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Wednesday 28 September 2016

Marty Rhone - 2010 - Born To Rock FLAC


 Born to Rock 'n' Roll/Feels Like the First Time/Missing You/Heartache Tonight/To Love Somebody/Addicted to Love/Every Breath You Take/Gimme Some Lovin'/Whatever You Want/Long Way to the Top

ENERGETIC, VIBRANT, EXCITING, PULSATING, ELECTRIFYING – Words to describe rock n’ roll? Maybe, but they are also words that encapsulate Marty Rhone’s stage performances, showing that Marty Rhone was BORN TO ROCK!

This is the show that Marty Rhone has always wanted to do. To present a concert that brings together in one sensational show a collection of the greatest rock n’ roll songs of all time and also includes his No1 chartbusters ‘Denim & Lace’ and A Mean Pair of Jeans. Songs that are guaranteed to have the audience singing and dancing in the aisles. “Every song I have chosen excites me and tells it like it is. Rock n’ roll is the most exciting music genre the world has seen.”
Audiences will hear Marty perform his hits plus those of many of the great artists he has performed with during an illustrious career. These include hits by the Bee Gees, the Rolling Stones, the Searchers, Bon Scott of ACDC plus classics from Status Quo, Fleetwood Mac, Bryan Ferry and many more.


                                                                                                 Marty with his mum Judith and dad Eddy


 Marty Rhone was born as Karel (or Karl) Lawrence van Rhoon on 7 May 1948 in Soerabaja, Dutch East Indies (later named Surabaya, Indonesia). His father was Eddy Emile van Rhoon (born Soerakarta, Central Java, 1 July 1917), a clerk and former flying navigator in the Dutch East Indies navy during World War II. His mother was Judith Olive (née Bagshaw, born Sydney, 1 January 1929). She was a singer and actress, who met Eddy through the Sydney jazz scene; he was a visiting pianist while on leave. The couple married in 1947 and Judith accompanied Eddy to Soerabaja. The family migrated to Australia on 21 April 1950 and briefly lived in Sydney and Brisbane, and then moved to Darwin. Eddy worked as a Communications Officer for the Department of Civil Aviation; he was stationed in Darwin from March 1951 until July 1957. The family remained in Darwin until mid-1960, by which time Rhone had a younger sister, Kymn Dale (born 1958) and brother, Martin Richard (born 1960).

Rhone was taught piano by his father but he preferred singing. In August 1959, aged 11, he first performed publicly at Darwin's Mitchell Street Town Hall in Around the World in 80 Minutes – a charity variety concert – alongside his father on piano and his mother. After he finished primary school, the family moved to Sydney, where he attended Crows Nest Boys High School. In mid-1961 he appeared on a talent quest segment of ATN7-TV series, Tarax Show, and was offered a singing spot on a children's show, Kaper Kabaret. In late 1965 he formed a band, The Blue Feelings, and they auditioned for an appearance on Saturday Date, a teen music show.


 After the audition Spin Records owner, Nat Kipner, signed Rhone to a recording contract and the label issued his debut single, "Nature Boy", in February the following year. For his next two singles, "Thirteen Women" (April) and "I Want You Back Again", Rhone was backed by Spin Records label mates, The Soul Agents, a beat pop group. They had formed in 1964 and by 1966 consisted of Jerry Darmic on bass guitar, Roger Felice-Andrews on drums, John Green on guitar and Barry Kelly on organ.


Marty Rhone and The Soul Agents


Rhone's fourth single, "She Is Mine", included the self-penned B-side, "Village Tapestry", which appeared in September. None of these singles charted on the Go-Set National Top 40, however Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described "Village Tapestry" as being "highly regarded among 1960s aficionados". In Iain McIntyre's book, Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966-1970 (2006), the track was listed by Ian D. Marks as one of the 'Top 7 Proto-Psychedelic Australian Tracks from 1966'. Marks described it as "completely out of left field. With a gentle, almost medieval lilt, autoharps a-strumming and a charming spoken word verse—there was nothing like this released in Australia at the time. Melodic, evocative and delicate". During 1966 Marty Rhone and The Soul Agents supported The Rolling Stones on the United Kingdom rock group's tour of Australia. They also performed on the bill of the P.J. Proby Show at the Sydney Stadium with Wayne Fontana, Eden Kane and The Bee Gees appearing.
 
