W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Roly Parks & the Sole Burners - ‘Good On Ya Cliff Young” Single (1983)

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future. Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788.
With respect to Australia's Music Industry, we can be very proud of the contributions that our Aussie Musos have made in entertaining people from every nation with music and song, with many of our artists achieving world wide acclaim.

Whether or not you still support Australia Day, in light of the recent controversy that has arisen with the validity of what Australia Day represents, I hope you will still support the spirit of the day, where we all come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian.

In 1983, Roly Parks & The Sole Burners recorded a single for Wizard Records ‘Good On Ya Cliff Young” b/w “The Good Old Aussie Battler” (ZS 826). The single was produced by Bryan Dawe and Steve Groves who also penned both sides. Cliff Young OAM was an Australian potato farmer and athlete from Beech Forest, Victoria, best known for his unexpected win of the inaugural Sydney to Melbourne Ultra marathon in 1983 at 61 years of age.

It was his monumentous efforts in beating all odds (namely much younger and experienced long distance runners) to win the Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon that exemplified the little 'Aussie Battler' metaphor and is a reminder that greatness often wears humble shoes.

Launched in 1983, the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon earned a reputation as one of the most grueling endurance races on the planet. Spanning 875 km (543.7 miles) through searing daytime heat and freezing nights, it demanded extraordinary preparation, strategic planning, and near-superhuman stamina. It was a race for elite ultramarathoners—athletes who calculated every calorie, nap, and step. That year, top contenders like the legendary Greek ultrarunner Yiannis Kouros had well-honed strategies: scheduled micro-naps, precisely calibrated fueling, and energy-saving strides. So when Cliff Young showed up at the start line wearing overalls and work boots, people thought it was a joke. What most didn’t realize was that Cliff, a native of Victoria, wasn’t entirely new to running. Despite what some internet myths might suggest, he had completed the Melbourne Marathon three times between 1980 and 1982, after taking up competitive running at the age of 56. His personal best? A respectable 3:02:53—remarkable for someone who began so late in life. But this time would reveal just how much more he had in him.

Cliff Young - The Potato Farmer (Centre Front)

The “impossible” feat/feet" of Cliff Young and his sheep

Every day on his farm in Beech Forest, Cliff would run for hours chasing stray sheep across rugged terrain—often for days without rest. So when he calmly told race officials, “I’m used to running for two or three days straight when rounding up the sheep,” it wasn’t just a quaint anecdote—it was his truth. At first, no one took him seriously. Other runners raised eyebrows. Spectators chuckled. Yet, once the race began, Cliff stuck to his own rhythm: a slow, steady shuffle that never stopped. While competitors took breaks to sleep, Cliff simply kept going. “If I stop to sleep,” he reasoned, “I’ll lose too much time.”

By day three, he had caught up to the leaders. By day four, he passed them. With no coach, no sports science, and no sleep, Cliff Young ran continuously for 5 days, 15 hours, and 4 minutes, smashing the previous record by nearly two full days. He finished a staggering 10 hours ahead of the runner-up, George Perdon—himself a veteran, known as the first man to run across Australia back in 1973. At the finish line, exhausted but smiling, Cliff said simply: “I knew I could do it. I just did what I always do.” His time would stand until 1985, when Yiannis Kouros set a new record of 5 days, 5 hours, and 7 minutes. Cliff’s performance even inspired a race in his honor—the Cliff Young Race, held annually from 1983 to 2005.

Cliff Young’s legacy: a new way to run [the shuffle]

Cliff Young didn’t just win a race—he changed the very fabric of ultrarunning. Before him, no one thought it was humanly possible to run nearly 900 km without sleep. After him, scientists and runners alike studied his signature stride: the “Young Shuffle”—a low-impact, ultra-efficient gait that dragged the feet just above the ground to conserve energy. To this day, it’s taught in ultramarathon training camps. But Cliff’s real legacy goes beyond biomechanics. He redefined what endurance means. He proved that patience and grit could outlast speed and youth. That simplicity can beat sophistication. That underdogs—those who don’t fit the mold—often hold untapped potential. Even Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan marathon legend and first man to break the 2-hour barrier (in an unofficial race), cited Cliff Young as an inspiration: “He taught me that limits exist only in the mind.” In Australia, Cliff remains a national icon. His story isn’t just a tale of winning against all odds—it’s a reminder that greatness often wears humble shoes. 

[Extract from www.marathons.com]

Cliffy Young's story resinates with me greatly, as I too was a marathon runner back in the 80's & 90's and totally understood the massive human endurance that is involved with this type of run.  Now, it's one thing to run a 42.195km marathon, but to run 875km is just, simply insane.  I remember watching the coverage of the event on TV over the 5 days and was on Sydney Road (extension of the Hume Highway) joining the thousands of other Melbournians to applaud Cliffy's amazing effort, when he ran past on his way to the finish line in the city.

Perhaps some of you were there also...if so, I would love to hear your thoughts on this amazing story.

In closing, I would like to dedicate this post to all our Aussie sports people who represent our great country and in doing so, exemplify the Aussie Spirit. The plaque shown right is a wonderful reminder of the spirit and legacy that Cliffy Young demonstrated when he undertook a mammoth challenge [as the under-dog] and won. 

