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

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

Ray Brown & The Whispers.. Sydney,1964-66 ...short lived but very successful beat band

Ray Brown and the Whispers were in the vanguard of the first wave of Australian beat pop, from 1964-67, and during their brief career they were one of the most successful and celebrated bands in the country. Aided by his boyish good looks and considerable charm, singer Ray Brown ranked alongside Stevie Wright, Billy Thorpe and Normie Rowe as one of the most popular stars of the period, and The Whispers are now widely recognised as being one of its most accomplished bands. Although they enjoyed unprecedented success at the time, the group was short-lived, and their contribution to Australian music, both during and after the beat boom, is still sadly under-appreciated.

From the outset, Ray and The Whispers distinguished themselves as a top-notch performing unit, both live and on record, and they thoroughly road-tested all their material. In retrospect their only real weakness, as far as a long-term career was concerned, was that there were no writers in the group (unlike The Easybeats, The Blue Jays and their label mates The Bee Gees). But like The Blue Jays, their choice of material showed off both their versatility and their wide-ranging tastes.

Probably the Whispers' greatest love, though, was American soul and R'n'B, and they were tireless champions of the style, covering many numbers by the top performers of that period.Their first major break in came late in the 1964 when they secured the gig as resident band at Sydney's Surf City and The Beach House, taking over from Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs. Within a short time the Whispers were regularly pulling in 2000 punters per night on Fridays and Saturdays, and by the new year they were rivalling The Easybeats for popularity in Sydney.

Their rise to national fame was meteoric -- in just six months they scored four Top 5 hits in a row in Sydney, including their record achievement -- still unbroken -- of three consecutive #1 hits from their first three releases! They were also among the most prolific recording outfits of the day, with a nine singles, ten EPs and five albums to their credit in in little more than two years.

This 2 for 1 album combines their first 2 albums and contains all their hits.

Ray Brown & The Whispers

Ray Brown & The Whispers 

Lawrie Barclay (rhythm guitar) 

Ray Brown (vocals) 

Al Jackson (lead guitar) 

Pat Jeffrey (drums) 

John Manners (bass) 

Bobby Richardson (lead guitar) 1964

Ray Brown & The New Whispers (early 1967) 

Ray Brown (vocals) 

Dave Russell (guitar) 

Ronnie Peel (bass) 

Steve Hardy (drums)

 

Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs...Don't You Dig This Kind of Beat..2 albums from 1965 and 1966

This is a double treat for fans of the original Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs. These 2 albums were released at the height of their popularity in the mid 1960's. They show why they became so big, so fast. The tracks on these albums were a combination of beat, pop, rock 'n'roll and rhythm'n'blues, which highlight the versatility and talent within the group. 

They covered numbers from the likes of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Ray Charles and capitalised on the beat boom from Great Britain. Listening to these again after nearly 50 years of their original release, you can see what the excitement was all about.

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See also 2 other previous posts from this blog on The Aztecs:
http://theaussiemusicblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/billy-thorpe-and-aztecs-1964-75its-all.html
http://theaussiemusicblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/billy-thorpe-and-aztecsmore-arse-than.html

Great Aussie Rock...12 Mindblowing Tracks from 12 Legendary Australian Artists of the 70s

This 12 track collection of Mushroom Records artists of the 70s is a virtual who's who of Australian music. The line up speaks for itself...Skyhooks, Ayers Rock, Madder Lake, Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs, The Dingoes, Matt Taylor, Lobby Lloyd and The Coloured Balls, Greg Sneddon, Buster Brown, Sid Rumpo, Phil Manning and Chain.

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Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Parts 1 and 2) by Johnny O'Keefe

This song was made famous by Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs at Sunbury'72. Johnny O'Keefe recorded it before Thorpie in 1967. I've always loved Thorpie's version, but JO'K's version is worth a listen and, in my opinion, a real rocker!

Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Parts 1 and 2) was originally released in 1967 on the Leedon label (LK-1653). It was written by Jessie Hill, an American R&B and Louisiana blues singer and songwriter. The origins of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" were apparently created from a tune played by a local pianist, who was known only as Big Four. Hill wrote the lyrics and melody, later expanding the work with an intro taken from Dave Bartholomew. It was further honed on stage, before Hill recorded a demo that he shopped to local record labels, finally recording a session at Cosimo Matassa's studio produced by Allen Toussaint. Upon its early 1960 release, it emerged as a favourite at Mardi Gras, selling 800,000 copies and reaching the Top 5 in the US Billboard R&B chart and a Top 30 slot in the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

It has been recorded by many artists including Wilson Pickett, Taj Mahal, Etta James, Ike and Tina Turner, Dr Hook and most famously by Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs. This JO'K version was taken from the 3CD set "Johnny O'Keefe...The Birth of Australian Rock and Roll".

download more Johnny O'Keefe here

..and here is one of Thorpie's versions..(from 1998 with Lobby Lloyde)

Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs..More Arse Than Class..1974

"Gonna create a disturbance in your mind..."