 Rhone moved to Melbourne and issued five more singles on Spin Records but had "limited success". By March 1970 Rhone was conscripted for National Service until 1972. During his service he attended the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as a member of their band, for 18 months. From April 1972 to July 1973 he acted in the Australian stage version of Godspell at The Richbrooke, Sydney with Rod Dunbar, Peita Toppano and John Waters. The Australian cast soundtrack album was issued as Godspell: a Musical Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew on His Master's Voice. He attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and in July 1973 he released a new single, "Goodbye in May".

He composed the music for Ruzzante Returns from the Wars, which starred Ivar Kants and ran at the Parade Theatre, Kensington from May to June 1974 as a one-act play. It is based on the text of Angelo Beolco's Il Parlamento de Ruzante, originally written in Italy during the mid-16th century.[ As a double bill at the same venue, Rhone performed the music he had composed for La Mandragola, a satirical play by another 16th century Italian, Niccolò Machiavelli. It had roles by Reg Gillam, Pamela Stephenson and Ingrid Mason. Rhone followed with appearances on TV soap operas, Number 96 (1974) and Class of '75 (1975).

 By mid-1975 Rhone had signed with M7 Records and issued his next single, "Denim and Lace", which peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. It was promoted on the Class of '75 soundtrack album. It was co-written by L Lister (aka Jack Aranda) and F Lyons (aka Shad Lyons). Lister and Lyons also produced Rhone's debut album, Denim and Lace, recording at Alberts Studio 139. At the end of the year "Denim and Lace" was the second highest selling single in Australia. His next single, "Star Song", reached the Top 50, the next two were less successful, while the last one for the year, "On the Loose" reached the Top 40. Of the four singles, "On the Loose (Again)" – co-written by Brian Dawe and Steve Groves (ex-Tin Tin) – was used by Rhone to win the 1976 Australian Popular Song Festival. In June 1977 he had another hit with "Mean Pair of Jeans", which reached No. 11. In July that year he issued his second album, Marty Rhone.




In July 1978 Rhone relocated to London. In June the following year he took the role of Lun Tha in the London Palladium presentation of The King and I alongside Yul Brynner and Virginia McKenna. By September 1981 he had returned to Sydney.[20] In 1987 Rhone became a business manager for a trio of brothers, the Australian boxers: Dean, Guy and Troy Waters. In May 1988 Festival Records issued a ten-volume album series, Festival File, including Village Tapestry: The Festival File Volume 9 by Marty Rhone and The Soul Agents. Stuart Coupe reviewed the collection for The Canberra Times, "Never a big pop star, Marty Rhone will be remembered for a number of outstanding singles, a number of which were very advanced in style and production".

Sunday 25 September 2016

Ariel - 1974 - A Strange Fantastic Dream FLAC


Jamaican Farewell/No Encores/Confessions Of A Psychopathic Cowpoke/And I'm Blue/Garden Of The Frenzied Cortinas/Miracle Man/Chicken Shit/Worm-Turning Blues/Wheezer Grunter Module Threadaboy/Hard Way To Go/And If It Wasn't For You/Red Hot Momma



  Ariel was an Australian progressive rock band fronted by Mike Rudd and Bill Putt, who formed the band in 1973 after the breakup of their previous group Spectrum (which also performed under the alter-ego Indelible Murtceps). The original Ariel line-up was Rudd (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Putt (bass), Tim Gaze (guitar), Nigel Macara (drums) and John Mills (keyboards). Gaze and Macara were recruited from seminal Australian progressive rock band Tamam Shud. 


The band released three studio albums and two live albums between 1973 and 1977, during which there were several line-up changes, with Rudd and Putt the only permanent members. Other members of Ariel included guitarists Harvey James and Glyn Mason and keyboard player Tony Slavich.

