Private Function Announce Break Up
The Aussie punk larrikins are calling time on their career after nine years.
Image Chris Roese
It’s all over red rover for Melbourne punk misfits Private Function. After nine years together, the band took to social media on Christmas Eve to announce they are splitting up, posting an image of a piece of coal with a bow on it, accompanied by the words “we broke up lol. Merry Christmas.”
“Because you’ve all been such naughty children this year we’ve decided you’re all getting the present you deserve… WE’RE BREAKING UP LOL,” the band explained in the post.
“The last nine years have been the best time of our lives. We’ve accomplished more than we ever thought possible. And it’s all because of you helping us out. Thank you so much for supporting us for almost a decade. We owe you everything and promise to buy you all a beer one day.”
Private Function has promised fans “a few surprises for you before we totally bail,” with the band supporting Viagra Boys on their national tour next year, making those run of shows the last time fans can catch Private Function performing in Australia.
In a separate story shared to her Instagram stories, bassist Milla Holland expanded on the reasons behind the band’s split.
“For 9 years we destroyed our bodies and minds, we made a lot of industry people a lot of money and saw very little ourselves,” she wrote. “It became unsustainable as we got older and more injured.
“Cautionary tale,” she continued. “The Australian music industry is parasitic and you only get more exploited the higher up they let you.”
“That said I'm so grateful that i got to be a part of the band,” she concluded. “My best memories are from the early days playing small intimate shows. Music festivals are dogshit, corpos convinced us that we want them but they are vibe less environmental disasters.”
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Forming in 2016, Private Function has left a trail of chaos in its wake, gaining a reputation as one of the country’s most hectic live acts.
Dropping their debut EP Six Smokin’ Songs on cassette, Private Function have gone on to release four studio albums. 2019’s St Anger featured artwork inspired by the Metallica album of the same name and 2020’s sophomore album Whose Line Is It Anyway? reached #9 on the ARIA Album Charts.
They released their third album 370HSSV 0773H in 2023, including a limited 50 copies filled with the band’s urine, with the band’s fourth album, this year’s hilarious titled ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, coming with a limited-edition scratch ‘n’ sniff vinyl scented like Gwyneth Paltrow’s vagina.
Not everyone is convinced this is the end for Private Function, with many fans unsure how to take the news, especially as just days ago they confirmed they were in the studio working on their fifth album.
Whatever the case, make sure you catch Private Function live when they play their final shows in January.
Catch Private Function supporting Viagra Boys at Hindley Street Music Hall on Wednesday 20 January (tickets on sale here) and performing at next year’s Forth & Fury Fest on Saturday 31 January (tickets on sale here).