This post consists of MP3's ripped from vinyl + label scans (thanks to Ozzie Musicman).

"Good On Ya Cliff Young" / "The Good Old Aussie Battler" Link  (14Mb)

REPOST: Stylus - For The Love Of Music (1976) with Bonus Track

(Australian 1975-1979, 1992, 2002-2010)
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Stylus was a 1970's Australian soul-pop group. The band is notable for being the only Australian act ever released by Motown Records in the USA. Stylus toured with George Benson, Average White Band, Ike & Tina Turner, and Australia's "Little River Band". Japan's Toshiba-EMI re-issued 3 Stylus CDs (For The Love Of Music, Best Kept Secret & Part Of It All) in 1998/99.
Stylus was formed out of the ashes of a group called “Mason Cure” (led by  Ian Mason), featuring four of the members of  Stylus, but once Ian Mason left in 1974, they formed “Stylus”, with Sam McNally taking on the keyboards role and Jeff Joseph the manager. The band was Peter Cupples vocals/ rhythm guitar, Peter Lee drums, Sam McNally keyboards, Ron Peers guitar/vocals and Ashley Henderson bass guitar/vocals.
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Summer Breeze_45

Peter Cupples wrote & produced the groups music. Their music is smooth and funky, widely regarded as Australia’s premier soul group in the 70's, supporting groups like the Average White Band, Tina Turner and George Benson when they were touring Australia. Stylus was also regular on the ABC television show 'Countdown'.
The band eventually scored a deal with WEA (Atlantic) and issued the single Seals and Crofts' "Summer Breeze"/"Feelin' Blue"  in July, 1975. The single reached #31 in Melbourne during August.
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If you're after hard funk then their albums won’t hit the spot but if you dig groups like Average White Band, The Eagles and other 70's groups that have a undercurrent of out funkiness running through their Rock then you may want to take a listen to Stylus.
This line-up recorded the first two albums 'Where In The World' and 'For The Love Of Music'.
For the third album 'Best Kept Secret' Trevor Courtney filled the drum position. Several drummers were used from this time till the fourth album 'Part Of It All' was released including Joe Tattersall's and Mark Meyer who played on 'Part Of It All'. Singer Peter Roberts joined the band from the middle of 1978.
'Best Kept Secret' was released in the USA by Motown on their Prodigal label. The album and singles received favourable reviews in Music Industry magazines such as Cashbox and Billboard.
'Part Of It All' was to be the second US release but due to a re-shuffle of key management in the record company this was shelved.

Album Review 1
This album showed heaps of potential, but the pressure to produce a new album on the back of the success of their first, made it hard. We never took time off to rehearse or even record. We kept on giging all the way through, as we had families to support. We rehearsed at sound checks, and in our hotel rooms while on tour.
Songs like "Getting in the Groove" "Moving on Home" and "Nature is giving" were great grooves to play live. I think this album produced three great ballads, "So much love", which introduces Ashley Henderson to the front mike. People got to hear what a fantastic and unique voice he has. 'So much love' was a good single for us, picking up airplay all around the country. (It even made it on to one of those 'explosive hits' records). The other two ballads were "Musical Man" & "Love is all we need". I believe those three songs would sound great, recorded with the sounds and technology we have today, (food for thought)...
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Peter Cupples goes on to say.....'For the Love of Music' was our second album. I think that potentially it should have been our best record. We had discovered, at this stage, that we had a wonderful and unique vocal talent in our band - our bass player Ashley Henderson. I set out to write some ballads to match his beautiful voice. This added another dimension to our music. The trouble was, with the pace that things had moved, and with the weight of the constant touring, we didn't have enough time to sit back and let it develop at its own rate. I had the ideas for the songs, and we were rushed into getting it out to follow up on our debut success. The record, whilst it was a nice recording, was probably a bit of a let-down. We changed managers at this stage and we also seemed to lose a bit of momentum. So we continued to tour and slog it out on the road. [extracts from Peter Cupples website, now defunct]
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Stylus On Stage 1976

Album Review 2
As an Australian record collector, you usually hear about the legend of Stylus from Japanese record collectors before hearing about it from locals, and this group does still seem to be a sought-after item over there. Having started out as a break-collector, I was more than a little disappointed by this album when I first heard it. The sound, which would now be best described as modern soul, is a lot smoother than it is funky. Fronted by Peter Cupples (known for his work with Stylus as well as his two solo albums), it’s surprising that nothing by the group was compiled until last year (Respect Overdue Vol. 3). The good tracks on here have a really upbeat, choppy funk groove, but be warned – the vocals may not be what you are expecting, or hoping for. "Gettin' in the Groove", "For the Love of Music" and "What’s Right for You" fall right into this category. They have three other albums in the same vein. I don’t listen to them very often and seem to recall this one being the best of them. Feel free to tell me otherwise! [from aussiefunk.blogspot.com]
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This post consists of FLACs taken from my pristine vinyl copy. Not a pop or crackle to be heard - something you wouldn't expect from a Stylus ! LOL
Also included is full album artwork, lyrics sheet and label scans. As a bonus, I have also included a B-side single that was not included on the album called "Funky Fig" (the flip side to their single "I Just Don't Wanna Fall in Love Right Now"). This rare single was sourced  from DJ Kinetic with thanks, from his AussieFunk blog - and is well worth visiting.

