The Angels - A Collection (1977 - 1998)

 

The Angels are an Australian rock band that formed in 1974 in Adelaide as the Keystone Angels with Bernard "Doc" Neeson on lead vocals and bass guitar, John Brewster on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, his brother Rick Brewster on lead guitar and backing vocals, and Peter "Charlie" King on drums. In 1976, King was replaced by Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup on drums, Chris Bailey took over bass duties so Neeson could focus solely on vocals, and they changed their name to just 'the Angels'. 

Their studio albums that peaked in the Australian top 10 are No Exit (1979), Dark Room (1980), Night Attack (1981), Two Minute Warning (1984), Howling (1986) and Beyond Salvation (1990). Their top 20 singles are "No Secrets" (1980), "Into the Heat" (1981), "We Gotta Get out of This Place" (1987), "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" (live, 1988), "Let the Night Roll On" and "Dogs Are Talking" (both 1990).

They were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in October 1998 with the line-up of Bailey, John and Rick Brewster, Eccles and Neeson. Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane declared that "The Angels had a profound effect on the Australian live music scene of the late 1970's/early 1980's. [They] helped redefine the Australian pub rock tradition... [their] brand of no-frills, hard-driving boogie rock attracted pub goers in unprecedented numbers. In turn, The Angels' shows raised the standard expected of live music. After 20 years on the road, the band showed little sign of easing up on the hard rock fever." Chris Bailey died of throat cancer on 4 April 2013, aged 62. Doc Neeson died of a brain tumour on 4 June 2014, aged 67.

The current line-up are touring Australia with their 50th anniversary tour in 2025.

The Angels (1977)

Face To Face (1978)

The Tour EP (1978)

No Exit (1979)

Out of the Blue EP (1979)

Dark Room (1980)

Live - Denver, Colorado (1980)

Greatest Hits (1980)

Live At The El Mocambo (1980)

Live - Melbourne (1980)

Night Attack (1981)

Two Minute Warning (1984)

Howling (1986)

LiveLine (1988)

Beyond Salvation (1989)

Red Back Fever (1991)

Their Finest Hour..and Then Some (1992)

Evidence (1994)

Skin and Bone (1998)

Billy Thorpe - A Collection

 

William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Ivy", "Over the Rainbow", "Sick and Tired", "Baby, Hold Me Close" and "Mashed Potato"; and in the 1970s with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Featuring in concerts at Sunbury Pop Festivals and Myer Music Bowl in the early 1970s, the Aztecs also developed the pub rock scene and were one of the loudest groups in Australia.

Thorpe also performed as a solo artist. He relocated to America from 1976 to 1996; after moving, he released the space opera Children of the Sun, which peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Album chart in 1979. He worked with ex-Aztec Tony Barber to form a soft toy company in 1987 and co-wrote stories for The Puggle Tales and Tales from the Lost Forests. Thorpe also worked as a producer and composed music scores for TV series including War of the Worlds, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Columbo, Eight Is Enough and Hard Time on Planet Earth.

Thorpe returned to Australia in 1996 and continued as a performer and producer, additionally he wrote two autobiographies, Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll (1996) and Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy) (1998). According to Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane, "Thorpie evolved from child star, beat pop sensation and cuddly pop crooner to finally emerge as the country's wildest and heaviest blues rocker. Thorpie was the unassailable monarch of Australian rock music". Thorpe was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1991. He died of a heart attack in February 2007 and was posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June for his contribution to music as a musician, songwriter and producer.

This collection features Billy's releases post his 1960's career.

The Hoax Is Over (1971)

Live At Sunbury (1972)

Downunda with Warren Morgan (1973)

More Arse Than Class (1974, remastered 2006)

Million Dollar Bill (1975)

Pick Me Up and Play Me Loud (1976)

Children of the Sun (1979)

21st Century Man (1980)

Stimulation (1981)

East of Eden's Gate (1982)

Shakin' the Cage (with Mick Fleetwood's ZOO) (1992)

Lock Up Your Mothers (1994)

Live ! At Sunbury (remastered 2005)

Solo: The Last Recordings (2007)

Tangier (2010)

Australian Rock 71-72 Vol.1 Collectors Album - Havoc label vinyl release

This is a vinyl rip from an album released on the Havoc label in the early 1970's. It features several Havoc label artists of the time such as Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Carson and The Wild Cherries featuring Lobby Loyde.

These are the original album liner notes:

Australian Rock has fought long and hard for recognition.  The medium that has been directly responsible for Rock culture is radio. Most Australian radio is modeled on American and than anything else has shaped the audience and the criticism of Australian Rock.

To compete in the play list war, an Australian musical group has to deliver an American or English sounding rock number. This retarding condition is now beginning to change. Australian Rock has a high energy potential - the same high energy potential that was found in early Little Richard, Presley, Berry and Domino rock. The same high energy potential as early English rock by the Animals, Stones, Kinks and some Beatle Rockers. Other high energy potential groups were Cream, Hendrix, Yardbirds and The Who.

