Australian musicians born on the 9th of July

• 1946 – Bon Scott – AC/DC, Fraternity, The Valentines – Born Ronald Belford Scott in Kirriemuir, Scotland. Died Feb 19, 1980

Number 1 Singles in Australia on July 9

• 1970 – The Beach Boys – Cotton Fields
• 1971 – Daddy Cool – Eagle Rock
• 1972 – Dr Hook and the Medicine Show – Sylvia’s Mother
• 1973 – Jud Strunk – Daisy a Day
• 1974 – Paper Lace – Billy Don’t Be a Hero
• 1975 – Pilot – January
• 1976 – ABBA – Fernando
• 1977 – Dr Hook – Walk Right In
• 1978 – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John – You’re the One That I Want
• 1979 – M – Pop Muzik

And here’s the amazing Bon Scott at his very best with “Baby Please Don’t Go”

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What were you up to in 1975? It was the year that saw Sir John Kerr sack Gough Whitlam as Prime Minister of Australia. The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania is hit by a passing ship and collapses killing 12 people. Joh Bjelke-Peterson was confusing us all with his mastery of the English language and Don Dunstan was putting his own unique stamp on South Australian politics.

Think Big wins its second Melbourne Cup and Easts beat St George 38-nil to make it 2 premierships in a row.

On TV Graham Kennedy utters his fateful “Crow call” which sees him banned from our sets for some time. In Film “Picnic At Hanging Rock” is released and goes on to become an Aussie classic.

Some of the folks born in 1975 include Anthony Mundine, Andrew Symonds, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Mark Viduka and future terrorist wannabe David Hicks.

1975 also saw the last of the fabled Sunbury Concerts which featured bands such as AC/DC, Ariel, Ayers Rock, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, Buster Brown, The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, Chain, Daddy Cool, Deep Purple, Kush, La De Das, Linda George, Matt Taylor, Skyhooks, Renée Geyer and Sanctuary, The Keystone Angels, Madder Lake, Ross Ryan and Sherbet

So, what were we listening to in 1975? Try some of these on for size.

Skyhooks – Horror Movie

John Paul Young – Yesterday’s Hero

Richard Clapton – Girls On The Avenue

Ted Mulry Gang – Jump In My Car

Sherbet – Summer Love

Hush – Boney Maroney

Bob Hudson – The Newcastle Song

Billy Thorpe – It’s Almost Summer

Like always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and memories of 1975 in the comments below. See you there!

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The two Narara concerts have been quite literally two of my most poular articles. Each of them has attracted a large number of comments with people leaving their thoughts and memories of what were obviously very special events.

Recently Jeff White, who was at both concerts offered to send over some very rare photo’s and I’m pleased to present the first batch here. They are of the 1983 Narara concert.

Jeff has sent me quite a few sets of photo’s which I’ll be presenting here over the next few weeks. I’d like to give Jeff a huge thankyou for allowing us to post his collection here and I’d love it if you could leave a thankyou to Jeff in the comments section below. Stay tuned for more…

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I had the distinct pleasure of doing sound for Wa Wa Nee on a short Sydney run of about 4 weeks way back in 1989. They were absolutely brilliant live and just dripped “groove”. At that stage they were probably past their peak popularity but still drew massive live crowds that were genuine fans. Mostly female! I still remember having to stand guard at the dressing room door on more than one occasion just to keep the ladies out.

This is a band I really didn’t take that seriously until I mixed them that first night but they had me convinced after the first song. Brilliant musicians and funky, catchy songs are always a good combination.

About

Wa Wa Nee broke the Australian tradition of pub rock in the mid-’80s with a combination of expertly packaged funk-pop, designed for a mass audience.

Songwriting duo Paul Gray and Steve Williams fronted the band, signing a deal with CBS Records in late 1985. In January 1986 they put together a full lineup consisting of Geoff Lundren (bass), Elizabeth Lord (keyboards, backing vocals), and Chris Sweeney (drums). Later, Gray’s younger brother Mark replaced Lundren on bass, and keyboardist Phil Witchett joined the lineup.

