/05/cyclic-selects-stuart-grant-primitive-calculators/index.html |title=Cyclic Selects: Stuart Grant (Primitive Calculators) |first=Bob |last=Baker Fish | website=Cyclic Defrost |date=28 May 2018 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20181010175246/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/44041/20181011-0000/www.cyclicdefrost.com/2018/05/cyclic-selects-stuart-grant-primitive-calculators/index.html |archive-date=11 October 2018 |access-date=25 May 2024 }}</ref> It was from the 1979 show at The Hearts hotel.<ref name="Fish" /> The band reformed briefly in 1986 to perform a version of their song "Pumping Ugly Muscle" in the [[Richard Lowenstein]] film ''[[Dogs in Space]]'' (they later appeared in Lowenstein's 2009 documentary ''We're Livin' on Dog Food'').<ref name="Pat" /> According to music journalist, [[Clinton Walker]], "[they] delivered a raw, savage, kinetic sound that could only be compared with" the New York [[no wave]] scene.<ref name="McFarlane" />

===Second era===
In 2001, a 1979 live recording of "Pumping Ugly Muscle" was included in ''Can't Stop It'', a compilation of Australian post-punk bands from 1978 to 1982, released by [[Chapter Music]]. Its title is taken from the Primitive Calculators' studio recording in December 1979, which was the B-side of their "Do That Dance" single. The recording led to renewed interest in the band and the 2003 release of an EP, ''Glitter Kids'', which used three live recordings from 1979, via Meeuw Muzik in the [[Netherlands]].

The Primitive Calculators' album was reissued on CD by Chapter Music in 2004, with the inclusion of extra tracks from related projects (their first band the Moths from 1978 and other live recordings from 1979). In March 2007, Chapter Music released ''Primitive Calculators and Friends, 1979 to 1982'', a CD that contained the only studio recordings of the band (the 7-inch single from 1979), the "Little Band" single, also from 1979, and live tracks from Little Band nights. It also contained other recordings from bands the members formed after 1980, including "Zye Ye Ye" (recorded in London in 1981 with Olsen and Murphy), and bands formed after the return of band members to Australia from Europe, in 1982.

In January 2009, the band reformed for the inaugural Australian [[All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] music festival, curated by [[Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds]] and held at [[Mount Buller, Victoria|Mount Buller]] in Victoria.<ref name="Pat" /> The band subsequently recorded a new album, ''The World Is Fucked'', released in 2013. Grant explained the album title in a December 2013 interview:

<blockquote>
The album is called The World is F---ed because that's what we believe. The world's not any better now – in fact, it's worse. I can remember when the hippopotamus and rhinoceros weren't endangered species. I can remember when there was opposition, and when Chicago School economics wasn't a naturalised reality of life. And the anger in our music is because it doesn't need to be like that – and we don't need to be this nasty society.<ref name="Pat" /></blockquote>

Grant described in 2013 that he enjoys reading, drinking coffee and tea, and "being of use in other people's lives".<ref name="Pat" /> He revealed that his band intended to record another album: "I want to make a psychedelic-space-folk record about taking hallucinogenic drugs."<ref name="Pat" /> Midway through its recording the band were invited by [[Genjing Records]] and [[Split Works]] to play Jue Festival 2015 in Beijing and Shanghai. Frank Lovece left the group before the tour.<ref name="Warbie" /> They toured China also playing Xi’an, Yiwu and Wuhan and released a tour edition split 7-inch with activist noise artist Torturing Nurse. Denise Rosenberg (as Denise Hilton) left the band after that tour.<ref name="Warbie" />

In 2016, it Records released "On Drugs", a single from Primitive Calculators' proposed album of the same name. It is a boogie-rock, soul inspired track, focused on the central character. Grant signalled a change in the band's direction. In August 2017 David Light left the group.<ref name="Warbie" /> On 10 January 2018 Frank Lovece died.<ref name="Warbie" /><ref name="Martin">{{cite web |url=http://filmcritic.com.au/essays/lovece.html |title=Frank Lovece (1956-2018) |first=Adrian |last=Martin |website=filmcritic.com.au |date=January 2018 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20200311195702/http://filmcritic.com.au/essays/lovece.html |archive-date=12 March 2020 |access-date=25 May 2024 }}</ref> ''On Drugs'' was released on 13 April 2018 with Grant the only original member of Primitive Calculaters left.<ref name="Warbie" /> They played a few times but disbanded later that year.