Mental As Anything Mark 50 Years With National 2026 Tour

Few Australian bands can claim five decades of hits without fading into nostalgia circuit territory, but Mental As Anything are gearing up to prove they’re still standing tall.

Founding Mental As Anything members Peter O’Doherty and Reg Mombassa will lead the charge in 2026, celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary with a national headline tour.

Kicking off at The Gov in Adelaide on June 12th, the run will move through Perth, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne and Brisbane, marking half a century since a group of Sydney art students turned pub gigs into a cultural institution.

Five Decades Of Sharp Hooks

Mental As Anything’s catalogue reads like a greatest hits radio playlist carved into Australian DNA., with 25 Top 40 singles locally, their run includes staples like ‘The Nips Are Getting Bigger’, ‘If You Leave Me’, ‘Too Many Times’, ‘Come Around’, and the global juggernaut ‘Live It Up’, which still clocks airplay across the UK and Europe decades on.

Since their 1979 debut Get Wet, the band have cracked charts not just at home but across New Zealand, the UK, Germany and Scandinavia, that crossover success never stripped away their identity, if anything, it sharpened it (per Rolling Stone).

Beyond the music, their visual aesthetic helped define Australian pop art with Posters, T-shirts, album sleeves, Mombassa’s unmistakable artwork became part of the fabric.

A New Line-Up, Same Spirit

O’Doherty and Mombassa will front a refreshed line-up for the anniversary shows, with additional 2026 festival appearances already confirmed at St Kilda Festival, Byron Bay Bluesfest, A Taste of the Huon and Lighthouse Rock.

Tickets for the headline tour go on sale Monday, March 2nd at 10am local time.

MENTAL AS ANYTHING – AUSTRALIA 2026

Friday, June 12th
The Gov, Adelaide SA

Saturday, June 13th
Astor Theatre, Perth WA

Friday, June 19th
Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW

Saturday, June 20th
Anita’s Theatre, Wollongong NSW

Friday, June 26th
Northcote Theatre, Melbourne VIC

Saturday, June 27th
Princess Theatre, Brisbane QLD

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