The Reels - 5 Great Gift Ideas From The Reels (1980)

(Australian 1976 - 1991, 2007 - Present)
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The Reels formed in Dubbo in 1976, disbanded 1991, then reformed 2007. Initially the Reels apparently styled themselves in reaction to 'dark/heavy' fashion and made upbeat music with a ska-pop emphasis while adorned in bright moddish clothes. However, they became best known for their most melancholic and hauntingly bleak music. The mournful tale of alienation, Quasimodo's Dream (1981) was voted as a "Top 10 Australian song of all time" by the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) in 2001. It has a cinematic gothic-styled story video - see it in the Youtube playlist below. The album of the same name was listed in a 2010 book as one of the top 40 Australian albums of all time. The Reels had top 10 success with covers of "This Guy's in Love With You" and their slowed down icy synth-based version of "Bad Moon Rising".

The Reels released the EP ‘Five Great Gift Ideas From The Reels’, just in time for the festive season, and in part because recording of their planned second album was turning into an epic. The EP featured, not surprisingly, five tracks, and aside from the jovially titled ‘The Bombs Dropped On Xmas’, the highlights were covers of the 1971 Freda Payne soul classic ‘Band Of Gold’, and the song which was identified as the ‘single’ release, ‘According To My Heart’, originally recorded by country crooner Jim Reeves in 1961. The song was about as far removed from a contemporary pop-rock hit as you could get, complete with Western motif promo video, but its inherent charms couldn’t deny The Reels their biggest hit to date (OZ#12), aided in no small part by an equally charming promo video, shot at the ranch of Australian country music legend Smokey Dawson (part of the medley B-side to The Reels 1980 single ‘After The News’ was ‘Media Themes For The Smokey Dawson Show’). Incidentally, ‘Five Great Gift Ideas From The Reels’ had been co-produced by Bruce Brown and Russell Dunlop.
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The Reels: An Astonishing Facts Special
Although the Reels have been around for absolutely yonks, it's been ages since they've had a hit single. Now, Bad Moon Rising has changed all that but did you know....

- Singer Dave Mason was born David Lawrence Mason III on 1/9/1955 in Golburn, N.S.W. His father, John Mason was the leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party between 1978 and 1981.

- Up until recently Dave lived on a farm just outside of Newcastle. He now lives in Kings Cross with his dog Poopy (so named because when she was a pup she used to shit everywhere) and three cats, Mother, Mother baby and Kit

- Dave buys his clothes at OP shops because new ones are too expensive.

- Dave is a big fan of soap operas. His faves are, in order, Dallas (the ultimate), Prisoner, Falcon Crest and the Colbys (cos I like Barbara Stanwyck)  He doesn't like Dynasty, occasionally watches Day Of Our Lives and says that JR (Dallas) is his role model in life.

- Dave once sang a medley of the history of duets with sixties songstress Little Patti (Chrissie Amphlett's cousin) The reels were to record "Bad Moon Rising" as a duet with Nick Cave (gloomy Aussie singer) Dave still wants to make a record with him as well as a harmony album with Kate and Zan (of I'm Talking) and Sherine (from Big Pig, also Zan's sister)

- Dave thinks he'd probably come ten millionith in a list of the world's most fanciable men. "I'm not into that. That's what models are for. I'm a dog"

- If  'Bad Moon Rising" goes to number one on the charts Dave says that he'll send a thank you card to John Fogerty 9singer/songwriter of ancient hippies Creedence Clearwater Revival who had a number one hit with the song in 1969 and who is now a solo artist)

- The Reels once did a tour in Sydney called The Freak Show (named after the character in Prisoner) after it was announced that Prisoner had been axed. The Freak herself was supposed to go to one of the shows and sing with Dave but 'chickened out'. The Reels have long included a 'country and western pulls the heart strings' type version of the Prisoner theme song 'On The Inside' in their live set

- The Reels were going to release a version Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" as their next single until they found that Cyndi Lauper had already released one.

- The Reels once recorded a heavy metal album that was never released. Says Dave "We employed heavy metal techniques and filtered them through synthesisers so we came out with this sound and its...it's...unbelievable!  We'll release it one day when the world's ready for it".

- Dave wants to grow his hair so that when he's fifty "it'll be really long and grey". If he ever has it cut, he'll have a wig made out of his hair.

