DOWNLOAD NO.167 - DIGBY RICHARDS

NB. SEE DOWNLOAD NO.147 FOR MORE DIGBY RICHARDS INFO...

DIGBY RICHARDS HAD AN OZ HIT IN 1974 WITH "DO THE SPUNKY MONKEY" WHICH WAS A NOVELTY SONG...IT WAS ALMOST LIKE THE SONG "GUITARZAN", BUT BETTER!

DIGBY WAS NOT AFRAID OF CHANGING STYLES MID ALBUM, GOING FROM SERIOUS LOVE SONGS TO NOVELTY SONGS.

HIS MUSICIANSHIP WAS UNQUESTIONABLE EVEN ON SONGS WHICH SOUND AS IF THEY WERE PRETTY MUCH DISPOSABLE ALBUM FILLER. HE HAS LEFT A LASTING LEGACY BUT SADLY THE R.C.A. YEARS HAVE NOT MADE IT TO C.D.

ENJOY "DO THE SPUNKY MONKEY":

http://rapidshare.com/files/203790041/Digby_Richards_-_Do_The_Spunky_Monkey.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.166 - BRIAN WITHERS

BRIAN WITHERS HAD A DOUBLE SIDED OZ HIT CALLED "THE CLING'S THE THING" WHICH WAS BACKED WITH "DO THE CLING".

HIS HIT SINGLE CLIMBED THE CHARTS TO #24 IN 1965 ON RCA RECORDS. HE HAD A SHORT RUN WITH ADDITIONAL SINGLES THEREAFTER.

SINGLES DISCOGRAPHY:
THE CLINGS THE THING / DO THE CLING
CRAZY TALK / FOR NO ONE
LET'S KISS / HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE

HERE FOR DOWNLOAD IS "THE CLING'S THE THING":

http://rapidshare.com/files/203513581/Brian_Withers_-_The_Cling_s_The_Thing.mp3

HERE FOR DOWNLOAD IS "DO THE CLING":

http://rapidshare.com/files/203558798/Brian_Withers_-_Do_The_Cling.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.165 - SLIM DUSTY

Partner of Slim Dusty, Joy McKean, said that Slim composed “A Pub With No Beer” in a caravan at either Forbes or Wyalong. Slim took some lines he had been given by a Macksville local, looked at the characters he knew from the Cosmopolitan Hotel at Taylors Arm (near Macksville) and by making four-line verses and creating four new characters around which the song hinges - the stockman, the swaggie, the dog and his master - built a great ballad. Slim effectively borrowed the melody from a presumed public domain song, Stephen Foster's parlour piece, Beautiful Dreamer, which was published just after his death in 1864. Slim raised A Pub With No Beer up a key and dropped one verse in the studio when he finally recorded it. It duly went down April1, 1957, in one take with just one accompanist. It was pressed up as the B-side of Saddle Boy. And that was pretty much the last he expected to hear of that particular recording. The first feedback came in the form of knowing looks and winks, and the occasional "Now, how did you get away with that?" query. "With what?" he responded, until, as he would later write, "it happened so many times that I knew what the next line was going to be". What they were hearing, or thought they were hearing, was: "But the bastard's inside, drinking wine with his mates." It was perplexing, to be sure. "I have never claimed to have the finest diction in the land," Slim said, "but the words as I thought I sang them were, 'But the boss is inside ..."'

Sales started to climb and they climbed and climbed, mostly in city record shops. When the national tally reached 50,000 it became EMI's highest selling hit to date. It stayed on the charts a full six months. It did much more than that, this song that, as Slim put it, "appealed to almost all Australians". It was a No.1 hit in Australia (something beyond even foreign-recorded country songs), it was Australia's first gold record (now defined as 35,000 copies shipped, but vaguer then), its only gold 78rpm and it enjoyed substantial global success when few in the top half of the world knew that there was such a thing as an Australian recording. It entered the British top three in January 1959 and also sold well in parts of Europe and Canada. Slim rode it for all it was worth. A touted British tour might not have come to pass because of nefarious promoter deeds, but at home he was king of the castle, with TV appearances on Bandstand and Six O'Clock Rock. In 1958 there was not just one Dusty hit about the beer-dry pub but three. A Pub With No Beer reached No.1, The Answer to the Pub With No Beer was No.10 and "Sequel To A Pub With No Beer" No.11. As a subject it was to prove durable.

