The album was co-produced by Kelly with Alan Thorne (Hoodoo Gurus, The Stems) who, according to music journalist Robert Forster (former The Go-Betweens singer-songwriter), helped the band create "a sound that will not only influence future roots-rock bands but, through its directness, sparkle and dedication to the song, will also come to be seen as particularly Australian. Ultimately, it means the records these people made together are timeless".
The Johnnys formed in 1982 in Sydney when bass guitarist Graham Hood tried out for the Hoodoo Gurus after quitting the Allniters.
The pre-match entertainment included performances from Hoodoo Gurus and Shannon Noll.
Beasts of Bourbon are an Australian alternative rock, blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus), Spencer P. Jones on guitar (The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris Sujdovic on bass guitar (both ex-The Scientists).
Recently reopened, the "Rock Arena" at the Mansfield Tavern was in its heyday a popular venue for touring musical acts and has starred such acts as The Offspring, Hunters & Collectors, Madness, Statoz Quo, Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels and great British rock band The Cult.
In August 1983 while a member of The Johnnys, Spencer formed a side-project, Beasts of Bourbon (1983–85, 1988–93, 1996–97, 2003–08, 2013) with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris Sujdovic on bass guitar (both ex-The Scientists).
She married Radio Birdman co-founder Deniz Tek, and they played together in the short lived Angie Pepper Band whose ranks included a future Hoodoo Guru in Clyde Bramley and a former Saints drummer in Ivor Hay.