The album covers a range of artists and was released in
1981. It has ten tracks per side and covers the period 1961
through to 1968 providing a taste of both the known and the
relative unknown artists of the period.
Side 1 represents artists who cut their teeth either in the
1950's or were strongly influenced by the 1950's American
rock scene while Side 2 has some of the most popular groups
of the 60's such as the the Rondells (who were great in
their own right as well as for backing Bobby & Laurie), The
Cherokees, MPD Ltd, The Loved One's, Somebody's Image & The
Town Criers, along with a group that gave rise to fantastic
bands in the future - The 18th Century Quartet.
Track 1: The Thunderbirds - Wild
Weekend. Not only were The Thunderbirds immensely
popular they were the champion instrumental band (certainly
in Melbourne and arguably, at that time, in Australia).
Forming in 1957, drummer Harold Frith created the first
line-up of The Thunderbirds in September of that year but it
was short lived. Early 1958, Frith and Bell re-formed The
Thunderbirds with Murray Robertson (piano) and Peter
Robinson (bass). Colin Cook (ex-Sapphires) then joined on
sax. Graham Lyall (sax, flute; ex-Sapphires) joined towards
the end of 1958. By that stage, The Thunderbirds also had
Murray Robertson on piano & incorporated three featured
vocalists into the line-up, Billy Owen, Billy O'Rourke and
Judy Cannon. Then in 1960 they disbanded once again. They
reformed in 1961 to undertake some work for dance promoter
Kevin McLellan. Firth and Robertson recruited top sax player
Henry Bource, Charlie Gould on guitar and Gordon Onley on
Bass. The track Wild Weekend was suggested by legendary DJ
Stan Rofe, and was recorded on the W&G label, soaring into
the Top 20. It is a great rocking' track to remind us of the
power of the Thunderbirds.
Track 2: Betty McQuade - Midnight Bus
Betty originally emigrated to Brisbane from Scotland,
but worked in Melbourne from 1960 as vocalist forThe
Thunderbirds, and later appeared on the Go!! TV show in the
mid-60s. Did not chart in Brisbane and Perth until 1965 on
the Go!! label, four years after he initial release on
Astor. Also recharted in Melbourne in 1965, peaking at #39.
In the informed opinion of Kees van der Hoeven, John D.
Loudermilkaficionado and discographer, Betty McQuade
recorded the definitive killer version... a rock & roll
classic.
Track 3: Johnny Chester - Teeny.
Johnny was born 26 December 1941, Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia. Chester learnt the drums and the guitar before
deciding to be a singer, organizing his own dances, in
Melbourne’s northern suburbs in 1959. He soon formed a band,
the Chessmen, to back him at these dances. He was noticed by
a popular disc jockey who introduced him to the A&R manager
of Melbourne’s W&G records. The label recorded him with the
backing of the rock ‘n’ roll combo the Thunderbirds and a
series of 10 hit singles followed, establishing him as a
teen idol, in Melbourne. By 1964 he had achieved the aim of
all the other local acts by supporting the Beatles’ tour of
that year. In 1965 he moved into radio and television work,
and during the late 60s began recording country songs, in
the style of Conway Twitty and Billy ‘Crash’ Craddock. His
recording career extended into the 80s and he was voted top
country male vocalist from1981-83.
Track 4" The Chessmen - Wild Little
Willy It is often said that behind every great man is
a great woman - well behind every great singer there is a
great band, and the Chessmen sure were great. Johnny Chester
in fact put the Chessmen together in 1961 as his backing
group and they fast became regulars at Preston Town Hall.
They emerged as one of the most proficient Australian rock
outfits of all time. Like all good bands, the line-up had
its changes but when this track, Wild Little Willie was
recorded in 1964, the line-up included Les Stacpool, Albert
Stacpool, Frank McMahon and Mike Lynch. The track was
originally recorded by Ronnie Hawking in 1959. With Les
Stacpool on guitar, the group influenced many other local
groups and Stacpool went on to become a genuine Australian
guitar hero He played in such groups as Levi Smith Clefs,
Rockwell T James and the Rhythm Aces, Doug Parkinson In
Focus, Genesis and the list goes on.
