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Sunday, October 30, 2016

Gwyn Ashton, ex Adelaide (UK based) high-energy, blues performer, new album release

Gwyn Ashton, Chris Finnen and Peter Buelke's new album "Ragas, Jugs and Mojo Hands" is a beautifully crafted exotic blend of acoustic blues and world music, infused with an unmistakable Australian flavour.

Recorded in Noarlunga, South Australia, this foot-stompin’, hand-clappin’ celebration of roots music will draw the listener in on a mesmerizing cross-continental sonic journey.

album sampler promo video

Ashton and Finnen, two kindred-spirit musicians, both inductees of the South Australian Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame and friends for 35 years, join together for the first time on record. With Melbourne musician Peter Beulke on upright bass, they form a formidable partnership, evoking a tapestry of varied cultural influences, weaving the sounds of Indian, Arabic and African in traditions into the album. Recorded live, first or second take, this spontaneous session involved no rehearsal or pre-production.

Ashton has spent the past 30 years touring Australia and Europe, recording with some of the biggest names in blues and rock including musicians from Deep Purple, Robert Plant’s and Rory Gallagher’s bands and touring with artists such as Buddy Guy, Mick Taylor, Peter Green and many more. His contribution to this album includes material written on the road through Poland, the Czech Republic and the UK.

Find out more on WEBSITE HERE

jamming with Kevin Borich

download FREE 6 minute album sampler HERE

December tour dates:

11 - Vic, St Kilda, Elwood Blues Club (solo)

12 - Vic, Frankston, Bar 12 (solo)

15 - NSW, Sydney, Frankie's Pizza (solo)

17 - NSW, Wollongong, Beaches (solo)

18 - NSW, Sydney, Lazybones (solo)

22 - Vic, St Kilda, Dog's Bar (solo)

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Saturday, September 24, 2016

Cold Chisel...You're Thirteen EP 1977 and Live in Sydney 1978

Originally named Orange, Cold Chisel formed in Adelaide in 1973 as a heavy-metal cover-band comprising bassist Les Kaczmarek, keyboard player Don Walker, guitarist Ian Moss and drummer Steve Prestwich. Seventeen-year-old singer Jimmy Barnes joined in December 1973, taking leave from the band in 1975 for a brief stint as Bon Scott's replacement in Fraternity.

The group changed its name several times before settling on Cold Chisel in 1974 after writing a song with that title. Barnes' relationship with other band members was volatile; as a Scot he often came to blows with Liverpool-born Prestwich and he left the band several times. During these periods Moss would handle vocals until Barnes returned. Walker soon emerged as Cold Chisel's primary songwriter. Walker spent 1974 in Armidale, completing his studies, and in 1975 Kaczmarek left the band and was replaced by Phil Small. Barnes' older brother John Swan was a member of Cold Chisel around this time, providing backing vocals and percussion but after several violent incidents he was fired.

In May 1976, Cold Chisel relocated to Melbourne but found little success, moving on to Sydney in November. Six months later, in May 1977, Barnes announced he would quit Cold Chisel in order to join Swan in Feather, a hard-rocking blues band that had evolved from an earlier group called Blackfeather. A farewell performance in Sydney went so well that the singer changed his mind. The following month the Warner Music Group picked up Cold Chisel.

Full biography on Wikipedia HERE

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Saturday, May 7, 2016

Stars...Land of Fortune...1979 album..featuring "Redneck Boogie"

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Friday, September 4, 2015

Stars...Paradise...debut album from 1977

Stars were a country and rock band formed in Adelaide, South Australia in 1975 and disbanded in 1979. Founding members were Glyn Dowding on drums; Malcolm Eastick on guitar and vocals; Mick Pealing on vocals; and Graham Thompson on bass guitar. They were joined by guitarist, songwriter, Andrew Durant in 1976 and relocated to Melbourne. Thompson then left and was replaced by a succession of bass guitarists including Roger McLachlan (ex-Little River Band) and Ian McDonald.