- Dave hates the idea of working out at a gym. "I don't want to be a muscleman, thanks very much, I'd rather be skinny and anaemic".
- The first concert that Dave ever went to was by the Ides Of Man in about 1962. Their singer Wally Morrison was a Dubbo cult hero and now works at a TV station in Newcastle. Their drummer is now with The Reels.

- The Reels launched their 'Kitchen Man' tour by cooking a meal for the press. In fact Dave is something of a dab hand in the kitchen himself. He whips up "a pretty mean hot broccoli salad" and "a mean chicken - fried chicken better than Kentucky!"
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So folks, this is my final post for 2016 and it is My Great Gift Idea for all my blog followers. I hope you've enjoyed the many offerings that were on the table at ' rockonvinyl ' during the year, but be assured that I have plenty more to post in the new year and I look forward to seeing you all back in 2017. 
Remember to drop me a line or two in the comments, if you like what you hear or simply have a request or two, and I'll do my best to accommodate.
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This post consists of  FLACs ripped from my pristine vinyl and includes full album artwork and label scans.  Also included is a scan of the article from which the astonishing facts about The Reels were taken, but alas I am unsure which magazine it was sourced from due to my poor filing. My favourite track is of course "According To My Heart" while the other 4 tracks are equally entertaining.  Enjoy.
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Track Listing

A1     You Got Soul   
A2     Neon Rainbow   
B1     The Bombs Dropped On Xmas   
B2     According To My Heart   
B3     Band Of Gold
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Credits
Bass Guitar – Paul Abrahams
Drums, Idiophone [Wobble Board], Vocals – John Bliss
Keyboards, Artwork [Cover Art] – Karen Ansell
Synthesizer, Vocals – Polly
Vocals, Artwork [Cover Art] – Dave Mason
Synthesizer, Guitar – Craig Hooper
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The Reels FLACs (93Mb) New Link 15/11/2024
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The Reels - Requiem (1992)

(Australian 1976 - 1991, 2007 - Present)
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Late in 1979 it looked like a band with the most unlikely origins would be one of Australia's biggest hopes for the eighties.
The Reels had bounced out of the New South Wales town of Dubbo, hardly famous for its rock groups, with an album they had put down in a mobile studio. A couple of hit singles were cut from it and the band was on its way. But, by February, 1980, all the excitement surrounding the Reels had died down and virtually nothing was heard of them until July when they cropped up again on Countdown.
"Well, we broke off with our management and we wanted to re-assess everything we were doing because we weren't very happy" singer David Mason explained. "Then we started rehearsing again in Dubbo and got our Reels by Rail tour going."

The tour took the band through eastern Australia by train and was the build-up to recording a follow-up album to their self titled debut, which, by the way, was released in more than twenty countries. And the band got itself back on track - literally - under its own management.
"We just used different agencies for the tour and we want to employ someone to handle negotiations with our record company for us" Mason said, "we can handle the image part of it pretty well, but we need someone to organise things like contracts..a money person, that's what we need. None of us is into money too much. But it's hard to get someone who will just manage those things for you and not try to take control of you. We want to be totally in control of the creative side, things like the albums covers as well as the music. We don't have our record company telling us what to do because we're commercial anyway, so we don't need a manager running that side of things."

The reels are Mason, Colin Newham and Karen Ansell (keyboards), Craig Hooper (guitar), Paul Abrahams (bass) and John Bliss (drums). And proof of Mason's statement about their ability to be commercial is in almost every song they play.
Often dismissed as simple, sometimes labelled punk by those who obviously don't know, the Reel's music, in fact, is as close as most bands ever get to producing a radio programmer's dream come true. And all that hope for the 1980's is alive and kicking. [Feature article from Countdown Annual, 1980. p54]
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The Reels 1980

