Celebrated as one of Europe’s best live bands, punk-rock satirists Viagra Boys last touched down in 2019. Now, the unruly Swedish outfit return for The Australia Shrimp Grand Prix tour – performing three headline shows this November in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
Viagra Boys are a band that weaponizes absurdity – tossing firecrackers into the middle of the room and standing around to see the reaction. Led by frontman Sebastian Murphy, whose voice is a compelling blend of impish smirk and smoker’s rasp, the band is known for its seething satire and darkly comic edge, encapsulating a unique blend of grit and sleaze.
Murphy’s lyrics often reflect on the absurdity and backwardness of the modern world, though he avoids prescribing beliefs or taking sides. Therefore, the band’s music is marked by a playful yet incisive critique of societal follies and contradictions, set to heavy-weight, explosive production.
Viagra Boys have unleashed three critically acclaimed albums to date: Street Worms (2018), Welfare Jazz (2021), and Cave World (2022). Live on stage, Viagra Boys have garnered significant success and acclaim, performing sold-out shows worldwide, including prestigious festival sets at Coachella, Glastonbury, Lowlands, Outside Lands, Reading & Leeds, Meredith, and more. 2023 saw them tour the US with Queens of The Stone Age. The band’s impact extends to the Swedish music scene, where they’ve won awards such as Album of the Year and Best Live Act at the Swedish Grammis & P3 Guld Awards.