Their debut album A Strange Fantastic Dream, produced by Peter Dawkins was released on EMI's progressive label Harvest in December 1973 and reached No. 12 on the Australian LP charts in February 1974. It included their most successful single "Jamaican Farewell", which peaked at No. 34, its success hampered by lack of airplay, especially in Sydney, although it impressed the industry enough to win the FACB 'Single Of The Year'. According to the liner notes for the CD release of the album, there were calls to ban the LP because of its psychedelic cover artwork by Stephen Nelson, which included a figure holding a hypodermic syringe. Airplay for the LP was further hindered by the banning of three songs (the darkly satirical "Confessions Of A Psychotic Cowpoke", "Medicine Man" and "Chicken Shit") by the commercial radio industry's self-regulatory body in Australia, the FACB. Critical reception to A Strange Fantastic Dream was glowing.


The remastered re-release of A Strange Fantastic Dream was described as "extraordinary" by The Sydney Morning Herald in September 2002.

Gaze and Nigel Macara left the band abruptly after a trip to Perth in early 1973, so Rudd and Putt began work on an ambitious science-fiction themed concept work entitled The Jellabad Mutant, which they hoped to record. For rehearsals they brought in drummer John Lee (later a member of The Dingoes) who in turn brought in Harvey James, thereby establishing the second lineup of the group, which lasted until early 1975.

 Ariel recorded a full demo of The Jellabad Mutant and presented it to their label EMI, but it was rejected. On the strength of the first LP, EMI in Britain had arranged recording time for the group at their famous Abbey Road Studios in London, but the rejection of The Jellabad Mutant by EMI Australia forced Ariel to fall back on reworked material from Rudd's previous group Spectrum, supplemented by new songs hastily written by Rudd for the sessions. Despite the problems surrounding the recording, the resultant album Rock & Roll Scars (1975) is now regarded as one of the best Australian albums of the period, although it failed to make any significant commercial impression. It was mixed in the UK by Geoff Emerick, who worked on many of the later recordings by The Beatles, and produced by Peter Dawkins.

Concerning the rejection of the Jellabad Mutant project, Rudd later said:

    It's interesting to speculate what might have happened had we been allowed to proceed with the Mutant with an intact budget [EMI slashed the budget for Rock'n Roll Scars adding to the pressure] and with the time to reflect and be creative with the raw material you hear in the demos. I regret not going in to bat for it at the time. We had a fabulous opportunity with the best technical assistance any band could have wanted. But I didn't sell the dream, even to myself.
 
 After returning to Australia in early 1975 Ariel added a fifth member, singer-guitarist Glyn Mason, formally of Chain, Jeff St John & Copperwine and Home. The five-piece version of the band performed for several months but recorded only one single, although unofficial live recordings of this lineup have survived. It was during this period that Rudd introduced Dawkins to newly arrived New Zealand band Dragon. Dawkins (who had by then moved to CBS Records immediately signed Dragon and went on to produce a string of Australian hit albums and singles with them in the late 1970s.

After the expiration of their EMI contract the group signed with CBS Records for their third LP Goodnight Fiona (1976) and their only other charting single, the non-album track I'll take you high which reached No. 36 in January 1976. They made another trip to the UK in April 1976 but while there drummer John Lee left the band. He briefly joined English group Dirty Tricks and then finally rejoined The Dingoes after they relocated to America. Lee was replaced in Ariel by Nigel Macara.

Harvey James quit Ariel abruptly later in 1976 after he was invited to join leading Australian pop group Sherbet, where he replaced founding member Clive Shakespeare. James' first recording with Sherbet was their Australian No. 1 and UK Top 5 hit "Howzat". James was replaced in Ariel by keyboard player Tony Slavich.

Macara left again in October 1976 and was replaced by another former Richard Clapton Band member, Iain McLennan. The single "Disco Dilemma" was released in April 1977, just before expiration of their CBS contract, after which they signed to local independent label Image Records. They recorded the single "It's Only Love" for their new label; the song featured lead vocals from its writer Glyn Mason.

Ariel announced its breakup in July 1977 and, just before their CBS contract expired, the "Island Fantasy" themed farewell concert was staged on Sunday 21 August 1977 at the Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne. The show was recorded and released over the two albums Ariel Aloha (Oct 1977) and Live - More From Before (1978). These two albums were subsequently reissued in 1980 as Ariel Live In Concert.




