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Wednesday 30 December 2015

Missing Links - 1965 - Missing Links


Wild About You/Hobo Man/Bald-Headed Woman/Not To Bother Me/Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut/Some Kinda Fun/You're Drivin' Me Insane/Nervous Breakdown/Speak No Evil/On The Road Again/All I Want/H'tuom Tuhs 



The Missing Links were an Australian garage rock, R&B, and protopunk group from Sydney who were active from 1964 to 1966.  The group was known for wearing their hair long and smashing their equipment on-stage. Throughout the course of 1965, the band would go through a complete and total lineup change resulting in two completely different versions of the band: the first consisted of Peter Anson on guitar, Dave Boyne on guitar, Bob Brady on vocals, Danny Cox on drums and Ronnie Peel on bass and released their debut single, "We 2 Should Live" in March 1965.

The second and better-known version had none of the previous members and consisted of Andy Anderson on vocals (initially also on drums), Chris Gray on keyboards and harmonica, Doug Ford on vocals and guitar, Baden Hutchens on drums, and Ian Thomas on bass, and released their debut album, The Missing Links in December. According to Allmusic's, Richie Unterberger, "This aggregation cut the rawest Australian garage/punk of the era, and indeed some of the best from anywhere, sounding at their best like a fusion of the Troggs and the early Who, letting loose at times with wild feedback that was quite ahead of its time.





The Missing Links formed in early 1964 in Sydney, Australia with the line-up of Peter Anson on guitar, Dave Boyne on guitar, Bob Brady on vocals, Danny Cox on drums and Ron Peel on bass guitar (ex-Mystics). With their long hair, according to one venue owner, "they looked like a cross between man and ape" and so were named, the Missing Links (see transitional fossil). In November, the group played a benefit concert to support Oz founders, Richard Neville, publisher, Richard Walsh (Australian publisher)|Richard Walsh and Martin Sharp. The trio had been charged with obscenity and were awaiting trial.



The first version of the band recorded a single, "We 2 Should Live" which was released in March 1965 on the Parlophone label. By that time, Boyne was replaced on guitar by John Jones (Mystics) and Cox left soon after with New Zealand-born Andy Anderson (as Andy James aka Neville Anderson) joining, initially on drums. The band briefly broke up in July. Peter Anson formed a band, the Syndicate. Bob Brady joined Python Lee Jackson, and Ron Peel joined Brisbane-based group, The Pleazers.

The Missing Links reformed before the end of July with Anderson and Jones joined temporarily by Dave Longmore on vocals and guitar, Frank Kennington on vocals and Col Risby on guitar. Longmore was soon replaced by Doug Ford with Chris Gray joining on keyboards and harmonica, Baden Hutchens on drums and Ian Thomas on bass guitar (both ex-Showmen) completed the line-up of the second version, which was "even more fierce version than the first". During live performances, Anderson would climb walls to hang from rafters, then drive his head into the drums, other band members smashed guitars into speakers and all wore the latest Carnaby Street clothes. 


With this totally new lineup, the group signed with Philips Records and released "You're Drivin' Me Insane" in August 1965 followed in September by "Wild About You". Veteran rock 'n' roller, Johnny O'Keefe was not a fan – he banned them from appearing on his television show, Sing Sing Sing. They issued another single in October, "H'tuom Tuhs," which was their version of "Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut," but with the tape reel played on backwards on both sides of the record (as parts 1 and 2). It was followed by their debut album, The Missing Links, in December. According to Allmusic's, Richie Unterberger, "This aggregation cut the rawest Australian garage/punk of the era, and indeed some of the best from anywhere, sounding at their best like a fusion of the Troggs and the early Who, letting loose at times with wild feedback that was quite ahead of its time". In 1966 Baden Hutchins and Ian Thomas would depart. Hutchins, tired of the rock & roll lifestyle, was engaged to be married. Thomas returned to the Showmen, while the remaining members – Anderson, Gray, Ford and Jones – continued with an extended play, The Links Unchained in April 1966. The group disbanded in August.

Saturday 26 December 2015

James Baker Experience - 1985 - I Can't Control Myself 7' Single


 I Can't Control Myself/Born To Be Punched



James Lawrence Baker (born 7 March 1954) is a rock musician from Perth, Western Australia. Baker has named Ronnie Bond of The Troggs as the main influence on his drumming style. He first started drumming for a local Perth band, Black Sun (1973–1974), followed by The Slick City Boys (1974–1975).

James Baker has been a skin beater for The Scientists, The Victims, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon and The Dubrovniks. The James Baker Experience was a one off project that released a lone 7" of 'I Can't Control Myself' (The Troggs) / 'Born To Be Punched' (which was also the debut release for John Foy's Red Eye label). The legend goes that James used to perform The Troggs cover during the encores of early Hoodoo Guru shows. The James Baker Experience also featured Roddy Radar (The Johnnys) Stu Spasm (Lubricated Goat) and Tex Perkins (Beasts of Bourbon / Thug). A video was also made for the single which is occasionally played on RAGE (Australian overnight TV music show). According to Tex Perkins the film maker who attempted to make it ran out of funds so the 2nd half of it was filled with token footage of people walking in the streets.

Tuesday 22 December 2015

Kevin Borich - 1980 - Angels Hand


Rock 'n' Roll/Don't Let Go/Backs To The Wall/She Don't Care/Full Moon/One More Dream/1980's/Cannot Do Right/Angels Hand/Gone Fishing

Kevins 6th album (counting the greatest hits) was released in 1980 Kevin was a member of the La De Das until he disbanded them being the only original member left in 1975. He spent some time with the Stevie Wright All Stars and the John Paul Young and the Allstars and in 1976 formed the Kevin Borich Express which he has recorded a number of albums with as well as solo product.
This one of my favourite albums along with "Shy Boys Shy Girls" .

Sunday 13 December 2015

Tol-Puddle Martyrs - 1967 - Time Will Come


Time Will Come/Social Cell



The oddly named Australian group the Tol-Puddle Martyrs (evolving out of the mid-'60s band Peter & the Silhouettes, who had a track on a 1966 compilation LP) put out a couple of singles in 1967-1968 that are highly regarded by garage rock collectors, though not many people heard them outside of Australia at the time of their release. (Actually, not a whole lot of people heard them inside Australia either.) The 1967 single "Time Will Come"/"Social Cell" is taut, distressed garage rock on the verge of getting slightly psychedelicized, with cutting minor-keyed distorted guitar/organ riffs and ominous, distrustful lyrics. 

By contrast, their 1968 single, "Love Your Life"/"Nellie Bligh," is rather fey, extremely late-'60s Kinks-influenced perkiness.   All four tracks were reissued on a 2003 EP in Italy by Misty Lane, with some historical liner notes. Their name, incidentally, wasn't as contrived a bit of '60s weirdness as might be assumed, inspired by an 1834 incident in which six farm workers in Tolpuddle, England, were banished to Australia for unionizing, subsequently becoming known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs

Monday 30 November 2015

Tony Cole - 1972 - If The Music Stops


The King Is Dead/ Ruby/Talk About Tomorrow/All I Meant To Do/Got To Get Through To You/Napoleon And Josephine/Suite Man & Woman/Nothing More Than You/Like A Rock And Roll Band/Goodbye Gemini/The Music Stops


Australian singer and songwriter Tony Cole (a former schoolteacher who was discovered on Bandstand in 1964), made his record debut with The Crestaires on the Pakktel label in '65 with 'Boomerang Baby', recorded one single on the Leedon label in 1967 and moved to the UK releasing two singles in 1970. He lived in London writing music for many among them Sir Cliff Richard and Johnny Halliday.

A successful songwriting career followed two LPs produced by David Mackay with the 1973 single 'The Hook' a minor Australian hit. Suite:Man & Woman spent 4 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 chartIN 1972 getting as high as #97.

He moved back to Australia in the 80s to care for his ailing mother. Unfortunately he didn't write any more... and he died (peacefully in his sleep) of a heart attack in 2001.

Tuesday 17 November 2015

Painters and Dockers - 1985 - Kill Kill Kill


Kill Kill Kill/I Like It Both Ways/Rock 'n' Roll Radio/Know Your Product


Painters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1982.

Paul Stewart, singer-songwriter and trumpet player, is the only mainstay in the band which was named for the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union when they performed an early gig at a pub rock venue in Port Melbourne frequented by the union's members Some members of the band went on to form the Dili Allstars.

Their best-performing album Kiss My Art, peaked in the top 30 of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums charts in 1988. The album included two top 50 singles, "Nude School" and "Die Yuppie Die".


A four-track EP, Kill Kill Kill was released in 1985 containing cover versions of "Kill Kill Kill" originally by The Sacred Cows on "The Groovy Guru" episode of US comedy TV series, Get Smart; Australian group Supernaut's "I Like it Both Ways"; The Ramones' "Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio?" and The Saints' "Know Your Product".

Saturday 14 November 2015

Various - Five By Four Vol. 2


1. Ronnie Burns - Coalman/Exit Stage Right/True True Loving/When I Was Six Years Old/The Very Last Day
2.The Cherokees - A Woman With Soul/The Thought Of You/That's If You Want Me Too/I've Been Trying/- Minnie The Moocher
3.The Groove - Simon Says/Sooth Me/What Is Soul/Relax Me /Baby Get In The Groove/Coke Advertisement
4.The Vibrants - Something About You Baby/The Letter Song/I Don't Need Nobody/Danger Zone/Terrible Way To Treat Your Baby/Sterling Jeans Advertisement




Great album released by Raven Records back in 1983 when we were all looking for those hard to find tracks this volume and it's predecessor were a godsend. Now in the digital age and with the internet things are a lot easier. This album is still a good listen with 5 tracks each from Ronnie Burns, The Groove, The Cherokees and The Vibrants.