           New Improved RIP  !
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Track Listing 
01. For the Love of Music
02. Musical Man
03. Movin' On Home
04. So Much Love
05. Gettin' in the Groove
06. Nature is Giving
07. I Just Don't Wanna Fall in Love Right Now
08. We All Need One Another
09. What's Right For You
10. Love is all We Need
11. Funky Fig (Bonus B-Side Single)

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Band Members:
Bass – Ashley Henderson
Drums – Peter Lee
Guitar – Ron Peers
Keyboards – Sam McNall
Producer, Vocals, Guitar – Peter Cupples
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Stylus Link (346Mb) New Link 25/01/26

REPOST: Stiletto - Licence To Rage (1978) plus Bonus Tracks

(Australian 1976-1978)
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Stiletto formed in the Autumn of 1976 and quickly gained a reputation of being a strong feminist band. At that point, their line-up included singer / songwriter Janie Conway on guitar and vocals and Marney Sheehan on bass. Shortly after Chris Worrall joined the band", Janie left. She did some demo tapes, produced by Mike Rudd for EMI, played as a duo with another singer/songwriter, Marney Sheehan (ex-bass player in the original Stiletto line-up) and, finally, in late '78, formed her own rock band, Janie Conway's Scarlet.
Stiletto first appeared on vinyl in July 1977 when they provided the B-side, 'Nights In Parlour', to Red Symon's single "Only A Flipside'. Later in the year, they gained prominence with the release of the Oz Records compilation album, Debutantes, to which they contributed three songs.
Their first wholly Stiletto single, 'Bluebirds', written by Andrew, was followed in August '78 by their debut album, 'Licence to Rage' — unfortunately to become their only LP. Two tracks from the album, 'Goodbye Johnny' and 'Woman In A Man's World' were released as a single (Oz label) in the same month.
In November it was announced that one of their songs, 'Women In Trouble', was to be used on a film soundtrack (other tracks by the band had been used previously on movies). This news was accompanied by some not so good tidings — they were dropped by their record company, EMI. Regrettably, this seemed to precipitate their dissolution.
Chris Worrall left to join Paul Kelly and the Dots. He was replaced by Chris Dyson (ex-High Rise Bombers) and briefly the band seemed to rejuvenate, and even appeared as special guests on Elvis Costello's Melbourne show; but early in 1979 the final decision to split was made.
Jane, Andrew and Celeste appeared in a rock musical,Mickey's Moomba, at the Pram Factory in February-March '79. (Andrew and Celeste in the backing band and Jane in a singing-acting role. Andrew also wrote some of the show's music.) Chris and Eddie were to join a reformation of the Melbourne new wave band, News, but in early '79 were playing with the Romantics [extract from Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopedia of Rock (1978-79) Yearbook, p94-95]
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Pub Bands - An Ocassional Guide
(Article by Jenny Brown, 'Bottom Line' Newspaper - March / April 1978, p12)
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Half man, half woman! C'est Stiletto, one of Melbourne's few truly underground bands, burrowing upwards toward the light of widerr recgnition.
Stiletto, whilst pretending to a certain cool, are closet flamboyants. Lots of colorand imagery, scrambled genders, and a sort of shivering toughness which has definite appeal.
Constant revolving in the club 'n' pub circuit has polished this sharp little gem of a band until crikey they can really rock. There's been the odd line-up casuality, but always the replacements have been well selected, eventually beefing up the band.

The line-up (at this time) is now Jane Clifton (vocals), Celeste Howden (bass), Chris Worrell(guitar), Andrew Bell (guitar) and Ed Van Roosendale (drums).
Stiletto's repetoire contains some very incentive originals, with a dyed-in-the-wool Melbournian 70's feel. Their interest in women's blues has labelled them a feminist band, but those who think the female members dominate the group may be surprised to know the guitarist Andrew Bell penned the tragicomic "Women In Trouble" (about the long distance adoration and eventual spurning "I wouldn't fuck you with a dog's dick" etc. of an impervious female passer-by building site workers). Also notable are "Premenstrual Blues", "Cream" and many more.

By no means are Stiletto going to set the world alight, but they have earned their tracks on the 'Debutantes' album released by Oz Records this November. They also have the flip-side of Red Symons "It's Only a Flip Side", the single from the album, with 'Nights in the Parlour'.
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Interview with Jane Clifton (circa Music Makers, June 1979,    The Toorak Times)

When Jane Clifton talks about Stiletto, you can’t help but get the feeling that she looks back on her days in a rock’n’roll band not so much with regret as with a wisdom and a knowledge that she didn’t have when the band started.

Comfortably settled into a circuit of activities that includes acting, swingtime/jazz singing, and a late night spot at the Last laugh Theatre Restaurant, she can probably afford to feel that way. But the Stiletto sag, starting off with so much enjoyment and ending in so much disappointment, still looms large in her mind.
“One of the great failings of Stiletto,” says Jane matter-of-factly, “was there was no single central figure to say this is the way ahead, this is the music we’ll play, these are the ideas we’ll have.”

