Southern Cross - Selftitled LP (1976) plus bonus Rehearsal Tracks

(Australian 1975-1978)

Sydney-based hard rock band Southern Cross had its roots in heavy progressive rock pioneers Buffalo. John Baxter had been sacked from Buffalo at the end of 1974. Baxter's savage guitar work had virtually defined the Buffalo sound and approach; his departure robbed the band of its most distinctive feature and boldest asset. 

The band's spirit simply faded thereafter. Original line-up was: Alan Milano (vocals; ex-Buffalo), John Baxter (lead guitar; ex-Head, Buffalo), Michel Brouet (bass, vocals), Jeff Beacham (drums).

Southern Cross

Initially Baxter formed Boy Racer before teaming up with original Buffalo singer Alan Milano in Southern Cross. Milano was co-vocalist on Buffalo's debut LP 'Dead Forever'.

Baxter wrote much of the band's early live set, although he left six months after its formation. Seventeen-year-old Bruce Cumming replaced Baxter on guitar.    Alongside the likes of Finch, The Angels, Kevin Borich Express, Rose Tattoo and Chariot, Southern Cross swiftly became one of the most popular hard rock bands on the Sydney scene. Southern Cross signed to the independent Living Sound/Laser label and issued its debut single, `Stormy Lady'/`Queen of Rock'n'Roll', at the end of 1976.

The funky, bluesy and heavy `Stormy Lady' was a good indication of the band's over-the-top style. The band's selftitled debut album (1976) featured melodic, raunchy hard rock in the vein of Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and UK band Bad Company. It mixed flat-out, riff-rockers (`You Need It', `Money Maker', `Stormy Lady') with moody rock ballads (`Jesse', `Story Teller' and `Games').

The album scored only minimal sales, despite its strong points. By 1978, Southern Cross had broken up and Cumming and Brouet moved on to 'The Press', another Sydney based band with a punk edged heavy metal sound. Steve Kot (vocals) and Rick Doolan (drums) completed the line-up.

Southern Cross

This post consists of FLACs ripped from a 2011 CD release of this highly sought after and rare Aussie rock album. (copies selling for $400+ ) 

Full artwork for both CD and Vinyl media is included, with the exception of a Side 2 LP label scan. If any blog followers have a copy of this LP, I would love to get hold of this missing label scan. Likewise, if anyone has their only single, I would love to get hold of a rip of the B-Side "Queen Of Rock 'n' Roll".

As a bonus, I'm also including a 'Southern Cross' rehearsal tape from June 1976, which includes album tracks - "Money Maker"and "You Need It"; and a non-album (Bad Company cover)  "Movin' On", all featuring John Baxter on guitar. 

The following is a transcript that was written by Bruce Cumming, describing the moment when he first auditioned to play with the band:

I walked into a teenage dream.......I guess…when I attended an audition for guitarist in this cramped room out the back of some shops in Bronte, an eastern suburb of Sydney in 1975.

John Baxter

The next guy to walk in the door was a local rock star, guitarist John Baxter, who had recently left Buffalo, one of Sydney’s biggest live acts…and it was he and former Buffalo singer Alan Milano who were putting the new band together.

I was 17 and I passed the audition!  Even though Baxter didn’t stick with us for long, we all remained friends and you can hear him talking here as he passes constructive criticism on my guitar solos and jokes in a serious way about the overall sound.

We rehearsed in a dilapidated shell of a house that we rented in Harris St, Ultimo, an inner – Sydney City suburb…the walls were lined with egg–cartons, we set up a little PA in there and pretty much blew the roof off whenever we wanted to.

This stuff here was recorded in mono onto cassette…over 30 years later you can hear the tape scrunching over the oxide on the pad. The ‘quality’ is terrible, of course, but if you turn It UP, I don’t think you could possibly hear the energy in what we were doing long, long ago.

Tracks listing:

01. Money Maker  (4:31)

02. You Need It  (5:10)
03. Jessie  (5:12)
04. What Am I Waiting For?  (5:12)
05. Harris Street  (4:42)
06. Story Teller   (5:12)
07. Games  (8:58)
08. Stormy Lady  (4:51)

Bonus Rehearsal Tracks

09. Money Maker  (8:08)

10. Movin' On   (3:24)

11.  You Need It  (7:29)

Southern Cross were:

Alan Milano - vocals
Bruce Cumming - guitars
Jeff Beacham - drums
Michel Brouet - bass, vocals

Southern Cross Link (405Mb)