W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Billy Thorpe - Retail Teaser for Stimulation LP (1981)

 

Before things get too serious at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song at the end of each month, that could be considered to be either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.

It was 1976, and at the age thirty, Billy Thorpe felt he was being hampered by his past, roped in with guitar leads, hemmed in by walls of amplifiers and the anticipation of a crowd wanting more of the same old pisssucking bullshit. But any artist who is content to stagnate in the past would never take the opportunities Billy was preparing to take. And so, he left Australia in December 1976, bound for America, and ready for anything.

In 1979, he released the highly successful solo space opera concept album entitled ‘Children of the Sun’ on Capricorn Records. The album was very successful at the time. After alot of prodding and promotional work, the 'Children Of The Sun' album got to number one on rock radio across America. It went to number one on request because of Billy's unique voice, his guitar playing ability and the efforts made by his producer.

He then went on to release three more studio albums while living in the States, with his next release on Electra/Asylum records titled '21st Century Man' (1980) peaking on the Billboard Pop Album chart top 200. The single "In My Room" from 21st Century Man had top ten chart success in Canada. His next two US-based releases 'Stimulation' (1981) and 'East of Eden's Gate' (1982), were recorded on the Pasha label, but didn't chart as well as the first two.

By 1986, he owned a recording and production studio in Los Angeles, where he worked on musical scoring for television series, including: War of the Worlds, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Columbo, Eight Is Enough and Hard Time on Planet Earth. He also collaborated with Mick Fleetwood and Bekka Bramlett in Fleetwood’s side project, a band called The Zoo.

In 1994, Billy finally returned to Australia as a conquering hero, and issued the three-CD box set 'Lock Up Your Mothers' and relaunched himself on the Australian pub and concert circuit.

During his time in America, Billy worked with Spencer Proffer, a renowned and accomplished record producer and manager. Having moved record companies for his last 2 albums (recording on Spencer's new CBS offshoot label 'Pasha'), it was decided that promotional material should be sent to the American radio stations and record stores, before the release of these albums.
And so the idea of using 'Teasers' in the form of single sided 45's, containing snippets of tracks on the pending releases, was born.

Billy Thorpe with Spencer Proffer

The retail teaser included for this month's W.O.C.K on Vinyl post was used for his 1981 'Stimulation' album and because of its 'Not For Sale' status and rarity, it absolutely ticks the box for Obscurity.  And in the spirit of what these 'Teaser' releases were used for, it is my intention to post Thorpie's 'Stimulation' album next month. And folks, in my opinion it's a cracker and well worth the short wait. 

Billy Thorpe - Retail Teaser (1981)

Demonstration 45 (Single Sided)

Released on Pasha Records in 1981

Track samples taken from The Pasha LP: "Stimulation" ARZ 37499

Track Samples:  "Just The Way I Like It", "Rock Until You Drop", "Syndrome D.O.A, "No Rules On The Road", "Let Me Outta Here", "Stimulation"