Wa Wa Nee’s ascent of the Australian charts began with the April 1986 release of the single “Stimulation,” which peaked nationally at number two. Three further singles also made the Australian Top 20 and their self-titled debut album yielded platinum sales of over 70,000. A national tour of Australia followed, along with a promotional tour of the U.S., where “Sugar Free” had made the Top 30.

A new single, “Can’t Control Myself,” was released in November 1988, peaking at number 17 in Australia and forming part of their final album Blush. Two more singles, “So Good” and “I Want You,” were released to less interest, and Wa Wa Nee disbanded in the same year.
From Allmusic

Video

Stimulation – 1986

Sugar Free – 1987

Members

• Tony Buck – Drums
• Mark Gray – Bass
• Paul Gray – Vocals, Keys
• Paul Greenwood – Bass
• Elizabeth Lord – Keys, Vocals
• Geoff Lundren – Bass
• Barton Price – Drums
• Chris Sweeney – Drums
• Phil Witchett – Keys
• Steve Williams – Guitar, Vocals

Albums

• Wa Wa Nee – 1986
• Blush – 1989

Images

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These are the songs that Australians were listening to in 1979. Here is the end of year singles chart based on sales.

Top Australian Singles

1. Up There Cazaly – The Two-Man Band
2. Computer Games – Mi-Sex
3. C’mon Aussie C’mon – The Mojo Singers

*Denotes Australian artist

Top selling singles in Australia for 1979

1. Lay Your Love on Me – Racey
2. I Was Made For Lovin’ You – Kiss
3. Heart of Glass – Blondie
4. Some Girls – Racey
5. Born to Be Alive – Patrick Hernandez
6. I Don’t Like Mondays – The Boomtown Rats
7. Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? – Rod Stewart
8. Le Freak – Chic
9. Knock on Wood – Amii Stewart
10. Pop Muzik – M
11. My Sharona – The Knack
12. Make Love to Me – Kelly Marie
13. Up There Cazaly – The Two-Man Band*
14. Baby It’s You – Promises
15. YMCA – Village People
16. Stumblin’ In – Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman
17. Hot Stuff – Donna Summer
18. Video Killed the Radio Star – The Buggles
19. Computer Games – Mi-Sex*
20. Bright Eyes – Art Garfunkel
21. Lucky Number – Lene Lovich
22. C’mon Aussie C’mon – The Mojo Singers*
23. On the Inside – Lynne Hamilton
24. We Don’t Talk Anymore – Cliff Richard
25. I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor

My video pick for 1979 is Mi Sex with “Computer Games”. Yeah, I know they were Kiwi’s but we claim all the good ones and these guys were good!

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Number 1 Singles in Australia on June 18

• 1970 – Spirit In The Sky – Norman Greenbaum
• 1971 – Too Young To Be Married – The Hollies
• 1972 – Amazing Grace – Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
• 1973 – Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree – Tony Orlando and Dawn
• 1974 – Billy Don’t Be A Hero – Paper Lace
• 1975 – January – Pilot
• 1976 – Fernando – ABBA
• 1977 – Don’t Cry For Me Argentina – Julie Covington
• 1978 – I Can’t Stand The Rain – Eruption
• 1979 – Lay Your Love On Me – Racey

Videos

On this day in 1986 Dragon played their song “Dreams Of Ordinary Men” on Hey, Hey It’s Saturday. Thanks to Roger Garrod for the video.

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About

Melbourne based pop/rock band from 1981-1987. Re-formed briefly in 1998

History

Uncanny X-Men formed in Melbourne as a guitar pop band in 1981 and worked the pub rock circuit. Original line-up included Chuck Hargreaves on guitar, Steve Harrison on bass guitar, Brian Mannix as lead singer, Nick Manthandos on drums and Ron Thiessen on guitar. Mannix became known for his mischievous and comical send-ups of other artists. The band was signed by Mushroom Records early in 1982 and released their debut EP Salive One in November, which peaked at #15 on the Kent Music Report. They toured Australia in support of US rock act Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Early in 1983, Harrison was replaced on bass by John Kirk, and they released their single, “How Do You Get Your Kicks?” in March. Craig Waugh replaced Manthandos on drums and they released another single “Time Goes So Fast”. They toured through 1984 and released an EP, Beach Party, in July which included the single, “Everybody Wants to Work”.
From Wikipedia

