The Celibate Rifles were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with a line-up that included mainstays Dave Morris on rhythm guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar, within a year they were joined by Damien Lovelock on lead vocals. They released their first album, Sideroxylon, in April 1983 on the Hot Records label. The band has toured both America and Europe extensively, and released their ninth studio album, Beyond Respect on 19 July 2004. In 1985 the group's style was described as post-Radio Birdman sound which is "a combination of fast, guitar-driven, hard rock and power pop". In November 1987 Sounds magazine's Roger Holland described their album, Roman Beach Party as showing the group's "sawn off rock potential all the way down to the bleached white of the bone, the lyrics reveal all the anger, insight and humour that makes [them] one of the most powerful rock bands in the world today". In April 1994 The Celibate Rifles issued Spaceman in a Satin Suit which according to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane "was [their] best studio album since Blind Ear". Lovelock undertook a solo career and issued two albums as well as becoming a TV sports presenter prior to his death in 2019. Biography The Celibate Rifles were formed in 1979 in Sydney as a punk rock group with a line-up of Michael Couvret on bass guitar, Phillip Jacquet on drums, Dave Morris on guitar and Kent Steedman on guitar. The four band members were still at high school when the group started performing. Their original vocalist, Ian Martin, soon joined. Their name is a response to the Sex Pistols – as an antonym or inspiration. In 1980 Damien Lovelock (ex-Street Noise) replaced Martin on lead vocals – he was ten years older than the others and provided a "lyrical focus for the band's unremitting energy". In 1985 the group's style was described as post-Radio Birdman sound which is "a combination of fast, guitar-driven, hard rock and power pop". In March 1982 the group independently recorded a four-track extended play, But Jacques, the Fish?, at Honey Farms Studio, Duffys Forest. It was produced by Colin J Ford and engineered by Dave Connor with additional backing vocals by Martin, James Darroch, Tom Couvret and Steve Vineburg. The band was signed by Hot Records, which reissued their EP in March 1983. Darroch (ex-Trans Love Energy, Fifth Estate, Slaughterhouse