Ariel formed in mid-1973, after the breakup of Spectrum. When Spectrum drummer Ray Arnott announced he was leaving to join Ross Wilson's new band Mighty Kong, Putt and Rudd commendably decided to end the band rather than try to recruit a new member, feeling that it wouldn't be possible to recreate the special spirit of that group. Within a few months of Spectrums's farewell performance their new band (whose name was taken from the character in Shakespeare's "The Tempest") was up and running. Ironically, the two new members, Tim and Nigel, had originally come to Melbourne to work with Ross Wilson and Ross Hannaford on their new project (which became Mighty Kong) and it was after they departed that Wilson asked Ray Arnott to join, thus precipitating the split of Spectrum!

Strong record company interest in Ariel quickly led to a contract with EMI's progressive Harvest imprint. Their superb debut single "Jamaican Farewell" looked set to repeat the early success of Spectrum but it only managed to reach No.34, its success hampered by lack of airplay, especially in Sydney, although it impressed the industry enough to win the FACB 'Single Of The Year'. They toured as support to Gary Glitter November 1973 and released their excellent first LP A Strange Fantastic Dream in December, with writing credits split fairly evenly between Gaze and Rudd. According to Noel McGrath, the album was also the first use of Moog synthesizer on an Australian rock record (though it's possible Tully may have been the first Australian band to recod with one) and producer Peter Dawkins still names it as one of his favourite productions.

 It fared well commercially and critically, reaching #12 in the LP charts in February 1974, although there was a minor controversy about Stephen Nelson's brilliant, hallucinatory cover painting, which included (shock! horror!) a hypodermic syringe. Airplay for the LP was further hindered by the banning of three songs ("Confessions Of A Psychotic Cowpoke", "Medicine Man" and "Chicken Shit") by the commercial radio industry's self-regulatory body, the FACB.

One particularly important outcome for the group was that EMI International's President, Allan Davies, fell in love with the album: "You know, Peter," he enthused to Dawkins, "I can't recall ever hearing a song about necrophilia!" Renowned British DJ John Peel also picked up both album and single and "said some really nice things about both of them". These and other factors led to Ariel being invited to tour the UK and record their next album at Abbey Road.




Thursday 22 September 2016

Richard Clapton - 1995 - Angeltown FLAC


Dixieland/My Minds Eye/That Moon/Stay With Me/Howl/Paris/Turn My Heart Around/Shine A Light/The Devil In Disguise/Angeltown/Real Life



   Australian singer/songwriter Richard Clapton played with several bands during the late '60s and '70s as he traveled across Europe before returning to Australia in 1972 to begin his solo career.

His debut single, "Last Train to Marseilles," released in October 1972, was not commercially successful and he joined the jazz-rock band Sun for a six-week stint. His debut album, Prussian Blue, was released in November 1973, but his first chart success was with the single "Girls on the Avenue," which reached number two nationally in March 1975. He released the Girls on the Avenue album followed by the album Main Street Jive in July 1976. A European tour followed at the end of the year. Clapton's contribution to the 1977 Highway One soundtrack album, "Capricorn Dancer," peaked at number 20.

Clapton's third album, Goodbye Tiger, was released in August 1977 and is considered one of his finest works. It peaked at number five nationally during November. The next year was spent touring and recording in Los Angeles. Two tracks from the American sessions, "Steppin' Across the Line" and "When the Heat's Off," appeared on the compilation album Past Hits and Previews, released in November 1978. Clapton's American-recorded album Hearts on the Nightline peaked at number 17 and kicked off a national tour. Dark Spaces was released in 1980 and was dedicated to his rhythm guitarist, Andrew Durant, who died in June. Clapton sang three tracks on the Andrew Durant Memorial Concert album of 1981.

A new record deal with WEA in 1982 produced The Great Escape, which peaked at number seven in March. The single, "I Am an Island," peaked at number 20 while the compilation album, The Very Best of Richard Clapton, peaked at number 15 during the same time. Another national tour followed which included bassist Garry Gary Beers and drummer Jon Farriss from INXS as part of his backing band; an association that began when Clapton produced their 1981 album, Underneath the Colours. In 1983, Clapton joined the Party Boys for a short time and appeared on their Greatest Hits (of Other People) album. In 1984, Clapton released his next solo album, Solidarity, and again toured the country. Glory Road followed in 1987, produced by Jon Farriss in return for Clapton's work on Underneath the Colours.

