Post 478 - Ol' 55 - Rockin' Christmas - White Christmas

Thought seeing it’s Christmas Eve I better get at least one Christmas track up on the Blog. This live version of “Rockin’ Christmas”  with a doo wop version of “White Christmas” on Carols by Candlelight 2002. It features all the original members of Ol '55. Frankie J. Holden lead vocals. Wilbur Wilde on saxophone. Jimmy Manzie on bass guitar. Patrick "Meatballs" Drummond on lead guitar. "Rockpile" Jones on guitar and vocals and Geoff "Drainpipe" Plummer on drums and vocals. Have a great Christmas everyone and we will be back better than ever in 2014. Ozzie.

Post 477 - Con The Fruiterer – A Cuppla Days – The Con Dance

Mark Mitchell was born in Melbourne. He studied English and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne and then completed a Diploma of Education at State College of Victoria Rusden Campus. He taught secondary school English for five years before becoming an advertising copy-writer and then a professional actor. Mark starred in the pioneering sketch comedy show The Eleventh Hour, a predecessor to his hit sketch show The Comedy Company. He has made many guest appearances on Australian television series such as SeaChange, Neighbours, Something in the Air, Blue Heelers, Prisoner and Dogwoman. Mitchell's best known character is Con Dickaletus aka 'Con the Fruiterer' whom he created after being served by two Greek Australian stall holders at Glenferrie Markets in 1984. The character became known nationally from regular appearances in The Comedy Company, Con's catchphrases "cuppla days" and "bewdiful" entered the Australian vernacular. In August 1989, then Prime Minister Bob Hawke appeared in a The Comedy Company sketch with Mitchell on the premise of presenting Con with Australian citizenship. In reply to Con's question as to when Hawke was going to fix up the country, Hawke took great delight in responding "cuppla days" In 1988 Con released the single “A Cuppla Days” b/w “The Con Dance” (653148 7) for CBS. The two tracks were written and produced by Colin Hay & Greg Ham from Men At Work. 

Post 476 - Tony Monopoly – The Girl I’ll Never Know – Love And The World Loves With You

Born Antonio Rosario Monopoli in Adelaide, Australia, he was a regular on the national radio show Kangaroos on Parade at the age of nine. At the age of sixteen he became a Carmelite monk and remained in the order for five years. He was appearing at Caesar's Palace in Luton when he auditioned for Opportunity Knocks, a British television talent show, which he won on six consecutive occasions in the 1970s. By the early 1980s, Monopoly was frequently obliged to display his talents aboard cruise liners. "I lived on one yacht for a year," he said. "I went to 56 countries. I had champagne for breakfast. But I hated it" When fulfilling his increasingly rare engagements on dry land, he divided his time between Australia and the UK. He was headhunted for a musical while appearing in Cinderella at Hanley, near Stoke-on-Trent. Monopoly starred - in drag - in Moby Dick, the inaugural production at the newly refurbished Old Fire Station Theatre in Oxford. The show's success prompted Cameron Mackintosh to mount a 1992 West End production, that opened to scathing reviews and promptly closed, after which Monopoly portrayed Old Deuteronomy in a UK tour of Cats. Here to download is a single by Tony “The Girl I’ll Never Know” b/w “Love And The World Loves With You” (EA-9666) recorded for H.M.V. Records and produced by Howard Gable. I searched the net but can’t seem to find what year this was released. Monopoly died in Brighton, England on 21 March 1995.

Post 475 - Sparklers – Don’t Go Changing – Overworking

The Sparklers were a Sydney band formed in 1985 by ex-members of the Sunnyboys, Bill Bilson and Peter Oxley together with Chris Abrahams from the Jazzy Benders. They were managed by journalist Ed St.John. The band released 5 singles and one LP between ’85 and ’89. This single “Don’t Go Changing” b/w  “Overworking” (MB20197) was their last single in 1989 recorded for Mighty Boy Records produced by Les Karski and both sides of the record was penned by lead vocalist Melanie Oxley who is the sister of Sunnyboys front man & chief songwriter Jeremy Oxley. 