Thorpie's message in 1973 was without doubt loud and clear! He and the ever-changing personnel of The Aztecs commanded a pre-eminent position in Aussie rock. While artists such as Ross Wilson, Mike Rudd, Lindsay Bjerre and Gulliver Smith strove to push out and pull down boundaries in their music, Thorpie and friends continued to provide high-octane, no-nonsense rock for the masses.

In August , Billy switched record labels from the independent Havoc to the newly-opened local division of Atlantic Records, which was by then a subsidiary of the Warner group. Atlantic released the singles "Movie Queen" and "Don't You Know You're Changing?" in quick succession. Although the later singles of 1973 were ostensibly solo releases, they nonetheless featured most of the extant Aztecs line-up (with help from Chain pals Phil Manning and Barry Sullivan).


Before disbanding, the Aztecs recorded one more album for Atlantic. Right at the beginning of 1974, the More Arse Than Class LP came out, provoking predictable cries of protest from conservatives about the title and its 'disgusting' gatefold cover, which opened out to show the naked, hairy posteriors of the four band members! The music on the record was where the true arse was though -- and it kicked it!

It remains the Aztecs most successful studio album, and apart from the undiluted power of its music, is a strong testament to the skills of erstwhile Aztec drummer/producer/engineer/archivist Gil Matthews. Also notable was the return on bass duties of Billy's old cohort Teddy Toi. 

1 Boogie Woogie
2 Walking Down The Street
3 Don't You Know You're Changing
4 No More War
5 I Wanna Know
6 Back On The Road Again
7 Slowly Learning How
8 A Little Bit Of Lunacy, Maestro Please
9 I Wanna Know
10 Pig's Blues
11 Mame
12 Movie Queen
13 Kawasaki
14 Kawasaki (Long Version)
15 Slowly Learning How (Demo Instrumental)

Vocals, Bass – Teddy Toi
Vocals, Drums, Percussion – Gil Matthews
Vocals, Guitar – Billy Thorpe
Vocals, Piano, Organ, Harpsichord – Warren Morgan

Tracks 1-7 reissue of 1974 Album
Bonus tracks
8-10 Live At Bill Armstrong Studios, 1973
11-12 Singles 1973
13-14 Ads 1973
15 Demo 1973

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Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs .. 1964-75..It's All Happening!...23 track compilation

Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs were an Australian beat, pop and rock group dating from the mid-1960s. The group enjoyed huge success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early 1970s to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period.

Originally a four-piece instrumental group who had put out one surfing instrumental, "Smoke & Stack", they formed in Sydney in 1963. With the advent of the Merseybeat sound, they added a lead singer, Billy Thorpe. His powerful voice and showmanship (which made him one of the most popular and respected rock performers in Australian music), completed the original line-up, which consisted of drummer Col Baigent, bassist John "Bluey" Watson and guitarists Valentine Jones and Vince Maloney (who later played with The Bee Gees).Valentine Jones left the band shortly after Billy Thorpe had joined and was later replaced by Tony Barber.

The group broke through in mid-1964 with a massive nationwide hit, their cover of the Leiber and Stoller classic "Poison Ivy", which famously kept The Beatles from the #1 spot on the Sydney charts at the very moment that the group was making its first and only tour of Australia—a feat which resulted in Thorpe being invited to meet the Fab Four at their hotel. Over the next twelve months the band reigned supreme as the most popular 'beat' group in Australia, scoring further hits with the songs "Mashed Potato", "Sick And Tired" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", until they were eclipsed by the emergence of The Easybeats in 1965.

During 1965 the original Aztecs quit after a financial dispute, so Thorpe put together a new five-piece version consisting of drummer Johnny Dick, pianist Jimmy Taylor, guitarists Colin Risbey and Mike Downes and NZ-born bassist Teddy Toi. This group performed until 1966, scoring further hits with "Twilight Time", "Hallelujah I Love Her So", "Love Letters" and "Word For Today".

This 23 track compilation contains all their hits and gives a good cross section of their output.

1. Poison Ivy 
2. Mashed Potato 
3. That I Love You 
4. Sick 'N' Tired 
5. Don't You Know 
6. Hi Heeled Sneakers 
7. What I Say 
8. I Got A Woman 
9. Don't You Dig This Kind Of Beat 
10. Funny Face 
11. Talkin' Bout You 
12. Dancing In The Street 
13. Baby Hold Me Close 
14. Twilight Times 
15. Love Letters 
16. I Told The Brook 
17. Over The Rainbow 
18. I've Been Wrong Before 
19. The New Breed 
20. Wee Bit More Of Your Lovin' 
21. The Word For Today 
22. Most People I Know 
23. It's Almost Summer 

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