“I firmly believe now that the most successful – in the commercial sense – rock and roll ventures have a typical structure, where there is a central person with an idea around whom other people cluster .“
She pauses a moment, then settles back into her armchair. It’s obviously a long story, and no longer worth telling in too much detail.
“ Like, in the beginning of Stiletto, we just fell into the band. It may have been that the five of us who ended up being together actually chosen people, we might not have chosen each other, for a lot of reasons.”

‘But,” adds Jane with a wry smile, “Stiletto was the band where I finally got to do the whole rock and roll trip, working four or five nights a week, touring…and getting exploited.”
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Jane Clifton’s current relationship with rock’n’roll is what you might call a trial separation. “Right now I don’t think I’ll ever do that trip again,” she says.

“I don’t think I’ll ever give myself totally to rock’n’roll.”
The question of talent versus timing-and-luck comes up. To Jane,the latter is the crucial ingredient, one with which Stiletto was not blessed.
“We were always out of phase.”
“We released ‘Bluebirds’ at the height of when punk was in vogue, so we were stuffed on that one. ‘Bluebirds’ was the pinkest thing we could possibly have put out!”
She laughs it off. Time heals all wounds.

Jane Clifton (vocals), Celeste Howden (bass)

“Then we released ‘Goodbye Johnny’, but by then the wave was over.”

“Our lyrics were out of phase too.”
But Jane, I always thought that was the one thing about Stiletto that was IN phase!
“They were to start with,” answers Jane, ‘and we were singing about interesting stuff that would never be popular within mainstream commercial rock.”

Stiletto never did quite achieve what they wanted i.e.general acceptance. Compounded by an album, as Jane admits, never quite lived up to the promise the band had shown, the band, the concept, and the hopes folded.So how does she come to be performing with a jazz band doing Cole Porter material and the like?
The answer is simple.

She’d always enjoyed slipping into a torch song; even with Stiletto (‘Second Home’ and ‘Nights in Parlour’ were amongst their best songs).

When management of The Flying Trapeze Theatre Restaurant convinced her to take part in their fifth birthday celebrations, her spot was so successful that offers of work began coming in virtually of their own accord.

“Everybody kept saying ‘keep doing it’, and I kept getting offered gigs…it was exactly the same way Stiletto started, totally by accident and seeming like a nice idea.”

“I intend keeping it that way,” continues a worldly wise Jane. “With Stiletto we pushed the idea too far, kept it going too long. With this, as soon as the idea runs out or I get sick of it – I’m going to finish it.”

The obvious question is, do you feel more at home performing this style of music than you were in the rock band?

“Well, they’re both parts of what I wanted to do, Like, I don’t totally think of having left rock behind, but I’d never do it as part of a band.”

‘At the moment I’m getting another part of me out of my system, and learning a whole lot about jazz. Which, for me, is just great.”.  The smile on her face confirms that.
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This post consists of FLACs ripped from my vinyl wuth full album artwork and label scans.  I have also chosen to include 3 bonus tracks, taken from the Aussie compilation album 'Debutantes' (produced by Red Symons) to sweeten the deal. Oh, and keep your ears out for the track "Cream" which has a distinct 'Skyhooks' sound about it, with Jane sounding a lot like Shirley Strauchan.

As an extra bonus for this REPOST, I am also including 2 demo tracks that Stilleto made for their record company in 1977, which never made it on their LP. Thanks to Sunshine for these demos.

Stiletto were certainly an under rated band who deserved greater success and better treatment from their record company. So grab a copy of this rare Aussie album while you can and know that with it comes a License To Rage !

New Improved RIP! with extra bonus tracks

Track Listing

01 - Public Enemy No.1
02 - Licence To Rage
03 - Woman In A Man's World
04 - Bluebirds
05 - Not Too Young For Joy
06 - Goodbye Johnny
07 - Middle Of The Bed
08 - 2nd Home
09 - Rozalyn
10 - The Man (Bonus Track) *
11 - Cream (Bonus Track) *
12 - Nights In Parlour (Bonus Track) *

13 - Dollar Go (Bonus Demo Track) +

14 - Housewife's Son (Bonus Demo Track) +

* Bonus tracks taken from the 1977 compilation 'Debutantes

+ Bonus Demo Tracks 1977 [Thanks to Sunshine at AusRock]
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Band Line-up:
Andrew Bell (Guitar)
Jane Clifton (Vocals)
Celeste Howden (Bass, vocals)
Eddie Van Rosendall (Drums, vocals)
Chris Worrall (Guitar, vocals)
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Stiletto Link (314Mb)

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Snakes Alive - Selftitled (1975) FLACs

(Australian 1973-1975)

Thought I was AWOL hey?  Well, I'm finally back from holidaying in Surfers Paradise and I'm ready to get back into the blogin'. Hope you enjoy this one:

Some time ago, I stumbled upon a "masterpiece" of progressive jazz / rock on the web, in MP3 format. The band / album is called "Snakes Alive", formed in 1973, but there was very little information given about the band, except that they were Australian and the album was recorded in 1974. I’m sure some of you have also stumbled upon this album at some stage while searching blogs.

Now as the old expression goes, curiosity killed the cat (and I must say that my pet cat has been looking very restless recently) - I wanted to know where this band had come from and whether they had released any other material.