Here for download is "Sequel To A Pub With No Beer":

http://rapidshare.com/files/203513584/Slim_Dusty_-_Sequel_To_The_Pub_With_No_Beer.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.164 - PATTY MARKHAM

PATTY MARKHAM WAS ONE OF THE NUMEROUS "SINGING SWEETHEARTS" THAT APPEARED ON AUSTRALIAN BANDSTAND.

PATTY HAD HER BIGGEST HIT "BLUE STAR" (THEME FROM MEDIC) IN 1961 ON THE FESTIVAL LABEL. IT CLIMBED THE SYDNEY CHARTS TO #28. THE SONG HAS A VERY CONTINENTAL SOUND SIMILAR TO PETULA CLARK'S SONGS.

ENJOY "BLUE STAR" ANOTHER RARE OZ DOWNLOAD:

http://rapidshare.com/files/203513583/patty_markham_-_blue_star.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.163 - LYNNE FLETCHER

Lynne Fletcher from Adelaide came to prominence in 1965-67 with hits on the HMV label. She recorded in Sydney. Her first records had links to the fledgling Bee Gees, including the David McKay produced song written for her by Barry Gibb, “You Do Your Loving With Me”. One of her biggest hits was “Losing You” (late 1966 - early 1967) which reached #26 in Sydney. It was written by Jean Renard, Pierre Havet and Carl Sigman. On the label the performance is credited to Lynne Fletcher with the Mike Perjanik Group.

For download is the ultra rare “Losing You” :

http://rapidshare.com/files/203513582/Lynne_Fletcher_-_Losing_You.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.162 - THE RENEGADES

In 1964 RCA records started production of 45 rpms in Oz. One of their first local hits was "Kahuna" by the Cronulla instrumental group The Renegades, produced by Johnny Devlin and recorded at AWA's 3-track studio in central Sydney. It reached #8 in Sydney in January.

The group's first 7" outing was an attempt at the popular "Limbo Rock" backed by "Wonderful Land" in 1963. "Wonderful Land" being a copy of the hit recorded by The Shadows.

The Renegades were in residency 1963-4 at the Cronulla Surf Club. They continued up to about 1966 as a group but had little chart success even with a change of labels.

Singles:

1963 Limbo Rock / Wonderful Land (Prestolympic)

1964 Kahuna / Hot Sands (RCA 101539)

1966 Cadillac / Do The Shake (Festival FK-1329)

Their line up was: Paul Baker - lead guitar, Peter Van Der Voorde - guitar/sax, Murray Chenery - rhythm guitar, Trevor Miller - bass & Des Thompson - drums.

Download "Kahuna" and enjoy another surf rock OZ oldie:

http://rapidshare.com/files/203558799/The_Renegades_-_Kahuna.mp3

ALSO SOME VISION AT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_ois9wgw_o

DOWNLOAD NO.161 - PETER ALLEN

PETER HAD AN INTERESTING CAREER WHICH HAD TWO PHASES. FOR THE FIRST PHASE OF HIS STORY SEE DOWNLOAD NO.92.

BETWEEN HIS TWO MAJOR PHASES PETER HAD A QUIET SPELL WHICH HE SPENT HONING HIS SONG WRITING SKILLS. "I HONESTLY LOVE YOU" SUNG BY OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN WAS ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN SONGS WHICH EMERGED FROM THIS QUIET PERIOD.