Track 5: The Phantoms - I Want You
The Phantoms began their career in early 1960. The band
consisted of Dave Lincoln (Lead Guitar) Gene Taylor (Rhythm
Guitar) Pete Wason (Bass Guitar) and Alan "Ollie" Fenton
(Drums). Under the management off Bruce Stewart (who saw
them playing at The Malvern Town Hall approached them after
the show and asked if he could manage them) the band began
to increase their popularity around the Melbourne scene.
They backed all the major solo artists on the various weekly
shows at The Malvern Town Hall, Preston Town Hall,
Springvale Town Hall, The Mechanics Town Hall Frankston,
Coburg Town Hall and other one-off events like the Royal
Melbourne Show, Moomba and the 3DB Lunchtime Concert at the
Melbourne Town Hall. These Concerts gave The Phantoms the
chance to really excel and improve their skills and back the
superstars of the day like Johnny O'Keefe, Johnny Chester
and many others.
Track 6: Merv Benton - Yield Not
To Temptation Merv's "Church" style rock track was a
fantastic cover of Bobby Bland's original version. Merv was
more popular with the mums and dads than the teen audiences
though. The Merv Benton story is a fascinating chapter of
the Beat Boom in Australia. From his base on the Melbourne
dance circuit, Merv gained national attention and quickly
became one of the most popular male singers in the country.
In early 1964 he signed with Melbourne's W&G Records and
became one of their most prolific artists, releasing
seventeen singles, six EPs, and three LPs between 1964 and
1967, and scoring an impressive run of fifteen Top 40
singles in his hometown (several of which also charted in
other cities). But in 1967, at the height of his popularity,
Merv was struck down by throat problems that ended his
singing career.
Track 7: Colin Cook - Heebie Jeebies
Born in Bangladesh Colin arrived in Melbourne
in 1952 and studied guitar, clarinet and sax. In 1959 he cut
his rock and roll teeth as one of the singers in the
Thunderbirds. He did backing vocals for many artists, of
which Judy Cannon and Frankie Davidson were two. After
supporting Fabian on an Australian tour he was signed to W&G
and went on to record 5 singles, 1 EP and an album - Colin
Cook Meets the Strangers. He had 4 hits with W&G before
moving across to the Clarion label in 1966 and cut Heebie
Jeebies, a Little Richard 1959 hit. It is undoubtedly his
most rocking record. He did go on to be in the London
performances of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar where his
popularity was maintained.
Track 8: Terry Dean - It's You
This was Terry's debut single from July 1965 which reached
#24 and was the start of a long career both on his own
and in groups The Premiers The Mixtures and Blunstone being
Three. Terry enjoyed an extremely successful solo career
recording a number of hit records, performing regularly in
Melbourne and interstate and appearing nationally on TV
shows including The Go Show, and Happening 70.
Track 9: Billy Adams - Slow Down Sandy
Billy, whose real name was William Tregonning, started his
pop career as lead singer of Melbourne rock'n'roll band The
Checkmates from 1961-63. He became popular on the local
dance and disco scene in the mid-60s, and this led to
regular appearances on The Go!! Show and a recording
contract with the Go!! label. Billy was perhaps not the
greatest singer, but he was a competent and personable
performer. His trademark was his outlandish bouffant hairdo
which, according to Noel McGrath, he was eventually obliged
to trim back after hundreds of letters of complaint from
Go!! Show viewers. Billy's only hit was a cover of Eddy
Quinteros' 1960 hit "Slow Down Sandy". His four subsequent
Singles failed to chart and he eventually left the music
scene and took a job in promotions with a major Melbourne
department store.
Track 10: Peter Doyle - Plastic Dreams
And Toy Balloons Peter John Doyle (28 July 1949 – 13
October 2001) was an Australian pop singer who had success
with a number of Top 40 hits in Australia in the 1960s, then
success internationally as a member of the New Seekers in
the early 1970s, before resuming a solo career in 1973. He
started his career at the age of 9 appearing on a children's
television talent show called Swallow's Juniors and appeared
as a regular on that show for the next five years. He was
performing in Sunday afternoon pop shows at Melbourne's
Festival Hall at the age of 14 and, at 16, he was signed to
a record contract with Ivan Dayman's Sunshine label (whose
roster included top singers such as Normie Rowe and Tony
Worsley). This led to regular appearances on Melbourne's
teen TV show, "The GO Show".