So, I started to search the web looking for clues.

Well, to cut a long story short, there wasn't much info out there at the time, but I finally managed to track down one of the band members (Michael Vidale - bass player) and have had some very interesting dialog with him via email.

Snakes Alive

Firstly, the album has never been officially released and was secretly recorded in late 1974 at the EMI recording studios (B) at 301 Castlereagh Street, Haymarket (Sydney) while Michael was working as a junior engineer. Rehearsed at Peter Nykyruj’s (Nickeroy) house in Randwick, Sydney; Snakes Alive was never a band that performed live. Michael tells me that the album took almost a whole year to record, making it the most expensive album ever produced in Oz at that time!

50 vinyl pressings were made for private consumption, but the album was never officially released.
Somehow, elicit releases have been made by 2 record companies over the years - Poor Boy Records in Japan and Blue Wave Records in the United States.

Aragorn, 1973

Michael tells me that he was also involved with two earlier projects before Snakes Alive, one called "Bedtime Story" recorded in 1973 (somewhat ragged and rough around the edges) and another under the name of Aragorn ..."The Suite" and "The People and The Night" ..basically an album of material devoted to The Lord Of The Rings (45mins) .. recorded at Clover Studios , Surry Hills September 1973. He believes the Aragorn material is as good if not better than Snakes alive! Alex Ditrich, Michael Vidale and Ralph Cooper went on to form the Jazz-Rock/Fusion band Stepps

Sadly, none of their material was played publicly, as they never played gigs! What a waste I say. But Michael still has the Master Tapes for all of these bands.

Snakes Alive

Album Review:

The music is absolutely brilliant, and the title track is so damn catchy I can't believe the band didn't consider releasing it there and then. Their sound is so unique it is hard to compare them with other bands, but their rich sounds and diverse musical instruments make it a pleasure to listen to this album, time and time again.

This is progressive smelling hard rock seventies stuff with some similarities to Krautrock but is also excellent jazz-rock in the use of instruments such as trumpet, saxophone, flute and sometimes the keyboards sound psychedelic (organ sounds, piano similar to Supertramp).

LP Gatefold

Long compositions, complicated in structure and well executed, here are ornate guitar solos and sophisticated brass sections - trumpet, saxophone and flute.

Splendid organs on top of a solid rhythm part form the core of the sound, and the solos of the two wind instruments demonstrate a strong presence throughout the record. The songs are dramatic and detailed – reminiscent of King Crimson – and their ability to create a variety of musical expressions makes one incredulous of their obscurity.

The final track “Fruit Pie” finishes with a powerful rolling drum performance. The album is almost entirely instrumental, and the vocals that do appear help to strengthen their sound.

L-R: Alex Ditrich, Michael Vidale, Colin Campbell, Boris Peric, Jonas Saywell, Peter Nykyruj

The Band Members were:

- Michael Vidale (bass/producer) has played for The Bushwackers, Slim Dusty, The Whitlams, Anne Kirkpatric, The Toe-sucking Cowgirls, Jimmy And The Boys, The Feral Swing Cats, Reg Lindsay, Peter Wells and Don Walker

- Peter Nykyruj (drums) who apparently played with Kush back in 73'. Michael considered him to be one of the best double-kick drummers in the business. Peter eventually went to London to play straight Jazz with Mike Osbourne. His son Nat, now plays drums for the band ‘Friends of Ron. Sadly, Peter passed away in 2003

Michael Vidale

- Alex ‘Al’ Ditrich (keyboards) was the main writer and now lives in the Gold Coast. Micahel still stays in regular contact with Alex

- Boris Peric (guitar) currently lives in Cains

- Jonas Saywell/Thomas (sax, flute, vocals)

- Colin Campbell (trumpet)

- Ralph Cooper (tamborine/mixing) played with Air Supply, Ralph helped Michael mix the album. The album was originally much longer and was edited down to fit onto a single vinyl copy.

Now that I have shared this story with you, I would like to say how grateful I am to Michael Vidale for revealing the story behind Snakes Alive. I have suggested that he should contact Gil Matthews at Aztec records to investigate the release of this masterpiece (and perhaps some of the other material he has stashed away). I guess we can only wait and see if anything transpires from my suggestion.

This post consists of FLACs ripped from a CD release (see left), including full album artwork and label scans (rare LP test pressings) plus several bonus tracks.  Firstly, an unedited recording of the title track Snakes Alive (original extended version) and a rare recording of the Bedtime (early Snakes Alive) track "Charred Ducks".

Track Listing:

01 – Dear Suzy (11:28)
02 – Abbreviations (8:56)
03 – Theme For Myra (7:20)
04 – Snakes Alive (6:00)
05 – Fruit Pie (6:19)
Bonus Tracks
06 - Snakes Alive (Original Extended Version) (14:13)
07 – Charred Duck [Bedtime Story] (10:01)

Snakes Alive were:
-Alex Ditrich (keyboards, claviers)
-Michael Vidale (bass)

-Boris Peric (guitar)
-Peter Nykyruj (drums)
-Jonas Saywell [Thomasich] (saxophone, flute, vocals)
-Colin Campbell (trumpet)
-Ralph Cooper & Michael Vidale (production)

Snakes Alive Link (459Mb)

Redhouse - Live at the Southside Six Hotel, Moorabbin 31-5-1975 (Bootleg)

(Australian 1972 - 1978)

The very well-known, well-travelled and heavily rocking 'Red House Roll Band' were Geelong’s most successful outfit in the early 70s. Formed in 1972, they provided a very theatrical stage show (along the lines of Alice Cooper) with band members dressing up in skeleton suits or Superman outfits.