Members

• Chuck Hargreaves — guitar (1981–1987)
• Steve Harrison — bass guitar (1981–1983)
• Brian Mannix — lead vocals (1981–1987)
• Nick Manthandos — drums (1981–1983)
• Ron Thiessen — guitar (1981–1986)
• John Kirk — bass guitar (1983–1987)
• Craig Waugh — drums (1983–1987)
• Joey Amenta — guitar (1986)
• Brett Kingman — guitar (1986–1987)

Video

Albums

• ‘Cos Life Hurts – 1985
• What You Give is What You Get! – 1986

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1974, I remember it well. It was my first year of High School and I was just becoming aware of how good Aussie music was at the time.

Pop band Sherbet were posing for “risque” portraits, Gough Whitlam was Prime Minister, The Eastern Suburbs Roosters were Rugby League Premiers, Richmond won the VFL Final, John Howard enters politics as an opposition backbencher and Think Big wins the Melbourne Cup. Andrew Johns, Shane Webcke and Ricky Ponting are all born in 1974 and two classic films are screened for the first time, Stone and The Cars That Ate Paris. Christmas 1974 saw the city of Darwin flattened by cyclone Tracey.

In cricket, Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee were wreaking havoc on a shell-shocked English side in The Ashes.

The third Sunbury concert rocked Victoria with a lineup that included Blackfeather, The 69′ers, Skyhooks, The Dingoes, Kush, Buster Brown, Chain, Madder Lake, MacKenzie Theory, Ayers Rock, Sid Rumpo, Ross Ryan, Daddy Cool (reformed for this concert) and Queen

1974 was also the first year that Countdown screened in Australian homes and it changed our lives. It really brought great Aussie music to the masses and genuinely had us huddling around the TV set each week to see who was number 1. Also on TV that year we were watching timeless classics such as “The Class Of ‘74″ and “The Box”.

So, here are some of the great Australian tunes we were listening to in 1974, Enjoy!

AC/DC – Can I Sit Next To You Girl (Featuring Dave Evans on Vocals)

Sherbet – Slipstream

Stevie Wright – Evie (This clip is from 1979 but the song was a hit in 1974)

Ross Ryan – I Am Pegasus

The Bootleg Family – Shoop Shoop Song

Brian Cadd – Let Go

Theme from Aunty Jack

If you’ve got any thoughts or memories from 1974 I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. Likewise, if you know of any film clips from then, let me know & I’ll include them here.

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G’day,

Well first up I should start with a disclaimer for all aspiring crew & the young & impressionable. My stories come from a time in the industry that was pretty wild & I was young and probably (well, yes I was) reckless. Today you couldn’t get away with some of the crazy stuff that went on, and that’s probably a good thing. In the music industry a lot of people have nicknames and that is pretty much all they are known by. I have been known as Reckless or Recko for ages. Very few people from the industry know my is Steve. Glen “Heffo” Heffernan (Guitarist : Meatballs show etc) had fun with it, sometimes I’d be Restless (when I said i was going home) Legless (On the piss) Harmless etc. Anyhow this is how I got my nickname:

In the early 80’s i was working for Mad Gorilla from their second or third gig onwards. One of the first road trips was up to Cobar (September 1980) and that drive has a funny story i’ll tell later. If you’ve never been out that way it is a long drive and a totally different landscape from the coast. It’s actually almost in another time zone it’s that far. The locals don’t get many live acts, they come out in force and have a bloody good time.
When we got there it was straight out of the vehicles and into the load in. A quick focus & sound check and it was almost time to start. I grabbed a beer & went outside to check the sunset and gather my thoughts.

It was my first full night on the lighting desk for Gorilla as Roger didn’t come away with us due to work and family committments. So I had a walk around the club and sat down to roll a cigarette.

A female voice says “Is that a joint?” and I looked up into the sun to see the silhouette of a very shapely lady. I blocked the sun with one hand to see she was just as pretty as her silhouette suggested, “No, I wish it was” I replied. She giggled and stuck her hand under my nose, there was a round piece of alfoil in her hand & the smell of hash was unmistakeable.

“Where will we go?, we can’t smoke it here” she giggled again. I suggested the back of the truck and off we went. Well one thing lead to another and not only did the evil temptress get me stoned but not long after we were having some great sex amongst the drapes in the back of the truck. We were totally lost in what we were doing and had lost track of time.

