Sunnyboys legend Jeremy Oxley came out of retirement and returned to the stage for the first time in two years on Saturday (24 May) in a surprise appearance with Painters And Dockers.

Painters And Dockers were performing at The Triffid in Brisbane for Punkfest, which attracted bands such as Mick Medew And Ursula 4 as well as Sunny Coast Rude Boys. Painters And Dockers tore through a set of classics, including You’re Going Home In The Back Of A Divi Van, plus a string of covers.

That’s when a night already packed with delights had its biggest one: Jeremy Oxley coming on stage with Painters And Dockers to perform Sunnyboys’ Happy Man. As Painters And Dockers’ Paulie Stewart put it, “In a night of highlights, this was the highlightiest.”

Stewart also described the performance of Happy Man as a “blazing rendition.” You can watch the moment below.

Along with Jeremy Oxley, Painters And Dockers kept the surprises rolling by performing The Saints’ Know Your Product with Jenny Pineapple and recruited Punkfest organiser Chris Converse for Nude School.

In 2023, Sunnyboys embarked on their final tour. In the ten years since their return from a 21-year hiatus, Sunnyboys arguably achieved as much, if not more, than their original lifespan.

They co-headlined a sold-out A Day On The Green (with Hoodoo Gurus and Violent Femmes) and headlined numerous venues. They re-released their three studio albums, released a live DVD and a live album, recorded and released four new tracks, sold countless t-shirts, beanies, caps, hoodies, and badges, and watched their eponymous debut reach double platinum sales.

In The Sunnyboy, a 2013 documentary that followed Jeremy Oxley’s 30-plus-year battle with schizophrenia, fans were given insight into survival, hope, and the truth of schizophrenia, not the glamorised or stereotypically evil character from television and film. The misrepresentations often lead to misconceptions about schizophrenia, including the belief that people who suffer from it are violent beings.

Telling The Music the farewell tour was about the band going out on their own terms, Sunnyboys’ Richard Burgman said, “Jeremy doesn't have a lot of energy or physical strength, but when you put a guitar on him and put him next to a microphone and tell him, 'You're a Sunnyboy,' he just wakes up. He comes alive.”