Original band members were: 

John Ferguson – Lead Guitar/Lead Vocals, Malcolm Donnelly – Lead Guitar/Vocals, Jack Green – Bass/Vocals and Monty Osewald/Claude Ragone – Drums

Red-House-Roll-Band 1972-73

Fully professional for most of that period they appeared locally at the Barwon Heads, Torquay, Sundowner and Golf View Hotels. In Melbourne they appeared at the Croxton Park, Waltzing Matilda, Southside Six and Whitehorse Hotels as well as the weekly dances at Powerhouse and suburban Town Halls.

They toured country Victoria and nationally to Perth, Sydney and Newcastle. A big highlight was a Melbourne Town Hall gig with Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs. This powerhouse band re-formed to play at the 2019 Geelong Musos’ Reunion with Alan Williams on bass/vocals.

They supported most of the major artists of the time and also appeared at the famous Sunbury Music Festival.

In 1973, the band signed a record deal with Atlantic, which resulted in the single "O Lucky Man" (B-Side was Movin' On). Taken from the British feature film of the same name, the band's version of Alan Price's song became a regional hit. But the band went into hibernation and re-emerged in late 1975 under the shorter name 'Redhouse', with a completely revised line-up comprising Jack Green, John Dallimore, Jacques De Jongh and Gary Crothall. 

Redhouse 1975

Here's some tracks (ripped to MP3) from Redhouse recorded live at the Southside Six Hotel, Moorabbin, Victoria on a drunken Saturday afternoon (or night, can't remember) 31-5-1975. 

Taped on a cheap cassette player, the taper must have been sitting next to John Dallimore's amp 'cause you can hear mainly guitar and not much else. Therefore the recording isn't great, but it is what it is and captures the band during the early stages of their development before they hit the lime light under the shortened name 'Redhouse', releasing their hit album "One More Squeeze" in 1976. [See earlier post]

Track List:

01 - China Grove
02 - Zubulu
03 - BHP
04 - Upsetter
05 - Love is Strange
06 - Boogie 1
07 - Hotfeet
08 - Endless Lady
09 - Got Away
10 - Lovely Lady
11 - Aint Gonna See You Babe
12 - Boogie 2
13 - Demons Eye
14 - Let it Rock

* Thanks to Keith at Midoztouch for RIP

Redhouse Were:
John Ferguson (lead vocals, guitar),
John Dallimore (lead guitar, vocals),
Jacques De Jongh (rhythm guitar, vocals),
Gary Crothall (drums),
Jack Green (bass)

Bonus Single (1973)  FLACs

01 O Lucky Man - Redhouse Roll Band

02 Movin' On - Redhouse Roll Band

Redhouse Link (185Mb)

Redhouse Videos

1. Redhouse Roll Band - Live in Geelong (featuring 17 yr old John Dallimore)

2. Red House Roll Band audio from Blind Date TV show with some cool stills of the band .

Red House Roll Band live in 1974 playing “China Grove” on Melbourne’s channel 7 - Blind Date program. The audio was recorded straight from the TV set to a cassette tape recorder at the time the program was aired. And, the pics are some that I had on a small strip of washed out coloured proofs that I had archived. From left to right in the first pic: (top row) John Ferguson vocals & guitar, John Dallimore guitar (and below) Peter Quince drums, and Jack Green bass - hope a few people might enjoy this piece of history that dates back almost 50 years [Thanks to John Ferguson for posting this video on his facebook]

3. This video clip was taken at the Sundowner Hotel in Geelong on super 8 movie film by Peter Nell - the sound track is one of several original songs that were recorded in 1974 (at Greg Bee’s studio) in Geelong on a 4 track tape recording unit and was supplied by Rodney Kenyon who had hung on to the original tapes. The song is called, “Scarborough Beach Song”. John Ferguson wrote the song in Perth W/A while on tour with the band, in admiration of the beautiful sunsets that he saw on the WA ocean skylines. The lineup in the poster below (from L to R back) Peter Quince, Jack Green (from L to R front) John Dallimore, and John Ferguson

REPOST: Machinations - Esteem (1982) plus Bonus Tracks

(Australian 1980- 1989, 1997)
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Machinations was a popular Sydney-based outfit working the mid-1980s independent Australian music scene. They toured Australia many times, appearing on every imaginable entertainment program and sold over 200,000 records in Australia.
Notable national hits included "Pressure Sway", "My Heart's On Fire" and "No Say In It". They also achieved indie prominence with the two versions of their first single, "Average Inadequacy". Machinations failed to achieve as much commercial success, either at home or abroad, as many of their peers. Nevertheless, the band had a cult following in dance clubs, by far their strongest supporters.
The band formed around Tim Doyle and Tony Starr, who started writing together around the end of 1979, using what electronic instruments they could find. Their school friend Fred Loneragan joined as singer and they played their first show at Garibaldi's in Darlinghurst, Sydney in early 1980. Another school friend, Nero (Nick) Swan, soon joined on bass.