Sunday 8 November 2015

Ray Brown - 1966 - Dance Dance Dance


The Loco-Motion/The Duck/Louie Louie/C.C. Rider/My Babe/Help Me Pt 1/Little Latin Lupe Lu/Mickey's Monkey/Bread And Butter/Bama Lama Bama Loo/Lonely Weekends/Help Me Pt 2


Ray Brown & The Whispers were a chart-topping Sydney band that originated in the surf music scene as The Nocturnes. After acquiring Ray Brown as their lead singer, they went on to become one of the most popular Australian bands of sixties era. The focus was on Ray Brown, who became a major star of the Australian pop scene. with a series of hit singles, including, "Pride", "Fool, Fool, Fool", and "20 Miles".

 Ray Brown & The Whispers ranked with Normie Rowe, The Aztecs and the Easybeats as one of the hottest acts in the country. They made regular appearances on all the major pop TV shows. By the end of 1965, they had already released two LPs, four singles and several EPs, and starting with their second album, Headin' For The Top, they were able to make use of Festival's newly opened four-track studio in Ultimo, enabling them to make great strides in production. In 1966, after five hit singles, the Whispers disbanded and losing momentum over the next few years, Ray Brown flew to the USA. returning to Australia in 1970 with a new, direction and he immediately formed Moonstone who used exotic instruments, such as the sitar, to record their album.

 Ray spent most of 1971 back in the USA, returning in late 1971 to unveil the 11-piece One Ton Gypsy an excellent country-influenced rock band. One Ton Gypsy regrettably made no studio recordings, and lasted only until 1973, eventually folding due to the cost of keeping such a large outfit on the road. The only extant tracks by this remarkable all-star band are the two songs they performed at the closing of the Garrison venue in Melbourne in mid-1973, which were recorded by Mushroom and later released as the LPs Garrison: The Final Blow. Whether any other songs from One Ton Gypsy were recorded at this event, and if such recordings have survived, is unknownAfter this band broke up, Ray recorded a superb solo single "Steel Guitar" / "Covered Wagon" for the newly-launched Mushroom label in November 1973. He continued to perform solo, and also revived the Whispers (with new lineups, including Wilbur Wilde) for concert appearances into the 80s.

Friday 30 October 2015

The Groop - Woman You're Breaking Me


Baby Blue/Mad Over You/I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself/Sorry/Thinkin' 'bout The Things We Said/Downtown Women/Woman You're Breaking Me/Reach For The Sun/Happy With A Love Like Yours/I'll Be Damned/Good Time Baby/Turn On Your Lovelight


The Groop were an Australian folk, R&B and rock band formed in 1964 in Melbourne, Australia and had their greatest chart success with their second line-up of Max Ross on bass, Richard Wright on drums and vocals, Don Mudie on lead guitar, Brian Cadd on keyboards and vocals, and Ronnie Charles on vocals. The Wesley Trio formed early in 1964 with Ross, Wright and Peter McKeddie on vocals; they were renamed The Groop at the end of the year.

The Groop's best known hit single "Woman You're Breaking Me" was released in 1967, the band won a trip to United Kingdom but had little success there. Other singles included "Ol' Hound Dog", "Best in Africa", "I'm Satisfied", "Sorry", "Seems More Important to Me" and "Such a Lovely Way".

When The Groop disbanded in 1969, Cadd and Mudie formed Axiom with Glenn Shorrock (later in Little River Band). Cadd was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2007, for his work with The Groop, Axiom and as a solo artist.

 

Saturday 17 October 2015

Rick Springfield - The Best Of Rick Springfield


Speak To The Sky/We're Gonna Have Good Time/Hookey Joe/Bad Boy/Streaking The Australian Way/Believe In Me/I'm Your Superman/I Want You/If We Help One Another/Walking The Floor On My Hands Over You



Rick Springfield (born Richard Lewis Springthorpe; 23 August 1949) is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter, actor and author. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia in mid-1972, when he moved to the United States. He had a No. 1 hit with "Jessie's Girl" in 1981 in both Australia and the US, for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. He followed with four more top 10 US hits, "I've Done Everything for You", "Don't Talk to Strangers", "Affair of the Heart" and "Love Somebody". Springfield's two US top 10 albums are Working Class Dog (1981) and Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982).

As an actor, he starred in the television series High Tide, from 1994 to 1997, and has appeared in supporting roles in Ricki and the Flash and True Detective (both in 2015). He portrayed Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital, from 1981 to 1983 and during 2005 to 2008 and 2012, returning in 2013 for the show's 50th anniversary with son and actor Liam Springthorpe. In 2010, Springfield published his autobiography, Late, Late at Night: A Memoir.

Monday 5 October 2015

Bang The Drum - 1990 - Bang The Drum


Stay Forever/Only You/Passion/Old Money/Hell/Closing Your Eyes/Lonely/
Hearts In Your Hands/Your Love/Justify


Bang The Drum were an Australian rock band, from Tasmania, who released their self titled debut album on WEA Records in 1990.
The album contained 3 singles including the top 40 hit "Only You", "Passion" and "Stay Forever" (which featured on the sound track of Australian film "The Big Steal" also in 1990. The album was produced and engineered by David Hemming.
Jim Reece (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals), Jeremy Cole (keyboards, saxophone), Geoff Robson (bass, vocals), Steve Driver (vocals, keyboards), JJ Harris (drums)
 Drummer "JJ Harris" had previously played with Australian band "Divinyls" from 1985 to 1986 before joining "Bang The Drum".
 Bang The Drum were the support act on Fleetwood Mac's 1990 World Tour "Fleetwood Mac - Behind The Mask".

Friday 18 September 2015

Australian Crawl - 1983 - Phalanx


Unpublished Critics/The Night/La Califusa/Love Beats Me Up/Things Don't Seem/White Limbo/Louie Louie/Errol/Reckless/Boys Light Up


Phalanx is the first live album released by  Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl. It was recorded live at concerts at Bombay Rock Gold Coast, Queensland and at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in October, 1983, during the 'Semantics' tour. The album was initially released on vinyl in December 1983 and was re-released on CD in May 1995. The album reached #4 on the National Album Charts being released by EMI.

The title of the album is derived from the name for the ancient Greek battle formation where long spears were presented from behind a wall of overlapping shields. The title can also refer more generally to a close-knit group of people, in this case the audience.

The cover features distinctive cartoon images by Michael Leunig with the front depicting five sharks swimming towards a lone wader – they are revealed to be five other swimmers with shark fin hair (see infobox). The back cover cartoon depicts a stage manager warning "Five Minutes Mr. Reyne" at the dressing room door. Meanwhile, Reyne is combing his hair backwards with Brylcream liberally applied, a guitar and a half-full bottle are nearby.

Phalanx was also released by Geffen Records in Europe but under a different title, Australian Crawl: Live, and with a different cover.


 Phalanx was the Crawl's fourth album it yielded a rollicking single, in the form of the band's raucous cover of The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie"... As this album lodged itself at the top of the charts, the Crawl were off to England for some pre-Christmas shows with Duran Duran. – Glen A. Baker, 1983.

John St. Peters & Jane Scali - 1986 - I Got You Babe


Always Something There To Remind Me/Lost In Love/Never Gonna Let You Go/You To Me Are Everything/Ti Amo/Just The Two Of Us/I Got You Babe/Can't Take My Eyes Off You/Feel Like Makin' Love/Guilty/Stuck On You/Steal Away/I Don't Want To Talk About It/Stumblin' In/Deja Vu/My Eyes Adored You


John St. Peeters is a singer, songwriter, musician, and one of the most dynamic performers in Australia today.John made his Las Vegas debut in a showcase at the Stardust Hotel supporting Wayne Newton and recently John has been touring with John Baressi in a comedy/music show The Italian Way.

John first came to our attention as Johnny Lo Piccolo the kid with the accordion. His first singles were accordion tracks and he was known as the “Squeezebox Kid”. John has had a number of chart-placed singles, including “Deep Inside of Me”, “High Class Woman”, “So Many Ways”, and “Wonderworld”.



Jane Scali was only 11 years of age when she leapt to National stardom as one of the original members of the popular long-running television show "Young Talent Time". In the ensuing years she has become a mature singer, dancer and actress with an excellent working knowledge of television and stage production.

In the early eighties, Jane was featured as a regular on the ABC's The Saturday Show for 5 years. Her numerous appearances on the Don Lane, Bert Newton, Mike Walsh and the Midday Show with Ray Martin has made her one of the most popular and successful female performers in Australia today. In 1995 Jane made 26 appearances on the ABC's Roy & HG Show and was re-signed for the 1996 season but Jane had to give up her contract to enable her to appear in the Broadway Musical Smokey Joe's Cafe in Melbourne. Jane has been voted Best Female Variety Performer on three separate occasions at the Australian Variety Artists "Mo" Awards.