Turning the LP over.........
Track 11: The Cherokees - Minnie
The Moocher While The Cherokees had a number of
line-up changes there is no doubt this group was of the
1960's. Oh Monah was a massive hit for them, but ironically
it was a track written in 1931 that they are most often
remembered for It was an old Cab Calloway track - Minnie the
Moocher. Released in Australia in 1967 it reached #41
Sydney, #3 Melbourne, #3 in Brisbane, #3 in Adelaide and #1
in Perth. Named after a popular ice cream of the time, the
Cherokees were formed in 1961 from the remnants of Johnny
Chester's backing band the Chessmen and began playing
Shadows-styled music around Melbourne. Signing with W&G
Records, the Cherokees released two singles and the rare
Here Come the Cherokees album in 1965. They began playing
pop reminiscent of the Beatles and moved to the short-lived
Go! label. Several of their singles made the Top 40 in
Melbourne. By 1967, the Cherokees were playing swing-styled
music and several more singles again made the Melbourne Top
40. An album followed, Oh Monah!, but with the collapse of
Go!, the band was left without a deal. Despite releasing one
more single on Festival records and supporting the Monkees
during their tour of Australia in October 1968, the
Cherokees broke up at the end of the year.
Track 12: The Henchmen - Rockin' Robin
Formed out of the ruins of two groups, the Ampmen and the
Pacifics, the Henchmen were a sextet from Melbourne,
consisting of Rick Diamond (vocals), Duncan MacKellar (lead
guitar), Doug Osborne (rhythm guitar), Del Smeeton (bass),
David Mann (keyboards), and Mal "Frog" Payne (drums). They
entered a battle of the bands contest and won first prize, a
recording contract with the Go!! label. It was the group's
second single, a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin" issued
in April 1965, that put them on the map in Australia,
reaching #27 in Sydney, #5 in Melbourne, #1 in
Brisbane, #3 in Adelaide and #2 in Perth. Their follow-up,
"Can't You Hear Me Callin'," didn't do nearly as well. The
group's line-up began changing with the departure of Osborne
in late 1965 but the group remained cohesive enough to land
a contract with the HMV label, which yielded the powerful
rocker "Keep On Going Back." Their swan song came in 1968,
soon after the release of what proved to be their final
single, for Columbia. They also took out 3UZ's Sounds
Spectacular first prize (the forerunner to the popular
National Battle of the Sounds)
Track 13 The Rondells - Talkin' 'Bout
You They were one of the tightest and best rock
outfits around. In fact to call them a "rock" band can
really only be appropriate when we use the term "rock" in
its broadest sense. Sure they backed one of Australia's most
successful duo's - Bobby and Laurie, but this group rightly
deserves it's own place on this album. The line-up variously
consisted of Wayne Duncan on bass, Gary Young on drums (a
combination that would appear together again in the future),
Dennis Collins (certainly the original drummer) and Denis
Tucker (original bass), Roger Treble on lead guitar and
Barry Sullivan on rhythm guitar, Barry Rogers and Bernie
O'Brien (lead guitar), but the personnel changes happened in
a such ad hoc fashion and it is hard to get an accurate list
of who came and went in what order. Certainly having O'Brien
with them gave the group a genuine guitar hero, as O'Brien
played with both a passion and flare that left other groups
in awe. Having recorded two singles and an EP they scored a
hit, their only solo hit, with a good rendition of Chuck
Berry's Talkin' Bout You which moved up to a respectable
number 31 in Melbourne.
Track 14: Johnny Broome and the
Handels - Do's And Dont's What can you say
about a group with such a "dorky" name? Well to start they
were formed by Kevin Peek, one of Australia's most
impressive guitarists, that's what! They impressed Ken Pitt
who was the Manager for both Manfred Mann and the Animals in
1965, and they were summoned to London to play a season at
the famous Marquee Club. The groups name may be disputed as
sometime it was John E Broome and the Handels. Formed in
Adelaide, South Australia in , 1964. Disbanded 1966.
