Joey Bedlam

Joey Bedlam formed all-girl1960s garage rock band DollSquad in 2004.

DollSquad is the love child of lead singer Joey Bedlam. Ever since Joey was young she dreamed of fronting an all girl band. Dreams can come true. It has been a long journey for Joey with her original line up doing the ‘classic on tour break’ up the first time DollSquad hit the Euro 60’s garage scene in 2005. Not to be deterred, Joey grabbed a handful of European musicians and completed the tour. Upon returning to Australia Joey was determined to build a bigger and better DollSquad, a task that would take 18 months. Joey meticulously hand picked each member to become a part of the current line up. Main criteria… must be female and must be a gifted and talented musician!

Sincerity is not a word associated with rock 'n' roll a lot these days. But the six sultry sirens, collectively known as DollSquad, are as sincere as it gets. Once they slither into the skin tight leather catsuits, tease up the big hair and apply GT stripe eyeliner, DollSquad exude rock and roll at its classic best. High powered pop punk to brooding soulful ballads, these ladies have it all and give it all. Glam and punk / garage looks and sound collide in a miasmic explosion of musical and vocal diversity.

But it's not all about pace, the brooding ballads are just as potent as the power pop tunes and showcase the band's overall diversity and the versatility of Joey’s vocal talents as she sings about true love and love gone wrong. They are DollSquad. They are Lethal in Leather. They are Rock ‘n’ Dolls!

DollSquad have supported The Stray Cats in Melbourne on their Australian tour, played the Cherry Rock festival in AC/DC Lane as well as starting their own label ‘Radio Rocks’ and releasing their 2nd album Lethal in Leather, produced by Steve Lucas of X (and many other projects).

Joey has played gigs at St Kilda music venues including: The Espy, Prince of Wales Hotel, Greyhound Hotel.

"I always wanted to have a girl band, but I didn’t want to do what had been done before. I guess the stereotype is that in all-girl bands there’s not a lot of substance. But I wanted to create a really, really good band; strong musicianship, strong playing, strong stage presence. It was about creating an all-girl group that wrote and performed all their own songs, were more than competent on their instruments and one that toured extensively; everything you’d come to expect from a professional band. It was a chance to dispel the outdated and ignorant social view of some that girls are better off as groupies as opposed to actually playing in bands."

Joey Bedlam, DollSquad, Espy downstairs, mid 2004 - Photo by Julie Paschke - Source: DollSquad Facebook page

"I met Eric Burdon from The Animals once on Acland Street during their tour in 2000. They were on a day off or something. I got a stack of photos with him and I was so overwhelmed I left my camera on my car roof and drove off.... I have also seen Jellyfish and Toots and the Maytals at the Palace; they were two of the best gigs ever.

I saw the Blind Boys of Alabama at the Palais in the early 2000s, also great value. Joey's nightclub was a hang out for after gigs for a lot of mods in the 2000s. Its gone now of course."