Twelve years ago the best rock band in Australia broke-up, choked by a legal stoush with their manager. It was premature and all so sad. The Baby Animals 1991 self-titled debut spent six weeks at #1 and sold more than 400,000 copies in Australia alone, making it one of the biggest Australian albums ever at the time.

By 1993 they were rock demi-gods and had even made inroads in the US on the back of support tours with Van Halen and Robert Plant. Lead singer Suze DeMarchi was the greatest female rock singer Australia had seen since the halcyon days of Wendy Saddington and Carol Lloyd (Railroad Gin). With the tightest rhythm section, Eddie Parise and Frank Celenza, in the business, and a genuinely top flight lead guitarist, Dave Leslie, the Animals bounded back and forth across the country playing to ever bigger crowds.

That debut album slayed ‘em. It was just a bloody great rockin’ monster. The 1994 second album, Shaved And Dangerous, was far less so – although that had more to do with the band’s record company adding a bunch of songs it wanted and subtracting bunch the band wanted.

DeMarchi has always had a droll sense of humour and a quick tongue and it hasn’t deserted her. She turns 44 on February 14 but the energy and passion seem renewed and as keen as ever. The forthcoming ‘rock’ album – the one the band and the fans want – she describes as “raw, rock, four-on-the-floor, simple, fun. It sounds like the Baby Animals. I don’t think that is ever going to change.”

Similarly, the tour, despite tieing in with the release of the ‘acoustic’ album will be a full-blooded slice of Animal magic. “You know me, I’m a bit of a risk taker but I wanted to make sure we weren’t going to lose any money doing this. We were originally going to do an acoustic tour but really that was never going to happen. I know we’re promoting a record but it would have been horrible to do that to the fans. I’m a rock chick and we’re a rock band. The good thing is we are all still alive, it’s the same people, same band. We all thought we’ve got to do this now and to do as many records as we can. I want to do another 4 or 5 records. We owe ourselves – and our fans – a few.”

Hopefully, the new records will reacquaint Australia – and the US – with the band. The past 12 months have been largely ruled by reunion tours as rock floundered in a puddle of average mid-2000s bands such as The Killers running out of ideas (the great Arcade Fire and their ilk being exceptions to the rule, of course). “I think there’s a place for everybody since the influx of all those reality TV music shows saturated the market, DeMarchi says. “People got pissed of with it all and started looking for other stuff to listen to. Look at what happened with the Led Zeppelin one-off reunion. Millions of people wanted to be a part of that. When they walk on stage the power they have is the real thing – there’s no smoke and mirrors, just really great musicianship. And that’s what people want. Great musicianship, great songs, a great show. It’s going to be a stretch with me being based in America and the boys here in Australia but we’ll make it work.”

And you’d better believe her. The Baby Animals are on the prowl…

Who: Baby Animals
What: Il Grande Silenzio is out January 19 through Liberation
When: January 23/ 24 / 26
Where: South Sydney Jr’s / Rooty Hill RSL / Hunter Valley