W.O.C.K On Vinyl: The Seekers - We Saw It All With Trans Tours - Promo 45 (1976)

 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.

In 1975, Bruce Woodley reunited with The Seekers (who had undergone a short hiatus when Judith Durham left the band), composed of fellow original members Athol Guy and Keith Potger, and 23-year-old Dutch-born Louisa Wisseling (a semi-professional folk singer formerly with Melbourne band The Settlers). In a February 1975, a newspaper article appeared about the group’s reunion, Louisa revealed that Bruce had approached her at a 1974 Settlers concert at Ferntree Gully’s Swagman Restaurant with an offer to join the group, and she originally turned him down.

The new group recorded two albums and a number of singles, some of which, like “The Nimble Song” and “I Saw It All With Trans Tours” (both written by Woodley) reflected the boys’ other careers in advertising. Woodley’s composition “The Sparrow Song” became the group’s biggest 1970s hit and remains to this day the highest-charting Seekers single written by a member of the group.

Other tracks he contributed to this line-up included “Giving and Takin'” (the title track of their second album), “Can We Learn to Get Along” (which began life as a solo recording for the TV documentary series Shell’s Australia, and was released by Bruce on flexi-disc), “Reunion”, “Country Ros”, “Standing on Shaky Ground” (featuring Bruce on vocals which he felt were too low for him, but were impossible for Louisa to sing for the same reason), and “The Rose and the Briar”.

The Seekers also released a promo single for the Trans Tours corporation in 1976 to assist with the promotion of their cruise destinations to New Zealand and Fiji. The EMI double sided single was entitled "We Saw It All With Trans Tours" with the A-Side's lyrics customised for the New Zealand market and the B-Side's for Fiji. Both songs written by Bruce Woodley and both feature the Seekers trademark harmony sound. Although not documented, I would guess that the Seekers may have worked aboard on some of these early cruises to help promote their own reunion. If any blog followers who may have used Trans Tours back in the 70's could confirm this, I would love to hear from you.

In 1977, Bruce Woodley left the group and was replaced by Buddy England. He continued to focus on song-writing and advertising, producing many TV jingles including one for Courage beer. His first, back in 1971 was a solo (advertising) single called “The ANZ Bank Travelling Man” (previously posted HERE ), and was given out free to employees of that institution as part of the promotion. [extract from apumone.com]

This month's WOCK post features a 45 that I found buried in amongst a pile of records at my local flee market, that I suspect was sourced from a deceased estate. The 45 was in pristine condition, although it was housed in a white jacket and was missing the distinct orange cover (shown above). I only paid $1 for this prize find.  There are currently 2 copies for sale on eBay selling for $60-$67 respectively. Due to the specific purpose of the single and its limited pressing, it certainly ticks the Obsure box for this month's WOCK on Vinyl posting.   Ripped to FLAC and includes label scans.

Seekers Trans Tours Promo Single Link (39Mb)
New Link 18/11/2024

Frank Sinatra - The Main Event: Live At Maddison Square Gardens (1974) + Bonus Track

(U.S 1946 -1998)

Following the release of his LP 'Some Nice Things I've Missed', Frank Sinatra embarked on a six-concert tour in 1974, working with Woody Herman & the Young Thundering Herd, which was conducted by Bill Miller, Sinatra's longtime pianist. Dubbed "The Main Event," the tour culminated with a televised concert from Madison Square Garden on October 13, 1974.

Subtitled "Live From Madison Square Garden," this album isn't an exact document of the concert. Instead, it's a compilation taken from various shows on "The Main Event" tour; on two songs, "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "Let Me Try Again," two performances are spliced together. Even if it constructs a concert - which the good majority of live albums from the '70s tended to do - The Main Event is a delight, full of inspired performances. While there are a couple of contemporary numbers thrown in, the majority of the songs are standards, from "The Lady Is a Tramp" to "I've Got You Under My Skin."

Both Sinatra and and his backing band 'Herman's Herd' are lively, spurring each other on to consistently strong performances. Sinatra's singing might be a little too loose for some tastes, as he injects lyrical asides, impressions, and jokes throughout the record, as well as occasionally changing the lyrics by making them a little more "hip." Nevertheless, his singing cannot be faulted. Not only does he sound fine on his trademark numbers, particularly a lovely piano duet on "Angel Eyes," but he brings the contemporary material to life, which he failed to do in the studio. Even with all of its pleasures, The Main Event remains a minor entry in Sinatra's canon - dedicated fans will certainly find more to cherish here than the casual listener - but it remains one of his most enjoyable records of the '70s. [extract from AllMusic.com]

New York Times Concert Review (Oct 14, 1974)

Frank Sinatra's hour‐long live telecast last night from Madison Square Garden turned out to be quite show, both for television watchers and for those actually at the Garden. It was certainly a high point in Mr. Sinatra's career, and it came, of all eves, on the eve of Columbus Day.

Mr. Sinatra sang 11 songs in all, ranging from old favorites like “Lady Is Tramp” and “I've Got You Under My Skin” to recent hits like “Leroy Brown” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” to his signature song, “My Way,” at the end.

The show was telecast directly or on a delayed basis throughout the Western Hemisphere, and the promoters grandly claimed a potential audience of 490 million. The 20,000‐plus at the Garden missed some of the TV show's closeups of Mr. Sinatra, rapturous fans and celebrities like Robert Redford, Carol Channing, Rex Harrison and John V. Lindsay.

But what the Garden audience did get that home viewers didn't—apart from the dubious virtues of the warmup show—was the immediacy of actually being there. And the exigencies of a live TV show, which normally entails obtrusive cameras and blinding lighting, were remarkably camouflaged: the dappled lighting effect on the crowd that looked so good on television looked even prettier in person.

As he had on Saturday night, Mr. Sinatra worked easily on all four sides of what looked to be a disguised boxing ring in the center of the Garden floor, flanked on one side by Bill Miller leading a 40‐piece orchestra.

Both nights Mr. Sinatra managed to hold his audience securely under his spell. The voice may have its failings—it always did, really. But it has its unique virtues, too, and as a stylist of a certain kind of pop‐jazz sensibility, Mr. Sinatra remains the master of his generation.