In late 1980, with the assistance of radio Triple J, the band recorded some songs at Trafalgar Studios; in November 1980, the band entered the studio with producer Lobby Loyde. These recordings resulted in the band's debut single, "Average Inadequacy"/"Arabia" (released 26 August 1981), and the four-track debut self-titled EP (20 November 1981), both released on the independent Phantom Records label.
"Average Inadequacy" created enough interest for Mushroom's White Label to sign the band and reissue the single with a new B-side, "Machinations of Dance" in March 1982. A year later, Machinations issued a new single, "Jack"/"Be Double" in February 1983. The track "Jack" was about US writer Jack Kerouac, and due to lyrical reference to illegal drugs ('I wanna take some 1960s LSD'), "Jack" was often not played in live sets when audiences included minors.

This was followed by "Pressure Sway"/"Pushbike" in June 1983. "Pressure Sway" became the band's first national mainstream charting single when it peaked at #21 during July 1983. "Pressure Sway" also made an impact in the United States reaching #40 on Billboard's Club Play Singles chart. In April 1983, Machinations released their debut album, 'Esteeem', which peaked at #54 on the Australian album charts. The third single from the album was, "Jumping the Gap"/"Terminal Wharf", released in October 1983.

Following the album's release, and an Australian tour support slot with Joe Jackson, Machinations added Warren McLean on drums; prior to that the band used a drum machine (a Roland CR-78). The band entered Rhinoceros Studios with English producer Julian Mendelshon, emerging with the smoothest and most fully realised album of its career, Big Music, in July 1985. The album produced four hit singles. The first of these, "No Say in It"/"Man Overboard" pre-empted the album by nine months (it was released in September 1984) and ended up being the band’s highest charting single, peaking at #14 in October 1984. The second single, "My Heart's on Fire"/"Spark" followed in May 1985, it reached #27 in June 1985.The third single, "You Got Me Going Again"/"I Ain't Waiting for No Train" was released in August, 1985, making #39, however the fourth single, "Execution of Love"/"Dusted Down", released in December 1985 failed to chart. Naomi Star sang backing vocals on most of the album, although Inez Anthony was featured on "No Say in It". The album peaked at #20 on the national album charts, spending several weeks at that position. It was also released in the United States on the A&M label.

In 1985 Machinations performed the three national hit songs for the Oz for Africa concert (part of the global Live Aid program). It was broadcast in Australia (on both Seven Network and Nine Network) and on MTV in the US.
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In 1986, White Label issued the mini-album 'The Big Beat', a collection of dance remixes of singles like "No Say in It", "Execution of Love", "Pressure Sway" and "You Got Me Going Again", which reached #83 on the charts. That year, Warren McLean left Machinations to join Melbourne funk-pop outfit I'm Talking. Henry Downes took his place on drums. Downes was then replaced by John MacKay (ex-Sea Monsters) in early 1987. The band was back in the studios soon after with American producer Andy Wallace (Prince, Run DMC), recording a new album.
Machinations' third album, 'Uptown' was released in October 1988 and produced four singles spread out over eighteen months. The first single, "Do to You"/"Looking Out for You", was released in August 1987 and almost matched the highpoint of "No Say In It", reaching #15 in October 1987. The second single, "Intimacy"/"Hit by a Missile" (May 1988), reached #44[5], the third, "Do It to Me"/"Normal" (October 1988), peaked at #69 and the fourth, "Cars and Planes"/"Beats and Planes" (February 1989) failed to chart. The album was well received upon its release and reached #46 on the national album charts.
By that stage, Machinations had established themselves as a popular band on the Australian touring circuit. The band's activities were curtailed in early 1989 when a hit-and-run accident left Loneragan unconscious and with a broken back. He spent several months recuperating in hospital. Initially other band members intended to continue writing new material whilst Loneragan recovered from his injuries, but over time the various members left to pursue other projects. Swan toured with the James Freud's band and with MacKay performed with Absent Friends.