They were touted as the "rock'n'roll cowboys" and played the local pub and club circuit. They were noticed by Little River Band's guitarist Beeb Birtles and were signed to Mushroom Records. Birtles produced their debut single, "Quick on the Draw" which reached the Australian Kent Music Report top 30 in July 1976. Their second single, "With a Winning Hand" peaked into the top 40 in October.

The band's debut album, Paradise, peaked at No. 11 on the Australian Kent Music Report in 1978 and included their highest charting single "Look After Yourself" which reached No. 21 on the related singles chart. Their second album, Land of Fortune, was released in 1979 but did not reach the Top 50. By that time Durant had been diagnosed with cancer, the band had their last performance on 5 November and Durant died on 6 May 1980 at age 25. A tribute performance by Stars members and other Australian acts followed in August and a double-LP, Andrew Durant Memorial Concert was released in 1981. It peaked at No. 8 on the albums chart with proceeds donated to Andrew Durant Cancer Research Foundation.

Post Stars, Eastick joined Broderick Smith's Big Combo (1979–1982) and later provided guitar for different artists including Max Merritt and Jimmy Barnes. Pealing formed his own band Mick Pealing and the Ideals (1980–1981), they were also a backing band for Renée Geyer, he then formed The Spaniards (1983–1986) and worked with other artists including Eastick. McLachlan toured with Cliff Richard in 1978, worked with John Farnham (1987–1988), briefly rejoined Little River Band (1998–1999) and was a member of Mighty Oz Rock with Pealing in 2004.

click here for more information

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Wendy Saddington and Copperwine Live 1971..rare release from sensual blues and soul vocalist

Wendy June Saddington also known as Gandharvika Dasi (26 September 1949 – 21 June 2013) was an Australian blues, soul and jazz singer, and was in the bands Chain, Copperwine and the Wendy Saddington Band. She wrote for teen pop newspaper Go-Set from September 1969 to September 1970 as an agony aunt in her weekly "Takes Care of Business" column, and as a feature writer. Saddington had Top 30 chart success with her 1972 solo single "Looking Through a Window", which was written and produced by Billy Thorpe and Warren Morgan of the Aztecs. After adopting Krishna Consciousness in the 1970s she took the name, Gandharvika Dasi. In March 2013 she was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and died on 21 June 2013, aged 63. An underrated talent and very sad loss.

Wendy Saddington's musical influences included the likes of Bessie Smith, Etta James, Mahalia Jackson, Odetta, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin, and the raw blues from the Mississippi delta, along with the swanky soul coming from the American Stax, Atlantic and Motown labels. There was also something of the vulnerability of Edith Piaf in Wendy's pleading, bleeding vocal entreaties.

Saddington first came to notice in Melbourne psych-soul outfit The Revolution, before swiftly joining Adelaide's psychedelic/classically flavoured James Taylor Move around late 1967. When Wendy joined the emerging blues-rock ensemble Beaten Tracks, which she named (The) Chain, after the song by one of her heroines, Aretha Franklin's soul classic, "Chain Of Fools". Wendy spent around 18 months touring with Chain, and it was during this time that her passionate, earth-mother Joplin/Franklin vocal style came to prominent notice among promoters and punters alike. Also, her 'outlandish' appearance attracted magazines like Go-Set: a sad waif-like face, heavily mascara-ed around the eyes, framed by the hugest of afro 'do' this side of Jimi's Experience! Wendy favoured simple Levi's, with a basic shirt or cheesecloth kaftan top, copiously accessorised with love-beads and bangles.

Saddington's next musical outing was with Jeff St John's highly acclaimed and well-established group, Copperwine, and it's here that we finally have an officially-released recording of her sublime vocal performances! Wendy joined the band in March 1970, just after the release of Copperwine's superb Joint Effort album, and she sang live as co-lead with St John for a concentrated touring regime through to February 1971. In January of that year, with St John temporarily away from the band, Saddington fronted Copperwine for their acclaimed performance at the Wallacia Festival on the central-coast of New South Wales.