Thursday 20 August 2015

Jenny Morris - 1986 - You're Gonna Get Hurt (12 inch)


You're Gonna Get Hurt (Extended)/You're Gonna Get Hurt/Cool


Jennifer "Jenny" Patricia Morris (born 29 September 1956 in Tokoroa) OAM is a New Zealand-born Australian pop, rock singer-songwriter. Her first success came with New Zealand band The Crocodiles, who had a top 20 hit single with "Tears". Re-locating to Sydney, Australia in February 1981, she was a backing vocalist for various groups and formed a trio, QED, in 1983.

Morris provided backing vocals for INXS on their 1983 album, The Swing. She then recorded a duet with lead singer, Michael Hutchence, on a cover of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's hit "Jackson"; it was included as a bonus track on the April 1984 (cassette only) INXS EP, Dekadance, which reached number two on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Morris worked on their 1985–1986 Listen Like Thieves World Tour.

Her solo career includes top five Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums with Shiver in 1989 and Honeychild in 1991, and her top five ARIA Singles are "She Has to Be Loved" and "Break in the Weather". These albums and singles also peaked in the top ten on the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) charts.

Morris has won two ARIA Music Awards for 'Best Female Artist' in 1987 and 1988 and was nominated for the same award in 1992. In 2003, on Australia Day (26 January), Morris became an Australian citizen and in 2010 she received the Medal of the Order of Australia.

in January 1986, Morris recorded "You’re Gonna Get Hurt", which was written and produced by INXS songwriter and keyboardist, Andrew Farriss. Recorded with backing from INXS' Andrew and Jon Farriss and Garry Gary Beers, together with guitarist Ian Moss (ex-Cold Chisel), it was released in September and peaked at number 24.

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons - 1981 - Dexterity


 Sweet/Yeah Yeah Yeah Tighten Up/ Flexible/Fallen Heroes/Nosey Parker/Johnny Kain/ Fool Enough/Rub Up Push Up/Please Please Please



A big thank you to MattyA who saw this one on Ebay then sent it on to me so I could present it to all of you.


This is a great Mini Album released in 10" format with some wonderful music on it. The album has a rock edge to it which I like and was the last in this vein before Joe started exploring Latin American rhythms, particularly salsa.

Wednesday 19 August 2015

Ronnie Burns - 1977 - Listen To The Band


This Old Man/ Introduction To The Band/Kookaburra/Yellow Submarine/Skip To My Lou/Mulberry Bush/She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain/Let Your Hands Go Clap/Sing A Rainbow/ The Wheels On The Bus/A Frog Went Walking/Looby Lou/Morning Town Ride/One Man Went To Mow/Boa Consrictor/Row Row/Somewhere Over The Rainbow


 Ronnie Burns was always a favourite of mine along with Normie Rowe ,Russell Morris and Johnny Young and this had been the holy grail for me for some time as it was the only album of Ronnie's that I didn't have on vinyl and when I finally was able to locate it was somewhat disappointed to find that it was a children's album . Having said that the album itself has a few tracks that if had not been recorded with children in mind may have been great tracks, the tracks being Yellow Submarine ,Morningtown Ride, Sing A Rainbow and Somewhere Over The Rainbow (not as good as Billy version but once again if it hadn't been recorded with kids in mind may have been a 
great song.) The other thing about the album is that even though recorded for kids there are some good musical passages during some of the old kiddy's classics where the band almost break out. I can't help but think if this had been a solo release and not destined for children what might have been.

Monday 20 July 2015

Mondo Rock - 1986 - Primitive Love Rites 12 inch (Extended Mix)




Primitive Love Rites (Extended Mix)/Rule Of Threes (Extended Mix)


Mondo Rock are a rock band from Melbourne, Australia, most prominent in the early 1980s. The band was formed in late 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Ross Wilson.

Both Primitive Love Rites and Rule Of Threes were released as singles of the 1986 Boom Baby Boom album but were only mildly successful. Here to download are the 12" remixes of those songs.

Friday 10 July 2015

Mondo Rock - 1984 - Good Advice 12 inch


Good Advice (Extended Version)/Good Advice/Dark Secrets


The charismatic Ross Wilson and the prolific songwriter Eric McCusker made Mondo Rock one of the top Aussie bands of the eighties who can forget such great songs as Chemistry, State Of The Heart, Summer Of 81, A Touch Of Paradise and Come Said The Boy. As far as I can tell this 12 inch released in 1984 appeared on no other locally released album but the songs did appear on some overseas releases the Dark Secrets track was included on the Essential Daddy Cool Double CD 2006 release.

Wendy & The Rocketts - 1982 - Live (Mini Album)


Talkin To You/Burns Like Fire/Open Up Your Heart/It's Always Maybe/Danny/When I'm Gone



 Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton (born 8 July 1954) is an Australian pop/rock singer-songwriter, and musical theatre and television actress. Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she fronted various Melbourne-based groups including Wendy Stapleton Band (1976–1978) and Wendy & the Rocketts  (1980–1985) which had a top 30 hit single with "Play the Game" in June 1983


Stapleton signed a solo deal with Festival Records and issued her debut single, "Heart of Stone", a cover of The Rolling Stones 1964 song, in September 1979.Her version did not chart on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[6] In August 1980 Stapleton formed pub rock band, Wendy & the Rocketts , with Mark Chew on guitar and keyboards (ex-Traction, Southern Transit), Victor Crump on guitar (Bandicoot, Fastbuck), Steve Donald on drums (Fastbuck) and Wayne Sullivan on bass guitar (Fastbuck). The band signed with Mushroom Records and released "Reputation" in June 1981, which peaked at No. 40. "Tonite" followed in September but did not chart. Sullivan was replaced by Joe Imbroll on bass guitar.

A new line-up appeared in March 1982 with Donald, and new members: Joey Amenta on lead guitar and backing vocals (Taste, Redhouse, Russell Morris Band, Darryl Cotton Band), Noel Beare on bass guitar (Misfits, Routinos) and Adrian Dessent on rhythm guitar and backing vocals (Scandal, Vixen, Marc Hunter Band). The third single, "You're Place or Mine?" released in March, reached the top 40. A live recording, Live, appeared as a six-track EP in September. The band travelled to UK in early 1983 to record their debut studio album, Dazed for Days it was issued in July and appeared into the top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Lead single, "Play the Game", was released in April and peaked in the top 30, "Have You Been Telling Me Lies" followed in August with "Security" in November. However, by September, the band had left for UK and Europe to tour as support for Bryan Adams and ZZ Top.

In November 1984, another version of Wendy & the Rocketts toured: John Dallimore replaced Amenta on lead guitar (Redhouse, Dallimore, Jon English & the Foster Brothers), Brian Hamilton replaced Beare on bass guitar, and Paul McNaughton (aka Paul Norton) joined on guitar.[5] No more recordings appeared—the group disbanded in March 1985—and Stapleton returned to session work. Stapleton joined as guest vocalist with The Incredible Penguins in 1985, for a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", a charity project for research on little penguins, which peaked at No. 10 on the singles chart in December. Incredible Penguins also included Donald from an early Wendy & the Rocketts line-up.





Monday 6 July 2015

Darryl Cotton - 1980 - Best Seat In The House


Darlin'/No More Lonely Nights/Watcha' Gonna Do/Dance/Same Old Girl/Don't Let It Get To You/I Can't Let Go/Don't Let It Get To You/Somebody Must Have Known/Here Comes Another Heartache/Hollywood



Darryl Grant Cotton (4 September 1949 – 27 July 2012) was an Australian pop, rock singer-songwriter, television presenter and actor. He was a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1965, with Beeb Birtles, and were later joined by Rick Brewer and Rick Springfield. As a solo artist Cotton released the albums, Best Seat in the House (1980), It's Rock 'n' Good Fun (1984) and Let the Children Sing (1994). In April 1980 his biggest solo hit, "Same Old Girl", which was co-written by Cotton, peaked at No. 6 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. He acted in the TV soap opera, The Young Doctors (1979), and on stage as Joseph in the theatre production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (1983). He presented TV shows, Summer Rock (1979 and 1980) and The Early Bird Show (1985 to 1989). In 1996 he formed Burns Cotton & Morris with fellow 1960s pop singers, Ronnie Burns and Russell Morris. In 2000 Burns retired from the trio and, with Jim Keays, they became Cotton Keays & Morris. In May 2012, Cotton was diagnosed with liver cancer and died on 27 July 2012, aged 62.

Sunday 5 July 2015

The Aliens - 1980 - Translator


Too Late Now/Follow That Girl/L.O.V.E. Love/Till The Beast Is Dead/Girls/She's So Dangerous/He's An Angel/The Boys In Black/Go Away/The Machine Wants To Know/ Confrontation/Bomb Squad



In 1975 Greg Webster (guitar), Dave Lewis (guitar), Danny Johnson (vocals), Geoff Stapleton (drums), Grant Lang (keyboards) and Grant Lewis (bass) were playing in an Adelaide band called Gold. A local band they played around Adelaide, as well as a number of country performances. In 1976 Gold were winners

In 1977 Riff Raff consisted of Stapleton and Johnson together with Greg Webster (guitar, vocals),and Rob Grosser (drums). In February 1978 Stapleton and Johnson moved to Melbourne and in April that year formed The Aliens. In June 1979 they signed with Mushroom Records. The Aliens recorded their first single, "Confrontation", with producer Charles Fisher between Saturday, 11 August, and Monday, 13 August 1979, at Trafalgar Studios, Sydney, Australia, during a national tour with the band The Sports. "Confrontation" reached #15 in Sydney, #35 in Brisbane and #36 on the national singles charts.