There were many or that generation at the Garden over the weekend, but Mr. Sinatra's appeal is more to a social strata—the white middle class and lower‐middle class—than to a particular age group. For them, he remains a spokesman and even a hero, and all his much  publicized private imbroglios and feuding with the press only add leaves to his laurel.

But his excellence as a singer and as a singing actor are such that his appeal easily transcends such limitations. When Mr. Sinatra is doing his thing, which is singing songs, he exercises his craft so securely that one forgets everything else. The man is one wonderful entertainer, and millions of people had that fact reaffirmed last night. [extract from The New York Times]

While researching for this post, I discovered that Sinatra had toured Australia in the same year during July, however the tour was classified as a 'complete disaster' due to a dispute that Sinatra had with the Australian Media. The following article explains what happened and how Bob Hawke (future Prime Minister of Australia and President of the ACTU at that time) helped to diffuse the situation with Sinatra's black ban by the Australian Trade Union.

Sinatra In Australia, 1974 (The Tour Disaster)

Frank Sinatra was many things: musical genius, cultural icon, magnet for power. But when it came to the women's liberation movement, he was more of a 'do it my way' kind of guy.
And during a 1974 tour to Australia, he said the wrong thing to the wrong people at the wrong time.

"The broads who work in the press are the hookers of the press. I might give them a buck-and-half, I'm not sure," Sinatra told a crowd at Melbourne's Festival Hall.

The on-stage slur set in motion a bizarre series of events that sparked a lengthy siege — and was only resolved thanks to some clever peace-brokering by future Australian prime minister Bob Hawke.

Sinatra arrived in Australia in July 1974, having removed the shackles of a short but uncomfortable retirement from showbusiness. He was back in the game, but his 59 years on earth showed.

His levels of alcohol consumption were gargantuan — often two bottles of Jack Daniels a day — and he smoked at a similar rate. "He was insecure, about his looks, about his voice," Sinatra biographer James Kaplan says. "And he didn't like the way the world was."

'A complete frenzy'

As Ol' Blue Eyes was battling his demons, women in Australia were exorcising theirs. Feminism was in the ascendency, and the women's liberation movement had begun dismantling the social constructs of the workplace. "I think all female journalists were feminists, you had to be," says former ABC journalist Margot Marshall.

Frank Sinatra (centre) with Robert Raymond and Gough Whitlam
during the scandal-riddled 1974 tour (ABC Archives )

Sinatra refused to talk to the media, of either sex, while in Australia. There would be no interviews, no press conferences. Obliged to cover the tour even without hearing from the man himself, the press hounded Sinatra. "The media were determined to get to him," says Sinatra's Australian concert producer Robert Raymond. "It was a complete frenzy."

The media chased his motorcade, mobbed his hotel, corralled him at concert venues and generally made sure Sinatra's team of bodyguards were earning their dime. Media reporting of the tour covered the usual Sinatra fodder — mob connections and ex-wives. In general, there was a sense of cutting the tall poppy down to size.

By the time he took the stage for the first time at Melbourne's Festival Hall, Sinatra was ready to unload. "They're parasites. They're bums and they're always going to be bums," he said of the press. "They're pimps, they're just crazy. A pox on them." Then he rolled out his line about female journalists being hookers. That was the turning point.

'A superstar gets blacklisted'

Frank's comments were poisonous, but they were also mistimed. You just couldn't publicly put women down in that way anymore. "What an ego!" says Marshall, who remembers one fellow journalist calling him a pig. "Our backs got up and we thought 'we're not going to put up with this!'"

The unions also read the room. They knew it was feminism, not chauvinism, that was the prevailing social movement of the day. Workers from the Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees Association, who controlled the lighting, staging and musicians for Sinatra's tour, announced they would strike until they got an apology from the crooner. It was not forthcoming.

"Unless within 15 minutes Mr Sinatra had an apology for '15 years of shit' from the Australian press, he would be leaving the country within the hour," was the response given to the unions after a meeting with Sinatra's lawyer. The Transport Workers Union joined the fray the next day, refusing to fuel any jet — private or commercial — that Sinatra attempted to fly on.

This soon expanded to a total black ban from every union that mattered. Sinatra was grounded and under siege.

The strikes coincided with Sinatra's second show in Melbourne, scheduled for that same day. But with no musicians, no stage, no drivers, room service, the show would not go on.

Sinatra somehow flew back to Sydney that night — some media reported his private jet had enough leftover fuel to make the trip, while other reports have him sneaking onto an Ansett flight under an assumed name.

'Hawke swoops in to broker peace'

The following night, at the 11th hour, an expert negotiator was called in. "There's only one man who can solve this for you," then prime minister Gough Whitlam said in a phone call to the Sinatra hotel suite. "Bob Hawke." Mr Hawke was indeed the man for the job. As president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), he was sent in to try to broker a deal to lift the black ban. Mr Raymond took the future PM up to the suite. "I noticed that the dining table had on it a bottle of Courvoisier and a box of cigars. That was it! No papers or anything," Mr Raymond says.

Bob Hawke being grilled by the press over the Sinatra dispute

After many drafts of a 'statement of regret', and many draughts of the brandy, Mr Hawke and Sinatra's lawyer Micky Rudin managed to hammer out a deal. Mr Hawke had negotiated hard.

"He was half pissed, almost legless," Mr Raymond says. "Micky knew how to get to Bob Hawke: that bottle of Courvoisier." Ultimately, the joint statement of regret from the crooner and unionists — read by Mr Hawke on the steps of Sinatra's hotel — in effect agreed to disagree.

It was not an apology per se from Sinatra, nor journalists or unions; more a statement that both had a job to do and could, within reason, say whatever they pleased. A concession from Sinatra's lawyer was that to televise one of his Sydney's shows as a gesture of good will to fans who missed out in Melbourne. It was a draw; neither side had much to gain by Sinatra leaving. The unions had their PR win, while Sinatra was keen to complete his payday and maintain the momentum of his comeback tour. So the tour went on and Sinatra sang to adoring crowds in Sydney before leaving Australia.