PETER'S CAREER IGNITED AGAIN AFTER THE RELEASE OF "I GO TO RIO" WHICH USED A DRIVING CHROMATIC PIANO RIFF USING A LATIN RHYTHM SECTION COMPLETE WITH WHISTLES AND MARACAS. PETER'S HIGH-ENERGY LIMBER PERFORMANCE IN THE POP FILM CLIP AND HIS 1977 APPEARANCES ON THE AUSSIE T.V. SHOW "COUNTDOWN" ENSURED CHART SUCCESS.

"I GO TO RIO" HIT NUMBER ONE IN 1977. AT THE TIME THE SINGLE VERSION WAS ONLY 3 MINUTES LONG WHICH DIDN'T REALLY ALLOW THE DANCE FLOOR CROWD MUCH TIME TO SHOW OFF THEIR MOVES.

THERE WAS A 12" DISCO VERSION RELEASED IN FOREIGN LANDS WHICH I ORDERED HOPING TO BE ABLE TO USE IN MY MOBILE DISCO COMPANY BUT SADLY IT WAS NOT ANY LONGER THAN THE ORIGINAL VERSION - IN FACT ITS ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS THAT IT WAS A LIVE STAGE VERSION WHICH CAPTURED PETER'S ENERGETIC PERFORMANCE ALL OVER AGAIN.

TO RECTIFY THIS SITUATION I DECIDED TO RE-EDIT THE ORIGINAL 7" SINGLE AND WITH A FEW DRUM OVERDUBS EXTEND THE 3 MINUTE SINGLE TO 5 MINS.

HERE FOR DOWNLOAD IS THE TOM MIX 12" OF "I GO TO RIO":

http://rapidshare.com/files/201866671/peter_allen_-_i_go_to_rio__ultimate_tom_mix_.mp3

ANTI-DOWNLOAD NO.160 - BUSHFIRE AID

This C.D. was originally supposed to be a single disc 20-track album to raise money for victims of Victoria's devastating bushfires is now a 2 C.D. set, featuring 35 tracks from some of the world's biggest musical names. All artists have donated their works for free. With tracks from today's artists Empire Of The Sun, Beyonce, Jessica Mauboy, Justin Timberlake combining with classics from The Eurythmics, Hunters And Collectors and John Farnham, it's not the most fluid of albums in it's style, but that's simply not the point. The point is to raise money - and that's precisely what it will do. It's released into stores from 16th February 2009, with all proceeds going to the Salvation Army's Bushfire Appeal Fund.

DISC ONE
1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
2. Shannon Noll & Natalie Bassingthwaighte - Don’t Give Up
3. Billy Joel - Honesty
4. Beyonce - Halo
5. Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream
6. Midnight Oil - One Country
7. Lee Kernaghan - Spirit Of The Bush
8. Vanessa Amorosi - Shine
9. Hoodoo Gurus - Castles In The Air
10. John Butler Trio - Better Than
11. Jessica Mauboy - Time After Time
12. Justin Timberlake - Losing My Way
13. Eurythmics - Miracle Of Love
14. John Williamson - True Blue
15. Hunters & Collectors - Holy Grail
16. Wes Car - You
17. Bill Withers - Lean On Me
18. Icehouse - Great Southern Land

DISC TWO
1. Living End - White Noise
2. Jimmy Barnes - Working Class Man
3. Powderfinger - These Days
4. Rose Tattoo - We Can't Be Beaten
5. Pete Murray - Saving Grace
6. John Farnham - You're The Voice
7. Men At Work - Down Under
8. Kasey Chambers - This Flower
9. Paul Kelly - Leaps & Bounds
10. Delta Goodrem - Believe Again
11. Anthony Callea - The Prayer
12. Whitney Houston - The Greatest Love Of All
13. Dido - Here With Me
14. Westlife - You Raise Me Up
15. Jennifer Rush - The Power Of Love
16. Newton Faulkner - Dream Catch Me
17. Noiseworks - Touch

NB Cover and photo above of fire-fighter Dave Tree re-hydrating Sam (Samantha) the koala taken on a mobile phone by Mark Pardew.

This is an anti-download...so go out and buy it NOW !