Their debut album, Translator, was recorded at The Music Farm, in northern New South Wales, between 24 November and 9 December 1979, with producer, David Tickle. The band performed on television shows like Countdown, Nightmoves, Sounds Unlimited, and Hey Hey Its Saturday. In January 1980 the band toured nationally with (U.K.) Squeeze and in March 1980 toured with The Police. The band released its second single, "Follow that Girl", on 25 February 1980. "Follow that Girl" reached #4 in Canberra and #48 on the national singles charts.
of the 5KA 'Battle of the Bands'. Gold soon turned into Riff Raff, which had a much punkier name and this change in image was reflected in their material.


On 20 May 1980 following a performance at the Canberra Theatre, Webster quit and returned to Melbourne. In that brief sixteen month period they played 356 shows around Australia. The band continued as a three piece, working in a whole new repertoire and sound, which included more keyboards from Geoffrey Stapleton.

In September 1980 Randy Bulpin from Mondo Rock briefly joined on lead guitar until the end of October when the band relocated to Sydney. Pierre Baroni joined the band on the day they left Melbourne for Sydney. Baroni was recruited for his voice and song writing ability, as well as his guitar arrangements. On 27 November 1980, Grosser left the band and was replaced by Alex Bash on drums in December 1980. On 6 March 1981, Danny Johnson left the band, leaving Stapleton as the only original member. Greg Trennery joined the band on bass on 31 March 1981. The new line up of Stapleton, Trennery, Baroni, and Bash recorded a new single, "I Don't Care", on 23 May at EMI Studios 301. The A-side featured Stapleton on lead vocal and the B-side, "Over my Head", had Baroni on lead vocals. It was eventually released on their own label, Planet X Records, through EMI in December 1981. On 29 May, Bash left the band and was replaced by Malcolm Fogg on 3 June 1981. They toured Melbourne during October and November 1981. Bash rejoined the band, replacing Fogg for the band's last performance on the television show, Countdown, on 11 December 1981, performing "I Don't Care".







Stapleton went on to play with GANGgajang. Baroni worked in the art department of Mushroom Records.

Members
Alex Bash — drums (1980-1981)
Pierre Baroni — guitar, synthesiser (1980–1981)
Randy Bulpin — guitar (1980)
Rob Grosser — drums (1979–1980)
Malcolm Fogg — drums (1978)
Danny Johnson — vocals, bass (1978–1981)
Graham Lewis — keyboards (1978–1979)
Kevin Patricks — drums (1978-1979)
Geoffrey Stapleton — vocals, guitar (1978–1981)
Greg Trennery — bass (1981)
Greg Webster — vocals, guitar (1978–1980)





                       L-R : Greg Webster, Rob Grosser , Danny Johnson, Geoffrey Stapleton.

Discography

Albums
Translator — Mushroom (1980)

Singles
"Confrontation"/"Boys in Black" — Mushroom (December 1979) AUS #36
"Follow That Girl"/"The Hyding of Dr Jekyll" — Mushroom (February 1980) AUS #48
"I Don't Care"/"Over My Head" — Planet X (December 1981)

Thursday 2 July 2015

The Saints - A Little Madness To Be Free [FLAC]


Ghost Ships  / Someone To Tell Me / Down The Drain / It's Only Time / Imagination / Wrapped Up And Blue / Walk Away / Photograph / The Hour / Angel


The Saints were a punk/rock band formed in Brisbane in 1974, with Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper the main creative forces behind the band. When Kuepper left in 1979 to form The Laughing Clowns, Bailey remained and The Saints name continued on but with regularly changing line-ups.

A Little Madness To Be Free was released in 1984 and features 10 original Bailey songs, including the popular "Ghost Ships".

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons - 1979 - Screaming Targets


Hit And Run/Dont Wanna Come Down/Katschara/Only The Lonely Hearted/You Made A Fool Out Of Me/Close To The Bone/Shape I'm In/Trials And Tribulations/Thin Line/Open Hearted
Bonus Live At The Sentimental Bloke
Security/So Young/Not A Woman Not A Child/Mona/The Cthulhu


Released in 1979 it had 2 hits "Hit And Run" made #12 and "Shape I'm In" #22. When I bought this I was lucky enough to get a copy with the bonus disc "Live At The Sentimental Bloke" didn't realise at the time that all the albums didn't have the extra vinyl.

Tuesday 30 June 2015

The Saints - Prodigal Son [FLAC]



Grain Of Sand / Fire And Brimstone / Friend Of The People / Before Hollywood / Sold Out / Stay / Massacre / Tomorrow / Some Things Never Change / Calling On You / Shipwreck

Iain Shedden (drums), Arturo 'Archie' Larizza (bass), Barrington Francis (guitar), Joe Chiofalo (organ) and Chris Bailey (guitar, vocals) recorded "Prodigal Son" in London and New York City and it was released in April 1988.

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons - 1980 - Hats Off Step Lively


Puppet On A String/Rudie/Keep It Up/P.T./ I Will Return/All I Wanna Do/Don't Go/To Hot To Touch/No Mystery To Me/Hand Me Down



Joe Camilleri originally joined the Falcons of Wayne Burt and Jeff Burstin (both ex-Rock Granite) on guitars, John Power (from the Foreday Riders and Company Caine) on bass and former Daddy Cool drummer Gary Young - to record a version of 'Run Rudolph Run' as a Christmas single produced by Ross Wilson.Even by that stage Camilleri was a local veteran, having played with mid-60's R&B band the King Bees, then the Adderly Smith Blues Band (which allegedly sacked him for sounding too much like Mick Jagger), Lipp and the Double Dekker Brothers, The Sharks and The Pelaco Brothers (with Stephen Cummings).After recording the albums 'Don't Waste It' and 'Whip It Out', the mini-albums 'Loud and Clear' and 'So Young' (the title of which was covered by Elvis Costello) for Oz Records, the band - and its shifting cast of players - found themselves at Mushroom Records. By this stage Wayne Burt, one of the nations' great songwriters even then, had left - to be replaced by Tony Faehse (who had played in Alvin Stardust's band) - and the composing duties were thrown over to Camilleri and his colleagues. Soon afterwards, the ebullient Wilbur Wilde, who had been an integral member of Ol' 55, also joined the band.The label move also teamed Camilleri up with producer Peter Solley who oversaw the hit singles 'Hit & Run', 'Shape I'm In' and 'All I Wanna Do' and the albums 'Screaming Targets' (1979), 'Hats Off Step Lively' (1981) and the 'Dexterity' mini-album (1981). The band toured overseas and even got to play at the Montreux Jazz and Blues festival.But by this stage the sound of the band was changing and by 1982's sophisticated 'Cha' album and its hit single 'Taxi Mary' it was just Jo Jo Zep, minus the Falcons and plus Jane Clifton, Joe Creighton and others. Even a tour of America (which by all accounts was a disaster) failed to stop the eventual demise of the group. Ironically, Camilleri soon got back to his roots and went on to form the even more successful Black Sorrows. A brief national tour to support the 1984 compilation saw the Camilleri/Wilde/Burstin/Faehse/Power/Young line-up appear for the last time until that famed reunion in 2001 and the brand new album Ricochet! 

Sunday 14 June 2015

Bulldogs All Star Goodtime Band - 1974 - Bulldoggin'




Bulldoggin' (Intro)/My Gal/Day In The Sun/Dance The Stars Away/Baby Get Out/Everyone Knows/Mary Jane/Miss September/Summer Skies/Friday Night Pick Up/Ruby Baby/Take Me To The River/Dead Skunk/Bulldoggin' (Outro)



The Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band was formed in late 1972 by a bunch of Victoria University students. Their instruments included kazoo, tea chest bass and washboard. Their first gig of any note was at the Ngaruawahia Music Festival in 1973, but it took their 1973 'New Faces' appearance, where they were finalists, to really kick off their career. With their ridiculous stage costumes, infectious humour, bouncy songs and Worboys' foghorn voice, they couldn't miss.

In November 1973 they scored two massive hits for EMI, "Miss September" and "Everybody Knows" reaching number 2 and 3 respectively on the national charts. An album, "Bulldoggin" was released in June 1974 but it failed to sell, as did subsequent singles "Baby Get Out" and "Day In The Sun".

Bursting onto the national scene as the NZBC’s Studio One New Faces winners of 1973, Bulldogs scored two top five hits, released an album, toured relentlessly, were awarded recording artist/group of the year at the RATA Awards and the group award at the NEBOA Entertainer Of The Year and even performed for and met the Queen. They had nothing more to prove.
Show less -

The Bulldogs story starts with singer Neil Worboys, who became interested in jug band music through his older brother, Brian, and had formed his own jug band, Stupid Cat Requiem, during his first year at Wellington Teachers College in 1970.

Worboys had learnt to play the harmonica while at high school and had access to the standard jug band fare available on Vanguard Records. He was a fan of Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and could often be found scouring second-hand shops for old 45s and 78s.

At the end of 1971, having seen Stupid Cat Requiem at the Maranui Surf Club, drummer Brien McCrea, another trainee teacher, suggested to Worboys the two start their own jug band. McCrea had briefly been in The Leaders with guitarist John Donoghue but they split up when McCrea bought a surfboard with money the band had given him for a drum kit.




When McCrea ran into Donoghue in Cuba Street and told him of the fledgling jug band at the teachers college, Donoghue jumped on board.