Bob Hawke making his way to Sinatra's Hotel Suite

"His feathers were ruffled while he was in Australia, but the minute he was back in the United States his feet were being kissed again by everybody in sight," Kaplan says. Sinatra performed at Madison Square Garden in New York later that year.

"Ol' Blue Eyes is back", he told the audience. "Or as they say in Australia, 'Ol' Big Mouth is back!'"[extract from the ABC Website]

I know this post is not my usual genre of music, however I can appreciate the music of the 50's and 60's which helped formulate the music in which I grew up with during the 70's. Frank Sinatra was one of those people who I saw and heard on early T.V, along with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. (alias The Rat Pack)  

So when I stumbled upon this album at my local flee market some time ago, I couldn't resist buying it and giving it a spin.  If you ignore the first track (Overture with dialogue) which is painfully boring and really annoying,  you will be pleasantly surprised with the quality of the music and song listing on this live recording. Most of Sinatra's biggest hits are included, with the exception of "New York, New York", which I have chosen to include as a bonus track to sweeten the deal.

The post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from my near virgin vinyl and includes full album artwork and label scans.  

Track List

01 Overture (with dialogue) 3:00

02 The Lady Is A Tramp 2:45

03 I Get A Kick Out Of You 4:00

04 Let Me Try Again 3:10

05 Autumn In New York 2:35

06 I've Got You Under My Skin 3:25

07 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown 2:34

08 Angel Eyes 3:38

09 Dialogue / You Are The Sunshine Of My Life 5:50

10 The House I Live In 6:45

11 My Kind Of Town 2:32

12 My Way 4:57

13 Theme From New York New York  3:28 (Bonus Studio Track)

Tracks 10 and 12 recorded in Boston Garden, October 2, 1974

Tracks 6 and 8 recorded at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, October 4, 1974

Track 5 recorded in Madison Square Garden, October 12, 1974

Tracks 1–4, 7, 9, and 11 recorded in Madison Square Garden, October 13, 1974

Frank Sinatra Link (127Mb)

Gunther Gorman - Infectious Rhythm (1981)

(Australian Late 1960's - Present)

Ian "Gunther" Gorman is one of Australia's finest guitar players. He started in the 60's at the age of 12, when he landed a wedding gig at the Parramatta Bowling Club. After attending the National School of Art in Canberra Gorman returned the Sydney to play with Home (1973-1975), the brain-child of Glyn Mason, former member of of Chain and Trevor Wilson from the original La De Das. 

In January 1975, Daddy Cool appeared at the final Sunbury Festival, after which Gunther Gorman was recruited to bolster the group's line-up, and although it was clear by this time that Daddy Cool was well and truly past its use-by date, they soldiered on for a few more months.

Meanwhile, the success of Sherbet in 1976 came despite founding member Clive Shakespeare leaving the band in January of that year. Gorman initially replaced Shakespeare, at the recommendation of Garth Porter who described him to the other band members as 'a real street punk guitarist'. Harvey James ex Mississippi and Ariel in turn replaced Gorman later that year. 

In 1977, he joined the Richard Clapton Band and was a major contributor to the recording of Richard Clapton's pivotal album 'Goodbye Tiger' playing lead guitar on most tracks and writing several tracks. 

From '78-'79 he formed Gunther's G-Force, then briefly joined Ross Wilson's Mondo Rock to work on their LP 'Primal Park'. 

G-Force Review 1978

In 1981, Gorman released his only solo LP " Infectious Rhythm" for WEA Records. The album features Huce Benjamin on drums, Clive Harrison bass, David Kimber piano, Don Miller Robinson guitar and bass, Ralph White brass, Doug Williams vocals and James Rogers bass. The LP was produced by Robinson and Gorman. 

In 1982 after receiving a phone call from Glenn A Baker, Gunther embarked on a 10 year here, there and everywhere stint with Frankie J. Holden, Rockpile Jones, Jim Manzie, Geoff Plummer, Wilbur Wilde in The Fives (1982-1992), a reformed version of Ol'55.

The Barstars - Mike Waddle, Gunther Gorman, Dave Twohill, Roger McCulloch

In 2010, he teamed up with Mike Waddle, Dave Twohill (ex Mental As Anything, Dragon, Men At Work) and Roger McCulloch as The Barstars. These four Cooma based musicians not only have a great sound but also some serious history behind them.

Gunther continues to play music, his current band is 'The Hip Replacements' a blues/rock band. They play in various venues and at festivals.

Gunther Gorman (far right) and the Hip Replacements, 2017

While researching for this post, I came across a reply made by Gorman to another blog follower on Ozzie Musicman's blog in 2011, to an enquiry about his association with the Aussie band Home. This is what he had to say:

Hi Sue. The band (Home) was formed in 1973 by original LA DE DA'S bassist/founding member, Trevor Wilson (dec) and vocalist/guitarist Glyn Mason (REBELS, CHAIN). We rehearsed in a flat in Bondi, then embarked on a couple of years playing clubs and touring as support act to other WEA artists (SLADE, SUZI QUATRO and YES). The final line-up consisted of Glyn (vox/guitar), Loppy Morris, ex HOT COTTAGE (drums); Funky Phil Lawson ex BAKERY (bass/vox)and yours truly (guitar, vocals). We released 2 albums on WEA during this period...HOME AT LAST (1974)and LONG WAY TO NOWHERE (1975) then we fell apart like a Hong Kong suit.

My own story thereafter is a bit of a mixed bag - other bands, various recordings, gigs, a lot of time in the US, one ill-fated solo album, some minor success in EU, a new family, some further education, and a few years working as an IP Examiner, and the rekindling of my passion for design / painting, and recording / performing.

Suffice to say I'm still here...and playing a lot more now too...having just completed some performances at the 2016 THREDBO BLUES festival with the HIP REPLACEMENTS - a 6 piece R&B unit formed here in the snowy by the wonderful bassist Jeremy Paul (AIR SUPPLY, DIVINYLS)

Thank for your request Sue...I hope this suffices. gg

Gunther Gorman 2017

This post consists of FLACs ripped from vinyl (thanks to Ozzie Musicman) and includes album artwork and label scans, along with all photos featured above.