DOWNLOAD NO.159 - DAVE BRIDGE

When Dave Bridge was nine years old, his parents bought him a guitar from a travelling salesman. He soon picked up the basics and showed such a keen interest that his parents decided to send him to top Sydney guitar teacher, Roy Royston. Within twelve months, Dave had made his debut on radio. By the age of fourteen he had become an accomplished musician, playing classical style guitar with a small group. When he left school, Dave took a job with a Sydney jewellery wholesaler where he discovered another of the boys working there shared his interest in music. The other lad was Col Joye and Dave encouraged him to learn how to play the guitar. Then, in 1957, Col formed the Joy Boys and Dave became the lead guitarist. The band rose to prominence as Col produced a string of hit records. They displayed a tighter, more professional sound than most other groups of the era. As the Joy Boys built a reputation, so too did Dave, as one of Australia’s most competent guitar players. Dave stayed with the group until he formed the Dave Bridge Quartet in 1961. The quartet consisted of Dave (guitar); Warren Foley (drums); Ken White (bass); and Ray Burton (guitar). (Ray later joined the Executives and also co-wrote Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman”).

Dave wasted no time in achieving chart success with “Skip To My Lou” in July of that year. The Quartet became a highly acclaimed stage act and Dave became a regular on Bandstand and the Johnny 0’Keefe Show. By January 1963, he had again made the charts with his own composition, “Tornado”, and had reformed his band as a trio. The group included Terry Hearne (bass); Bruce Janson (drums); and Dave on guitar. Terry Hearne later went onto become part of the pop group The Allusions. The next single was Dave’s rocked up version of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet simply entitled “The Swan”. The record sold steadily in all capital cities (with the exception of Melbourne) and the trio embarked on a national promotion tour. The year saw two more hits for the group: “Trail Blazer” and “Bondi Stomp“, before Dave began concentrating on session work. He went behind the scenes and became a music producer and arranger. He also kept busy as Musical Director at Sydney’s Western Suburbs Leagues Club.

Singles:

1961 SKIP TO MY LOU No. 4 13 weeks - HMV

1962 TOWN HALL SHUFFLE / SAN FERNANDO VALLEY - HMV

1963 TORNADO No.28 4 weeks - HMV

1963 THE SWAN No.22 6 weeks - HMV

1963 TRAIL BLAZER No.32 3 weeks - HMV

1963 BONDI STOMP No.25 6 weeks - HMV

1964 CAT BAY / GOLD COAST STOMP - HMV

1964 COTTESLOE STOMP / RAINBOW BAY - HMV

1964 RIDIN’ THE BOWER / BOOMER BEACH - HMV

1965 THE TIDE / WINKIEPOP - HMV

For download is "The Swan" one of Dave's biggest hits:

http://rapidshare.com/files/196065594/Dave_Bridge_-_The_Swan.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.158 - THE SUNSETS

The evolution of bands is fascinating as members come and go and bands try to change their style to keep things fresh for the buying public. Tamam Shud was typical of many groups of the 1960s era, beginning in Newcastle as the instrumental band The Four Strangers. They cut a well regarded instrumental single “The Rip”, for Astor in 1964 after which Lindsay Bjerre joined as a member. Their first Festival release in 1965 was a gritty single “Sad And Lonely” (still billed as The Four Strangers), which sold in respectable numbers in hometown Newcastle. At the end of 1965 they changed their name to The Sunsets. During 1966, as they became one of the top bands in Newcastle, they began making forays into Sydney. Under Bjerre's guidance The Sunsets, were steered into a more up-to-date beat style and snared a five-year deal with the Festival. Their recordings are highly prized by 1960s beat fans, and no less than five tracks: “Sad And Lonely”, “When I Found You”, “I Want Love”, “Windansea” and “Hot Generation” have been anthologised on various C.D. compilations. “When I Found You” was available on CD on the essential Festival 3-disc compilation So You Wanna Be A Rock'n'Roll Star?