Donoghue’s band Timberjack gained notoriety in New Zealand in 1971 when their cover of Black Widow’s ‘Come To The Sabbat’ was a finalist in the Loxene Golden Disc Awards. The film clip, featuring skulls, sacrifices and a nude girl, brought numerous complaints and eventual television and radio bans which resulted in Timberjack’s demise.

When McCrea ran into Donoghue in Cuba Street and told him of the fledgling jug band at the teachers college, Donoghue jumped on board as tenor banjo player. He soon brought along his bass-playing flatmate Paul Curtis, late of country rock band Farmyard whose ‘Learning ’Bout Living’, written by Curtis, had also been a Loxene Golden Disc finalist in 1971.

At the beginning of 1972, Neil Worboys met Kevin Findlater when he started at Wellington Teachers College. Findlater was a guitarist in rock band Horse, who had spent more than six months rehearsing a repertoire that ranged from The Kinks and The Rolling Stones to Jethro Tull and Uriah Heep. After hearing Worboys tear through some Joe Cocker songs, Findlater invited him to join.

A Kapiti Observer article of the time noted that new addition Worboys was “spreading his interests, and also singing with a jug band!” Besides Worboys (vocals) and Findlater (guitar), the rest of Horse were Tony Hooper (guitar), Peter Gapes (bass) and Danny Shaw (drums). After one rehearsal, one photo shoot and a gig supporting Taylor at the training college, they broke up.

Findlater and yet another teachers college trainee, Richard Egan, were then drafted in to the jug band, by now rehearsing in a prefab at the Karori campus. The original line-up featured four trainee teachers (Worboys, McCrea, Findlater and Egan) and two well-known Wellington musician/songwriters (Donoghue and Curtis).

Their early repertoire included songs from Worboys’ second-hand 45s and 78s, the odd vaudeville selection such as ‘Yes Sir, That’s My Baby’, some Frank Zappa and John Mayall and a few originals – one of which was ‘Miss September’, a song Donoghue had written for a previous band The Cheshire Katt.



 They named themselves Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band after the bulldog insignia on McCrea’s washboard bicycle bell.

They named themselves Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band after the bulldog insignia on McCrea’s washboard bicycle bell – the “Allstar” was added for theatricality and “Goodtime” for the brand of music they performed – and started playing Wellington’s coffee bars, surf clubs, dances, pubs and parks. Midyear they were the support band for Australian pop star Russell Morris at a packed St James Theatre.

When John Donoghue and Paul Curtis departed for full-time band work in Auckland, Bulldogs acquired former Horse guitarist Tony Hooper to play tenor banjo and another trainee schoolteacher Brian Hayward to play tea-chest bass.

The band bought an old truck for $60 and organised a North Island tour playing university arts festivals and gigs in Napier and Wanganui as well as playing at Neil Worboys’ wedding. They appeared alongside BLERTA and even contacted the organisers of The Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival of January 1973 who said they couldn’t guarantee them a spot but they would try. Pitching their tent next door to Black Sabbath, Bulldogs were so well received they ended up going on twice.

With Worboys taking a teaching job in Nelson, Brien McCrea taking up a position in Wellington and Richard Egan being posted up north, Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band went into hiatus until the Easter long weekend when gigs were planned around Wellington, including The Western Park Tavern in Thorndon.

In the audience that night was former Hogsnort Rupert songwriter/guitarist Dave Luther. He had been tipped off by bluesman Midge Marsden, who had seen Bulldogs open for Russell Morris.

More comfortable behind the scenes than performing, Luther had set up his own production and management company, Mardi-Gras Music. Knowing full well the power of television exposure – Hogsnort Rupert’s ‘Pretty Girl’ was NZ’s highest-selling single of 1970 on the back of an appearance on Studio One – he encouraged Bulldogs to enter the show’s New Faces competition.

He booked time at Broadcasting House and the band recorded John Donoghue’s ‘Miss September’, with which they successfully auditioned for and then won their New Faces heat, scoring a national No.2 hit and gold record along the way.

They knew they needed a strong follow-up for the November final and Kevin Findlater thought he had something with the working title of ‘Downtown Night’. When he played it for Luther, the pair loved the verse but weren’t too keen on the chorus.

Luther had a song he’d carried around for a while where he didn’t like the verse, but the chorus lyric, “Everyone knows you’ve been such a good girl” was extremely catchy. They joined the two together and presented it to the band but realised it was lacking a bridge. “Well, I’ve got this refrain,” Tony Hooper piped up and the complete ‘Everyone Knows’ was born.




Having recorded the song, They fronted up to Studio One director Chris Bourn with a bicycle that sawed wood in time with the music.

Having recorded the song, they fronted up to Studio One director Chris Bourn with a bicycle that sawed wood in time with the music for the final choruses of ‘Everyone Knows’. Bourn loved the gimmick, the judges loved Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band and they were crowned New Faces winners ahead of a field that included an early version of Split Ends.

‘Everyone Knows’ peaked at No.3 and with Dave Luther now as manager, all but Brien McCrea threw in their day jobs and turned professional. McCrea was replaced by another of the Horse alumni Danny Shaw, who had been touring the provinces as drummer with 5th Movement.

1974 was a huge year for the band. They toured the North Island with Tiny Tim, performed for the Queen at the Royal Variety Charity Concert in Christchurch, toured with Kenny Rogers & The First Edition and English one-hit wonder Daniel Boone (‘Beautiful Sunday’) and released the album Bulldoggin.

In between there were tours under their own steam and with Shona Laing, Ebony and Steve Allen, sometimes playing up to three shows a day, including a secondary school, with the band doubling as their own roadies.

Brian Hayward returned to Wellington Teachers College and was briefly replaced by Bill Wood, who’d been part of The Hot Mumble Jug Band with Worboys in Nelson the previous year, before the return of John Donoghue on guitar, Kevin Findlater switching to bass.

Two more singles were released – the Tony Hooper-penned ‘Baby Get Out…!’ from Bulldoggin and Donoghue’s ‘Television Mama’ – and Bulldogs won RATA (Recorded Arts Talent Awards) and NEBOA (National Entertainment and Ballroom Operators Association) group awards before the inevitable talk of crossing the Tasman surfaced.
 




For Neil Worboys, the decision was easy. Married two years, he and his wife wanted to travel. The rest of the band agreed it was better to end it while they were all still friends than to face the grind of breaking themselves in Australia, so one last tour was undertaken, headlining a package that included The Yandall Sisters, Mark Williams, Rob Guest, Laurie Dee, Lew Pryme and Pizzazz, before going their separate ways in January 1975.

There was a reunion in name only in the early 1990s when Brien McCrea instigated recording tracks to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities. A four-song Bulldogs Allstar Goodtime Band cassette was released as Upside Down World but the only Bulldogs involved were McCrea, Worboys and Findlater.






Line-Up:
     Neil Worboys (Vocals, Harmonica, Mandolin, Kazoo)
     Tony Hooper (Vocals, Banjo, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar)
     Kevin Findlater (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar)
     Brian Hayward (Bass Guitar, Tea Chest Bass)
     Richard Egan (Vocals, Jug, Percussion)
     Danny Shaw (Drums, Washboard)

Friday 12 June 2015

Cattletruck - 1987 - Ready To Believe


Ready To Believe/Change/Argue/Rain/Concrete & Diesoline/Resurrection Shuffle/(It's Not A) Bad Life/Leave Me/She Is/Over You



The origins of Melbourne band Cattletruck lay in a one time St. Kilda bar band going by the name Caught In A Cattletruck. Paul Janovskis (vocals/guitar), Tony Dennis (bass), Charles Todd (saxophone), and James Martin (drums), started out playing a basic acoustic brand country-blues, born of their mutual affection for the roots music of Johnny Cash, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and pre-Army Elvis Presley. Having shortened their moniker to the more manageable Cattletruck, in early 1985 Janovskis and Dennis decided to do a Dylan and electrify their sound. Keyboardist Phil Viggiano and trumpet player Peter Knight were brought on board to both expand the line-up, and give them a bigger sound, whilst original sax player Todd was replaced by Nick Cross. Cattletruck recorded the single ‘Never Is’ and had it produced independently (a big call in those days). They gave away copies of ‘Never Is’ to fans who attended one of Cattletruck’s headliner gigs at the Prince of Wales Hotel, Melbourne, in December 1985.

Cattletruck’s lively, pulsating brand of rock and blues, soon had them filling support gigs for A-list Australian acts like Hoodoo Gurus, The Saints, Australian Crawl, Models and a number of high profile international acts, such as Los Lobos, The Violent Femmes and Lloyd Cole & The Commotions (see Oct post). With so much big venue exposure, and a growing repertoire of original numbers, Cattletruck were a natural to be signed to the respected Regular label.

By the time Cattletruck pulled into the studio in 1986 to record tracks for their debut album, the line-up on board was Janovskis, Dennis, Viggiano, Knight, Cross, and new drummer Bruce Coombs. The band’s first single hit the stores in October ‘86, but ‘Change’ only skirted around the lower reaches of the Australian chart (#81). The follow up single ‘Leave Me’ left the record store shelves at a reasonable enough rate to give Cattletruck their first top forty hit (#39) in May ‘87. English producer Dave Courtnay was flown over to produce Cattletruck’s debut album. Courtnay brought a degree of rock pedigree to the table, having a C.V. that included Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Three Dog Night. He basically let the lads in Cattletruck have their head to unleash their effervescent, vibrant brand of performance. Several tracks on the album also benefited from the sublime vocal harmonies of Vika and Linda Bull (The Black Sorrows). A mix of rock, pop, country, R&B, and traditional blues amalgamated to form the album ‘Ready To Believe’ (OZ#58). No doubt the diversity of music satisfied the interests of band members, but possibly proved to be a little too diverse for record buyers, making the album a tad difficult to categorise. The next single ‘Rain’ (OZ#56) didn’t exactly create a downpour of demand, but the band had their best offering laying in wait.

