W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Cam-Pact - Living In The Sixties [EP] (1968) / Zoom, Zoom, Zoom [EP] (1970)

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

(Australian 1967 - 1970)

Cam-Pact were formed in Melbourne in April 1967 with a lineup of Mark Barnes on bass guitar; Keith Glass on vocals and guitar and John Pugh on guitar, vocals and autoharp, (both ex-18th Century Quartet), Chris Stockley on guitar and Robert Lloyd (aka Bob Tregilgus) on drums. Originally named 'The Camp Act' but, as that was "too outrageous", they soon changed to Cam-Pact.

Initially they performed soul music in the Stax Records and Tamla-Motown mould, and later explored teen-pop, heavy rock and finally into blues/psychedelia.

Living In The Sixties Liner Notes

CAM-PACT were in some ways a typical band of its period, in others not. Notable were the many musicians who moved through the group and still form an active part of the Australian music scene.

The line-ups featured on this EP were mid-period Campact. The hardest working, most recorded and successful. The group started however, as a Tamla / Atlantic "soul" group, "progressed" through teenybopper and "heavy" stages into blues and Psychedelic with a final name change to Company Caine.

Some of the players who passed through on the way: Bob Lloyd (drums, later Unknown Blues/ Extradition), John Pugh (guitar, later James Taylor Move/Bakery/Renee Geyer - now Nightflyers), Chris Lofren (bass, now film director "Oz"), Ray Arnott (drums, Spectrum/Dingoes - now One Night Stand), Russell Smith (guitar, Company Caine/Billy T) plus fleeting appearances by Gulliver Smith and Matt Taylor!

Early Lineup of Cam-Pact

Of the group featured on these tracks, all are still active: Trevor Courtney on through Vibrants/ Skylight/Mondo Rock and Stylus. Greg Cook in the Mixtures/Skylight/Mondo Rock. Chris Stockley in Axiom and Dingoes. Mark Barnes as a well known rock promoter. Keith Glass in Hair/Sundown forming defunct record labels and new group Living Legends Main memories of the group are of desperation for more publicity and exposure, working 3 gigs a night and being perpetually broke - the normal rock 'n roll trip! We were a tight little outfit and we played a continuous round of venues mainly up and down the east coast of Australia - I'm glad I was there! [Keith Glass Feb '78]

A balcony in Carlton, Melbourne (circa 1967)
L to R – Mark Barnes, Chris Stockley, Keith Glass, John Pugh & Robert Lloyd

In the liner notes of a Cam-Pact CD release by Missing Link records in 2002, Keith Glass recalled the origins of the group's tongue-in-cheek name and image:

There it was on the wall of the men's public toilet at Her Majesty's hotel in Toorak Road, South Yarra. "Be modern, be camp" someone had scrawled and in a flash we had our group name. John Pugh, Bob Tregilgus, Mark Barnes, Chris Stockley and myself had been rehearsing, for a solid month or so, and contemplating a name for our "soul group with teen appeal". In a moment of idiocy and after a few drinks at the trendiest pub in the trendiest stretch of Melbourne we had it, for better or for worse. "The Camp Act" (as it was initially) was fairly fitting in the sense we were all extremely heterosexual but also fairly fey. Of course some were more fey than others.

Barnes in particular cultivated the sweet little boy act but underneath was a cuttingly cruel tease of both sexes with an acid tongue and a razor sharp mind. A few months later he and Stockley would perform a lingering mouth to mouth kiss in our first film clip to accompany our latest song "Something Easy" just outside Her Majesty's. It only just made the cut as they came out of the clinch but the intention was clear. We wanted to get somewhere by shock tactics mild for today but wild for the time.