In early 1997, Machinations with Loneragan reconvened for some live appearances, which they hoped would lead to new recordings; however these plans never came to fruition.
In September 2006 US label, Almacantar Records reissued the band's original 1981 EP, with one additional track, "Average Inadequacy" [extract from wikipedia]
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This is a transcript of the Band's first official biography released by SCAM Management in 1981.
Scam Management comprised it's legendary founder Lobby Loyde, an accountant, receptionist and the various tour managers of the other bands it managed, Sunnyboys, TableWaiters and Local Product. MACHINATIONS Tim Doyle and Tony Starr first started writing together at the end of 79. Using varied 'electronic gadgetry', ie drum machines, synths, their initial musical ideas were realised. Upon the return of old school friend Fred Loneragan from overseas, lyrics were soon written, and they had a singer. This original nucleus of the band played their first gigs in the inner city of Sydney in early 1980. The band were not so concerned with commercial aspirations but with the desire to perform for an audience. Their first show was at Garibaldis, a punk venue disguised as a restaurant in Darlinghurst. This was followed by residencies at the Heritage Hotel in King's Cross and at the Rock Gardens down the road in William St They had played only a few shows in all before they were joined onstage by another enlisted schoolmate, Nero Swan on bass guitar, although their drummer remained a Roland CR-78 for the next couple of years * With the support of the then 2JJ radio station *, the band recorded some of their songs at Annandale's Trafalger Studios with Lobby Loyde at the helm in November 1980. These sessions produced the single "Average Inadequacy" and their debut selftitled EP. They were recorded essentially live in the studio with little production and released on the Phantom label, headed by Jules Normington ( soon to become a trusted friend). Again with the support of 2JJJ both releases received plenty of airplay and dramatically increased the bands following, the band were joined briefly around 1982 by drummer Henri Downes ( appears in the Jumping the Gap filmclip). Warren Maclean ( drums on Big Music ) joined in 1983 and remained till 1986 when he was headhunted by Kate Ceberanos outfit, I'm Talking. He went on to join Divinyls for their last few years together as a band.
Maclean was followed by kiwi John Mackay, late of Castles in Spain, Nick Conroys band. Mackay was the final addition to the Mach's line-up and remained till the end in 1989. The Mach's residency at the Rock Gardens proved fortuitous for the band. The venue was located across the road from JJJ's then studios on William St ( just down from the Coke sign). Any band that played more than once there was likely to be noticed ( particularly if they were any good ) It was an unofficial proving ground for many of Sydneys unsigned bands. Pel Mel, Laughing Clowns, JMM, Scapaflow, Surfside Six, the Thought Criminals all received JJJ attention. Average Inadequacy was a huge JJJ favourite. The song remained in their Hottest 100 well into the early 90's.

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This post consists of a rip (FLACs) taken from a CD release of this album along with full album artwork. As a bonus, I have also chosen to include some rare dance mixes and extended plays of some of their most popular singles, all ripped from mint condition Vinyl 12" singles.
Although I wasn't really big on Dance music in the 80's - Machinations had a certain sound which made their music more appealing than some of the other Dance music at the time.
Not that I'm trying to 'Pressure Sway' you into listening to the album, but I reckon it is worth a listen if you haven't heard it yet.
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New Improved Rip !


Track Listing
01 Esteem
02 Pressure Sway
03 Transient
04 Castle Hunting
05 Jack
06 Terminal Wharf
07 The Hunt
(Bonus Tracks)
08 Average Inadequacy (A-Side Single)
09 Arabia (B-Side Single)
10 - Pressure Sway (Extended Club version)
11 - Pressure Sway (Instrumental version)
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Band Members:
Vocals – F. J. Loneragan
Bass – N. M. Swan
Guitar – T. J. Doyle
Keyboards – A. W. Starr
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Machinations Link (372 Mb) New Link 28/12/2025
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W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas (1986)

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.

Normally, I would be posting something that is 'cheerful and joyful' for my Christmas WOCK post, but instead I feel compelled to honour the life and music of Chris Rea at this moment. 

Singer Chris Rea, widely known for the festive hit "Driving Home for Christmas", sadly passed away yesterday aged 74. Rea's success came despite the singer suffering a string of health issues. A pancreatic cancer diagnosis at just 33-years-old was followed by operations on his liver and then a stroke later in life.

A somewhat reluctant popstar, the Middlesbrough native was shy of the spotlight, and even admitted rallying against the record label's decision to release his biggest hit - though accepted he was thankful when they eventually did in 1986.

Rea's love of cars and driving was the inspiration behind many of his songs - but when he wrote arguably his biggest hit, "Driving Home for Christmas", the singer was actually serving a driving ban.

Chris Rea in the 80's

During an appearance on the 2020 Christmas special of TV series Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, Rea recalls:

"In 1978, I had come to the end of my record contract and had parted ways with my manager.

The record company wouldn't even pay for a train ticket for me to get from London to my home in Middlesbrough, so my wife drove down to pick me up up in her old Austin Mini.

On the way back up, it started snowing and we kept getting stuck in traffic and  "I'd look across at the other drivers, who all looked so miserable.

Jokingly, I started singing 'We're driving home for Christmas...' then, whenever the street lights shone inside the car, I started writing down the lyrics.

It's one of those moments that songwriters get - sometimes you can spend years and years writing. That one was five to 10 minutes. When you have a successful song, you don't remember thinking about it - it just comes out.".

Reluctant or otherwise, he even resisted a more marketable name swap, the fame the track brought Rea is indisputable; nearly 40 years on, the single took a spot at #30 in this year's UK Christmas top 40.

A proud guitarist with influences stretching deep into the blues, Rea recorded 25 solo albums, two of which topped the UK albums chart.

Chris Rea performing 2017

A post on his social media accounts reads: "Chris’s music has created the soundtrack to many lives, and his legacy will live on through the songs he leaves behind". [extracts from BBC news with thanks]

So, this December's WOCK posting ticks the Christmas box as usual, but also the enjoyment that Chris Rea brought to our lives through his music and lyrics. And one thing I'm sure, Chris will be still singing this Christmas along with the arch angels.

I hope you enjoy these 1986/2025 releases of his hit single "Driving Home For Christmas" (in FLAC format) and may you all have a safe and joyful Christmas.

Driving Home For Christmas Link (58Mb)