 
  
Cattletruck’s version of ‘Resurrection Shuffle’ was released in November ‘87, and within weeks was stampeding the national charts. The song was a cover of the 1971 hit by Ashton, Gardner & Dyke (US#40/UK#3/OZ#16). Whilst Cattletruck’s version (OZ#33) didn’t ascend to those heights, it was a kick arse, high energy take on a rock and roll classic. The surging brass backing, and driving rock beat, were perfectly matched to Paul Janovskis raucous vocals. Every time I hear the track it brings to mind something that current Australian punk rock powerhouse The Living End would take on.

‘Resurrection Shuffle’ proved to be the highpoint on the road for Cattletruck. The next two singles ‘Ready To Believe’ in March ‘88, and ‘(It’s Not Such A) Bad Life’ in June ‘88, both drove on past the charts without making a stop. At the end of 1988 vocalist/guitarist Paul Janovskis left Cattletruck, dealing a body blow to the band. They toured throughout 1989 with a new line-up, which added vocalist Gary Young, guitarist Scott Kingman, and saxophonist Steve Colebrook to the remaining members Tony Dennis, Peter Knight and Bruce Coombs. Over the course of the year the crowds dwindled and the venues became smaller. With little prospect of recording more material, Cattletruck pulled over to the side of the rock and roll highway, and its members duly disembarked for good.


  Whilst Cattletruck was coming to a slow and steady stop, former front man Paul Janovskis had changed his name to Paul Dean, and formed a new band called Gas, with guitarist Brett Kingman (brother of Cattletruck’s new guitarist Scott Kingman). Kingman, of the Brett variety, was ex of Uncanny X-Men and the James Reyne Band, so there was no doubting his credentials. Completing the Gas line-up were the jazz-trained Tailby brothers, Greg (drums) and Rick (bass). They provided an effective jazz-swing rhythmic counter balance to Dean and Kingman’s hard rock drive out front.

Gas was connected at the Mushroom label, and issued their debut album ‘Burn So Bright’ in June 1990. The album spawned the title track and ‘Empty Dreams’ as singles, but none managed to light up the charts. The Tailby Brothers and Kingman all left in 1991 (Kingman went on to join Bigger Than Jesus), and were replaced by bassist Brett Goldsmith (ex-Chantoozies), guitarist Peter Dickson, and drummer Brett Luton (ex-Geisha - see previous post). But the new line-up didn’t settle, and before long Gas had evaporated into Australian rock history.

Thursday 11 June 2015

Jimmy and the Boys - 1979 - Not Like Everybody Else


I'm Not Like Everybody Else/Cops Are Coming/Butchy Boys/Vampire Love/Other Side/Wild Boys/Komputer Songg/Dr. Cairo/Rude To You/Wagga



“Jimmy and the Boys were an Australian New Wave band, active from 1975 to 1982, best known for their incredibly violent stage shows. The act revolved around vocalist Ignatius Jones and keyboard player Joylene Hairmouth - a couple of friends from Cranbrook and Riverview, exclusive private schools. Since 1976 the duo had been surrounded by various combinations of backing musicians, the constant guts and gore probably accounting for at least some of the member turnover. Their performance, their visual image, their on and offstage behaviour were all carefully designed to elicit the maximum level of shocked outrage from a public long since bored with the standard media fare of moral decadence. Sadomasochism, transvestitism, self-mutilation, drug abuse, inebriation, simulated sex and mock rape all took starring roles in Jimmy And The Boys’ blisteringly paced tribute to cultural degeneracy. The band was known for often causing audience riots in the more homophobic venues they played.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_And_The_Boys

I'd forgotten what a great album this is even though the themes of the songs are of bondage murder transvestites and sex changes this album just powers along with some really great rock songs The Cops are Coming ,Butchy Boys and Wild Boys. Another great track is Other Side written by co-written Kevin Borich and Todd Hunter amongst others.

Saturday 6 June 2015

Billy Thorpe - The Hoax Is Over


Gangster Of Love/Goodbye Baby/Mississippi/Truth


In 1969 Thorpe decided to try England, after being offered a recording deal by the Australian-born, London-based impresario Robert Stigwood, who had risen to become manager of The Bee Gees and Cream. While rehearsing a backing band in Melbourne that would form the basis for a new Aztecs, the guitarist unexpectedly dropped out, leaving Thorpe to assume lead guitar role at short notice. It marked another turning point in his career and from this point on Thorpe played lead guitar in The Aztecs as well as continuing as lead vocalist. His planned six-week stay in Melbourne soon stretched into months and eventually Thorpe decided to remain in Australia and re-launch his career.

Thorpe himself openly acknowledges that this new 'heavy' version of the Aztecs owes much to 'guitar hero' Lobby Loyde. Lloyde already had a cult following due to his stints in two of the most original Australian bands of the 1960s, The Purple Hearts and Wild Cherries. While his stint in the new Aztecs was short (from December 1968 to January 1971), his musical influence proved crucial in steering Thorpe in a completely new direction, and he strongly encouraged Thorpe to keep playing guitar.

 


The new Aztecs' blues-based heavy-rock repertoire was dramatically different in style from the original group, and they quickly became famous (or notorious) for the ear-splitting volume at which they played. Thorpe had also drastically changed his appearance—he grew a beard, often wore his now shoulder-length hair braided in a pigtail, and he had long since traded the tailored suits for jeans and t-shirts. Needless to say this did not endear him to people who came to the shows expecting the 'old' Billy Thorpe of the "Poison Ivy" era, and this led to sometimes violent confrontations with disgruntled fans and promoters.

 

Their breakthrough recording was an ambitious album, The Hoax Is Over, recorded in September 1970 with new drummer Kevin Murphy. The album was an unequivocal signal of the Aztecs' new direction, containing only four tracks, three of which were Thorpe originals. The LP is dominated by two extended tracks: a version of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Gangster Of Love", which clocked in at 24:35 and ran the entire length of Side 1 (an unprecedented move in Australian pop music) and Thorpe's own "Mississippi" which ran 19'35". According to Thorpe, the band (which at this time comprising himself, Murphy, pianist Warren Morgan, guitar legend Lobby Loyde and bassist Paul Wheeler), were all high on LSD and jammed continuously while engineer Ernie Rose just let the tapes roll. The result heralded the fully-fledged arrival of

Thursday 4 June 2015

Col Joye & The Joy Boys - 1959 - Jump With Joye


Dance To The Bop/School Days/Fools Like Me/Ah, Poor Little Baby/Rip It Up/This Little Boys Gonna Rockin'/Love Me/Bye Bye Baby Goodbye


Colin Frederick Jacobsen AM (born 13 April 1936 in Sydney), better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian pioneer rock musician, popular entertainer and entrepreneur, (he has also recorded various other cross-over styles such as country music). Joye was the first Australian rock and roll singer to have a number one record Australia-wide and experienced a string of chart successes in the early Australian rock and roll scene.

Recording as a solo artist and with his backing band, The Joy Boys, which included his brothers Kevin and Keith, Joye enjoyed a string of hits on the local and national singles charts of Australia beginning in 1959. Joye's first single, "Stagger Lee" was a cover of the Lloyd Price US original however his third single "Bye Bye Baby", reached No.3 on the Australian Kent Music Report charts in 1959, followed by "Rockin Rollin Clementine" also peaking at No.3. His fifth single, "Oh Yeah Uh Huh", became his most successful, peaking at No.1. He also had other charting singles, including "Yes Sir That's My Baby" peaking at No.5 nationally. Joye was an original member of Brian Hendersons Bandstand television program, and appeared regularly on this show for fourteen years. Joye also toured Australia with fellow Bandstand acts, including Judy Stone, Sandy Scott, and Little Pattie. Joye's popularity leveled off with the changes to the music scene around the time of the rise of the British invasion, and especially The Beatles, and it was not until 1973 that he had another hit record, with "Heaven Is My Woman's Love" reaching No.1 on the Go-Set charts in 1973.

Ugly Dave Gray - Gray & Spicy Boom Boom


Nobody Does It Like Me/Pennies From Heaven/Remember Me/Chloe/Galway Bay/The Old Bazzar In Cairo/Fan Dance Fanny/Lynn What If Your Mother Comes In/Sing Us Another One Do/Hands


Englishman really, but long adopted by Australia. His cheeky brand of Northern humour first found a home on Graham Kennedy's IMT, later he became a cast member of the classic 70s soap "The Young Doctors" and one of the regulars on Graham's version of the game show "Blankety Blanks" where his seemingly endless supply of 'Dick'jokes became stuff of legend. Speaking of Dick, he recently made a comeback advertising a nasal spray that asists with err.. men's problems. Some of the claims may have been slightly exaggerated.

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Tony Worsley - 1965 - Velvet Waters


I'll Be There/My Friend/Velvet Waters/With You By My Side/The Kind/Lonely City/I Don't Need Nobody/When You Go/Missing You/All Over You/Rock A Billy/Dimples


For any info on Tony scroll down a couple of posts.

