Silverchair celebrate 30 years of classic debut ‘Frogstomp’ – but without frontman Daniel Johns

Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou of Silverchair are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album ‘Frogstomp’ – without frontman Daniel Johns.

• READ MORE: Every Silverchair and Daniel Johns release ranked in order of greatness

Celebrations were marked by a sold-out event at Sydney’s Metro Social on Wednesday (March 26), which saw drummer Gillies and bassist Joannou interviewed by triple j’s Richard Kingsmill to revisit the stories behind the seminal debut album.

Released in 1995, ‘Frogstomp’ propelled the then-teenage trio from Newcastle, Australia, to international fame, with breakout single ‘Tomorrow’ reaching Number One on both the Billboard Alternative and Rock Airplay charts, as well as the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. Today, it has sold over 10million copies globally.

Frontman Daniel Johns was absent and remains estranged from his former bandmates since they announced an “indefinite hibernation” in 2011, saying that the project was “no longer fulfilling creatively” and had stopped “being fun”.

“It’s an incredible achievement and a great moment in time to look back on and celebrate,” Joannou said at the event, per news.com.au. “And yeah, look, it is still sad and disappointing that we find ourselves in certain situations with current relationships. And do I wish it could be different and better? For sure. And maybe it will one day. Who knows?

“But for us, it was about celebrating that incredible time of our lives with a lot of people in the room that were there back in the day as well.”

It’s not the first time Johns has been absent from the band’s celebrations. In 2023, Gillies and Joannou released the tell-all memoir titled Love & Pain, which chronicled their careers and experiences while in Silverchair – from the band’s beginning, up till they announced an indefinite hiatus in 2011. Johns was not included, though the cover of the book includes an image of all three members.

The previous year, while speaking to NME for the cover of NME Australia, Johns opened up about the lasting legacy of the band and why they’ll never reform in public. “I have some incredible memories of playing live,” he said, “but like an athlete that no longer feels their body can handle the rigours of game day, my mind can no longer handle the live touring world.

“Sometimes the YouTube algorithm feeds me a Silverchair gig from back in the day and I’ll find myself quietly impressed… until I fuck up a note and then I turn it off.”

The interview came around the release of Johns’ second solo album, ‘FutureNever’. He later revealed that, while making the album, he had attempted to reunite with his former bandmates for a cameo, though he said it came “not out of necessity”, but because he “wanted to make it clear that I don’t have an issue with them as people”.

“I just didn’t want to play under the banner of Silverchair once I’d established myself as an artist outside of Silverchair,” Johns continued. “I asked them to come again and then when they didn’t want to, I didn’t care. It was like, ‘I asked you, it’s cool, I’ll play the drums with spatulas.’”

Just under a month before ‘FutureNever’ was released (on March 23), Johns was involved in a car accident caused by drunk driving. The incident led Johns to admit himself into a rehabilitation centre, and he later pleaded guilty to a charge of high-range drink-driving. He avoided jail time when he faced a court in July, when he was ordered to complete 10 months of an intensive corrections sentence.

In a public statement released shortly thereafter his guilty plea in April, Johns wrote: “I take full responsibility for my actions on the evening of March 23rd, I am deeply remorseful and I am working every day to make amends.”

Speaking to The Project in September 2022, Johns revealed that “bitterness, jealousy, anger” led to the band’s hiatus. He also spoke of his former bandmates “kicking me while I was down and while was in rehab and stuff. Saying I was exploiting mental health to sell records”.

Johns also pointed out Gillies’ alleged jealousy over Johns’ success: “Ben, for some reason has a real issue with me being successful without him. That’s sad because I wish him all the best honestly, but unfortunately he doesn’t want me to branch out.”

In a four-star review of ‘FutureNever’, NME’s Andrew Trendell praised the album for the way it “shows off [Johns’] range”, writing: “While there’s a lot of Daniel Johns at his best here, this isn’t ‘The Best Of Daniel Johns’. There’s rock bravado throughout, but you won’t get a whiff of ‘Frogstomp’. Styles and eras clash, but ‘Neon Ballroom’ it ain’t. There is, however, a vulnerability, curiosity and adventure that makes ‘FutureNever’ unmistakably Johns. That kid who once asked you to wait for tomorrow is living in it today.”

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