It is also worth noting that the Rolls Royce and the Frilly Shirts (depicted on the EP's front cover) were part of a media stunt to get some attention for the group. Apparently it got them on the cover of Go Set. The story they made up involved Stockley inheriting a lot of money which the band spent on frilly shirts and the Rolls. The Rolls was actually rented and drove them to the concert at the Velodrome. On the way back from the gig it broke down, I think on Punt Hill. [Thanks to Shey Stubbley for this insight]

Barnes left in late 1968, and Keith Glass switched to bass, but in mid-'69 both he and Stockley left - Glass successfully auditioned for the cast of the first Australian stage production of Hair, and (on Keith's recommendation) Stockley was recruited to join Axiom and evetually moved on to play with the Dingoes in the early 70's. They were replaced by Chris Lofven and Russell Smith.

When Trevor Courtney left in late '69 (thus creating a totally new lineup) he was replaced by Ray Arnott (ex-Chelsea Set, The Browns). Chris Lovfen (bass) later made a name as a film-maker, with the legendary promotional clips for Daddy Cool's "Eagle Rock" and Spectrum's "I'll Be Gone", and he later wrote and directed the cult rock'n'roll road film OZ (with music by Ross Wilson and Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons).

Keith Glass recalls when the single "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" was recorded:

"Cam-Pact with Trevor and Greg played on, they came up to Sydney again to record the blatant bubble-gum "Zoom Zoom Zoom" with new boys Bill Blisset on keyboards and our old mate (and still my close friend) Chris Lofven on bass. I went down to the studio and may have played tambourine on the session. It was commercial but failed to revive the bands fortunes. Soon Trevor went to The Vibrants, Greg to The Mixtures and the rest of the latter Cam-Pact weirdly enough mutated into Company Caine." 

Blissett left around the start of 1970; bluesman Matt Taylor (Chain) even became a member for a few weeks, filling in as lead singer when they toured Sydney in early 1970. In March, the final three-piece version of Cam-Pact (Arnott, Edwards and Smith) combined with vocalist Gulliver Smith (ex-Little Gulliver & The Children, Dr Kandy's Third Eye) and sax player Jeremy Noone (Leo & Friends, Sons of the Vegetal Mother) to become the first lineup of the legendary Company Caine.

Also worth noting, in 1978 Keith founded Missing Link, the Melbourne shop and record label which were crucial in the emergence of the New Wave scene in Australia; he managed goth-rock pioneers The Birthday Party and released early recording by The Birthday Party and The Go-Betweens. Missing Link also distributed important new wave recordings from the UK and the US, including Money by The Flying Lizards, and the early recordings by The Dead Kennedys.  [Extracts from Milesago].

This post consists of FLACs ripped from Vinyl (thanks to Sunshine for 'Living In The Sixties' and Deutros for 'Zoom, Zoom, Zoom') along with artwork and label scans.  Both of these EP's are extremley rare and highly collectable and therefore tick the Obscure box, but dare I say the C box for the CampAct.  

In my opinion, Cam-Pact was primarily responsible for producing some of our most successful and talented Aussie Rock artists of the 70's (as listed above) and these EP's are an important part of our musical heritage. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 

Living In The Sixties EP

01 I'm Your Puppet

02 (You Don't Have To) Break It To Me Slowly

03 Drawing Room

04 Wasted (On A Fantasy)

A-Side

Keith Glass (lead vocals)

Chris Stockley (guitar/vocals)

Greg Cook (guitar/piano/vocals)

Mark Barnes (bass)

Trevor Courtney (drums/vocals)

B-Side

Keith Glass (vocals/bass)

Chris Stockley (guitar/lead vocal "Break")

Greg Cook (guitar/vocals)

Trevor Courtney (vocals/drums)

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom EP

A-Side

01 - Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

02 - Cry My Heart Out

B-Side

03 - Potion Of Love

04 - Getting Myself Together

Band Members: 1969

Greg Cook (guitar/vocals)

Bill Blissett (organ, vocals)

Trevor Courtney (drums)

Chris Lofven (bass)

Russell Smith (guitar, vocals)

Cam-Pact EP's Link (96Mb)