Probably one of the first so called super groups to come out
of Adelaide. The Adelaide based group mainly from the
northern suburbs of Adelaide played at "The Octagon" and the
"Slaibury Youth Centre" weekly in Elizebeth during the mid
sixties. Members included David Reeks-Parsons Vocalist
(Under John E Broome), Kevin Peek Guitar, Laurie Pryor
Drums, Alan Tarney Bass.
Track 15: The Kravats - It Must Be
Jelly The Kravats formed in Hobart, Australia
and were known locally as 'Tasmania's answer to The
Beatles'. Originally an instrumental band which formed in
1958, they took up vocals post-Beatles like so many others.
Their claim to fame in Tasmania was keeping the Beatles
"Help" from the #1 spot for three weeks. The Kravats drew
fans in their hundreds to their Saturday night residency at
The Spook Club in Moonah and on Fridays at The Beachcomber,
North Hobart’s San Carlo hall. The Kravats were recorded by
Melbourne’s W&G Records and regularly toured the clubs there
and in Sydney.
Track 16: MPD Ltd. - Little Boy
Sad The 'M', the 'P' and the 'D' were for Mike
Brady, Pete Watson and Danny Finley. Mike and Pete had met
in Shadows-style band The Phantoms, and Danny had been
drummer with another instrumental band The SaxonsA. Short
but sensational time in the spotlight ... a dynamic,
gymnastic stage routine ... a spearhead act for the
legendary Go!! label ... some incendiary singles ... such
are the hallmarks by which we fondly remember the great beat
trio that was MPD Ltd.
Track 17: The Loved Ones - Everlovin'
Man. The Loved Ones were an Australian rock band
formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in October 1965 by Gerry
Humphrys (originally from London) on vocals and harmonica,
Kim Lynch on bass guitar and Ian Clyne on organ and piano.
They were all former members of a trad jazz group, The Red
Onion Jazz Band, in which Humphrys played clarinet, and
sang, and Lynch played tuba following the British Invasion.
The line-up of Gavin Anderson on drums, Ian Clyne on organ
and piano, Gerry Humphrys on vocals and harmonica, Rob
Lovett on guitar, and Kim Lynch on bass guitar recorded
their early hits. Their signature song, "The Loved One"
reached number two on Australian singles charts. Their debut
album, The Loved Ones' Magic Box was released late in 1967,
which included other hit singles, "Ever Lovin' Man" and "Sad
Dark Eyes". They disbanded in October and, although the
band's main career lasted only two years, they are regarded
as one of the most significant Australian bands of the
1960s.
Track 18: 18th Century Quartet -
Rachel Another short-lived but brilliant outfit. The
track Rachel is an original Hans Poulson song, and
ironically it would be that originality that proved the
groups downfall. There are two distinct versions of the 18th
Century Quartet (often referred to as the 18CQ). The first
was very much a folky outfit put together by Poulson in
1964, which dissolved in 1965. The resulting second version
had a more "hard" edge to it and consisting of: Hans Poulsen
(vocals, guitars, bouzouki, mandolin, balalaika, banjo,
bongos) early 1966 Keith Glass (guitar, vocals) John Pugh
(violin, utoharp, guitar) Frank Lyons (bass) Dennis "Fred"
Forster (drums) Bob Lloyd (drums) Randall Wilson (drums)
Julius Colman (violin) early 1967. Somehow the hippy "unhip"
Poulson just wasn't right, and he was convinced to become
the groups songwriter and so played on the recordings but
not in live gigs. They did come second in the Victorian heat
of the National Battle of The Sounds with the Poulson
composition Rachel. The 18th CQ had 45 original songs and a
belief that they should not play covers but despite the
brilliance of the musicianship and the quality of some of
the material, they simply were not pulling the gigs and far
too many weekends were spent at home and not playing. Mind
you, they did have one other "big" moment, they were the
first electric group to play before an audience (of 100,000)
at the Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne. After they folded
Glass, Pugh & Lloyd went on to form the genesis of another
short lived but brilliant Melbourne based group - Campact!