Post 474 - Tintookies – The Tintookie March – Imagine-Reprise

Peter Scriven played a huge role in establishing puppetry as a serious art form in Australia. His Tintookies and Little Fella Bindi toured all over Australasia. The Tintookies, from an Aboriginal word meaning 'little people who come from the sand hills', was an elaborate marionette musical first staged by creator Peter Scriven at the Elizabethan Theatre in Sydney in 1956. After the success of this production, Tintookie   became the generic name for any of the puppets used by the Marionette Theatre of Australia, formed by Scriven under the auspices of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1965.  After a spell in Singapore and Malaysia, Scriven returned to Sydney in 1973 as puppetry consultant to the Australian Council for the Arts. In late 1974 Scriven put together a new version of The Tintookies. Utilising around 100 near life-size marionettes, this was the biggest puppet production ever undertaken in Australia. It premiered at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne on 8 January 1975 and toured Asia in early 1976. In 1974 the Tiookies released a double A sided single here for you to download for Festival Records “The Tintookie March” b/w “Imagine-Reprise” (MX-46139). Many of the Tintookie marionettes now live in the archives of the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney.

Post 473 - The Two Man Band - Single Collection

"Up There Cazaly" is an Australian sporting catchphrase inspired by former St Kilda and South Melbourne great Roy Cazaly ("Up there Cazaly" was "a phrase that would be shouted by team mate Fred "Skeeter" Fleiter when he wanted Cazaly to go for a mark"). The expression later became the basis of a song recorded and composed by The Two Man Band (Mike Brady & Peter Sullivan). The song was recorded in 1979, intended as a promotion for Channel Seven's Australian Rules Football (VFL) coverage. The single, released on the Fable Records label, sold over 250,000 copies and became the largest-selling Australian single ever released up to that time. Peter Sullivan has written arrangements and produced albums for many of Australia’s leading artists including Pseudo Echo, Little River Band, Daryl Somers, Ricky May, Normie Rowe, The Seekers, Colleen Hewitt, Dennis Walter. Mike Brady was one-third of the 1960s pop act MPD Ltd. (which stood for Mike, Pete and Danny) which had hits with "Little Boy Sad" and "Lonely Boy". The band toured Australia and the U.K. He has written songs for popular Australian artists such as John Farnham and Tina Arena. He also wrote the song "Courage in their Eyes" for the Seven Network's Olympics coverage.  Here are the five singles released between 1979/85 “Up There Cazaly” b/w “The Winner’s March” (Fable-FB-329), “One Day In September” b/w “Look Up In The Sky” (7-MS-449), “There’s A Little Bit Of Cazaly In Us All” b/w “Twenty Five Years In The Outer” (Full Moon-FMS 2105), “We’re Gonna Grab That Cup” b/w “Hobart” (Fable-FB-1057) and “You Are Australian” b/w “ You Are Australian (Instrumental)” (Full Moon – FMS 1001)

Post 472 - The Revival – Viva Bobby Joe – Rudi’s In Love

Craig Scott was a former Dunedin bank clerk, who also had a strong interest in rock and roll. He started singing and playing bass guitar for Dunedin band, “The Klap”, and then joined Dunedin's top band, “Fantasy” in 1968. This group had relocated to Christchurch by the end of 1968. Shortly after arriving in Christchurch, Craig met up with four guys who had a band called “Blues Revival”. Craig joined them as vocalist and in February 1969, at the suggestion of Ray Columbus, they shortened their name to “Revival” and changed their image and repertoire. This had an immediate success for the group and in May 1969 they won the Christchurch section of the National Battle Of The Bands competition. This caught the attention of HMV's Peter Dawkins and he brought them to Wellington to record a single. The result was a cover of a current song by the Equals, and it outsold the original very well. The single was "Viva Bobby Joe" b/w "Rudi's In Love" (HR 377). The flip side was also a cover of a song by the British group Locomotive. The single made it to number 14 on the National charts in 1969. Although it was a success the band enjoyed, this pop style wasn't really what most of the members felt comfortable with, so when Craig was offered a solo career in April 1970, nobody else in the group minded and they broke up.