During this period they also recorded the music for the soundtracks for Paul Witzig's surf-films A Life In The Sun. The single “Theme From A Life In The Sun” was a very big hit in many parts of Oz. While very successful, this link contributed to them being pigeonholed, quite inaccurately, as a "surf band". When The Sunsets shifted to Sydney's eastern suburbs in 1966 they hooked up with the Harrigan Agency, playing at their venues Surf City, The Star Club and Sunset Disco, and touring with other Harrigan Agency acts. The big turning point came at the end of 1966 when The Sunsets were invited to play a three-month residency at a Surfer's Paradise nightclub owned by TV celebrity Digby Wolfe. Their next phase was to have a new name: Tamam Shud!

Here for download is The Sunsets single, “Theme From A Life In The Sun”, courtesy of Alan K. from Sydney. Alan sent me the basic vinyl recording which I have scraped clean and improved sonically.

http://rapidshare.com/files/195366258/The_Sunsets_-_Theme_From_A_Life_In_The_Sun.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.157 - LA DE DAS

The La De Das had a few hits in N.Z. before venturing to Sydney. Towards the end of 1971, the group thought it was time to get back to the recording studio. They headed to Melbourne's TCS studios for a memorable session. They had decided on "Gonna See My Baby Tonight" for a single, and after a few warm-ups, the track was put down virtually live. The track was just over five minutes long, but successfully edited to a more manageable single length by producer Howard Gable. It was released in November 1971 and reached the top 10 on the charts. This was their fourth single since they had left New Zealand.

In February 1972 the group was in EMI's Sydney Studios to record the all important follow-up single. They were now under the direction of New Zealander Rod Coe to do the recording. Rod had been bass player for Revival and later was also a member of Freshwater. This time the single was Phil Key's "Morning Good Morning". It was certainly one of Phil's finest works, but for some reason it failed to replicate the success of the previous single on the charts.

I purchased the "Morning Good Morning" 45 r.p.m. cheaply while working part time at a Taylor's record shop in Cessnock N.S.W. The reason being, that it didn’t sell, so the manger let me have it for ten cents rather than it sit on the shelves any longer…until I got it home I had never heard it. What a serendipitous find!

Some of the La De Das who had solo careers have tracks located at Ozzie The Music Man's blog (click link):

http://ozziemusicman.blogspot.com/

The mono 7' single of “Morning Good Morning” has appeared on C.D. but the stereo album version has not.

Here for download is an extended Tom Mix 12” version of “Morning Good Morning” running almost 5 minutes:

http://rapidshare.com/files/195096110/La_De_Das_-_Morning_Good_Morning__Ext_Tom_Mix_.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.156 - BRODERICK SMITH

Broderick Smith (born 1948 in Hertfordshire, England) is an Australian singer-songwriter, harmonica, guitar and banjo player. He has been a member of 1970s bands Carson and The Dingoes, 1980s Broderick Smith's Big Combo and performed solo. Some of his work from each of his more famous bands has been on CD but there are some tracks which have missed.

1971-1973: Carson

Carson had formed in January 1970 and was a blues-boogie band influenced by US group Canned Heat, during 1971 Smith replaced founder John Capek, providing vocals and harmonica. After they released a single "Travelling South" in August 1971, Carson performed at the first Sunbury Rock Festival in January, 1972. Smith spent part of 1972 recording two solo singles: "Goin' on Down to the End of the World" released in May 1972 and "Yesterday it Rained" released in February 1973. He also kept up with Carson to record "Boogie, Part 1" / "Boogie, Part 2" which reached #30 on the National charts in September 1972. Carson performed at the 1973 Sunbury Rock Festival, on the Australia Day long weekend. A live recording of their Sunbury set On the Air was released in April 1973.

1973-1978: The Dingoes

The Dingoes were formed in Melbourne in April 1973 by Smith's old band mate Kerryn Tolhurst. The band was formed to fuse rhythm and blues with Australian Bush music but it was generally described as Country Rock. Their best performed singles were "Way Out West" and "Boy on the Run", their 1974 debut self-titled album The Dingoes peaked at #18. They performed at Sunbury Rock Festivals in 1974 and 1975, making Smith one of the few artists who had performed at all four festivals. The Dingoes relocated to USA from 1976 for their next two albums; The Dingoes finally split in February 1979. Smith had already returned to Australia in late 1978.