Track Listing

Party Side (1)
A1 - Back It Up 3:06
A2 - Basically Lazy 3:18
A3 - Hard Labour 3:05
A4 - I Was Seduced? 3:56
A5 - Dirty Money 3:32
Smooth Side (2)
B1 - My Baby 3:26
B2 - O.J.B. 2:52
B3 - Infectious Rhythm 2:59
B4 - Don't Be A Fool 2:35
B5 - This Love 3:36

The Band:

Vocals – Doug Williams, Gunther Gorman

Bass – Clive Harrison, Don Miller Robinson, James Rogers

Guitar – Gunther Gorman, Don Miller Robinson

Clavinet – David Kimber

Drums – Huce Benjamin

Harmonica – Don Miller Robinson

Piano – David Kimber

Saxophone – Ralph White

Trombone – Ralph White

Trumpet – Ralph White

Gunther Gorman Link (196Mb)

Lindisfarne - Live - Definitive Edition (1973)

 (U.K - 1968–1976, 1978–2004, 2013–present)

Live is a live album by English folk rock band Lindisfarne. It was recorded at the City Hall In Newcastle, England on December 4, 1971 and was released in 1973. Lindisfarne built up a tradition of playing terrific concerts in their home city of Newcastle around Christmas time.

Lindisfarne's pop folk rock was popular in England during the early seventies, peaking in 1972 with their Top Ten U.K album 'Fog on the Tyne' which went to #1.

The band actually goes back to the mid-Sixties, when various members were playing in local Newcastle groups, including Rod Clements and Ray Laidlaw in the Downtown Faction Blues Band. All the future Lindisfarne members, except Hull, worked together as Brethren in the summer of 1969. With the departure of guitarist Jeff Sandler in late 1969, the group switched to quieter folk pop' especially after taking on folksinger/songwriter Alan Hull' who became co-lead writer with Clements in the spring of 1970. The band was briefly known as Alan Hull and Brethren before choosing Lindisfarne (after a small island off the Northumberland coast).

Though their debut album, 'Nicely Out of Tune', was released in the U.S., most interest was in Europe, generated by their many college and festival shows. The big British breakthrough was 'Fog on the Tyne', which was produced by Bob Johnston (who'd previously worked with Bob Dylan) and yielded the lushly melodic #5 hit "Meet Me on the Corner" (1972). Around this time,

Jackson played mandolin on Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells a Story. Another single, "Lady Eleanor," hit #3 in England but only #82in the U,S., and soon the band was having trouble in the U.K. as well. Dingly Dell was a critical and commercial disappointment, and in 1973 Clements, Cowe and Laidlaw left to form Jack the Lad. (Clements left Jack shortly after their mid-1974 debut.)

Hull and Jackson kept the band name, and the group became a sextet with the inclusion of Kenny Craddock (who in 1968 played with Yes drummer Alan White in Happy Magazine, and later Ginger Baker's Air Force and Mark-Almond) and Charlie Harcourt (formerly with Cat Mother and the All Night News Boys). Both Roll On, Ruby and Happy Daze were flops. Hull had released his first solo record, Pipedream; Squire came out around the time the band broke up in 1975.

Lindisfarne switched labels to Mercury and debuted with a double live album, Magic in the Air, with songs drawn from the group's first three albums. The band remained intact and on Mercury for two more long-players, released to little lasting commercial avail. They resurfaced in October 1978 on Atlantic with the album Back and Fourth (they had first reunited with all the original members at Christmas time in 1977). At this late date, they had their first relatively successful U.S. hit, "Run for Home" (#33 U.S., #10 U.K.)

They remained a reasonably popular concert attraction — especially in Newcastle and the surrounding area — into the early '80s, and have continued to record and reunite for concerts periodically in the years since. During the early '80s, they organized Lindisfarne Musical Productions and began releasing their work on the LMP label, including a live album cut in 1983. Their live recordings, featuring new renditions of their classic early-'70s material, seem to draw the greatest enthusiasm. Alan Hull has also maintained a separate solo career, and fans of the group should definitely own his Back to Basics CD, on which he does live acoustic versions of his best songs from 1970 onward.

During the second half of the 1980s they played annual Christmas tours and released Dance Your Life Away (1986) and C'mon Everybody (1987) – the latter made up of covers of old rock and roll standards and reworkings of some of the band's most popular songs.

In 1990, Lindisfarne introduced themselves to a younger generation with the duet "Fog on the Tyne Revisited", accompanied by footballer Paul Gascoigne, which reached No. 2 in the UK singles chart. Around this time Jackson left the band and Craggs took over his lead vocals, adding piano accordion and tin whistle, as the band gradually rediscovered its acoustic roots. Clements started to play slide guitar and mandolin, his former role as bassist being filled by Steve Cunningham and, later, Ian Thomson. Hull's son-in-law Dave Hull-Denholm joined in 1994 to replace Cowe, who left shortly after the recording of the album Elvis Lives on the Moon and emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he ran a brewery. He rejoined them briefly on stage for occasional dates on a subsequent American tour. He died in September 2015 from oesophageal cancer.

Alan Hull died on 17 November 1995, but the surviving members continued to use the name. With former Jack The Lad frontman Billy Mitchell in Hull's place, the band released two more studio albums, Here Comes The Neighbourhood (1997) and Promenade (2002). A number of live albums were also released. Craggs quit in 2000, after which Mitchell took over Jackson's and Craggs' lead vocals and used the harmonica on a harness.

Lindisfarne finally broke up in May 2004, with the full line-up performing a final concert on 1 November 2003 at the Newcastle Opera House. The final line-up as a band consisted of Dave Hull-Denholm, Billy Mitchell, Rod Clements, Ian Thomson and Ray Laidlaw.

Lindisfarne - Live on GTK 1973

Album Review   -  'Last of the 'old' Lindisfarne'

(Melody Maker July 28, 1973)

This is a last offering from Lindisfarne as they were - recorded live at Newcastle City hall in December, 1971 - featuring all the best known numbers from their stage act and capturing the atmosphere of the group playing to a partisan audience of Geordies.

