AustLit

A rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1983 as a vehicle for the songs of Peter Mitchell, Captains of Industry comprised Peter Mitchell (guitar/lead vocals), Ian Mitchell (drums), Jane Hewetson (bass/vocals) and Tim Rollinson (guitar/vocals). Rollinson was later replaced by Ziggy Mirza.

Although Captains of Industry received some initial interest from publisher Chappell Music, the music and ultra personal nature of Mitchell's lyrics were out of step with the then current trend towards New Romantic/synth pop and new wave 'video' rock bands. As he recalls in The Great Unknown (q,v.), the Australian music industry of the early to mid-1980s was not a time for word-centred bands. Captains of Industry nevertheless established a small but enthusiastic following in Sydney, playing such venues as The Lismore Hotel (Pitt Street, Sydney), Vulcan Hotel (Ultimo), Trade Union Club, Harold Park Hotel, the Performance Space (Redfern) and the infamous French's (Oxford Street, Darlinghurst). During the three years the band was together it also recorded a good deal of material, with a number of the songs appearing on The Great Unknown.