Doug Parkinson - No Regrets (1973)

 (Australian 1967 - 2021)

Douglas "Doug" Parkinson was an Australian singer who first came to fame with his band, Doug Parkinson in Focus, in 1969. He has had numerous hits on the Australian Top 40 charts. 

Parkinson first started singing with a band called The A Sound but, in 1966 graduated to a more professional outfit, The Questions. Led by Rory Thomas (piano, organ, woodwind and brass) the group held a residency at the Canopus Room, colloquially known as "The Can", at The Manly Pacific Hotel in Manly, a seaside suburb of Sydney.

In 1969 The Questions changed personnel and in the process became a four-piece band and took on the name of Doug Parkinson in Focus. This band, made up of some of Sydney's top musicians, Billy Green (guitar), Mark Kennedy (drums) and Duncan McGuire (bass), allowed him to showcase his powerful, soulful voice. With this band he rose to prominence with a number of Top 20 hit records in Australia such as "Dear Prudence" and "Without You" / "Hair", the latter written by guitarist and songwriter Billy Green (aka Wil Greenstreet) in the mid-1970s, when Green composed the soundtrack to the film Stone, Parkinson sang on two tracks.

In 1969 Doug Parkinson in Focus won Australia's prestigious band competition, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds. Following the demise of that band he joined Vince Melouney's post-Bee Gees supergroup Fanny Adams, which recorded one album and broke up.

Doug spent the next two years trying to get his solo career off the ground although he was hampered by the restrictions he faced from MCA/Fanny Adams episode. In August 1972, he issued his first solo single on Polydor, "Lonely" / "Taking It Easy".

Songs from musicals have been a recurring feature of Doug's recording career, and in the early ‘70s he began appearing in some memorable stage musicals. In March 1973, he made his stage debut in the Australian concert production of The Who's rock opera Tommy alongside Billy Thorpe, Daryl Braithwaite, Colleen Hewett, Broderick Smith, Jim Keays and Keith Moon. This was followed by a stint in the acclaimed Harry M. Miller/Jim Sharman production of Jesus Christ Superstar where he replaced Reg Livermore, providing some unlikely “comic relief” in the cameo role of Herod.

In 1973, Doug gathered an all-star session band to record his first solo LP, the aptly-titled 'No Regrets', released in May on Polydor. The studio line-up was led by keyboard player John Capek (piano; ex-Carson) with Graham Morgan, Peter Figures and Russell Dunlop (drums), Tim Partridge (bass), guitarists Kevin Borich, Billy Green, Ross East and Jimmy Doyle, Roger Sellers (percussion), Don Reid (flute, sax) and Terry Hannagan (vocals).

(Alt Rock Legends Release)

Capek co-wrote five tracks, two with Doug himself and three with Terry Hannagan; Doug contributed his first solo composition, the opening track, And Things Unsaid, and the album also featured a new version of "Dear Prudence", a slightly shortened version of his single "Lonely" plus Ray Burton's "Love Gun", Kevin Borich's "Sweet Rock & Roll" and a cover of The Doors' "Light My Fire". The album was re-released in 1980 as part of Polydor's budget priced ‘Rock Legends' series, which I purchased back in the 80's.

[some extracts from Milesago.com]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from vinyl and includes full album artwork and label scans. As a bonus, I am also including artwork for the Legends release (see left) and the longer single release of "Lonely". There is no doubt that this recording features some of Doug's greatest vocals, and I'm sure you won't 'Regret' downloading this one folks (pun intended)

Track Listing
01 Takin' It Easy
02 Tell Him I'll Be Alright
03 I Ain't Gonna Live That Way No More
04 And Things Unsaid
05 No Regrets
06 Sweet Rock And Roll
07 Lonely
08 Get What You Can
09 Light My Fire
10 Dear Prudence (New Version)
11 Love Gun
12 Lonely (Extended Single Version)

Backing on all tracks except "Dear Prudence" and "Love Gun":
Piano - John Capek
Drums - Graham Morgan, Peter Figures, Russell Dunlop

Single Release "Lonely"

Bass - Tim Partridige, Billy Green
Guitars - Kevin Borich, Billy Green, Ross East, Jimmy Doyle
Slide guitar - Kevin Borich
Percussion - Roger Sellers
Flute and sax - Don Reid
Vocals - Doug Parkinson, Terry Hannagan

Doug Parkinson backed by The Life Organisation on "Dear Prudence" and "Love Gun":
- Teddy Toi, bass; Graham Morgan, drums; Peter Martin, guitar; Warren Ford, guitar, piano; Bill Motzing, trombone, keyboards

No Regrets Link (237Mb)