Post 471 - Doug Parkinson – Sailin’ (Sydney-Hobart) – Sailin’ (Sydney-Hobart)(Instrumental)

Douglas "Doug" Parkinson is 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. This single here for you is from 1984 “Sailin’ (Sydney-Hobart)” b/w “Sailin’ (Sydney-Hobart) (Instrumental)”
(OZ-1414) recorded on OZ Records. Produced by Peter J Martin who also co-wrote the song. The B side is credited to The Kites which I would assume was Doug’s backing band for this single. Engineered by Richard Lush and recorded at Paradise Studios, Sydney.

post 470 - Peter McKenna – Things To Remember – Lady Oh Lady

Peter McKenna was born on the 27th August 1946 in Brunswick West, Victoria, he is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Collingwood and Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. He also represented Devonport in the North West Football Union (NWFU), and Northcote, Port Melbourne and Geelong West in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). Regarded as one of the best full-forwards to ever play the game, McKenna holds the record for the longest sequence of matches in which he scored at least one goal: 120 matches. At his peak, Peter McKenna could lay claim to being the most popular footballer in the VFL – and, indeed, given the burgeoning impact of the mass media, almost certainly the most popular footballer ever in Australia up to that point. Not only was he a highly successful full forward playing for the nation's most popular sporting club, he possessed a Beatle-esque 'look' which, by the standards of the time, was an adman's dream. During this time, he recorded his first pop single “Things to Remember” b/w “Lady Oh Lady” (FB-031), written by Melbourne singer/songwriter Colin Buckley for Fable Records in 1970.

Post 469 - Little River Band - L.R.B. Rocks On For ANZ

This one sided 7” promotional single (played at 33 rpm) produced by the ANZ Bank around 1976. It is presented as though it is a radio program (stations 3XY / 2SM / 4IP get a mention). Little River Band perform two songs with lyrics about the services supplied by the ANZ. A tacky cross promotion LRB were roped in to doing to plug their "After Hours" album and up and coming Aussie talent while pushing the virtues of the ANZ bank. Probably the brainchild of some advertising execs as a way to encourage youth to open accounts with that bank. LRB's Glenn Shorrock and Beeb Birtles both sing  tracks about the ANZ Bank on this single. I also asked Beeb Birtles about this recording and this is what he told me....

Hi Garry,

All I can tell you is that when LRB first formed in 1975 we were all broke. We had just returned from England and went on the dole. To make some quick money we wrote and recorded some advertisements. The first one I wrote was for the Witchery chain and then we wrote some for the ANZ bank. I'm not sure why they pressed up singles of it.

Beeb.

Post 468 - Luigi Risotto – Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport - If I Should Plant A Tiny Seed Of Love

Mike Willesee had a character appear on his programme; a comedian who did an ethnic routine as "Luigi Risotto".  Colin McEwan, who migrated from Scotland as a child, was a long-time breakfast announcer on 3AK radio in Melbourne, where he created the character of taxi driver Luigi Risotto, and also made regular appearances on the TV variety program In Melbourne Tonight. In 1975 Luigi recorded a single for Fable Records a version of Rolf Harris’s “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” b/w  “If I Should Plant A Tiny Seed Of Love” (FB- 240). But McEwan was most popular for the stage and TV productions of the irreverent Naked Vicar Show in the 1970s and Kingswood Country in the 1980s, in which he played Datsun dealer Bob Bulpitt, the annoying brother of Kingswood-mad Ted Bulpitt.   He suffered a stroke in the late 1990s, which robbed him of the ability to mould his rich, deep voice, effectively ending his career. On the 21 August 2005, McEwan, 64, lost his battle with liver cancer. Colin is survived by wife Rae and his son David. 

Post 467-Punkz - Anyway You Want It - I Can’t Control Myself

 Punkz came to the attention of Glenn A. Baker who also managed Ol'55. Mushroom Records issued  "Anyway You Want It" b/w “I Can’t Control Myself” (K-6631), in 1976 and "Take Me For What I'm Worth" 1977. Neither song made an impact on the charts. Soon after, the band changed its name to Cheek and covered The Mighty Avengers' "So Much In Love" which can be found at post # 84. 

Post 466 - North 2 Alaskans – Love Machine / Take A Letter Maria /Gonks Go Beat / That Freaky Gonk Thang

North 2 Alaskans featured Spencer P Jones  (later of The Johnnies and Beasts of Bourbon),  16 string fretless sitar, vocals, Frank Savage on vocals, double cutaway medieval dulcimer, Johnny Toppe bass, vocals, Steve Watson  single string lute, vocals, Jimi Williams guitar, keyboard,  vocals . They  were billed as the World’s first Psychedelic Cabaret Combo. Both these singles were released in 1982 “Love Machine” (MISS 36) ON Missing Link Records  was recorded by The Roosters and The Pastoral Symphony, both Aussie groups. The B side was a cover of R. B. Greaves 1969 single. The second single “Gonks Go Beat” (LRS-746) released on Green Records features a great version of Tommy James’s Crimson & Clover with a touch of Issi Dy’s Incense mixed in. I once heard  that they were a last minute booking after the hard rock band "No Fear" cancelled at the last minute at the Dee Why Hotel. Needless to say the audience were absolutely dumbstruck when they saw North 2 Alaskans. It was one of those amazing never to forget nights.