American and English Rock differ in their high energy potential distribution and Australian Rock differs from both of these by its high energy rhythm sections with high density colour trips. Australian Rock is at last becoming noticed by the Australian media and the Australian audience. Given time, Australian Rock will be heard and appreciated everywhere . So - "Watch out World".
Lobby Loyde - September 72.

Australian Rock

Track Listing:
01 - Dawn Song (Aztecs)
02 - Traveling South (Carson)
03 - Pattern Of My Life (Michael Turner In Session)
04 - Time To Live (Aztecs)
05 - Moonshine (Carson)
06 - Slowest Guitar On Earth (Lobby Loyde)
07 - Most People I Know (Aztecs)
08 - Liberate Rock (Lobby Loyde and the Coloured Balls)
09 - Cold Feet (Chook)
10 - Don't Worry (Carson)
11 - I Am The Sea (Wild Cherries)
12 - Just Around Midnight (Michael Turner In Session)
[Bonus Missing Tracks]
13 - Daily Planet (Wild Cherries)
14 - Regulation Puff (Aztecs)

https://youtu.be/5BFNk7QUZ9w

The Glory Days of Aussie Pub Rock Vol.2....various artists compilation

Volume 2 of The Glory Days of Aussie Pub Rock gathers once again gathers the cream of Aussie Rock from the 70's, 80's and 90's. 

It features different tracks from the much the same list of big names as last time and much much more. That list of big names is massive. Cold Chisel, The Angels, Men at Work, Australian Crawl, the Sports, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons, Mental As Anything, Split Enz, Sunnyboys, Screaming Jets, Rose Tattoo, the Radiators, Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls, the Dingoes, Ian Moss, Goanna, Dragon, Flowers, Noiseworks, Hunters & Collectors, Skyhooks (their lone post-Shirl hit 'Over the Border'), Baby Animals, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, TMG, Dragon, Dave Warner's From the Suburbs, Choirboys, Richard Clapton, the Saints, the Reels, Mi-Sex, Mondo Rock, the Models, The Badloves (with Jimmy Barnes), Matt Finish, V Spy V Spy, Uncanny X-Men, Warumpi Band, Weddings Parties Anything, Russell Morris, Black Sorrows; all these and more are represented by tracks that not only shook pub walls back in the day but pumped out of transistor radios and, in most cases, Sunday night ABC TV screens too. 

Also featured are plenty of big names who weren't included last time, including the Hoodoo Gurus, Jim Keays with his 1975 remake of 'Undecided', Ol'55, Kings of the Sun, Daddy Cool (with the rare 1975 comeback single 'All I Wanna Do Is Rock'), Little River Band, Mother Goose, Kevin Borich Express, Rose Tattoo slide guitarist Peter Wells' brilliant 'Between the Saddle and the Ground', Little Heroes with 'One Perfect Day', indigenous reggae-rock trailblazers No Fixed Address with 'Black Man's Rights', Vika & Linda rocking up a storm on a song that Paul Kelly wrote but never recorded with the Dots 'I Didn't Know Love Could Be Mine', Sydney '80s faves Flaming Hands, the Riptides and Dynamic Hepnotics, Melbourne mainstays Nick Barker & The Reptiles, Mike Rudd & the Heaters and the Spaniards (featuring Billy Miller & Mick Pealing), and glam-era pub favourites Hush, Taste and Supernaut. 

Other noteworthy tracks include rare singles by Stars (1976's 'With A Winning Hand', which never appeared on an album) and post-Ol'55 power poppers the Breakers who featured in the original 'Puberty Blues' movie, and the first ever reissue of anything by Gary Young & the Rocking Emus (the great single 'Rockabilly Heaven', featuring the great Daddy Cool/Jo Jo Zep drummer together with late fellow DC members Wayne Duncan and Ross Hannaford). There's also the rare but great 1971 single 'If You Got It' by legendary Adelaide group Fraternity, featuring Bon Scott on vocals. 

The collection ends with the Party Boys and John Swan - John had replaced Bon in Fraternity - who together give us an idea of what AC/DC might've sounded like if Swanee had also replaced Bon (or Brian) in AC/DC, with a ripping 'High Voltage.'

A sheer smörgåsbord for lovers of classic Aussie Rock!

see also blog post for Vol.1: https://theaussiemusicblog.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-glory-days-of-aussie-pub-rockvol1.html

available on Amazon HERE:

one times  x two times x three times x four

Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs....the "heavy" version...Lock Up Your Mothers

Billy Thorpe himself openly acknowledged that the 'heavy' version of the Aztecs owed much to 'guitar hero' Lobby Loyde. Lloyde already had a cult following due to his stints in two of the most original Australian bands of the 1960's, The Purple Hearts and The Wild Cherries. While his stint in the new Aztecs was short (from December 1968 to January 1971), his musical influence proved crucial in steering Thorpe in a completely new direction, and he strongly encouraged Thorpe to keep playing guitar.

The new Aztecs' blues-based heavy-rock repertoire was dramatically different in style from the original group, and they quickly became famous (or notorious) for the ear-splitting volume at which they played. Thorpe had also drastically changed his appearance—he grew a beard, often wore his now shoulder-length hair braided in a pigtail, and he had long since traded the tailored suits for jeans and T-shirts. Needless to say this did not endear him to people who came to the shows expecting the 'old' Billy Thorpe of the "Poison Ivy" era, and this led to sometimes violent confrontations with disgruntled fans and promoters.

