'Get institutionalised': Canberra rock mainstay Cell Block 69 are back in town for an epic live show

And to one Canberra band, they're nowhere near over.

Cell Block 69 are back in town for their yearly concert, the one that has made them as much a Canberra institution as the Budget Tree and Christmas Eve at the Kingo.

The band - with 10 members, all called Corey - will be marking their combined 21st birthday this weekend at The Basement, a continuation of a tradition that has come to be seen, by many, as the ultimate marker of the festive season in the capital.

And it's no small feat getting them all in the same city - let alone on the same stage - together, COVID notwithstanding.

One member, Corey Rokk-SixxXXxxX (otherwise known as Glenn Elliott), acting as the year's spokesperson, confirmed that a good deal of preparation generally went into each and every show.

"There's a lot of prep. There's the catwalk. Working out how to get a boat onstage. Shining our sequins," he said.

"Rehearsal? Oh, that's that thing where we get together and make sure we are all playing the same song at the same moment. Yeah we do that, in between Duanne Le Corey-Michaels' contractual 'Celebrity croquet world tour league' appearances."

All talented musicians with alter egos, at least two members - known in outer circles as Pip Branson and Nick Craft - were part of the critically acclaimed 1990s band Sidewinder.

But Elliott said it had always been difficult to overcome the tensions caused by the differing fame dynamics in the band's lineup.

"Some of us are more famous than the others," he said.

"One in particular, Duanne Le Corey-Michaels - he was born famous. We think it was his name that did it for him. His first platinum record came at the age of three. But yeah, it's always 'Duanne this, Duanne that'."

But when it comes to their never-ending line-up of hits, all members are on the same page: they have been robbed, time and time again.

"The non-believers - we've had one or two of them throughout the 1980s - might say that we're performing 'covers', but our seas of fans know that we're actually covering our own versions that other 'famous artists' covered and made money from," he said.

"People that, for a brief period of time, had managed to pull the 'covers' from under us. A couple of them were called Duran Henley or Wham Farnham or something like that. Does that 'cover' it?"

And despite the tensions of the past year, felt across oceans, the group has been getting on with it, with a constant eye on the return to the capital.

"These last years have been OK - reflective, it would seem," he said.

"Duanne, amongst other things, had maintenance to do on his castles in Generic Europe. Corey Elektra has been a yacht craftsperson in the Bahamas and Corey, the Artist Formerly Known As Korey, has been trying his hand at goat farming in the highlands. But this year is going to be megatastic.

"I mean, it's Cell Block 69's 21st birthday! Man, the 80s was a long decade."

So, how does it feel to be called an institution in Canberra - and a Christmas one at that?

"Canberry is like home to Cell Block 69, and Canberrians are among our most dedicated fans," he said.

"It's rumoured that in his town planning days, Duanne Le Corey-Michaels made Canberry! It's also rumoured that Canberry made Cell Block 69. As far as being born and bred, let's just say that some of us spent time here as babies.

"And I believe everyone should come along to a Cell Block 69 show, and be happily 'institutionalised'."