.

Check out the great merch HERE. Use the code “AMNPLIFY10” and get 10% off your total order

.

.

LIVE IT UP:
THE MENTAL AS ANYTHING STORY
hits cinemas in
March 2026
as band reforms for
50TH ANNIVERSARY NATIONAL TOUR

.

.

The feature documentary Live It Up: The Mental As Anything Story will be released theatrically across Australia on 5 March 2026, as the legendary band reforms for a 50th Anniversary national tour with original members Reg Mombassa and Peter O’Doherty.

With 22 Top 40 hits including Live It Up, If You Leave Me Can I Come Too? and The Nips Are Getting Bigger, Mental As Anything is one of the country’s most loved and successful bands. Not only were they master craftsmen of the pop song, they were maverick artists, using the band as their canvas. Pioneers of absurd music videos and an unmistakable style that defined them – their classic line up thrived for 21 years, playing over 3000 gigs and leaving behind nine eclectic albums, shared equally between four very different songwriters. Their influence as songwriters and in particular the art of guitarist Reg Mombassa is enmeshed in Australian popular culture. The epic tale of Mental As Anything is unlike any in the annals of Oz Rock.

With never before seen archival footage and exclusive interviews with Reg Mombassa, Martin Plaza, Peter O’Doherty, David Twohill and the band’s inner circle Live It Up: The Mental As Anything Story is written and directed by Matthew Walker, (whose documentary I’m Wanita won Best Australian Documentary at the Sydney Film Festival in 2021), with Paul Clarke (Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line, John Farnham: Finding The Voice) as supervising writer and post producer.  

.

.

In making the announcement Reg Mombassa said: “It’s slightly weird to think that we started the Mentals 50 years ago but that’s how time works.  The film captures the humour and the energy and the art and personalities of the band members. I am grateful that I was able to be in an interesting and popular band and I feel proud of our legacy.”

Peter O’Doherty added: “I joined the band at the age of 19 and we were grafted together like a second family.  This film captures the essence of what it was like to be in an Australian band in the 70s, 80s and 90s and I’m reminded of how chaotic, creative, funny, and intense it all was.”

Writer and director Matthew Walker said: “Growing up in the 80s, Mental as Anything was a part of everyday suburban life. As a kid, it seemed normal and correct that they existed, dressed in tin foil,  singing unforgettable songs that made you happy. Later, you realise how great those songs were and how much of an impact they had. This film is a celebration of the magic of The Mentals and their extraordinary story and is well overdue for the big screen.”

Live It Up: The Mental As Anything Story is a Beyond Entertainment production in association with People Productions. Principal production funding from Screen Australia, in association with Screen NSW. Local distribution by Bonsai Films. International sales by Banijay Rights. Post, digital and visual effect supported by Screen NSW.  Written and directed by Matthew Walker, with Paul Clarke as supervising writer and post producer, produced by Susanne Morrison and Carolina Sorensen, and executive produced by Mikael Borglund, Frank Chidiac, and Martin Fabinyi. To mark the Mental As Anything 50th Anniversary, the feature documentary will have its world premiere on 24 February at the Cremorne Orpheum, followed by a special Q&A with the band. The film is being theatrically released across Australia by Bonsai Films on 5 March 2026 with Banijay Rights managing international sales.

Live It Up: The Mental As Anything Story is a personal story, told by the people who were there.

.

.

About MENTAL AS ANYTHING

The songs of Mental As Anything were part of the soundscape of Australian life in the 1980s. During that decade there was no other band – local or international – that had as many Top 40 singles. Their string of hits, including The Nips Are Getting Bigger, If You Leave Me Can I Come Too, Too Many Times, and Berserk Warriorswere radio staples throughout Australia while their most famous song, Live it Up, travelled – soaring to the top of the charts in the UK and Europe. The Mentals were a ratbag bunch of former art students, intent on sending up rock stardom as much as they revelled in creating classic pop for the masses. Emerging from Sydney’s inner-city art and new wave scene in the late 70s, The Mentals soon charmed middle Australia with their sparkling melodies and absurdist antics, becoming one of the most enduringly popular bands in the country. Like all the great bands, Mental As Anything was an unlikely collection of five distinct individuals, four of whom were songwriters. Their 22 years together is the story of a group of dedicated artists avoiding the pitfalls of the music industry by being wise enough to never take any of it too seriously.

About BEYOND

A leading producer of music documentaries, non-scripted, drama and children’s content, Beyond’s outstanding list of productions to date include the recent special television events INXS Live At Wembley and Cold Chisel – The Big Five-0 (both for Seven), as well as the acclaimed documentary features Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line (Roadshow/ABC) which opened the 2024 Sydney Film Festival, the multi award winning John Farnham: Finding The Voice (Sony Pictures Releasing/Channel 7), the Scott Hicks directed The Musical Mind (Bonsai Films), The Angels: Kickin’ Down The Door (Universal), and the two part documentary Blood & Thunder: The Sound of Alberts (ABC). Drama credits include the celebrated The Family Next Door co-produced with Muse Entertainment for the ABC, two seasons of Troppoco-produced with EQ Media/Perpetual Entertainment (ABC/AGC/Amazon Freevee), Halifax: Retribution produced by Beyond Lonehand (Channel Nine/PBS), and medical drama Pulse co-produced with Clandestine TV for ABC. Beyond also co-produced the Emmy Award-winning music based animated series Beat Bugs, and Motown Magic, both for Netflix.

About PEOPLE PRODUCTIONS

People Productions is an award-winning documentary company based in Sydney, recognised for crafting cinematic, emotionally resonant stories across film, television and digital platforms. Their broadcast and feature credits include There Goes Our Neighbourhood for ABC (co-produced with WildBear) and the celebrated, critically acclaimed feature I’m Wanita, which premiered at the prestigious Hot Docs Film Festival in 2021, winning the Sydney Film Festival DAF Award, Best Music Documentary at Raindance, and the inaugural AIDC Best Feature Documentary Award. The company recently created the singular online documentary series Cooking for Seamus, which was supported by Screen Australia and released on YouTube in 2025. People Productions continues to develop documentary projects in the digital space including a second series of Cooking for Seamus which will  start production in 2026, and is in late stages of production for Chilean-Australian documentary The Weight of Snow that follows the plight of Chilean gauchos in remote Patagonia.

.

.

Follow MENTAL AS ANYTHING
Website – Facebook

.

.

Check out the great merch HERE. Use the code “AMNPLIFY10” and get 10% off your total order

.

AMNPLIFY – DB