Their breakthrough recording was an ambitious album, The Hoax Is Over, recorded in September 1970 with new drummer Kevin Murphy. The album was an unequivocal signal of the Aztecs' new direction, containing only four tracks, three of which were Thorpe originals. The LP is dominated by two extended tracks: a version of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Gangster of Love", which clocked in at 24:35 and ran the entire length of Side 1 (an unprecedented move in Australian pop music) and Thorpe's own "Mississippi" which ran 19'35". According to Thorpe, the band (which at this time comprising himself, Murphy, pianist Warren Morgan, guitar legend Lobby Loyde and bassist Paul Wheeler), were all high on LSD and jammed continuously while engineer Ernie Rose just let the tapes roll. The result heralded the fully-fledged arrival of the new Aztecs and live shows at Melbourne venues consolidated the band's reputation and drew enthusiastic responses.

Lock Up Your Mothers

Yes Yes Whatever reveal new single 'Mushrooms'...breakneck speed rocker!

Melbourne garage rockers Yes Yes Whatever are set to release new single ‘Mushrooms’, the unruly new follow-up to debut single ‘Lacklustre’.

‘Mushrooms’ is a boisterous race from start to finish, a bruising punk-infused riff and contagious chorus set off by punchy, undeniably danceable percussion. The band’s knack for the anecdotal is in full force, shining through in their trademark tongue-in-cheek, self-aware lyrics.

Front man Oscar Galt describes the essence of the track:

"Mushrooms is a cautionary tale exploring the ramifications of experimentation with psychedelics when young and impressionable. It's essentially about losing your mind while your more relaxed friends remain unaffected, and how that changes you."

"A rocker that just chugs along at breakneck speed and by the time you recover the only thing left to do is hit that replay button" We All Want Someone to Shout For (USA)






The band spent late 2017 carving out their niche in the Melbourne music scene, winning attention for their irreverent perspective and brazen sound. Off the back of single ‘Lacklustre’, they cut their live teeth supporting the likes of RAT!Hammock, Househats and BATZ, making appearances at venues such as The Old Bar, Melbourne and The Workers Club, Geelong.

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Malcolm Young...1953-2017 RIP...AC/DC guitarist/songwriter..the quiet force behind the riffs

Malcolm Mitchell Young (6 January 1953 – 18 November 2017) was a Scottish-Australian musician and songwriter, best known as a co-founder, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the hard rock band AC/DC. Except for a brief absence in 1988, he was with the band from its November 1973 beginning until retiring in 2014 for health reasons. Young and the other members of AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

Influenced by 1950's rock and roll and blues-based rock guitarists of the 1960's and 1970's, Young was regarded as a leading rock exponent of rhythm guitar. He is the subject of a song (and album) title by Australian punk rock band Frenzal Rhomb: "Forever Malcolm Young".

Guitar Player magazine has stated that the secret to Young's guitar technique was playing open chords through a series of Marshalls set to low volume with little or no gain. This is contrary to a common belief of many rock guitarists that rhythm guitar should involve loud and over driven power chords through large amplifiers.


Dave Mustaine of Megadeth stated in a 2004 interview that he considered himself, Young, and James Hetfield of Metallica to be the best rhythm guitarists in the world.

Though his younger brother Angus was the more visible of the brothers, Malcolm was described as the driving force and the leader of the band. In 2014, he stated that despite his retirement from the band, AC/DC was determined to continue making music with his blessing. As the rhythm guitarist, he was responsible for the broad sweep of the band's sound, developing many of their guitar riffs and co-writing the band's material with Angus. He was married to Linda Young and had two children, Cara and Ross.

Young took a leave of absence from AC/DC in April 2014, to receive treatment for dementia. In September 2014, the band's management announced that he would be retiring permanently. He died on 18 November 2017.

Full story HERE

Greatest Hits

Backtracks

THE ART release stunning, cosmic video clip for new single "Thinking About the Universe"

THE ART’s latest abstract has arrived in the form of the official music video for their latest single, Thinking About The Universe, shot by The Media Collective (producer Sze Wun Lau, director Tanzeal Rahim, and DOP Andrew Grant) in Sydney as the band prepared for their East Coast tour of the same name, in support of their latest album, All in the Mind.

Thinking About The Universe, written by Azaria Byrne, is about being in another dimension while surrounded by murmurs of the mundane, with a brattish retaliation to wasted words and dross.  Known for their pandemonium and anthemic songwriting, The Art deliver their honest and expressive lyricism with a sonic diversity that always leaves their live audience wanting more and more – and is anything but mundane. 

ALL IN THE MIND is available now via iTunes (for digital) and the SFR Store (for physical and fan bundles). 
 
GET ALL IN THE MIND BY THE ART:
SFR Store (fan bundles) | http://bit.ly/TA-AITM-SFR
iTunes | http://bit.ly/TA-AITM-iTunes
 
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download FREE information sheet HERE