Track 19: Somebody's Image - Hush
In 1966 there was a 17 year old boy Russell Morris
who would one day become a star in his own right, but here
he was following his favourite group called, The Groop,
around Melbourne. Then he made his move! Somebody's Image,
consisted of Kevin Thomas (rhythm guitar), Phillip Raphael
(lead guitar), Eric Cairns (drums) and Les Allan (aka "Les
Gough") (bass guitar) and young vocalist, Russell Morris.
After convincing Brian Cadd and Ronnie Charles that they
were good enough, they got their very first gig at Anglesea.
It was a real success and soon they came to the attention of
Go-Set guru, Molly Meldrum. Having endorsed the Groop, they
immediately got a contract with W&G in 1967 and in December
they had their biggest hit - Hush which went to number 15
nationally. When Eric Cairns was hospitalised with a brain
tumor the group fell into disarray finally dissolving on New
Years day 1969.
Track 20: The Town Criers -
Everlasting Love The Town Criers were a Melbourne pop
band, formed in 1964, who had five charting hits in
Melbourne from 1968 to 1970, notably Love Me Again (#12
1969). Their first single, a cover of The Kinks' "The World
Keeps Going Round", was released on the Melbourne
independent label Trend but didn't make any impression on
the local charts. The B-side, a great 'garage-punk' number
called "Big Deal". The Criers gigged consistently around
Melbourne over the next two years, and in late 1967 they
were signed to the Astor label by A&R manager Ron Tudor.
Their second single, released in February 1968 and nominally
produced by Geoffrey Edelstein, was a strong version of
"Everlasting Love", the much-covered hit originally recorded
by American singer Robert Knight in 1967 and also released
in 1968 in the UK by The Love Affair. The song was penned by
pop songwriters Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, who also wrote
"Hayride" and "La La" (both hits for The Flying Circus) and
"Groupie" (covered by The New Dream). It was an immediate
success and became a big hit in Melbourne, reaching #2 and
also charted in Sydney (#16) and Adelaide (#33) in April-May
1968, and this success propelled it into the Go-Set Top 20
where it peaked at #18. Their second Astor single,
"Unexpectedly" / "It's Hurting Badly" was released in
September, but failed to chart. Astor also compiled the two
Town Criers singles for an EP, Everlasting Love, released
during 1968. Now a four-piece, The Town Criers signed with
Festival and released three more singles over the next year,
"Any Old Time" / "Rene" (March 1969), "Love Me Again" / "Hey
Girl" (Oct. 1969) and "Living In A World Of Love" /
"Roundabout" (May 1970), which just missed out on the Top
40. The next single "Love Me Again" (Oct. 1969) managed to
get into the lower end of the Melbourne Top 40 (#35). In
October 1970 the group moved to EMI's HMV label, for whom
they recorded their last two singles. "Laughing Man" /
"Living In A Dream World" was issued in May 1971 and "Love,
Love, Love" / "Chorus Girl" came out in November, but
neither release made any impression on the charts and the
group had split up by the end of 1971.
1. The Thunderbirds - Wild Weekend (1961)
2. Betty McQuade - Midnight Bus (1961)
3. Johnny Chester - Teeny ( 1964)
4. The Chessmen - Wild Little Willie (1964)
5. The Phantoms - I Want You (1964)
6. Merv Benton & The Tamlas - No temptation (1965)
7. Colin Cook - Heebie Jeebies (1965)
8. Terry Dean - It's You (1965)
9. Billy Adams - Slow Down Sandy (1965)
10. Peter Doyle - Plastic Dreams & Toy Balloons ( 1967)
11. The Cherokees - Minnie The Moocher (1967)
12. The Henchmen - Rockin' Robin (1965)
13. The Rondells - Talkin' Bout You (1965)
14. Johnny Broome & The Handles - Dos & Dont's (1965)
15. The Kravats - It Must be Jelly (1965)
16. MPD Ltd - Little Boy Sad
17. The Loved Ones - Ever Lovin' Man (1966)
18. The 18th Century Quartet - Rachel (1966)
19. Somebody's Image - Hush (1967)
20. The Town Criers - Everlasting Love (1968)