Post 725 - Mental As Anything - Silent Night - Wooden Heart

Mental As Anything doing a Live, acoustic and busking set on “Good Afternoon Australia”, Dec 21 1984. Mental As Anything, now consisting of Greedy Smith (vocals/keyboards), Martin Cilia (guitars), Jacob Cook (drums), Craig Gordon (vocals/guitars) and Peter Gray (vocals/bass), played a special 40th anniversary show at Surfersaurus in Sydney, during October 2018. Smith was by this point the only original member of Mental As Anything to still be playing with the group. Sadly "Greedy" Smith died of a heart attack on 2 December 2019, in Sydney. Smith's final show with the band -- and the band's last show to date -- took place on 23 November in Werrington, New South Wales.

UPDATE - Unfortunately this is the only Christmas post for this year, I have had a few technical issues   with computers more than I would like to mention but fingers crossed the Blog will be up and running full steam in 20/20. Wishing you all a fantastic Christmas and a great New Year. Ozzie. Flac

Post 724 - Mata Hari - Gypsy - Easy

Mata Hari was a band formed in Newcastle in on or around 1970, they played mainly cover songs. Their only record was a cover of a 'Van Morrison' song "Gypsy. This was backed by an original penned by lead guitarist Greg Callan and singer Jim Stanes, called "Easy".(Polydor 2079 026 ) It was a minor hit on the local radio station 2NX, now NXFM and 2KO, now KO-FM. They developed a bit of a name as a 'good time rock and roll band', through their high powered stage act, fronted by Jim Stanes, who was with them all the way to the final gig at Wangi Wangi Workers Club on 23-8-1975. I got this bit of info from a web site by their roadie John, if you follow the link at the end of this you will read a lot more about the band with photos, song list, line ups, where they are now and heaps more it’s really worth a look. It’s a pity that all Aussie bands big or small haven’t got a page like this, a real credit to John the roadie.   Thanks again to Tim for another rare gem for the Blog.  Flac  http://www.newcastlebandsdatabase.com.au/bands/MataHari.html

Post 723 - Jim Cooper - The Great Sydney Harbour Ferry Boat Race - Save Some History For Me

“The Great Sydney Harbour Ferry Boat Race” has been part of Sydney's Australia Day celebrations since 1981. Jim Cooper is an Aussie entertainer who has been around for quite a while. He recorded his first LP for Col Joye's ATA Records in 1977. This 45 was released in on the obscure Wheel Records label, SMX 54986.The B side was a song protesting the destruction of historic city buildings. This single was taken from the Flexi Disc released on the Ambassador label in 1980. Track 2 “Save Some History For Me” or its information is not listed anywhere on the label. Jim was quoted saying “I still remember being asked to write this song long before the first race took place.. It is an honour to be a part of this iconic event. The record was engineered by Steve Adams with the B side Engineered by David Cafe and Steve Adams (not on label). Thanks to Tim for giving me this for the Blog. Flac

Post 722 - Ber-Dum Ber-Dum - Love Potion No. XXX - Time Will Tell

I contacted my friend Rod Crundwell who was a member of this band and here's what he told me...... 

Thanks for your interest in Berdum Berdum! Hope you enjoy the record. The band was popular around Avalon and the northern beaches from 1983 to 1985. They were regulars at local venues such as Moby Dicks, Avalon RSL and many more, and always attracted a loyal following. The name came from a line in the Buzcocks song 'Boredom' where Pete Shelley shouts 'berdum, berdum' in the outro. The repertoire was mainly original, the writing shared between guitarist Phill Tate, bassist Sean Crawley and keyboard player Rod Crundwell. They were influenced by new wave/punk bands (e.g. The Stranglers) but also had a strong pop sensibility and a focus on harmonies. The original drummer was Craig Hartmann, who left and was replaced by James Barton. Their one and only single Love Potion xxx (P.Tate) b/w Time will Tell (R Crundwell) (PW-101) was recorded at ex/Sherbet guitarist Clive Shakespeare's studio and produced by the mysterious and enigmatic Arnold Stigheardt. The record performed well on the independent charts and was frequently played on 2JJJ. Although they went their separate ways in 1985 the band is still fondly remembered by many on the Peninsula.