In Newcastle they didn't have to try. All the songs will be familiar to Lindisfarne buffs: they're all from the first two albums as the third hadn't been recorded by this time. In running order they are "No Time To Lose", "Meet Me On The Corner", "Alright On The Night", "Train In G Major", "Fog On The Tyne", "We Can Swing Together" and "Jack Hammer Blues". The last two take up the whole of the second side. From a musical and production point of view, they don't compare too favourably with the studio versions, but in this case they're not meant to. 

This album is obviously a keep sake for fans who enjoyed the group's happy-go-lucky career and sang along with the choruses wherever they went. Standout track is obviously "Swing Together' with the longest harmonica solo Ray Jackson has ever played: it serves to prove conclusively that Jacka is the best harp player in the business. On this version he plays through the usual reels and jigs before taking off - with audience accompaniment - on "Jingle Bells", "Auld Lang Syne", "Coming Around The Mountain" and stacks more. It's an exercise in audience participation that few could equal, even though it descends into relative chaos towards the  end. There's little else to say as it's all been said before, but one good reason for buying this album is that you won't hear it live again. C.C

This post consists of FLAC's ripped from CD and comes with full album artwork for both CD and vinyl.  Although I have the original vinyl release, I decided to share the Definitive Edition as it contains some crucial tracks that were not available on vinyl.   In fact, I would go as far to say that the inclusion of the 18min long "We Can Swing Together" on the original vinyl release was a huge mistake, and tracks like "Lady Eleanor", "Scotch Mist" and the brilliant concert closer "Clear White Light" should have been used instead.  I totally disagree with the reviewer's comments about "Can Swing" being a highlight and found the audience participation and band dialogue to be annoying and boring. Not something that you want to hear over and over again in my opinion. 

Otherwise, the remaining tracks are entertaining and enjoyable to listen to, and I recommend you give this a listen. For the pricey sum of $3.98 this album was a bargain at the time when other albums were nearly double the price.

Set List

01 Intro – 1:16

02 Together Forever – 3:08

03 No Time To Lose – 3:58

04 January Song – 5:06

05 Meet Me On The Corner – 3:43

06 Alright On The Night – 4:33

07 Train In G Major – 3:31

08 Scotch Mist – 2:46

09 Lady Eleanor – 6:03

10 Knacker’s Yard Blues – 4:56

11 Fog On The Tyne – 5:52

12 We Can Swing Together – 17:54

13 Jackhammer Blues – 5:42

14 Clear White Light (feat. Fade Away, Bo Diddley) – 11:08

The band at this stage was:

Alan Hull – vocals, guitar, keyboards

Ray Jackson – vocals, mandolin, harmonica

Rod Clements – bass guitar, violin

Simon Cowe – guitar, mandolin, banjo, keyboards

Ray Laidlaw – drums

Lindisfarne Link (512Mb) New Link 16/08/23

Billy Thorpe - Million Dollar Bill (1975)

(Australian 1956 - 2007)

By 1975, Thorpie was segueing from manic, denim-clad rock warrior, to a stylish, sophisticated, adult-oriented funk rock performer, firmly targeted on the US market. His first album of this period, was immodestly-titled Million Dollar Bill, which featured the self-penned and gloriously jazz-inflected "It’s Almost Summer".

Clearly Billy Thorpe was heading into MOR adult contemporary territory here, when he entered Festival’s Studio 24 in Sydney to record this track where he had assembled a fine group of session musicians, Billy Kristian (bass), Gil Matthews (drums), Jack Hislop (electric piano), Warren Morgan (keyboards), Don Wright/Tony Buchanan (Saxophone), William Morzing (synthesizers), and the backing singers Alison McAllum, Janice Slater, and Kerrie Biddell.

Thorpie's Band 1975

Produced by Peter Dawkins, "It's Almost Summer" was the first record on which Thorpe had used open guitar tunings, in similar style to the G-chord tuning of Keith Richard’s five string guitar on Honky Tonk Women, Brown Sugar, and Start Me Up; and the D-chord tuning of Bob Dylan on many of his recordings. This tuning imparted a unusual ambience to the guitar riffs, not unlike that of a lap steel guitar sound, Billy was in fine voice too, his vibrant tenor and falsetto wrapped around the languid, summery lyrics, “And you-ou-ou my lady/ I’m makin’ love in the sand, while the surf keeps time…” to produce a wistful, sultry, ode to summer, as timeless and euphoric as the rolling surf and sun-drenched days, of the season. The promo clip by David Westray intercut beach scenes shot in the 70’s at Kiama (NSW), and there was not a smart phone or laptop in sight, you can see the single fin boards without leg ropes, and almost smell the coconut oil tanning lotion, it was the quintessential family beach scenario of another era.

 It's Almost Summer Promo

Billy claimed full authorship of "It's Almost Summer", stating he wrote it when in Melbourne, waiting for summer to arrive, but others have also claimed to have submitted a demo of this song to Billy’s manager in the late 1960’s, without registering copyright, and further claimed that Billy said it was not his style, and was more suitable for The New Dream (a bubblegum group). But he obviously had a change of heart, it remains one of the best songs about summer, but was under-appreciated and charted #44 in December ’75, it would be the last single to chart in Australia for Thorpe for almost four years.

[extract from 4therecord.com]

The album 'Million Dollar Bill' entered the Kent Music Report album charts on 15 August, 1976 and peaked at #24.  In December 1976, Thorpie relocated to Los Angeles in the United States, although he returned to Australia periodically to tour with varied line-ups of the Aztecs.