In September 1989, The Best Years of Our Lives, a live album recorded on April 16, 1989, was issued. The next four years were spent undergoing contractual difficulties until Clapton signed a five-album deal with Sony. Between record deals, Clapton remained popular on the touring circuit and went on to release Distant Thunder in 1993 and Angeltown in 1996.

In 1983, Clapton joined The Party Boys, taking over lead vocals from James Reyne (Australian Crawl), the live album Greatest Hits (Of Other People) and a single, "I Fought the Law"—a cover of the Sonny Curtis song—resulted from an extensive tour of the east coast of Australia. Clapton left the band to re-focus on his solo career and handed over vocals to Shirley Strachan (ex-Skyhooks).

In September 1984, Clapton released Solidarity on Mushroom Records which was produced by Opitz, Ricky Fataar, Tim Kramer and Moffatt. For the album he used Graham Bidstrup on drums (ex-The Angels, The Party Boys), James Black on keyboards (ex-Mondo Rock), Kevin Borich on guitar (ex-La De Das, The Party Boys), Fataar on drums, Allan Mansfield on keyboards (Dragon), Graham Thompson on bass guitar (ex-Stars), and backing vocals from Mary Bradfield, Venetta Fields and Mark Williams. Clapton and Borich released the duet single, "Spirit of Sydney" in 1986.


Clapton rejoined WEA in 1987 for his next album, Glory Road, released in October, and its three singles, which were produced by Jon Farriss of INXS as a return favour for the production of Underneath the Colours. A live album, The Best Years of Our Lives was recorded on 16 April 1989 and released in September. His band were Hegerty, Lorange, Moffatt on guitar, Jeff Bartolomei on keyboards, Ben Butler on guitar, and Steve Sowerby on drums. The album peaked in the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Chart.
Later years

Clapton was without a recording contract for four years from 1989 and had a few changes of his management until he signed with Sony Music/Columbia Records for the release of Distant Thunder in May 1993. The album spawned four singles and was produced by Clapton. It charted in the top 40 but no single reached the top 50 on ARIA's Singles Chart. His second album for Sony, Angeltown appeared in May 1996 with a single, "Dixieland" in March—neither appeared in their respective top 50 charts. In September 1999, Clapton released a compilation album, "Definitive Anthology", which peaked in the top 30. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame on 12 October.

Clapton spent four years writing and recording the album, Diamond Mine, at his home studio, a process he described as the most creatively liberating experience of his recording career. It was released in May 2004—eight years after his previous studio album—but did not chart. On his 2006 album, Rewired, also recorded in the home studio, Clapton provided "unplugged" acoustic versions of his early songs.


In 2008, on Australia Day (26 January) Clapton appeared in a performance held at Parliament House, Canberra. To celebrate 35 years of recording, Clapton held a one off concert at the Sydney State Theatre on 28 June. The event was sold out in days and featured a line-up of Australian musicians who had played with him including Jon Farriss from INXS. The performance was recorded for Live at the State Theatre released in October.

 Clapton decided to showcase his pivotal 1977 album Goodbye Tiger at the same venue in September 2009. The first concert sold out in less than an hour and a second was added. The entire album was performed as well as an eclectic mix of old and new songs played in the second set. On the second night Clapton and band were joined by Moss (Cold Chisel) who played a rendition of "I Am an Island". Clapton inducted one of his favourite bands, The Dingoes into the ARIA Hall Of Fame on 29 August. Clapton's portrait by Alexander McKenzie was a finalist in the 2009 Archibald Prize. In October 2010, Goodbye Tiger was listed at No. 15 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.