Tuesday 2 June 2015

Ernie Sigley - 1974 - And Here's Ernie


Hey Paula/Any Dream Will Do/When I See You Smile Again/Jean/My Sentimental Friend/Love Is A Golden Ring/That's Why You
Remember/Candy Man/The Three Bells/Seasons In The Sun/Your'e Sixteen/Just Thank Me



This was requested some time ago but I wanted to do some updating on the album but alas I am unable to find it so apologies for the delay





Ernest William "Ernie" Sigley born 2 September 1938, in Footscray Victoria is an enduring Aussie entertainer known for his square-rimmed spectacles, the gap between his front teeth and his Slapstick approach to comedy . Ernie has had a long career in Australian radio and television,
Sigley's radio career began in 1952 as turntable operator on Danny Webb's breakfast program at radio station 3DB Melbourne. Ernie made his TV debut as host of Teenage Mailbag on HSV 7 in 1957. Ernie then took a gamble and left for England to try his luck and while in London gained some work experience at the BBC and then had a big break when he landed a two year contract at Radio Luxembourg.

Returning to Australia in the mid-'60s, Sigley went to Adelaide where he took over as host of NWS9 's Adelaide Tonight . Hosting Adelaide Tonight for almost a decade led to Sigley and co-host Anne Wills scoring a swag of TV Week Logie awards for most popular personalities in South Australia. In 1974, Sigley returned to Melbourne to host The Ernie Sigley Show at GTV9 , this paired him up with former go-go dancer Denise Drysdale .They both went on to win TV Week Gold Logies as most popular personalities on Australian television and also had recording success with their single 'Hey Paula' becoming a best-seller. The show ended in 1976.

In 1981, after a break from TV Ernie returned to host the Seven Network 's new game show Wheel Of Fortune he compered Wheel of Fortune until 1984. Since then Ernie has hosted various radio and television shows . His las job was the radio annoncer on 3AW'S Afternoon slot but in 2008 Ernie Sigley retired at age 70.

This is the album that Ernie release in 1974 it has the hit that he and Denise Drysdale recorded Hey Paula.

Sunday 31 May 2015

Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Bluejays - Self Titled


 I Sure Know A Lot About Love/Me You Gotta Teach/I'm So Glad/If I/If You See My Baby/Just A Little Bit/King Bee/So Much In Love/Motivate/Pathfinder/Jay Walker/We're Friends/Louie Louie/Tell Me When/Hey Jack/Zoom Gonk




Tony was born Anthony Asheen Worsley in England in 1944 and emigrated with his family from his hometown of Hastings to the sunnier climes of Brisbane when he was 15. Tony had already set his sights on a show biz career. As a lad he won several amateur talent quests in England including one judged by Lonnie Donegan and Tommy Steele, which carried first prize of a Decca recording contract. Needless to say, his parents' decision to leave for Australia right at this point didn't go down too well with the ambitious young singer -- "I didn't get on with my parents too much on the ship for the first few weeks!" -- but he was determined to fulfill that dream in his adopted country. By day he worked as an apprentice rigger in the Brisbane dockyards, but at night he patrolled the dance halls, waiting for his chance to get up on stage.


Tony quickly developed into a consummate performer, gigging around Brisbane's dance circuit with a variety of pick-up bands. His outrageously long collar-length hair, wild stage presence and repertoire of Merseybeat tunes (copped from imported records sent by his friends in England) which earned him his early nickname "Brisbane's Beatle". As early as 1961, Tony had come to the attention of Ivan Dayman, a pop entrepreneur, and a budding 'svengali' figure in the mould of Lee Gordon. Dayman -- who would soon also steer Normie Rowe and Mike Furber to national success -- was on the lookout for a suitable backing band for his young discovery and he believed he had found it when he made a new addition to the Sunshine roster, the popular Melbourne dance band The Blue Jays. Dayman's offer of AU£35 per week to sing with The Blue Jays was simply too good for the young singer to refuse. It was a huge salary for the times -- ten times what Tony was being paid as a sailmaker -- and as late as 1966, even the members of The Small Faces, then one of Britain's top bands, were being paid just UK£20 per week each! The teaming of Tony with this tight, professional outfit in early 1964 proved to be an inspired choice.

The Blue Jays were already well established in Melbourne and one of the city's leading dance groups. They had formed in 1959, with the original lineup of Frankie Brent, Doug Stirling, Chris Lawson and Bobby Johnson. They cut a series of swingin' instrumental singles and EPs for the Crest label, and a delightfully titled LP, The Arthur Murray Twist Party Featuring The Blue Jays Big Dance Beat (Crest CRT12LP 002, 1961). Their first Crest single was "Everybody Loves Saturday Night" / "Maori's Farewell" (Oct. 1961). There was a regular turnover of personnel; among the members who passed through were singer Laurie Allen, Johnny Cosgrove, Alan Easterbrook and Ray Houston. At one point (says Glenn A. Baker) young guitarist John Farrar (later of The Strangers) was considered, but he was turned down because at the time he apparently lacked the required level of showmanship. Another Crest single "Wolfman" (backed by the lamentably titled "Kept A Broken Heart In Broken Hill") followed in early 1962 and credited to Laurie Allen and The Blue Jays. The lineup continued to turn over and by 1963 the band had become into a six piece consisting of Allen, Johnson and Easterbrook, bassist Mal "Beaky" Clarke, Dennis Tucker and guitarist Doug Flower. When the group signed with Dayman's Sunshine management, Laurie Allen departed to begin his solo career, soon teaming up with another former Dayman acts, Bobby Bright, to become Bobby & Laurie.


Dayman teamed The Blue Jays with Tony Worsley at the start of 1964, and with their name enhanced by the suitably glamorous prefix Fabulous the group immediately set about creating a dynamic stage show, centred on Tony's gritty tenor voice, good looks and dynamic showmanship. Tony's 'take-no-prisoners' attitude was backed up by one of the tightest and most competent bands in the country and the Blue Jays trademark 'fat' sound blended sax and guitar in a potent lead instrumental assault, giving them a powerful attack comparable to earlier rock'n'roll groups like Johnny O'Keefe's Dee Jays. From his recently acquired Brisbane HQ at the legendary Cloudland Ballroom (a landmark Queensland venue, sadly demolished in the 1980s) Dayman promoted the group in package extravaganzas up and down the coast, including appearances at his popular "Bowl" venues, and they soon earned a reputation for upstaging the main acts.

There were more lineup changes during 1964 as the Beat Boom hotted up and the band's frantic touring schedule took its toll, but by the end of the year the Blue Jays had settled into the first 'classic' lineup, each of whom earned their own nickname: Ray 'Screamy' Eames (lead guitar), Mal 'Beaky' Clarke (rhythm guitar), Paul 'Bingo' Shannon (sax and keyboards), and Royce 'Baby' Nicholls (bass), completed by the return of founding Blue Jays drummer Bobby 'Spider' Johnson. In mid-1964 Dayman took over the Saturday night lease on Melbourne's largest indoor venue, Festival Hall, renaming it "Mersey City". On 2 May 1964 he opened with Tony and the Fabulous Blue Jays. Over 4500 teenagers attended: "That was 500 more than saw the Beatles" according to Tony. Dayman also used them to open several other Queensland venues as his Sunshine empire exapnded to Bundaberg, Toowoomba, Ipswich, Inala and Surfers Paradise.






In late 1964, Dayman formed the Sunshine record label (distributed by Festival) with partners Nat Kipner and Apt Aulton. The first single, released in October, was an original instrumental by The Blue Jays called "Jay Walker". The next (November) was the debut single by Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Blue Jays, and it was a killer combination: the A-side was a scorching version of "Sure Know A Lot About Love", backed by a terrific acoustic-driven original, "Me You Gotta Teach", composed by what soon developed into the bands resident writing partnership of Beaky Clarke and Baby Nicholls.

Either with Tony, or under their own name, The Blue Jays were crucial to Sunshine's early success, and Glenn Baker makes the very fair assertion that in many respects they were Sunshine -- Tony Worsely/Blue Jays releases accounted for seven of the label's first thirteen singles, and they also rank as one of the most prolific recording units of "the Scream Years", churning out three LPs, eight EPs and seven singles in less then two years. Their Sunshine tracks including many original tracks by Clarke and Nicholls, which was unusual for Australian pop bands at that time. The stock-in trade for most local beat groups was covers of the latest British and American pop hits (which were often covers of originals by black American performers).

It's often not recognised that this repertoire was essential for pop acts at the time -- audiences demanded this, and expected bands to know the material, and groups like The Twilights built their reputations on their ability to deliver note-for-note renditions of Beatles, Stones, Who and Small Faces tracks. Naturally, the Blue Jays did their fair share of covers, but the choices demonstrated their versatility and their eclectic taste. There were blues/R&B standards like The Kingsman's ever-popular "Louie, Louie", John Lee Hooker's "Dimples", Slim Harpo's "King Bee", Smokey Robinson's "All Over You" and Etta James' "Something's Got A Hold On Me", plus a wide range of other material: the Everly Brothers classic "Raining In My Heart", "Do You Mind" by Oliver composer Lionel Bart, Jagger & Richards' "So Much In Love", "How Can It Be" (a cover of The Birds song, written by future Faces / Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood); "Reaching Out", by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham (who went on to write Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman") and even a sprinkling of home-made covers like "I'll Never Love You Again" by Pogs member and future "Crocodile Dundee" composer Peter Best, and of course,"Velvet Waters", co-written by The Megatrons' Walter Plunkett and prolific Aussie lyricist and songrwiter Dorothy Dodd, a long-serving president of APRA and composer of the perennial popular standard "Granada".