Album Review 

Thorpe released albums and singles consistently through the 60s and 70s on a variety of labels. But until this album, not much of his output could really be described as funky. Thorpe combines the best of funk and rock on his stellar version of Back On The Street Again. The cut begins with a nice break and rolls into the familiar bass stabs of Etta James’ version. Thorpe’s voice makes this version just different enough from Etta’s to keep things interesting, without sacrificing any of the soul in her version. Drive My Car also starts with a nice funky interplay of drums and bass. Standing Too Close to the Fire would be a disco-funk cut if it wasn’t for just the right amount of guitar to solidify it as a funky rock number. The Theme from Million Dollar Bill is a great instrumental soundtrack cut too. All in all, a very strong album, and the best value for money album on the Infinity label in my opinion. (by DJ Kinetic)

Poster sized 'Million Dollar Bill' insert found in Australian Pressings

And now for something a little off topic, but still of interest with respect to the great 'Thorpie'

One of Australia’s rowdiest rock’n’rollers once lived — and partied hard — in a neighbourhood close by. 

Banchory Cottage, Gipps St, East Melbourne

Yep, this unassuming little cottage in Gipps Street was once home to Billy Thorpe — at the height of his pub-rockin’, ‘sink-more-piss’ phase, no less. It was in this ‘house of lunacy’ that ‘a million brain cells died and the Sunbury Aztecs were born,’ recalls Thorpie in his second autobiography, 'Most People I Know (think that I’m crazy)'. Judging by his detailed descriptions of the nocturnal festivities that went down there, I’d say that was more like a trillion!

Joining Thorpie in this den of debauchery were his girlfriend Jackie and two of his bandmates, Paul Wheeler and Jimmy Thompson. They hit town from Sydney in December 1968, and within no time, a constant flow of freaks and friends was beating a path to their front door.

After a few months of this madness, the desperately sleep-deprived singer resorted to a drastic measure. He nailed a big sign to the front door, emblazoned with the following hand-painted message:

To those about to knock. About every 8 minutes DAY and NIGHT some arsehole knocks on this door and I’m going fucking insane! My bedroom is the front window to your right and I haven’t slept in 6 fucking months. Regardless of what you’ve been told this is not the Melbourne Salvation Army, the Hilton or the Thumping Tum East, IT’S OUR HOUSE. We don’t save souls, take confessions, serve breakfast, arrange marriages, sell cars, arbitrate disputes, find lost dogs, supply inspiration, give spiritual guidance, sell drugs, bust virgins, counsel lost teenagers, or need your stimulating conversation. Therefore:-

•       If you’re not bleeding from every orifice and about to die.

•       If your gear hasn’t blown up and you need to borrow an amp.

•       If you didn’t leave your clothes here last night and you’re naked in the street.

•      If you’re not a philanthropist with a million dollars to give away.

•      If you’re not a record company that wants to give us a deal.

•      If you’re a debt collector.

•      If you haven’t called so we know you’re coming.

•      Or if you’re a copper without a legal search warrant then;

FUCK OFF!!!!            Peace and love

The sign wasn’t up for long. An outraged old lady called the cops, who made Thorpie take it down.

Don’t you just love it that little gems of rock’n’roll history like this still exist in the most unexpected places?  [extract from holy-gogo-boots-batman with thanks]

This post was ripped from vinyl in FLAC format and includes artwork for both Vinyl and CD media. Label scans and all photos are included. Sadly the photo of the Million Dollar Bill is not mine, as my copy of the album did not come with this very rare insert (and is probably now worth its face value from a collectors point of view!) 

Tracks

01. Back On The Streets Again  - 4:54
02. Drive My Car - 3:28
03. I Really Miss You - 4:20
04. It's Almost Summer  - 3:01
05. Do The Best You Can  - 4:25
06. Theme From Million Dollar Bill  - 4:55
07. Mama Told Her - 3:21
08. Standin' Too Close To The Fire - 6:06
09. Don't Need No Protection - 3:41

Thorpie's Band:
Bass – Billy Kristian
Bongos – Peter Dawkins

Cello – David Pereira, Frederick McKay, H. Gyors, L. Kuring, Robert W. Miller, Vanessa Butters

Congas – "J.C." Trevisano
Drums, Percussion – Gill Mathews
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Jack Hotop
Guitar – John Fetter
Guitar, Vocals – Billy Thorpe
Keyboards – Warren Morgan
Saxophone – Don Wright, Tony Buchanan
Synthesizer – William Motzing
Trombone – Arthur Hubbard, Bob McIvor, George Brodbeck, Ken Herron
Trumpet – "Boot" Thompsen, Ed D'Amico, Keith Dubber, Mike Bukousky, Mike Cleary
Violin – Alice Waten, Della Woods, Frank Coe, Gordon Bennett, John Lyle, Julie Batty, Klara Korda, Phillip Hart, R. Ingram
Backing Vocals – Allison McAllum, Janice Slater, Kerrie Biddell

Million Dollar Bill Link (248Mb) New Link 22/11/2024

REPOST: Skyhooks - Guilty Until Proven Insane (1978) + Bonus Tracks

(Australian 1973-1980, 1983-1984, 1990)
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In February 1977, Red Symons left Skyhooks and was replaced on guitar by Bob Spencer (Finch, later called Contraband). With Symons' departure the band dropped the glam rock look and used a more straight forward hard rock approach.
Shirley Strachan introduced Red's replacement at a gig during a surfing contest at Phillip Island on March 27, 1977: "He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, he's into the ecology and he's a shit-hot little @unt"
The new guitarist was Bob Spencer. Greg had contacted Spencer on February 21 - the day before Red's departure was announced. Rumoured to replace Red had been ACDC's Malcolm Young, Sherbet's Clive Shakespeare, and Phil Manning, who had fronted his own band. But Greg settled on Spencer, a 19-year-old vegetarian, who he had spotted in the Sydney hard rock band Finch - they supported the Hooks in Wyong in 1976.

Greg told Juke that "Spencer is almost as energetic as Shirl". Spencer said of Greg: "He's a nifty human being ... I had a jam with the band and it was great. H.A.P.P.Y! My mind was made up." Spencer's first Skyhook bio called him "a real spunkrat, astonishingly talented, an overbubbling extrovert with a 25-inch bum".
Spencer recalls: "Before we saw them, Finch didn't like the Skyhooks. They dress up too much, blah, blah, blah'. But then I saw them under Harbour Bridge and I was converted. I knew all the records, my girlfriend had them." Spencer had been the guitarist in Finch since he was 15. Out front was Owen Orford (now a successful booking agent), and bass player Mark Evans joined after he left ACDC.