In August 2012 Clapton's first studio album in eight years, Harlequin Nights, was issued on his own label and distributed by MGM. He was assisted on the album by Danny Spencer on guitar, who also co-wrote some tracks. The Australian's reviewer noted that Clapton "hasn't lost his touch as a songwriter" as the album "veers between the heady optimism of opening track 'Sunny Side Up' and the poignant autumnal reflection of the beautiful 'Blue Skies'" while Clapton is a "troubadour buffeted by uncertain winds and still searching for answers in songs such as the epic 'Vapour Trails' but pushing on regardless in the folksy 'Run Like a River'".





Sunday 18 September 2016

The Seekers - 1976 - Giving And Taking FLA C


Friends/The Rose And The Briar/Giving And Taking/A Part Of You/Country Lanes/Country Rose/Holding On/If I Could Write A Fairy Tale/A Finer Country Day/Standing On Shaky Ground/Where In The World



Around 1972 Bruce Woodley,Keith Potger and Athol Guy began planning a new version of the of the Seekers and they were looking for a replacement for Judith Durham, friend Buddy England suggested Louisa Wisseling and so Seekers II were born . Against the odds, the Seekers jumped straight back into the Australian charts with Woodley's "Sparrow Song" #2 in June 1975 and the album The Seekers #17 in July. In September 1975, they undertook a national tour and released three subsequent singles: "Reunion" (October), "Where in the World?" (April 1976) and "Giving and Taking" (June '76)."Giving and Taking" was lifted from the album of the same name.
Bruce Woodley left in June 1977 to concentrate on songwriting and production, at which point Buddy took over, remaining with them until the group split again. Athol quit in 1978, replaced by another veteran of the Melbourne '60s scene, Peter Robinson (ex The Thunderbirds, The Strangers). This version of The Seekers released one album, "All Over the World" in November 1978, then in 1980 they released " A Little Bit of Country"  with Cheryl Webb replacing Wisseling they continued performing in Australia and overseas until 1981 when they called it a day once again. They would reform again of and on right up until the present.

The album "Giving and Taking" is quite a good album from the opening track "Friends" to the closing "Where in the World" every song a winner while Louisa Wisseling is no Judith Durham she is a fine replacement. My faves are "The Rose And The Briar", "Country Lanes",
"Country Rose" and "Standing On Shaky Ground". Most of the songs were written by Bruce Woodley or co-written by Bruce and John Farrar former member of the Strangers and one time Shadow. There is also a song there from the brothers Gibb and one by Keith Potger.

Monday 12 September 2016

Brian Cadd - 1975 - The Magic Of Brian Cadd FLAC


Show Me The Way/Silver City Birthday Celebration Day/Class of '74/Sometime Man/ Spring Hill County Breakdown/Every Mothers Son/Handyman/Josie McGinty/Keep On Rockin'/ Ginger Man/Kingston River Travellin' Man/All In The Way (They Use My Face)/Alvin Purple/Let Go/Think It Over

Please note Password for this one is ajh

Brian George Cadd (born 29 November 1946, Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer and record label founder, a staple of Australian entertainment for over 50 years, he has performed as a member of The Groop, Axiom, Flying Burrito Brothers and solo. He was briefly called Brian Caine in late 1966, when first joining The Groop.

Cadd produced fellow Australian acts Robin Jolley, Ronnie Burns, Broderick Smith, Tina Arena and Glenn Shorrock and established his own record label called Bootleg Records. He also composed or performed music for films, Alvin Purple, Alvin Purple Rides Again, Fatal Vision, The Return of the Living Dead, Vampires on Bikini Beach, Morning of the Earth and The Heartbreak Kid and for television Class of 74, The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. His songwriting for other acts includes The Masters Apprentices, The Bootleg Family Band, Ronnie Burns, The Pointer Sisters, Little River Band and John Farnham.

In 1972 Cadd turned to producing other acts and recording solo material on his own Bootleg Records label which was set up under Ron Tudor's Fable Records. "Ginger Man" was the first single from Cadd's self-titled debut album, released in November 1972 on Bootleg Records. Bootleg was based along similar lines to US pianist Leon Russell's Shelter Records – signed artists recorded and toured together as a The Bootleg Family Band. Studio musicians used by Cadd became the Bootleg Family Band and had their own hit single by covering Loggins and Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance", where Cadd provided lead vocals. Cadd also won the composer's section of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds for 1972 with his song, "Don't You Know It's Magic", this became a top 20 hit for John Farnham (known then as "Johnny" Farnham).[ The song also won the 'Most Outstanding Composition' award at the Tokyo World Popular Song Festival, with Cadd performing there live. Cadd released a second album, Parabrahm, in 1973, and followed with the theme song and score for the 1973 movie Alvin Purple (Australia's first R-rated comedy) and its sequel Alvin Purple Rides Again in 1975. After releasing his third solo album, Moonshine in 1974, Cadd left Australia for the US.