A live recording of the event was released on Festival's new progressive subsidiary Infinity during '71, which showcased Copperwine's sympathetic backing sensibilities for Wendy's distinctive vocals. On such cuts as the funky opener, Nina Simone's "Backlash Blues", and her heartfelt reading of Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", Saddington continually astonishes with her sensual soul power. Another notable inclusion is Wendy's introspective and idiosyncratic reading of John Lennon's "Tomorrow Never Knows" (which Wendy introduces as a George Harrison composition!) Other highlights include "Five People Said I Was Crazy " (which, with its wild Ross East guitar solo, Barry Kelly's electric piano flourishes and Wendy's monumental banshee wail, certainly lives up to its title). The closing tour-de-force "Blues In A" completely satisfies the listener as a consummate combination of the music of one of Australia's premier all-purpose prog-blues bands of the time, with definitely one of our most unique and mesmerising blues-soul vocalists.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Mississippi...the precursor to LRB...album and EP from 1972

Before the Little River Band there was Mississippi. They evolved from Adelaide folk-rock band called Alison Gros, a trio consisting of Graeham Goble, Russ Johnson and John Mower. Alison Gros recorded one independent single ("Naturally" / "Would You Really Have To Go?") on the Gamba label in 1970. The band then moved to Melbourne and signed to Ron Tudor's Fable Records, for whom they cut two more singles in 1971, "If I Ask You" / "So Good" (July) and "All The Days" / "Weaver Of Life" (December).

In early 1972, Alison Gros changed their name to Mississippi. They recorded their excellent self-titled debut LP with the addition of session players Peter Jones (piano), Geoff Cox (drums), Barry Sullivan (bass, ex-Chain) and Graham Lyall (flute). It was released in September that year on Fable's new Bootleg imprint, a subsidiary label recently set by Tudor and musician Brian Cadd. The Mississippi album showcased the band's considerable vocal abilities and Goble and Johnson's strong writing skills. The material and the tight harmonizing showed the influence of groups like The Hollies, The Bee Gees, Crosby and Stills, Nash & Young. Their debut single "Kings of the World" (released in July) became a Top 10 hit in October.

There were several more lineup changes, beginning in February 1973 when Russ Johnson left to join Country Radio; he was replaced for a month by Kerryn Tolhurst (who had himself just left Country Radio). When Tolhurst left to form The Dingoes he was replaced by Harvey James. Their next single, "Early Morning" / "Sweet World" was released in July '73, and in October they supported The Jackson Five on their Australian tour. When the tour ended, Deleuca and Mower both left the band. Deluca was replaced first by bassist Andre Santos, then by Charlie Tumahai (ex- Healing Force, Chain, Friends) in December.

In January 1975 they put together a new lineup, adding classically-trained guitarist and arranger Rick Formosa and bassist Roger McLachlan and began gigging. For the first few months they performed as Mississippi, but on the way to a gig in Geelong, Victoria, they decided to change the name to The Little River Band, which they took from a signpost along the road. The rest is History - under the guidance of Glenn Wheatley, LRB were the first Australian band to successfully break through into the American market, and became one of the greatest international successes in Australian music history.

Founding member Russ Johnson died in Adelaide on 15 September 2007 after suffering a stroke.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

From Mustangs to Masters..First Year Apprentices...garage, beat, blues and R'n'B

The Masters' story began in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in early '65, with The Mustangs, a dance band formed by four Adelaide teenagers: Mick Bower, Brian Vaughton, Gavin Webb and Rick Morrison. The Mustangs were a typical example of an early-60s instrumental band, playing the obligatory Shadows and Ventures covers. The cataclysmic visit by the Beatles in 1964 rendered all that passe overnight. The Mustangs were canny enough to realise that the surf/instrumental craze was past its 'use-by' date, and they decided to change their style to incorporate the new "beat' music, so they placed a "singer wanted" ad on the noticeboard at a local music centre. On his third (and last) visit there, the ad was spotted by a young would-be bass player called Jim Keays, who was taking lessons from musician and guitar teacher John Bywaters (who was a member of one of Adelaide's most popular and accomplished beat groups). The Mustangs began to established themselves on the dance circuit around Adelaide, in suburban halls and migrant hostels.