Post 465 - Ol'55 - Open Top Cars & Girls In Tight T-Shirts LP

There’s not much I haven’t already said about Ol’55 in resent posts, this LP released on J&B Records in 1986 holds a collection of 50 and 60’s classics done the Ol’55 way. The band at this time held Rock Pile Jones, Patrick Drummond, Terry Bellew, Geoff Plummer, Donny A. Dee and Mick Simmons. The LP was produced by Rich Griner and engineered by Joe Arthur. They also do a 1986 version of “This Little Girl” and “On The Prowl.” Drummer Geoff Plummer died on 2 February 2006.  Here to download is “Open Top Cars & Girls In Tight T-Shirts” (JB266).  

Post 464 - Rory O'Donoghue - Fatty Finn EP

Fatty Finn, is a popular long-run Australian comic strip, was created in the early 1920s by Syd Nicholls. The strip was initially called Fat and His Friends and was first published in the Sunday News on 16 September 1923. Fat appeared as a Billy Bunterish almost bald, nasty schoolboy, complete with straw boater. Fat was usually the butt of his friend's jokes, with those early strips exhibiting much of the cruelty practiced by children and reflecting a school system which believed in corporal punishment. On August 1924 the title of the strip was changed to Fatty Finn, heralding a change in the strip's direction and the role of the main character, who evolved from an English boy lookalike into a knockabout schoolboy innocently living out his days in a never-never urban world. Over the next few years, Fatty gradually lost weight, gained a boy scout style uniform, a dog ('Pal'), a goat ('Hector') and permanent supporting characters including Headlights Hogan, Lolly Legs, Bruiser and Mr. Claffey the policeman. Fatty adopted a more heroic role and the comic moved closer to the standard 'kid' strip with a distinct Australian flavor.

In 1980 the strip was adapted into a feature film, Fatty Finn, directed by Maurice Murphy. The film grossed $1,064,000 at the box office in Australia and was nominated for seven Australian Film Institute Awards in 1981, including Best Original Music Score, which it won. The movie starred Bert Newton, Lorraine Bayly, Gerard Kennedy, Noni Hazlehurst and Ben Oxenbould who later played the character "Ben" in the sitcom, Hey Dad..!

Rory O’Donoghue & Grahame Bond penned the songs for the Soundtrack and the EP was released in 1980 on Polydor Records - apparently without the consent of O’Donoghue and Bond. O’Donoghue’s parents, Terence and Sybil O’Donoghue, who were with D’Oyly Carte Opera in London, both sing on the soundtrack.

Post 463 - The Prefects – Wait Until Midnight / Little Boys

The Prefects, discovered by music Guru Ian Meldrum, is one of the most successful to emerge from Perth. Dressed in school boy uniforms was leader Doug Allmark on bass and lead vocals, along with Brad Mack on key boards, Bob Johnson drums, Angela Jones vocals, Tony Serraro bass and guitarist Rod Stone. They recorded two singles, the one here for you to download “Wait Until Midnight” b/w “Little Boys” (K-8487) in 1981 on Infinity Records and “I Wanna Make Love” in 1882. Allmark penned both sides of this single as well as produced the record with Peter Grondman and Ross Cockie.

Post 462 - Set - Draggin' The Line / Sparkling Eyes

“Set” is one of those Aussie bands that there is no information out there anywhere it seems. Recorded in 1976 for Fable Records and produced by Warwick Thomas & Engineered by Kevin Kerr “Set” gave us a great cover of Tommy James’s 1971 hit “Draggin’ The Line” b/w “Sparkling Eyes” (FB-265). This is the only record “Set” ever recorded according to all my books but there is no entry of where the Band was based or any known members. Like I have said many other times with bands like this maybe someone out there in internet land knows something about these guys and will enlighten us more.