Regards Rod. Flac

Post 721 - Supernaut - The Singles 1976 - '79

“Supernaut” were formed as Moby Dick, a pub rock group, by British-born brothers Chris Burnham on guitar and Joe Burnham on drums. Fellow British immigrant, Gary Twinn, joined on lead vocals in late 1974. Soon after Randall Murphy took up bass guitar and they changed their name to Supernaut. The name references, "Supernaut" (September 1972), a track by British heavy metal group, Black Sabbath.  The group relocated to Melbourne and were signed to Polydor Records in 1976 upon recommendation from Molly Meldrum, In May 1976 they released their debut single, "I Like It Both Ways", which was produced by Meldrum. The song was initially shunned by some commercial radio stations in Sydney because of its controversial lyrics, however promotion on Meldrum's TV pop music show, Countdown, encouraged radio stations to play the track. "I Like It Both Ways" peaked at No. 16. Randall Murphy left the group in June 1976, "citing mutual disagreement", he was temporarily replaced by Little Russ Silver and more permanently by Philip Foxman in late August. Murphy returned to Perth.  A follow up single, "Too Hot to Touch", was released in September 1976, reaching No. 14 on the charts. Their self-titled debut LP was released in mid-November 1976 and peaked at No. 13, achieving double gold certification. The group were presented with the TV Week King of Pop Award for Best Australian TV Performer (on Countdown) and for Most Popular New Group of 1976. By November they had supported gigs by "Lou Reed, Suzie Quatro and Sweet. In 1977 the band released two original singles, "Young and Innocent” and "The Kids Are out Tonight” and a cover version of the Rolling Stones "Let's Spend the Night Together" . They worked extensively on recording sessions for a proposed second album; working titles included Exile and Test Pressing. "The Kids Are out Tonight" came from those sessions. After more than a year they realised their music style was out of touch and the project was abandoned. In April 1978 they released another single, "Unemployed", before leaving Polydor. The group relocated to Sydney and were signed to Robie Porter's Wizard Records in mid-1978; they returned to their original pub rock influences, "[they] adopted a quasi-punk/new-wave direction". With the addition of Noel Kennedy on keyboard, they released, "Spies” in December 1978. They shortened their name to the Nauts in April 1979 and released, "Black Market World". They followed with a new album produced by Robie Porter, under that name in December 1979. They disbanded by March 1980. Two years later Gary Twinn was back in the United Kingdom where he formed Twenty Flight Rockers with former Generation X drummer Mark Laff, and later played with rock supergroup, the International Swingers. Chris Burnham played in The Saints with Chris Bailey from 1982 and 1989. Philip Foxman formed Illustrated Man in 1984 with Japan member Rob Dean, Gary Numan keyboardist Roger Mason, and Hugo Burnham from Gang of Four. They recorded one self-titled album and toured the UK and US with their single, "Head Over Heels", charting the top 20 on MTV's dance charts. Foxman later had a solo career releasing two albums, West 4th and Charles and Up Antenna, as well as being a musical composer for Off Broadway show, Atomic, which ran for a limited season at the Acorn Theater, New York City. Supernaut reformed for the Countdown Spectacular 2 Tour of Australia from late-August to early-September 2007. In 2016 Supernaut commemorated the 40th anniversary of "I Like It Both Ways" with a three-day tour from 16 to 18 June, followed by another show on 25 June at Charles Hotel in Perth. Here to download are all their singles from 1976 / 1979. A big thanks to Peter for sending me his singles to fix up for this post.Flac

Post 720 - Supernaut - I Like It Both Ways

Supernaut were an Australian glam pop band from Perth. Formed as a pub rock group, Moby Dick, by British-born brothers Chris Burnham on guitar and Joe Burnham on drums, they were joined late in 1974 by fellow immigrant, Gary Twinn on lead vocals. After Randall Murphy joined on bass guitar they changed their name. The group's debut single, "I Like It Both Ways” 1976, was produced by Molly Meldrum and was heavily promoted on Countdown. Here for you to download is their first greatest album from 1995 “I Like It Both Ways” (AURUM001) released on Aureate Records. The album was released again in 2016 as “The Best Of Supernaut” in digital download only.Flac

Post 719 - Joe Blow - Leonardo Da Vinci Was A Groover - The House Of China Restaurant

Another one of those recordings that seems no one knows anything about. Joe Blow  single from 1982 released of EMI Records “Leonardo Da Vinci Was A Groover” b/w ” The House Of China Restaurant” (EMI 768). The single was produced by Dave Skinner singer and musician he has been involved with bands since the mid '60s in the UK, written and collaborated on hit records and international covers as well as producing singles and albums for Australian artists.  Dave lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. It’s a Pity I haven’t got as much info on Joe! And like I often say maybe someone out there will enlighten us soon. Flac