The band released the album Thunderbird in 1976. "We made the dreaded mistake of moving to Melbourne and living together," Spencer recalls. "We were living with a couple of wives and kids, and we became very disenchanted. Living separately in Sydney had been much better, Greg contacted me and said: 'Well, what do you think, do you want to join the Skyhooks?' I went to Sydney with Greg and spoke to my Parents about it." They were happy about him joining but one mate of Spencer's criticised his decision to join the Hooks - non other than the legendary ACDC frontman Bon Scott!

Guilty Until Proven Insane was released on March 13, 1978 (the first 5000 copies appeared on red vinyl - and I have one !)
Symons:- "By that stage, I no longer listened to the record to have an opinion. I looked at the 3XY chart. I was no longer perceiving success on my own terms."
At first, Red was worried. The album rose to No. 6 on the national charts. In Melbourne, it got to No. 2, but it couldn't dislodge "Saturday Night Fever" from top spot. But then it dropped back. The set did not contain another "Women In Uniform". Only one more single was released off the album — "Megalomania" (which was backed by "BBBBBBB Boogie" — Freddy Strauks' Skyhooks songwriting debut). It failed to chart.
"It's a weird album this one," Greg said of 'Guilty Until Proven Insane' in Rolling Stone. Ads proclaimed that it contained "Australia's new national anthem" — "Why Dontcha All Get *ucked". The album was to have been called either "Bill And Pam Go To The Supermarket" or "Bill And Pam Go To The Races". But Gudinski freaked when he heard the options. The band thanked "Bill And Pam" on the album's credits.
Macainsh:- "They were just imaginary characters. Bill and Pam were characters that appeared in a song we demoed around this time, 'The Great Australian Male'. Gudinski said no to the title straight away. In many ways, it was put up to annoy him."
A Juke cover story on April 1,1978 was headed: "A Sense of Humor Is Very Important In Rock And Roll — Greg Macainsh On The New Hooks LP". Calling Guilty Until Proven Insane a "comeback album", Al Webb wrote that the "Skyhooks camp is aglow with confidence . . . Macainsh is uncharacteristically enthused".

Greg spoke about the tracks. "Women In Uniform", he said, was "a fetish song. I have known a few women in uniform. It's part real life experience, part fantasy." The track had been inspired by a security guard Greg had seen in Atlanta, Georgia. "She wore a mini-skirt, she had a beehive hairdo. She was swaggering around this plaza. She had a Colt .45, baton, handcuffs, walkie-talkie, the whole trip ... an incredible symbol of, you know, sexuality and power. I thought it was great! I just watched her wiggle her arse around the plaza for a while and kept it in the back of my mind." Back in Australia, Greg saw a photo in a fashion mag of "chicks in khaki leaning against tanks". Remembering that one of the Hooks crew had once gotten off with a policewoman, Greg had his song.

"Hotel Hell" (which featured Wilbur Wilde on sax) was vaguely based on Melbourne's larger suburban pubs like the Matthew Flinders in Chadstone, and the Manhattan in Ringwood. It was not overly positive about the punter's pub-going pursuit: "Hotel/Hotel hell/bad place to visit and a rotten place to dwell/ Hotel/Hotel hell/ain't nothing like, there ain't no parallel".
Of Freddy's songwriting debut, Greg said: "Freddy writes a lot of pornographic songs. He's got quite a few songs, usually either pornographic or very philosophical — not a great deal in between which is sort of like Fred, I guess."

Strauks "The pornographic songs were only comedy songs, they were never meant to be pure porn. I thought that all these people were writing love songs, but they only allude to doing it, they never actually talk about doing it. So I wrote a couple of dirty ditties and everyone who listens to them has a laugh. One day I might release them, but the time has to be right.
"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBoogie started life as "The Businessman Boogie", but Eddie Leonetti persuaded me to rewrite the lyric in the studio. To make it interesting, I made it "BBBBBBBBBBBBB (13 Bs) Boogie"."

Both Ram and Juke continued to support the band. Anthony O'Grady wrote: "The idea is to present the band roaring and raging. And they are a Powerhouse. In the Hooks overall scheme of things, 'Guilty Until Proven Insane' is an affirmation of their status as a rock band who can deliver the goods in forthright fashion".
Al Webb concluded: "Ain't no doubt about it, this is a very strong album from what's become a very solid band . . . the musical quality is all there and the lyrics are still well ahead of most Australian writers, so theoretically this should be a successful album for the Hooks. Whether the public can adapt to the band's move towards riffy American rock is another question."
Ross Wilson remembers Greg invited him to his house in Hampton to listen to the record.
"I thought 'Women In Uniform' was great, so I was really looking forward to it," Wilson recalls. "But the rest of the album for me just didn't measure up. My opinion was the songs just weren't there. I remember feeling quite disappointed because I still wished them well."

.Skyhooks at Nambassa 3 Day Music Festival (1978) - Photo thanks to Jeff O'Donnell

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Lyrically the album showed Greg was tiring of his Mr Serious image. On "Twisted Innocence", he revealed his unhappiness with being a deep thinker: "Taxi driver with the science degree/He says he's got it rough. But he can daydream while driving around/I wish him half the luck". (This might even have been a cryptic reference to Red Symons. Red has a science degree, and he also had a taxi licence, but he never drove a taxi). The lyrics lacked his local references (Leonetti decided against releasing songs such as "Daughters Of Brighton" and "Sitting In A Bar In Adelaide"). Greg defended "Why Dontcha All Get *ucked": "I don't think it's sensational for the sake of being sensational. To me, it's a pretty definitive statement, a very commonly used expression. It's like that scene in Network: 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!' There's something of that in it."