1979-1988: Big Combo and others

After his 1978 return to Australia, Smith fronted various bands with his name featured: Broderick Smith's Hired Hands (1978-1979), Broderick Smith's Big Combo (1979-1982), Broderick Smith Band (1983-?) and Broderick Smith and the Noveltones (1988). Of these Big Combo provided his best known latter releases with the singles "Faded Roses" and "My Father's Hands" and the album Broderick Smith's Big Combo in 1981.

Broderick Smith's Big Combo Album. This album has not made it to CD although the first single "Faded Roses" has. The second successful single "My Father's Hands" has not.

Album Track Listing:

1 Last Train from Mobil Town
2 Faded Roses
3 Tightrope
4 High Rise
5 Back Off Baby Brother
6 I was Here
7 Fortune Favours the Bold
8 My Father's Hands
9 The Devil Drives
10 Ruby in the Snow

Here for download is a Tom Mix remix of the 2nd single "My Father's Hands":

http://rapidshare.com/files/194957331/broderick_smith_big_combo_-_my_father_s_hands__tom_mix_remix_.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.155 - JOHNNY O'KEEFE

JOHNNY O'KEEFE HAS HAD JUST ABOUT EVERY SONG RECORDING PUT ON C.D. BUT ONE SINGLE WHICH HAD A CHARTING B SIDE HAS MISSED THAT PRIVILEGE.

THE A SIDE "SHE WEARS MY RING" AND THE B SIDE "LET'S LOVE TONIGHT" CHARTED WELL IN ALL STATES IN EARLY 1964. THE 7" SINGLE GOT AS HIGH AS #2 IN MELBOURNE. IT DID VERY WELL IN SYDNEY AND IS FONDLY REMEMBERED BY THOSE AGED 50 AND OVER.

HERE FOR DOWNLOAD IS THE B SIDE "LET'S LOVE TONIGHT":

http://rapidshare.com/files/192824656/Johnny_O_Keefe_-_Let_s_Love_Tonight__Vinyl_Tom_Mix_.mp3

THERE ARE 2 OTHER DOWNLOADS FOR JOHNNY ON THIS BLOG. IN THE SEARCH BOX (TOP LEFT OF SCREEN) TYPE IN "HIGH ROLLIN' MAN" OR "YOU EXCITE ME" AND YOU SHOULD BE TAKEN TO THE DOWNLOAD LINKS FOR EACH.

DOWNLOAD NO.154 - TERRY YOUNG AND MONA LISA

Terry Young and Mona Lisa had a #19 smash hit in 1979 called “I Wanna Make It With You Tonight”. They were not Australians and have since ventured back to America whence they came. For a while Mona Lisa and Terry worked as back-up singers for Marcia Hines and got billing with Marcia on a few singles produced by Robbie Porter, one being “Save The Last Dance For Me”. Marcia and Robbie also included the single “I Wanna Make It With You Tonight” on Marcia's album called “Ooh Child”.

Terry and wife Mona Lisa have worked with many artists including Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Joe Cocker and appear on the soundtrack for The Lion King II on the tracks “Love Will Find A Way”, “My Lullaby”, “He Lives In You” and “One Of Us”.

Mona Lisa had a solo album in 1983 “Knife” but it was full of covers. It didn’t sell well, and that's regrettable because she had potential as a solo artist. “Knife” has never been reissued on CD. Marcia’s album has been on CD and so has the short single version of “I Wanna Make It With You Tonight”.

Here for download is the extended Tom Mix 12” of “I Wanna Make It With You Tonight”:

http://rapidshare.com/files/192402843/terry_young_and_monalisa_-_i_wanna_make_it_with_you__ext_tom_mix_.mp3