The Gadflys were formed in October 1982 as a dance-pop group in Canberra by brothers Mick and Philip Moriarty.[2] According to Philip they were named for a gadfly as "being an outsider, and its literary and musical connotations" as well as a hommage to Henry Lawson's contributions to The Gadfly.[3] Prior to the Gadflys, Mick and Philip had been members of Canberra punk bands the Slammers and then Brainiac Five.[2] Their first performance, as the Gadflys, was at Manuka Football Club rooms.[2] They became a punk and 1980s New Wave pop group, which developed a following in Sydney and Canberra by playing originals and dance music cover versions of the Supremes, the Saints and Iggy Pop.[2][3] In January 1983 the line-up was Geoff Badger on bass guitar, Mick on guitar, Philip on clarinet and Pete Velzen on drums.[2] They released their debut single "Don't Sleep in the Subway" / "(Do the) Apathy" in that year.
The line-up was unsettled due to age restrictions and job opportunities and included Elmo Reid on bass guitar.[3] Late in 1984 the line-up was Mick on guitar and vocals, Phil on clarinet, Velzen on drums as well as Nic Dalton on bass guitar and Anthony Hayes on guitar (latter two from the Plunderers).[4][5] Dalton, Hayes and Velzen all left to resume the Plunderers while the Gadflys split in 1985.[4][5] Anthony Hayes, who also performed as Stevie Plunder, died in January 1996.[6][7] From 1982 to 1985 they incorporated electric clarinet into a basic three-piece electric band line-up. After 1985 Mick and Phil were in Aural Love Gods, which only played cover versions and were self-described as "steaming pot of blues, R&B, country, psychedelia, heavy metal, jazz and pop."[8]
Phil and Mick reformed the Gadflys in December 1989 as an acoustic four-piece with Andy Lewis (ex-the Plunderers) on double bass and Glen James on drums.[4][5][8] This second iteration of the Gadflys saw a shift in style from punk to what Phil described as mongrel jazz, "It was kind of because I played clarinet which, unlike saxophone, is not really a rock instrument. We were influenced by bands like the Violent Femmes and the Pogues." Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane observed, "[they] mixed the busking flavour of the Violent Femmes with all manner of American roots music (rockabilly, country, R&B, jazz)."[4] He labelled their overall genre as roots rock.[4] By June 1991 James had left and they continued as a three-piece.[9] Their extended play, The Gadflys, with six tracks was issued in October 1991 via Phantom Records.[4][9] It was co-produced by the group with Mick Thomas.[10] Most tracks were originals, including "Apathy" and "Catwalk", while they covered the Saints' "All Times Through Paradise".[9]
By November 1992 Lewis had left to join the Whitlams (alongside Plunder and Tim Freedman) and was replaced on double bass by Nathan Nancarrow.[11] The Gadflys released their first studio album, Take Your Medicine (December 1992).[4][12] Nic Haygarth of The Canberra Times attended its launch, "[they] ease into song like evening into the morning hours, smoothing the smoke and harsh voices almost imperceptibly... making a little seem plenty. Amplification and distortion are left to publicists. No drums: percussion is a double bass."[13]
Early in 1993 Nancarrow was replaced on double bass by Jonathan Nix, who also provided backing vocals.[14] Their second EP, Don't Get Me Wrong, appeared in November 1993.[4][14] Its four tracks included its title track previously on Take Your Medicine and three new tracks.[4][14] They toured France, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Germany and appeared at various Edinburgh Festivals in 1994, 1995 and 1996.[4][15][16]