They built up a strong following with the local teenagers, many of whom were, like Jim, migrants from the UK (Adelaide was a major destination for UK migrants in the 50s and 60s). Their audiences were also an important influence for the band - some of these kids were very recent arrivals, who had seen the top UK bands in action only weeks before, and they had a strong effect on the band's "look", since they were directly in touch with current 'mod' fashions, a trend which was still not very well known in Australia. The next step was a name change, and because they regarded themselves, at least for a while, as apprentices to those musical "masters" like Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, their new name (suggested by Bowers) paid homage to these heroes. They decided early on to dispense with the apostrophe.

Towards the end of 1965 they found their home-base at an Adelaide club called The Beat Basement. Before long they were they regularly packing out the club, and they graduated from the less prestigious spots to the prized Saturday afternoon residency. They also became a prime attraction at the Octagon Ballroom in the Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth (The Twilights' home turf) which was located near another large migrant hostel. Keays recalls that the regulars included two young Scots migrant boys, John "Swanee" Swan and his brother Jimmy Barnes. The band also played at a dance in Salisbury, promoted by a young Doc Neeson, later the lead singer of The Angels.

By early in the new year the Masters were one of the most popular bands in town and regularly packed out gigs across the city, as well as making mini-tours to outlying towns and cities like Murray Bridge, Mt Gambier and Whyalla. The Masters' first big break was their appearance on the Channel 7 Good Friday telethon hosted by Adelaide TV celebrity Ernie Sigley. The Masters played four songs, to a rousing reception, and by the next day they were the talk of the town.

..text courtesy of Milesago

Friday, June 6, 2014

The Angels...first 2 albums self-titled 1977 and Face to Face 1978

As a tribute to the late Doc Neeson, here are the first 2 albums by The Angels with the now iconic and classic tracks "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again", "Comin' Down", "Take A Long Line" and "After the Rain".

The Angels originally formed in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1974. The band later relocated to Sydney and enjoyed huge local success, clocking up hit singles across four decades, including "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again", "Take a Long Line", "Marseilles", "Shadow Boxer", "No Secrets", "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", "Let The Night Roll On", "Dogs Are Talking", and "Caught In The Night". The Angels were cited by Guns N' Roses and a number of Seattle grunge bands, including Pearl Jam and Nirvana, as having influenced their music.

In November 1970, brothers Rick and John Brewster formed The Moonshine Jug and String Band. In 1971, the band was joined by Belfast-born Bernard Neeson, an arts student and former Army sergeant and already a prominent figure on the Adelaide music scene. In 1974 they changed their name to The Keystone Angels, switched to electric instruments and began playing 1950s rock and roll on the pub circuit. In 1975, the band supported AC/DC during a South Australian tour, and later performed as the backing band for Chuck Berry.

In 1975, on the recommendation of Bon Scott and Malcolm Young from AC/DC, the band was offered a recording deal with the Albert label. They dropped "Keystone" from their name and became simply "The Angels". At this point the band had four members: Neeson on bass guitar, Charlie King (Peter Christopolous) on drums, Rick Brewster on lead guitars and John Brewster on lead vocals and rhythm guitar.

The Angels' first single, "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again", was released in April 1976. They made their TV debut appearance on Countdown. Later in the year, Charlie King, at the time AWL from the army, was replaced by Graham "Buzz Throckman" Bidstrup on the drums. This was the first of three different versions of the song the band released as singles throughout their career.

The band's second single, "You're A Lady Now", was released in July 1977, followed a month later by their self-titled debut LP, The Angels. By now Chris Bailey had joined the band on bass, allowing Neeson to concentrate on vocals. Bailey had been a member of Mount Lofty Rangers with Bon Scott in 1974. Neeson's move to specialist frontman allowed the band to develop an energetic and theatrical live presence. Neeson typically appeared on stage as a wild extrovert, dressed in a Dinner suit and shaking maracas. As a foil, Rick Brewster remained motionless and wore sunglasses for every performance. He has stated that Beethoven convinced him not to move on stage.