Next thing i hear a guitar and someone banging on the drums “OH SHIT! ! !” I suddenly remembered why I was there. “Quick get dressed, OH SHIT, OH FUCK!!!!”

We get out of the truck, pull the shutter down and I’m running for the door of the club. My shoelaces aren’t tied and I get my shirt caught in the zipper of my jeans, “SHIT”.

I burst into the club straight past the doorman who’s saying “They’re looking for you mate”

The stage is dark, the band’s all on stage ready to go. The room is chocka block full. As I ran into the room tripping over my gym boot laces Sticko ( the singer) is saying to the crowd “Has anyone seen our lighting guy, he’s a little hairy bloke,where is that reckless young lad ?” the whole room turned around, pointed at me and yelled “there he is” and they all cracked up laughing and clapping. Coby was on the sound desk and immediately (and deservedly) starts paying out on me, points at my shirt sticking out my fly “What the fuck were you doing!?”. She kept threatening to make me get all the drapes drycleaned after I told her. All through the night the locals were coming up, slapping me on the back and saying things like “So what were you up to, you reckless young lad ?” then cracking up laughing and handing me a beer. By the end of the night even the local police seargent was calling me the reckless young lad. And everytime they did Coby looked daggers at me.

After the first set I was called into the band room for what would now be called “counselling” I copped an absolute bollocking & then someone giggled and everyone (except Coby) had a laugh. By the end of the night the name Reckless had stuck. The crowd had a ball and we ended up sitting up drinking with the club staff and the local cop till dawn. I never saw her again, can’t remember her name but boy do I remember that night and the time we spent in the back of the truck.

Disclaimer:

G’day Gibbo,
Had a thought about my ” My nickname” post and would like to add this disclaimer.
To all wives and girlfriends: The incidents related in the my nickname story were not everyday occurences & in the time I worked in the entertainment industry (1977 – 2008) only happened twice in that time. The second time I got married to the lady & besides 2 beautiful daughters was in hindsight a disaster. Generally we were too bloody busy & then too tired or heading off to another gig. ….. Recko.

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About

Sydney based band from 1983 to 1985

History

During the same period, late ‘83 to early ‘84, Jenny Morris joined with ex-Air Supply guitarist Rex Goh, and bassist Ian Belton (ex-Dave Dobbyn and Renee Geyer), to form the core of a new band, called QED. The trio were joined in studio by various session players, and producers Mark Moffatt (produced Saints, Mondo Rock, Tim Finn) and Ricky Fataar (produced Renee Geyer, Tim Finn, Kids In The Kitchen – also ex-Rutle!). Among the players contributing to QED’s first album, were keyboardist Amanda Vincent (Eurogliders and later the Jenny Morris band), drummer Steve Fearnly, saxophonist Tony Buchanan, and Fataar himself on drums. Morris brought a number of former Crocodiles’ songs to the project, whilst Goh and Morris co-wrote a number of new songs.

The lead out single was the up-tempo synth pop number ‘Everywhere I Go’, which hit the Australian charts in December 1983. In early ‘84 QED performed the song ‘live’ on ‘Countdown’, an appearance that no doubt aided in boosting the song’s national chart peak to #19 soon after (#6 in Sydney). EMI had released QED’s debut album ‘Animal Magic’ during the same period, but sales remained sluggish. The follow up single ‘Solo And More’ hit the shelves in March of ‘84, but missed the charts completely, although the third single (and best IMHO) ‘This One’ reached a solid #45 nationally during the second half of ‘84. I’m not aware if QED toured much as a live act, which may have been a contributing factor to their album ‘Animal Magic’ failing to cast a spell on the record buying public. At any rate, QED ended up being a one album only project, and during 1984 Jenny Morris returned to session/touring work with other artists (Belton went on to play with Mondo Rock, and Goh with Eurogliders).
From RetroUniverse

Video

Members

• Ian Bolton – Bass
• Steve Fearnley – Drums
• Rex Goh – Guitar
• Martin Irwin – Keys
• Jenny Morris – Vocals
• Warren Williams – Bass

Albums

• Animal Magic – 1984

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