The Blue Jays maintained their own identity for recording, and over the next year Sunshine releases alternated instrumentals by The Blue Jays, and and vocal tracks with Tony as lead singer. Although they were already very popular on their home turf and had some chart success in Queensland during 1964, it wasn't until early 1965 that they began to break in other states, thanks in large measure to a relentless tour schedule. Tony soon gained a reputation as a wild man on and off the stage.  



1965 was without doubt the peak of their meteoric career. February saw the release of the second Tony Worsley & The Blue Jays single and perhaps their best recording, a raucous, syncopated cover of Rosco Gordon's "Just A Little Bit", which broke through onto the national airwaves in early '65 and became a significant hit, charting particularly well in Melbourne and Brisbane. Tony and the Blue Jays had picked up on the song from a version by English band The Undertakers, but coincidentally it was also recorded at that time by The Animals (under the title "Don't Want Much"). The Animals' version was recorded during the sessions for their second LP Animal Tracks but it didn't make the funal cut and remained unreleased until The Complete Animals 2CD set was issued in 1990. It has to be said that The Animals' version sounds distinctly anaemic compared to the red-hot Worsley/Blue Jays version. Lobby Loyde's Purple Hearts covered it later a year or so later, but even their version pales by comarison.

The Worsley/Blue Jays cover is arguably the definitive version. Tony's sneering, proto-punk, double-tracked vocal is driven by what must be one of the fattest rhythm tracks ever captured on tape in Australia up to that time. Its in-your-face brass sound harked back to the classic R&B of Louis Jordan, but it also anticipated the powerful overdriven brass sound of later productions like The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" and The Masters Apprentices' "Turn Up Your Radio".

Unfortunately, around this time Pat Aulton and guitarist Ray Eames had a major disagreement in the studio, and Eames was unceremoniously ousted from the group and replaced by Jimmy Cerezo, from The Pleazers. Jimmy fitted in well and also brought his own writing skills to the group, contributing the ska-flavoured "I Dream Of You" to the flip-side to their next single, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Talkin' 'Bout You" (April '65). Over the course of 1965 Tony and the Blue Jays reputedly sold over 70,000 records, climaxing in their biggest and best-remembered hit, a dreamy cover of the Australian pop ballad, "Velvet Waters".

 The song had first been recorded in the early Sixties as an instrumental by Perth band The Megatrons; this was followed by Bruce Gillespie's vocal version which featured lyrics penned by renowned Australian songwriter Dorothy Dodd, although neither of these versions had any success at the time. Near the end of a recording session in mid-1965, producer Nat Kipner asked the band if they had any other tracks they could record; Cerezo, who had learned the song from Gillepsie, suggested "Velvet Waters"; after a quick run-through, they cut the track in a matter of minutes. 

Tony and the Blue Jays' version was released in September 1965 and it quickly shot into the national Top 5. The fact that one of the "softest" of their recordings became their biggest hit for our hard-rocking heroes was an irony that wasn't lost on the group.


With a major hit coming almost out of nowhere, Sunshine hoped they'd hit on a winning formula, so they immediately followed it up with another finely-arranged ballad, "Missing You", but this only managed to get into the lower reaches of the some charts, with its best placing being #28 in Sydney. But The Blue Jays continued to draw a healthy following, particularly among young female admirers, and Tony and pals developed a certain notoriety for their off-stage antics as well. (The old chestnut, "lock up your daughters!" should suffice as an explanation!) and the records kept coming, including a second LP, My Time of Day. This included a cover of the song "How Can It Be", originally recorded by UK band The Birds, and the Worsley-Blue Jay is considered by many to be superior to the original.

During 1965, the group won prestigious support slots with The Seekers, Johnny O'Keefe and Johnny Farham, as well as supporting the 1965 Australian tour by Britain's Dave Clark Five. Probably the most notorious show from this period was the now-legendary 4BC Sound Spectacular concert in Brisbane in December 1965. The first half of the show, featuring MPD Ltd, went smoothly enough, but when Tony and The Blue Jays hit the stage things had started to get out of hand, and by the time headliners The Easybeats came on a full-scale riot had broken out, with kids breaking down barriers, repeatedly storming the stage and smashing chairs and equipment. Police stopped the Easys after only 17 minutes and halted the show. In the melee that followed, the Easybeats only barely escaped the frantic fans, who stopped their 'getaway' car and stomped all over it, puncturing the roof and bonnet with their heels and doing hundreds of pounds' worth of damage. Tony himself nominates the January '65 tour with The Kinks, Manfred Mann, The Honeycombs and Tony Sheveton as the highlight of the band's career -- even though he copped some flak from the irascible Manfred Mann, who was apparently rather jealous of the frenzied fan reaction Tony & the Blue Jays were generating, both on and off stage.

The group continued performing into 1966 with their popularity unabated, and for their first single of the year they got back to business in a big way with a barnstorming cover of Etta James' "Something's Got A Hold On Me". (80s indie icons The Reels' also covered this song in tribute to Tony & The Blue Jays' effort.) Regrettably, this was to be the last single billed to Tony and The Blue Jays. Just as he did with Mike Furber and The Bowery Boys, Ivan Dayman was intent on promoting the singer at the expense of the group. He pushed the Blue Jays further and further into the background and it wasn't long before the 'original' Blue Jays split, although this was also partly due to family pressures on some of the members:

"Bobby Johnson and Ray Eames left ... they were married and when Beatlemania spread to Australia, of course we'd be gettin' publicity with girls in your rooms and all that -- their wives called 'em home so they left the band."

The significant factor in the split was Tony's spiralling drug and alcohol intake and his increasing unreliability. Fellow performer (and future Uptight host) Ross D. Wylie recalled the hazards of touring with Tony at this time:

"Anything he could swill, swallow or smoke. Poke for that matter. Out of control was Woozle. I’m designated Bus Driver due for the five hours drive to the next up-country gig. 9am start we’re delayed. Worsley’s’ wrecked the toilet again, the tour manager’s’ arguing with the publican about if only gold plating will replace it. Worsley he’s got a hot slab and his usual back row seat. We’re driving. Woozle starts up wanting to use his nozzle. Pit stop Tony must be shy, starts thrashing his way out of sight up through this banana plantation. Next thing, this brumbie horse charges out pursued by Tony. 'Must be a mare' says Marcie (Jones & The Cookies). Antics like that, catch up with you. That’s unreliability."

Over the next few months, Tony's brief solo career continued as Sunshine released a string of solo singles -- a lovely version of Buddy Holly's "Raining In My Heart" (May '66), followed by "No Worries" / "Humpy Dumpy" (Jan. '67); his final single, released in October 1967 and with backing by The Escorts, featured Lionel Bart's "Do You Mind" backed by the soulful Penn-Oldham number "Reaching Out".

Late in 1966 Tony put together a "New" Blue Jays, which included such future OzRock luminaries as Vince Maloney (ex-Aztec and future Bee Gee), John A. Bird (Country Radio) and Phil Manning (Chain). In December, they played at a huge Dayman-promoted event, 'The Johnny Young Show', at Brisbane Festival Hall, sharing the bill with virtually the entire Sunshine roster -- Johnny Young, Ronnie Burns, Peter Doyle, Mike Furber, Ross D. Wylie, Thursday's Children, Graham Chpaman, Greg Anderson, The Escorts, Marcie & The Cookies, The Pleazers, and Julien Jones & The Breed. Tony managed to steal the show with his version of James Brown's famous fainting routine. in which he pretended to collapse and have to be led off-stage, only to only to be doused with water, revive and return for encore after encore.

Unfortunately, The Johnny Young Show show effectively became the wake for the the ailing Sunshine empire -- by the end of 1966 the company was in serious financial trouble, its resources severely strained by Normie Rowe's attempt to break into the English pop scene, and its reputation compromised by Dayman's allegedly dubious financial practices. In early 1967 Dayman was forced to close his shortlived Kommotion label and soon after Sunshine was taken over by its major creditor, Festival Records.

Tony himself was exhausted and close to burn-out point -- he was using speed heavily (which he spoke about quite openly, even then) his weight had dropped by almost half, and he had gained a reputation for unreliability:

"I was pretty messed up by 1966. I was addicted to Methedrine and stuff and weighed about 8 stone. I'd started singing at about 14 stone and went down from there. I'd say I was pretty anorexic -- I used to have one toasted sandwich all day and I even cut the crusts off that! ... If The Beatles went off and took two months of trips then we'd do it too, y'know? Our bands based what we did on the British bands. Well I know I did. I doubt guys like Normie did -- I can imagine him having a beer but nothing worse. Probably a reason I didn't go anywhere was because I was too much of a rebel"."
Dayman put Tony on the oft-derided tent show circuit -- where Johnny O'Keefe was plying his trade at the same time -- performing all over northern Australia including Brisbane, Maryborough, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Camooweal, Longreach, Mt Isa, Winton, and even Darwin. While touring in Adelaide in late 1966, Tony cut a cover of Jagger and Richards "So Much In Love", which featured Terry Britten of The Twilights providing the distinctive 12-string Rickenbacker riff, but this remained unrelased at the time. One of Tony's last major public appearances was at the 1967 Sydney Royal Easter Show, performing in a Sunshine Records package show with Mike Furber.