(Australian 1964 - 2014)
Jim Keays fronted the successful Master's Apprentices until they broke up in the U.K. 1971. This marked a career change and he returned to Australia, where he worked for Go-Set magazine, formed the Rock On Agency, and appeared at the Mulwala Rock Festival in April 1972. In March 1973, he starred in the Australian version of the Who's Tommy and in January 1974, Keays participated in the third annual Sunbury Festival.
Keays then returned to music, recording his debut solo album, 'The Boy From the Stars', a concept album about an extraterrestrial visitor who attempts to warn people of the earth's imminent destruction. Keays, playing the role of the boy from the stars, wrote most of the music and all of the lyrics. "Kid's Blues"/"Inter-Planetary Boogie" (December 1974) and "The Boy From the Stars"/"Take It on Easy" were released as singles and Keays undertook an ambitious tour in support of the album, but due to the size of the show, only three concerts were staged. The anti-drug song "Give It Up (Cocainut)"/"Love Is" was released in June 1975.
Keays and his fellow Master's Apprentices bandmembers were inducted into the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1998. In 1999, Keays published his first book, His Master's Voice, which told the story of the Masters Apprentices. In January 2000, Raven Records reissued Keays' 1974 solo album, The Boy From the Stars, with five bonus tracks. The Mavis's contributed a cover of "The Boy From the Stars" to the original soundtrack of the Australian film Sample People in May 2000 [by Brendan Swift]
Jim Keays talks about The Boy From The Stars
At some stage in our lives most of us embark on a search to look for the meaning of life in general and/or our own lives in particular: where are we from, why are we here and where are we going?
For some, the search lasts a few days, for others weeks, months or years. For a few it is a lifetime's pursuit.
During my career with The Master's Apprentices there was no time for searching: the pace was far too hectic for any kind of introspection. But as soon as it was all over I began to ponder these universal questions. At the same time the 'hippie' movement had begun to force the world into realising that the planet was in some danger, and many changes needed to be made to save it from destruction socially, politically and environmentally. I researched everything from astrology, tarot, alchemy, UFO's and homeopathy to eastern and western religions, science, philosophy, physics, eastern and western medicine, politics and everything inbetween.
All this searching seemed to synthesis itself into a concept in my mind that eventually manifested itself into a batch of songs with a thread of a story that incorporated many of the things that I had learned and absorbed.
And so, 'The Boy From The Stars' was born. Simply, the story of a visitor from an advanced but belevolent civilisation somewhere in the cosmos, who tries to alert us to our impeding fate in an effort to help us avert it. (all in a positive way I might add. This is not a doom and gloom senario!).
After writing the songs, came the job of assembling the players for the recording sessions. I wanted the best there were for my grandiose project, and one by one I set about matching the player with the song. I heard sounds in my head that hadn't been invented yet, so somehow I had to create them, or cause them to be created, from musicians at the cutting edge of the newly emerging technology of the time (a time that preceded the electronic explosion of the mid-seventies).
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| 'The Boy From The Stars' Photo Collage |
The late Steve Dunstan, Bruce 'Wings' Bryan, Mal Logan, Peter Robinson and Andrew Vance were experimenting with new sounds from the earliest forms of the synthesiser. In the case of Steve Dunstan, he was inventing new electronic musical instruments and giving them such bizarre names like the 'zapophone'. These musicians supplied the sounds, and together they attempted to create the cosmic soundscapes that I had in mind.
Long standing friends, such as Phil Manning and Barry 'Big Goose' Sullivan from Chain, the late Duncan McGuire, Mark Kennedy and Col Loughnan from Ayers Rock, Lobby Loyde, Ross Wilson, Marcia Hines, Billy Green and many others that have since become stalwarts of Australian music history, all took part in creating what was probably one of the first 'concept' albums produced in this country.
Because of the intricacy of the recording, live versions of the show were both complicated and costly. Consequently I only ever staged three performances. The first was at the Sunbury Music Festival in Jan, 1975, the second was the Dallas Brookes Hall in Melbourne and the third was a Freedom from Hunger benefit concert at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. The Myer Music Bowl concert was almost totally rained out and my performance was severly cut back in production value and length to accomodate the large bill which also included ACDC, Daddy Cool and Hush among others. The whole concert was something of a disaster, played out to a scant crowd in very bleak conditions, and for me, was quite forgettable. The Dallas Brookes Hall show was a sell-out and, despite a few production hiccups, was a great success.
The highlight (or lowlight, depending on how you look at it!) happened at the very opening of the show. I'd had a perspex space capsule constructed which was suspended from the ceiling, with me inside, and during the first song it gradually descended onto the stage.
Unfortunately it toppled over on landing, rolled across the stage and trapped me inside so that I couldn't get out through the door! The roadies had to run onto the stage and roll the capsule around so that I could clumsily stumble out. 'Spinal Tap' style ! But despite this rather comical interlude, we continued on and ended up with a standing ovation.
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| Jim Keays Lineup For Sunbury 75' |
It was the debut performance at Sunbury, however, that really worked to perfection. It was a balmy Friday night (before the torrential rain that marred the Saturday and Sunday nights) and the usually rowdy audience sat hushed and transfixed through the entire show. It entailed three acts, elaborate sets and props and several costume changes (Renee Geyer was my backstage dresser). On stage was a 14-piece band incorporating most of the players from the album sessions, plus Glenn Wheatley who had just returned from overseas and pleaded to be part of the action.
