Formed in 1970, their brand of prog rock/psychedelic blues quickly became extremely popular on the local pub circuity and Madder lake appeared as an opening act at the inaugural Sunbury festival in January 1972. A year later, they were one of the headlining acts at Sunbury 1973 and were one of the first bands signed to Michael Gudinski’s Mushroom Records. Gudinski’s first Mushroom release was the live album Sunbury ’73 featuring Madder Lake live with "Down The River"/"12lb Toothbrush".
They issued their debut single "Goodbye Lollypop" in February 1973 and supported The Rolling Stones at their Melbourne concert.
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| Stillpoint (1973) Butterfly Farm (1974) |
Debut album 'Stillpoint' (August 1973) was an adventurous work which reached #2 in Melbourne and #11 nationally.
The next single (the aforementioned 12lb Toothbrush) reached the Top 40 in Australia (Top 10 in Melbourne) – no doubt helped by the nagging vocal hook by Mick Fettes. At this stage, Andy Cowan replaced John McKinnon on keyboards.
Their second album, 'Butterfly Farm' (April 1974), lacked the magic of their debut, although it still sold well.
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| Mick Fettes 1973 Mick Fettes 2009 |
The two singles from the LP – "Butterfly Farm" (April) and "Booze Blues" (May) – were not successful. Follow-up single "It’s All In Your Head" also flopped.
Leaving Mushroom in 1974, Madder Lake were commissioned to write, record and perform a concept piece based around Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The project was to be funded by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) but was shelved after two years of work.
Mick Fettes and Andy Cowan left the band, with Fettes resurfacing in Bandicoot with now comedian Shane Bourne. [See earlier post Bandicoot ]
The band carried on as a three-piece until John McKinnon returned in 1976. The group endured three further lineup changes over the next 12 months.
The single "I Get High" (July 1976) was not successful and Tony Lake left the band in May 1977.
Fettes rejoined in 1978 and the band undertook a successful Australian tour. He left again in 1979.
Madder Lake never officially split up – they just stopped playing gigs or recording. A rare live performance formed part of the ‘Mushroom Evolution Concert,’ held to celebrate the label’s 10th birthday in January 1982. [See earlier post Mushroom Evolution Concert ]
Sporadic reformations have occurred since. Sadly, Mick Fettes passed away on 18th November, 2016. He was 65. [extract from nostalgiacentral.com]
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| The Madder Lake 'Family' [Photo taken in the Beer Garden of Violet Town Hotel] with thanks to Dominic Barbuto |
Many of the original band members had art school/graphic design backgrounds – hence the name ‘Madder Lake’. It’s a pigment obtained when making dye from the root of the madder plant. It’s one of the oldest natural pigments in the world.
This post consists of FLACs ripped from my CD copy and includes full artwork for both CD and vinyl media, along with label scans. I always regretted not buying the LP when it was released in 1978 (copies now fetch big dollars) but was lucky enough to pick up a copy of the CD (released by Mushroom in 1991) at a garage sale many moons ago. Their 2 albums (which I have on both media) are still available on CD from Aztec Records
For those interested in knowing the identities of the Madder Lake Family above, you will find a 'hot spot' version of the photo on Dominic Barbuto's Facebook page. I think you will be surprised by the who's who list of Australian Musical Royality, including producer John French (far right)
Track Listing:
01 Goodbye Lollypop 3:31
02 Listen To The Morning Sunshine 5:03
03 Helper 5:12
04 Song For Little Ernest 4:29
05 Down The River (Live at Sunbury '73) 6:10
06 12lb Toothbrush 3:51
07 Butterfly Farm 3:34
08 Booze Blues 2:54
09 Mothership 7:45
10 Slack Alice 5:08
11 It's All In Your Head 3:50
12 I Get High 3:26
Madder Lake were:
Mick Fettes (vocals) 1971-75, 1978-2013
Ian Holding (bass) 1976-78
Jack Kreemers (drums) 1969-2011
Tony Lake (vocals) 1976-78
Brendan Mason (guitar, vocals)
Kerry McKenna (bass, vocals)
John McKinnon (keyboards, vocals) 1970-73
Colin Setches (vocals) 1976-78
Madder Lake Link (327Mb)
Wow! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the share.
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