Richard Fielding
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Richard Fielding
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_date =
| origin = Sydney, Australia
| instrument = drum machine, tape loops
| genre = electronic dance
| occupation = musician, radio presenter
| years_active = 1975–present
| label =
| associated_acts =Severed Heads
| website =
}}
Richard Fielding was a founding member of the Australian electronic dance group Severed Heads in 1979 in Sydney. He has been a member of other experimental, avant garde music groups such as Z-Glutz, The Loop Orchestra and Budgie Woops! He has had a career as a radio presenter on various New South Wales stations.
Biography
Richard Fielding trained as a radio presenter in the mid-1970s with Korg Pally Oskin, Ian Borri Okem, Rusty Nails and, as part of a Sydney inner city (informal) group of "radio bad boys" called "The Thrifty Tones". He started as a presenter using the moniker 'Old Siddeley", on 2MBS—part of the "Late Night Collective". On sister station 5MBS with his own show "Yntmppry Yditions" and on Bega Station 2BE, co-hosting the 'Good Morning Ghostbusters" program with local Bega star Ian Wright. His longest on-air partnership was in the 1980s at Sydney's 2RES-FM with Dan Mayok, on "Anything That's Jandy", which was broadcast Saturday mornings from 6{{nbsp}}am – 9{{nbsp}}am. His sign-off call was "Have a great day - I know I don't".
In 1979, Fielding formed an electronic dance group, Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign, with Andrew Wright and they were soon joined by Tom Ellard.{{cite web | title = Interview from Godsend 1990 | last = Zachritz | first = Todd | year = 1990 | publisher = Godsend Online | url = http://www.prongs.org/godsend/sevheads.html | accessdate= 7 June 2010}} With Fielding on drum machine and tape loops, Wright on organ and synthesiser and Ellard on tapes they recorded a demo in Fielding's home.{{cite encyclopedia |last=McFarlane |first=Ian |authorlink=Ian McFarlane |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop |title=Encyclopedia entry for 'Severed Heads' |url=//www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=361 |accessdate=7 June 2010 |year=1999 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=St Leonards, NSW |isbn=1-86508-072-1 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040605055734/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=361 |archivedate=5 June 2004 |df=dmy-all }} Renamed as Severed Heads they started recording their first album, Ear Bitten when Wright left in 1979. Fielding departed in 1981 during the recording of the band's second album, Clean.{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5394/biography|pure_url=yes}} | title = Severed Heads > Biography | last = Deming | first = Mark | work = Allmusic | publisher = Rovi Corporation | accessdate = 7 June 2010 }}
He was also part of an unsuccessful venture called the "5 to 6 Federation" a self-styled "Electronic Green Movement" which proposed all radio stations go off air for 5 minutes every morning from 5:55{{nbsp}}am to "clear the airwaves from constant radiowave transmissions". In the latter days of his broadcasting career he was a panel operator and technical producer at community radio station 2SER FM on The Mamma Lena Show and RadioActiviky with Dr Xob Schmottman.
Fielding was also a founding member of The Loop Quartet, which was formed in 1982, along with John Blades, Ron Brown and Jaimie Leonarder.{{cite book|last=Andrews|first=Ian|title=Experimental music : audio explorations in Australia|year=2009|publisher=UNSW Press|location=Sydney, N.S.W.|isbn=978-1-921410-07-9|page=47|authorlink=The Lost Decade: Post-Punk, Experimental and Industrial Music |author2=John Blades |editor=Gail Priest|chapter=The Lost Decade: Post-Punk, Experimental and Industrial Music}} During the same year, another group performing with reel-to-reel tape machines, The Loop Orchestra, was formed by Fielding, John Blades and Anthony Maher. In 1983, Peter Doyle joined the group, and this line-up remained until 1997.{{cite journal|last=Blades|first=John|title=Reel Time: The Story of the Loop Orchestra|journal=Southerly|year=2004|volume=64|series=1|issue=Outsiders|pages=97–99|url=http://southerlyjournal.com.au|accessdate=26 November 2011|publisher=Halstead Press|issn= 0038-3732}}