The Reels Stop Gigging
Live gigs are likely to be a rarity from now on for The Reels, with the electro-pop threesome electing to concentrate more on recording and making videos.
This fresh decision, announced by vocalist Dave Mason, is a surprise not only to the band's followers.,. "Our manager - and our bank manager - will freak out when they hear it," he said shortly after the group returned to Sydney after about five months of being "Aussie tourists" in the United States, England and Europe,
"We're just not interested in live gigs," he said, "We just want to record and make videos, and write songs.
Asked to elaborate, Dave said the trouble lay with the crowds, venue owners, the people who book venues, and the attitude of those in the industry,
"When you are in a band you have to get out there and pay your dues — but you have to play in places where people get knifed end girls get raped.
"Who wants that? We don't want to encourage that any more. It doesn't suit the band's image."
However, Dave said the group was interested in "nice gigs" with the right type of audience, and was interested in playing to kids, though he did not think a tour of schools was likely.
He recalled the days in his hometown of Dubbo when once a week he went to see a major gig at a dance open to everyone, "That sort of scene's just died in Australia, but it's still thriving In England." There were no venues in Australia for anyone under 17 years old. "Kids are trained in Australia to become yobbos if they want to get interested in the rock and roll scene," Overseas the rock and roll scene was the same, said Dave, but it was worse in London, especially the venues.

I think they are past caring about what audiences want. They cram in so many people you can't breathe. They turn off the air conditioning so you will buy more booze. Who cares, as long as you are making money?
"If they think that is the only way to make a buck, they have got to be kidding. "It is okay for some bands, who basically cater tor people who like that."
Dave said there was still pressure on The Reels to work in such venues "We'll just look at different ways of making money ... or we'll have to do with less money.
"We will play, but only when we want to. And when we're ready to, it will be in places we want to play in."

Dave said the "very recent" decision about live performances was voted on two to one by the group.
For exposure, Dave sees the possibilities of television "just endless"
"We have the best TV in the world here, especially with Channel 0. But television doesn't respect bands,
"Only when performers are megastars or are so old they are just about to hit the clubs do they get on TV.
"You can get on Simon Townsend's 'Wonderworld', which is great, or Countdown - but it is horrible as they refuse to have a studio audience now.

The Reels 1984

 We're not Interested in playing rock and roll gigs - we find them repulsive,"
It was a silly thing to do, to take away the kids," in England one could get up at 7am and see a band on television - "You can see top 40 groups in the studio performing as part of the entertainment on shows."
Back In Australia, said Dave, the same old groups were appearing in outdoor concerts.
"We very rarely have an amiable line-up. The set-up is not right for us, especially when using tape machines"
And while Australia produced the best heavy metal bands In the world, it could at the same time produce the best pop bands. "Isn't it wonderful that the Models are on the top 10 at long last.
"Rock and roll is not everybody's taste." Dave said he was not bitter nor unhappy.
"We just can't go on. We have just got to stop and concentrate. I know we can still produce records and put them out to the marketplace.
"I think we can sell records without having to go live. "But when we do go live, we want to put on a show - a spectacle.
"People pay $7 to see Return Of The Jedi and know they have seen something great, but if they pay $7 for a band, what have they seen?

"We have always tried to use visuals in our shows, but they have never been appreciated. We have been using slides for three years, and now other groups are using them." [Article by Louis Edwards. Countdown Magazine, Jan 1984. p16]

Mason and Hooper

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my CD copy of this compilation 'best of' album. I believe it was released on cassette tape as well.  Full album artwork and scans of the two Countdown articles are also included.  One of my favourite tracks by the Reels is their cover of the Bacharach classic "This Guy's In Love" and it featured on my own wedding video back in 86'.
Question:  Shouldn't men get time off for good behavior after 30 years of marriage?  Well.....shouldn't we??
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Track Listing 
01 - Love Will Find A Way
02 - Prefab Heart
03 - After The News
04 - According To My Heart
05 - Shout & Deliver
06 - Quasimodo's Dream
07 - No.3
08 - This Guy's In Love
09 - Last Night (I Couldn't Get To Sleep)
10 - Happiness
11 - Bad Moon Rising
12 - World's End
13 - Love Grows
14 - Forever Now
15 - I Don't Love You Anymore
16 - Bad Moon Rising (Filthy Lucre Remix)
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The Reels were over time:
Dave Mason - Vocals
Craig Hooper - Guitar and Synthesisers
Colin Newham - Keyboards, Sax and Guitar
John Bliss, Stephan Fidock - Drums
Tony Martin, Paul Abrahams - Bass
Karen Ansell - Synthesiser
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The Reels Requiem (338MB)
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