When the capsule was lowered from the stage roof, the audience gasped - it was totally unexpected and certainly not the style of performance for which the 'suck more piss' Sunbury crowd was ready. I had a feeling that it may have been a bit too cerebral in this type of setting. During the second act, as the lights dimmed over suitable cosmic sounds, a gang of roadies brought out about 40 small trees that I'd hired from a nursery to create a forest on stage.
The show climaxed with a rousing rendition of "Reason To Be Living", and I came off to complete silence. I thought that they must have hated it; there wasn't a sound for what seemed an eternity. Then suddenly the audience erupted into rapturous applause - it had taken them that long for it to sink in, but it turned out to be a great personal triumph and one of the highlights of the festival.
The headlining act that year, Deep Purple, were paid an enormous sum and, other than for myself, they were the only act to get paid. Luckily, I had the foresight to do a deal with a sponsor who paid for the whole show up front. Sadly all of the other artists that appeared that year ended up doing it for nothing.
I conceived 'The Boy From The Stars' in every detail: the songs, the players, the album cover, the sponsorship, the costumes (with help from Richard Tyler - now an internationally famous fashion designer), the photography, even the lettering. Every aspect from top to bottom. It was something I was totally passionate about, a two-year labour of love but in the final analysis it was worth every day.
The album and the two singles lifted from it all charted at the time, but as is the case with many albums, they seem to generate more interest, momentum and importance the older they get. Maybe, as many have suggested, this album was ahead of its time, for it now seems that 'The Boy From The Stars' has gained a cult following and has become quite sought after in the collectors market. The title track has now been brillantly covered by The Mavis's to be featured in the movie 'Sample People'.
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Jim Keays passed away on June 13, 2014.
He had been suffering from Multiple Myeloma for seven years. |
Included on this special 25th Anniversary CD Edition are a couple of bonus tracks that weren't part of the Boy concept (with the exception of "Inter-Planetary Boogie", a studio jam that was relegated to the B-Side of the "Kid's Blues" single). Nevertheless, they are songs recorded around the same period and previously unavailable on album. Ian McFarlane from 'Raven Records' recently tracked down the long-lost master tapes of the complete, unreleased Sunbury 1975 concert. Two of the tracks, "Nothing Much Left" and "Urantia", have been added for curiosity value. Despite the rough-hewn sound quality, I'm sure you'll agree that the performances stand up remarkably well.
I hope you enjoy the album for what it is - an historical document from an important period of development in Australian popular music.
[Liner notes by Jim Keays - July 1999]
Below is the original EMI Globe promotional sheet for the LP, capturing the theatrical vision of the project. Jim fully embraced a dramatic, futuristic persona during this period, including the now-iconic helmet, which he famously wore performing at the final Sunbury Pop Festival.
The striking costume and helmet were created by his then wife Vicki Keays, and today they are proudly displayed at the Melbourne Music Vault - preserving an unforgettable chapter of Australian rock history.
This post consists of FLACs ripped from the 25th Anniversary CD Edition of the album (thanks to Deutros) and includes full artwork for both CD and Vinyl. (I have a secondhand copy of the LP, however the vinyl is in rough condition and was not conducive to ripping).
All photos displayed in this post are also included. I would like to give special thanks to Instagram's themastersapprentices for the EMI Globe promotional sheet and picture of Keay's helmet dsiplayed above.
01. The Boy From The Stars - 5:45
02. Take It On Easy (Jim Keays, John Brownrigg) - 4:36
03. Nothing Much Left (Jim Keays, John Brownrigg) - 5:05
04. Space Brothers - 9:07
05. Alchemical Takeover - 4:45
06. Urantia (Jim Keays, John Brownrigg) - 5:50
07. Kids' Blues - 3:28
08. The Right Way To Go - 5:24
09. Reason To Be Living - 7:52
10. Inter-Planetary Boogie [Bonus Track] - 4:06
11. Give It Up (Cocainut) [Bonus Track] - 4:10
12. For Someone [Bonus Track] - 5:40
13. Interview With John O'Donnell 3XY [Bonus Track] - 1:34
14. Nothing Much Left / Urantia (Jim Keays, John Brownrigg) [Bonus Track] - 11:04
All compositions by Jim Keays except where stated Bonus Tracks 10-14
Tracks 10-12 from Singles releases
Tracks 13-14 Live At Sunbury 1975
Musicians
*Jim Keays - Lead Vocals
*Phil Manning - Guitars
*Peter Jones - String Arrangement
*Duncan McGuire - 4 String Fretless Bass
*Mark Kennedy - Drums
*Chris Brown - Acoustic Guitar
*Peter Robinson - Synthesizer
*Greg Cook - 12 String Acoustic Guitar
*Mal Logan - Synthesizer
*Marcia Hines - Backing Vocals
*Barry Sullivan - 4 String Electric Bass
*Billy Green - Guitars
*John Brownrigg - Harmony Vocals
*Mark Kennedy - Drums, Timpani, Percussion
*Peter Sullivan - Piano
*Lobby Loyde - Electric Guitar
*Ross Wilson - Electric Guitar
*Bruce (Wings) Bryan - Synthesizer
*Andrew Vance - Organ
*Antonio Rodrigues - Congas
*Trevor Courtney - Drums
*Col Loughnan - Baritone Saxophone
*Tony Buettel - Drums
*Mick Elliot - Electric Guitar
*Geoff Skewes - Electric Piano *Steve Dunston - Zapophone
*Joe Creighton - Bass
*Geoff Bridgeford – Drums
*Ross Hannaford – Electric Guitar
*Peter Laffy - Acoustic Guitar
*George Cross – Bass
*Rick Brewer – Drums
*Rex Bullen – Piano, Organ
