[1][3] It was written by Silbersher,[4] and received favourable reviews, which sold in the thousands to become, "an enduring Australian underground classic.
"[5] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, observed, "[they] had an alternative #1 hit on their hands before they were even old enough to get beer riders at their gigs!
[6] He described how, "Silbersher had this song's circular five-note riff in his head for years before one day, in the shower, the lyric came in a rush: 'You’re my only friend / You don't even like me!'
"[6] Cover versions were recorded by several artists: Magic Dirt (1997),[1] Violent Soho, Peabody, Bored!, A Death in the Family,[4] the Hollowmen, and Bum (from Canada).
Andrew Mueller of The Guardian declared, "[it] started out as an obscure 7" single and ended up revered as a garage band classic, the Aussie equivalent of 'Wild Thing'.
McFarlane felt, "[it] suffered from slop-bucket production values, but was another statement in God's quest for the ultimate so-bad-its-good trash ethic.
[citation needed] Their full-length studio album, For Lovers Only, appeared in December 1989, via Au Go Go Records which, "boasted stronger production and songs.
[2] Whittle played with Patterson's Curse, Sauce, Ripe, Offal Pump, Baby 8 and Melwayholics Anonymous.
They were trying to encapsulate stadium rock and their ‘monster riffs’ often sounded like a playgroup had broken into the bottle recycling bin combined with that siren song of crap amps buzzing and wheezing you sometimes hear just before they blow up.