  Based in Los Angeles, Cadd became a studio-bound songwriter, apart from one tour with The Bootleg Family Band. Early in 1980, Brian toured France with the legendary French 'Elvis', Johnny Hallyday. Cadd recorded solo albums for Interfusion, his songs were also recorded by Gene Pitney, Glen Campbell, Dobie Gray, Cilla Black, Wayne Newton, Bonnie Tyler, Joe Cocker and Ringo Starr. His biggest success occurred when The Pointer Sisters covered "Love is Like a Rolling Stone" as a B-side for their version of "Fire" which reached No. 2 on the US Pop single charts. Cadd travelled to Nashville in 1989, joined the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1991 and toured with them for two years, returning to Australia in 1993. In Australia he teamed up with fellow Axiom member, Shorrock for an album The Blazing Salads and a subsequent two-year tour. On tour Cadd played his hit songs, along with those of Axiom accompanied by Shorrock. Veteran rocker Max Merritt had also toured Australia with Cadd.


                                                                                          Brian Cadd and Glenn Shorrock                 

Returning to Australia, Cadd is based on Queensland's Gold Coast, and has been active in teaching and lecturing on songwriting, in music publishing and other various aspects of the industry in Australia and the United States. In 1997, he built a recording studio Ginger Man Sound. In March 1998 he took over as CEO of The Streetwise Music Group in Brisbane, eventually becoming a co-owner. The company, which is distributed through Warner Music, now has some 20 acts spread over three labels             (Streetwise, Stallion and Belly Laugh).                              

Cadd is the chairman of the Music Industry Advisory Council (Australia), President of the Australian Music Foundation[ and on the board of the musicians' benevolent organisation, Support Act. Cadd lectures at universities as well as continuing to record and perform, he independently released an album of new material Quietly Rusting in 2005

In 2007 Cadd was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
featuring musicians like Mark Meyer, Tony Naylor, Wilbur Wilde and Ross Hannaford together with some of Australia's hottest new players including Paul White, Damien Steele-Scott and James Meston.


Sunday 11 September 2016

The Atlantics - 1989 - Legendary JRA-Ramrod Sessions


Whirpool/Girl Can't Help It/Pretty Thing/You Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover/Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do/It's a Hard Life/I Put a Spell on You/By the Glow of a Candle/You Tell Me Why/Come On/Waiting Here for Someone/ That Loving Feeling/Take a Trip / Flowers/When I Look into My Life/A Girl Like You/Baby Blue/I'll Never Let You Go/I Just Can't Help Believing/ight Shades of Dark Pt. One



Formed in the southern beachside suburbs of Sydney, Australia in 1961, the group began performing locally, and soon gained a following. Contrary to the accepted surfing connotations of their name they actually took their name from a local brand of petrol, Atlantic. In early 1962 they appeared on a local television talent show New Faces, where they were voted "Most Promising Group of 1962." They signed a deal with booking agent Joan King, who convinced the members to quit their day jobs and produce a demo, which she shopped to a variety of record labels. After several rejections, they were signed to CBS Records in 1963. The A&R representative for CBS, Sven Libaek, was especially impressed by the group's original compositions. Most Australian instrumental rock bands at the time merely aped and covered material from The Shadows or, to a lesser extent, The Ventures. The Atlantics had the advantage of having twin lead guitarists, both highly proficient on solo work and both capable of pushing the band along with a driving rhythm. It was this, together with the band members' European cultural influences (largely Greek with some Yugoslav and Hungarian - all members came to Australia as child migrants) that gave their music that passionate edge over other local bands of their day.

