 The impromptu cooperative was initially dubbed Sean Kelly and His Absent Friends.The initial line-up varied, usually dependent upon the availability of individual members at any given time.Sean Kelly and His Absent Friends kicked off life as a touring act in May 1989, with Kelly (vocals/guitar) joined on occasion by his partner Wendy Matthews (vocals)(who performed backing vocals for Models and was a guest vocalist on the Rockmelons debut and ARIA award winning album, "Tales of the City"), Garry Gary Beers (the bassist for INXS), Nicole Ainslie (keyboards/vocals), Andrew Duffield (keyboards) ex-Models, James Valentine (saxophone) ex-Models, Danglin' Brothers guitarist Michael King ex-Jimmy Barnes, and drummer John Mackay ex-Machinations.