The song did attract attention. Shirley and Fred appeared on the Mike Walsh Show, where they were treated with contempt by guest host Brian Bury. He called Fred "Greg" and then asked how they wrote their songs. Freddy freaked Bury out by writing the song's title on a piece of paper and asking him to read it out. During the same month, Melbourne public radio station RRR was threatened with losing its licence after one of its DJs played the unedited version on air. The DJ was none other than Red Symons. On ya Red! [taken from Ego Is Not A Dirty Word: The Skyhooks Story by Jeff Jenkins p125, 130-131]
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Album Review
Guilty Until Proven Insane opens with one of the finest rock tracks you’re likely to hear and possibly the only track on the album familiar to people who are not aware of the band: "Women In Uniform". Familiar as a D’Anno-era Iron Maiden single, the track was written by, and was a huge hit for Skyhooks from this album and features a great vocal from Graeme “Shirley” Strachan with the rest of the band providing one of their heaviest backing tracks. Women In Uniform has all the ingredients of a great rock track as will be apparent from the video clip below and the funky intro which is returned to mid-way through makes for a more multi-dimensional track than other versions!

"Life In The Modern World" is a slow burner of a bluesy rock track with a good use of the twin guitars of Spencer and Starkie and some well-crafted observational lyrics. The latter half of the track also features a good guitar solo not in the shredding vain but more akin to mid-70s Thin Lizzy style which continues over a repeat of the opening verse at the close.
"Trouble With The Computer" opens with a frantic computer ‘conversation’ through which fades-in drums and then into the main riff which is again of strong blues-rock origin. As the title suggests, the track identifies troublesome issues in various scenarios with computers which, considering the year of release, was very contemporary thinking and somewhat prophetic as the same problems are still experienced today: “the computer’s lost its logic and has started to erase” – for a pre-Windows generation that’s some foresight!

Moving into a heavier style, "Bbbbbbbbbbbbboogie", as the name suggests, is a hard-rocking boogie shuffle with a hint of Rose Tattoo who, I’m certain, would have been influenced by their countrymen. Graeme Strachan really spits out the lyrics here with some venom and there’s plenty of guitar breaks throughout making for a very solid track and demonstrating the musical skill of the band members to good effect.
Suddenly, the heavy blues-rock fades and "Twisted Innocence" opens which is a funky almost new-wave track and, as with the majority of the Skyhooks’ tracks, examines the troubles of urban 70s Australian society with in this instance through the eyes of the young and their largely inability to perceive the problems around them. Twisted innocence referring to the blinkered enthusiasm of youth blinding the young to social ills.
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"Hotel Hell" moves back to more traditional hard rock territory for a mid-paced track telling the tale of trying to find a good night out but only coming across ‘Hotel Hell’: “if you think the beer is rotten, you should see the clientele”! The track also features a sax solo in the mid-section (C/- Wilder Wilde - photo above) where the track drops to bass and cymbals over which Strachan further describes the scene at the bar and paints a picture that is so well described you can almost be there.

Gig Review - Roadrunner Mag - March, 1978

 Slow bass and guitar harmonics open "Point In The Distance" with a spoken word intro accompanied by some high wailing backing vocals and then the track kicks-in with a funky guitar and heavily echoed vocals with Strachan singing more smoothly than on the rockier tracks. As with "Twisted Innocence" the sound is somewhere around early 10CC and early Thin Lizzy but, whilst not one of the stronger tracks on the album, certainly shows another side to Skyhooks and a side that they exploit to a high standard here. The undistorted guitar solo is also a highlight.

A calypso intro to "Meglomania" continues the shift in direction begun by "Point In the Distance" and the overall sound is rather ’sweet’ but if you tune-in to the lyrical content, it’s far from it! Quite cleverly, one of the hardest hitting tracks lyrically is backed by the mellowest, poppiest musical backing tracks – as with previous tracks, however, the guitar solo adds some balls with a new riff taking over in the mid-section to boot!
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Closing the album is the ‘classic’ Skyhooks anthem Why Don’tcha All Get *ucked? Originally released on their debut album, in censored form, here it is in all its glory. It features a series of lyrical ‘vignettes’ about various disaffected characters where Strachan paints the picture of their reasoning for their eventual nihilistic attitude and cry of "Why Don’tcha All Get *ucked?" “there’s one thing that you got to do and I suggest you do it today, stand up in your office, school or street and this is what you’ve got to say . . . Why Don’tcha All Get *ucked?”. Pre-dating Rage Against the Machine’s “*uck you I won’t do what you tell me” battle-cry by some 10 years, it’s a sentiment I’m sure we can all relate to from time to time today as much as back in the 70s!
All-in-all this is an awesome album from a great band who should have gone on to globally great things . . . but sadly it was not to be. To compound matters, the album is really hard to come-by on CD but is definitely worth purchasing should you find a copy [ review by Andy Doherty-2009 ]
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This album has always been a favourite of mine as I believe that Skyhooks had finally grown up and were producing songs that were suitable for a broader audience. My red vinyl copy of the LP is another prized possession in my record collection, but I play my CD copy to maintain the condition of the vinyl.
Rip was taken from a long deleted CD release of the album in FLAC format and I have provided both CD and LP cover scans along with select photos of the Skyhooks band MK II. I have also included as bonus tracks, the two songs that were rejected by Leonetti for this album, "Daughters of Brighton" and "Sitting In A Bar In Adelaide" (taken from 'Demos and Dialogue' thanks to Bluecent.
Finally, thanks to Mushroom Records, Peter Green and the Skyhooks Fanclub and Jeff O'Donnell for the various photos displayed in this post.
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Hint: I suggest you listen to this album using headphones, to avoid any conflict with your neighbours, who might take the last track on the LP the wrong way!
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Track Listing
01 - Woman in Uniform
02 - Life in the Modern World
03 - Trouble With the Computer
04 - BBBBBboogie
05 - Twisted Innocence
06 - Hotel Hell
07 - Point in the Distance
08 - Meglomania
09 - Why Dontcha All Get Fucked
10 - Daughters Of Brighton (Bonus Track)
11 - Sitting In A Bar In Adelaide (Bonus Track)

 Band Members:
Graeme “Shirley” Strachan – Vocals
Bob Spencer – Guitar
Bob “Bongo” Starkie – Guitar
Greg Macainsh – Bass
Imants Alfred “Freddy” Strauks – Drums
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* NEW IMPROVED FLAC RIP *

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Skyhooks Link (326Mb)