 In February 1963, CBS released the first single, "Moon Man" b/w "Dark Eyes". "Moon Man" was an original song written by Peter Hood, and "Dark Eyes" was a traditional tune reinterpreted by the band. While the single was not a hit, it did gain enough attention for CBS to agree to continue to support the group.

By this time the surfing music craze had reached Australia's shores and a host of local bands such as The Statesmen, Jimmy D & the Starlighters (a.k.a. Jimmy D & the Jaguars), The Midnighters, The Telstars, Dave Bridge Trio, The Joy Boys and The Denvermen were all releasing surfing titled instrumental tracks, and in particular, The Denvermen's evocative ballad "Surfside", which had topped Australia's charts in February 1963.

In July 1963 The Atlantics released the single that would become their biggest hit, most well-known song and one which remains a classic of its genre to this day. The monstrous, pounding, driving "Bombora" was written by Peter and Jim and was named after an Aboriginal term for large waves breaking over submerged rock shelves. The B-side was the old traditional English song "Greensleeves". By September 1963, "Bombora" had climbed the Australian charts to reach No 1. It was released in Japan, Italy, Holland, England and New Zealand and in South America. It was nominated as record of the week by US Cashbox magazine and reached No 2 on the Italian charts (where there was even a vocal version released). As well the song was covered by a number of overseas bands. This overseas success made The Atlantics Australia’s first internationally recognized rock act. October 1963 saw the release of their first LP album, predictably named Bombora. They were to release three more albums from 1963 to 1965. On stage the band maintained their reputation at concerts and beachside surf clubs with an exciting, pounding sound combined with a stage act that included them all playing their guitars behind their heads and Theo and Jim on opposite sides of the stage swapping lead lines with one another.

In November 1963 they released the follow-up, another similar thundering surf instrumental, "The Crusher" which, while not quite as successful as Bombora, still made a respectable dent in the Australian charts.

 Their fourth single, "War of the Worlds" however was a total break with the surf sound. Released in March 1964, it was unlike any other of their tracks, or indeed any other instrumentals of the day. A bold and ambitious attempt at a mini Sci-Fi space opera, it had a dramatic buildup intro, tempo changes and dynamic changes. It was way ahead of its time. It featured a battle in space using echo and guitar effects, the like of which would not be heard until Hendrix came along some years later. Disappointingly for the band, many DJ's refused to play it and it failed to make most charts.

By this time The Beatles and the Merseybeat sound had arrived and instrumentals were becoming rather passe. The Atlantics continued to release a number of instrumental singles with titles such as "Rumble and Run" and "Giant" until July 1965. However none of these achieved any commercial success, and did not chart. Their record contract with CBS ended. During 1965 they undertook a far-Eastern tour including Japan.

In 1965, the band members reinvented themselves. They set up their own production company JRA productions. They exchanged their suits and thin ties for casual shirts, T-shirts and jeans and grew their hair long, guitarist Theo Penglis switched to keyboards and they added a vocalist, Johnny Rebb. Johnny Rebb had been a rock star in Australia in his own right in the late 1950s. Indeed he had at one time been known as the "Gentleman of Rock". With Johnny on vocals they proceeded to release a number of tough sounding singles starting with a hard rockin' revival of Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It" and Bo Diddley's, R 'n B, "You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover". 

 They recorded songs with a variety of styles between 1965 and 1970 including a cover of The Beau Brummels' top 40 hit "You Tell Me Why" with 12 string guitar hook & harmonies, and an instrumental, "Take A Trip," under the pseudonym band name as The Gift of Love. However they only succeeded chart-wise with an excellent version of Screaming Jay Hawkins "I Put A Spell On You", which reached No. 29 on the Sydney charts in 1966. In 1967 they put out the song that is now widely regarded as a classic punk/garage track, Peter Hood's "Come On". During this time Johnny Rebb continued to release a number of singles under his own name with The Atlantics backing him. 

 They also provided backing on a string of singles for Russ Kruger, Johnny Rebb's brother, and female singer Kelly Green. It was during this time that The Atlantics started their own independent label, Ramrod. They were one of the first Australian bands to set up their own independent label. From September 1967 all their recordings and all those for the above artists were released on their Ramrod label. As well they put out recordings by other bands such as The Motivation.