After the demise of Daddy Cool and Mighty Kong, Ross Hannaford formed Billy T with Joe Creighton in Queensland, and later joined up with Russell Smith (Company Caine) and Mick Holden (The Mixtures), playing a mixture of Reggae, Soul, Funk and Rock in Melbourne. They released 3 singles and their debut LP 'No Definitions'.
As their bass player Joe Creighton recalls on his blog: "..around 1975, I hooked up with Ross Hannaford and we formed Billy T. Billy T was a unique band in that it broke the mold of standard Aussie rock in pubs. With our own brand of blue-eyed soul and reggae we had quite a successful run in the Australian pub circuit. Our tour support with legendary US band 'Little Feat' cemented our profile as the band most likely to do it in '76. Unfortunately Ross and I kept floating off to the US and Europe to play for Maharaj Ji and Billy T suffered the consequences of our absences. The rest of the band basically got jack of it and I can't remember if we got sacked or if we called it quits. But whatever, the band eventually dissolved."
Band Members:
Ross Hannaford (Guitar, Vocals)
Joe Creighton (Bass, Vocals)
Mick Holden (Drums, Vocals)
Geoff Maling (Percussion)
Russell Smith (Guitar, Vocals)
Neal McPherson (Keyboards)
First time I have come across Billy T - their sound was a lot smoother and more funkier than many of the other groups that were playing on the pub circuit in the mid-1970's. Unfortunately the hard rock tradition made it hard for them to have commercial success - their first two singles "(Gotta) Keep on Dancing" and "Baby I Need Your Lovin," stalled in the lower end of the national Top 100 chart, while "I Am What You Are" didn't make the chart at all.
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