Warren Ellis of the Dirty 3 -. Great sound and what a concept. They wrote fantastic singles and looked like they just crawled out of the ooze. What more could you ask for?

Henry Rollins - (The Scientists) made me think there must be a lot of great music there (in Australia), more than just the Saints or the Birthday Party.

Jon Spencer - The Scientists turned my head around and made a man out of me! They grew hair on my palms and made my socks stink! I buzzed like moo cow with a tough outer shell and gargled with broken glass!

Thurston Moore - The Scientists proved to me that rock 'n' roll could be played by gentlemen in fine silk shirts half unbuttoned and still be dirty, cool and real.

Gareth Liddiard of The Drones - This is just some of the best rock 'n' roll ever....it is really fucked up!

The Scientists went through many incarnations but are remembered mostly for the 1981-1985 lineup. Kim Salmon, Tony Thewlis, Boris Sujdovic and Brett Rixon* together had the peculiar chemistry that produced the classics, eg. 'Swampland', the 'Blood Red River' mini LP. With a sound that was swampy, primal and modern all at once, their 'formula' was as universal as it was specific. It was about being young, living in modern times in an urban/suburban environment. Machine throb bass and drums with jagged car wreck guitars were their modus operandi. Rejecting the sound and look of the time they carried no baggage that would date the music. It is as fresh, and influential, now as it was then. Mudhoney, Nirvana, Jon Spencer, The White Stripes, The Drones all cite the Scientists and scores more bands keep coming along dropping their name.