1978's Face to Face album reached No. 16 in November and stayed on the Australian charts for 79 weeks. Mark Opitz engineered, and along with The Angels, co-produced the album. Peter Ledger, who designed the cover, won Best Australian Album Cover Design Award. Face to Face contained the band's first hit single, "Take a Long Line", which has become one of the Angels' most-recognised songs. In November, the band supported David Bowie on his first Australian tour, resulting in The Tour EP 7" single.

The Town Criers...Complete Recordings

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The Town Criers...Complete Recordings...popular 60's Melbourne band with "Everlasting Love" hit

Popular Melbourne band The Town Criers formed around 1965. Their first single, a cover of The Kinks' "The World Keeps Going Round", was released on the Melbourne independent label Trend but didn't make any impression on the local charts. The B-side, a great 'garage-punk' number called "Big Deal", was included on the bootleg Oz '60s compilation CD It's A Kave-In, which also features another Criers rarity from this period, a version of the blues standard "Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut".

The Criers gigged consistently around Melbourne over the next two years, and in late 1967 they were signed to the Astor label by A&R manager Ron Tudor. Their second single, released in February 1968 and nominally produced by Geoffrey Edelsten, was a strong version of "Everlasting Love", the much-covered hit originally recorded by American singer Robert Knight in 1967 and also released in 1968 in the UK by The Love Affair. It was an immediate success and became a big hit in Melbourne, reaching #2 and also charted in Sydney (#16) and Adelaide (#33) in April-May 1968, and this success propelled it into the Go-Set Top 20; it peaked at #18 and consistently out-charted the Love Affair version. The song has been covered many times since then, including a 1990s version by U2.

During the latter half of 1968 the Town Criers traveled to South East Asia where they entertained Australian and American troops stationed in Vietnam. This was followed by a trip to the USA, where they appeared on the Bob Hope Christmas Special. In early 1969 founding vocalist Andy Agtoft and John Taylor both left the group. Agtoft was replaced by singer Barry Smith from Adelaide; this raised the band's profile in Adelaide, but it may also have led some fans to think that the band itself was from Adelaide. Taylor subsequently joined the Sydney band Daisy Clover, who released two singles on Festival.

Andy Agtoft (vocals) 1967-69
Mark Demajo (bass)
Sam Dunnin (guitar)
Chris Easterby (drums)
George Kurtiss (keyboards) 1967 - May 1968
John Taylor (keyboards) 1968-69
Barry Smith (vocals) 1968-69

1 Where Have All The Good Times Gone

2 Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut

3 No No No

4 I'm Your Man

5 The World Keeps On Turning Round

6 Big Deal

7 Everlasting Love

8 I Can't Help Myself

9 Unexpectedly

10 It's Hurting Badly

11 Take Me For A Little While

12 Any Old Time

13 Rene

14 Love Me Again

15 Hey Girl

16 Living In A World Of Love

17 The Roundabout

18 Laughing Man

19 Living In A Dream World

20 Love, Love, Love

21 Chorus Girl

22 Any Old Time (acoustic)

23 Everlasting Love (acoustic)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Masters Apprentices..Complete Recordings 1965-1968

The Masters Apprentices (or The Masters to fans) were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972.Their popular Australian singles are "Undecided", "Living in a Child's Dream", "5:10 Man", "Think About Tomorrow Today", "Turn Up Your Radio" and "Because I Love You". The band launched the career of bass guitarist, Glenn Wheatley,later a music industry entrepreneur and an artist manager for both Little River Band and John Farnham.

The band reformed periodically, including in 1987–1988 and again subsequently; they were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1998 alongside The Angels. Both Keays, with His Master's Voice and Wheatley, with Paper Paradise, wrote memoirs in 1999 which included their experiences with the band.