Rare and obscure vinyl mixes converted for download / YouTube - if you are the copyright owner of any song and object to its inclusion please post a comment if you need to have something removed. My intention is to make sure the younger people out in cyber space know about the lost tracks which music companies have not released on compact disc. If you seek rare hits from foreign lands then please click link below to my sister blogsite: "Songs That Made It Big In Oz".
Friend and contributor Jimmy B. has been working overtime again to find some rare items for this blog. He has already contributed many rare oldies and here are some more.
Little Pattie aka Pattie Keith aka Mrs Jacobson released a single in 1980, one of her last, which was written by her old friend Barry Gibb. The flip was written by Pattie herself. This was released on Polydor - see labels.
In the following zip file download are both A and B sides of the single in 320kb mp3 format. As a bonus inclusion I have worked on the A-side to make my own fixed-up version. The raw mp3 sent by Jimmy B. had a blip about 6 seconds in.
Many thanks Jim for this rare Pattie Keith set of songs...
Boom Crash Opera are a pop-rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1985. Initially based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance (guitar/bass/vocals 1985 - 1992) and Peter Farnan (guitar/bass/keys/vocals) Boom Crash Opera also includes Dale Ryder (lead vocals), Peter 'Maz' Maslen (drums/vocals), Greg O'Connor (keyboards/guitar) and Ian Tilley (bass/vocals 1992 - present). The main guys in Boom Crash Opera had previously been in the band The Serious Young Insects.
They released seven albums and an EP in the thirteen years of their recording career, and the band members continue to play occasional shows.
The majority of their work is on CD so I won't be posting anything currently available...
They have enough material to make a Megamix but nobody has attempted to construct one until now...
Here for download is my own 6 minute DJ Tom Mix Megamix of Boom Crash Opera's greatest hits...
It contains the tracks:
Hands Up In The Air Onion Skin Get Out Of The House Great Wall Bombshell
NB. Beeb Birtles has other songs on this blog for download. They include his work with Mississippi, Little River Band, Drummond and the duo Birtles and Goble. Type the band names into the search facility top left to locate their songs. Darryl Cotton has work located on Ozzie The Music Man's blog. Click the following link: http://ozziemusicman.blogspot.com/search?q=cotton
Way back in 1971 Darryl "Dazza" Cotton and Beeb Birtles formed a duo called Frieze. They produced an album - "1972 BC" - and released the singles "Feelings" and "Try Yourself" under the Frieze name but while still technically a duo they also produced a single credited under Darryl's name.
The 1972 single "Why Do Little Kids Have To Die" is beautifully crafted and although the title suggests the song will be mournful it is not that way inclined. It got as high as #25 nationally and charted well in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. It was also released on a K-tel album called 20 Solid Hits Vol.3 (see cover picture on a previous blog entry for "Gypsy Queen" by Oz group Country Radio).
All these years later the work by Frieze has finally been released on CD although it is probably a bootleg which looks very convincing with a silver label and all. The tapes used in the transfer sound excellent and there has been a lavish sleeve produced for the gate-fold CD cover. The only giveaway that it might not be "legit" is that the centre ring of the CD appears to have a CD-R number rather than a CD catalogue number (click CD picture above to enlarge).
If you can find the above CD to buy nowadays you'd be very lucky.
Here for download is an extended Tom Mix version of "Why Do Little Kids Have To Die" using the "almost legit" CD version of the track :
Patricia Thelma "Little Pattie" Amphlett (born 17 March 1949) in Paddington, Sydney, is an Australian singer with connections to many musical family members…most notably Col Joye (brother-in-law until she divorced her husband Keith Jacobson one of the Joye Boys) and Chrissy Amphlett of the Divinyls (cousin).
Pattie’s Singles
"He's My Blonde-Headed, Stompie Wompie, Real Gone Surfer Boy" b/w "Stompin' At Maroubra" (1963)
"He's My Boy" (1964)
"Surfin' Time Again" (1964)
"We're Gonna Have a Party Tonight" (1964)
"Pushin' a Good Thing Too Far" (1965)
"Dance Puppet Dance" b/w "I Just Need Your Love" (1965)
"My Love" (1965)
"Don't Walk Around" (1966)
"Game of Love" (1966)
"Let Me Dream" (1966)
"Never Gonna Love Again" (1966)
"I'll Eat My Hat" (1967)
"If He Would Care" (1967)
"I Knew Right Away" (1967)
"Sunshine Boy" (1968)
"Love Is A Happy Thing" (1968 - duet with Grantley Dee)
"Gravitation" (1969)
"Someone Out There (1969)
"The Penthouse" (1969)
"April Fool" (1971)
"What's Your Mama's Name" (1973)
"Only If You Want To" (1976)
"You'll Never Know" (1977)
"What Am I Gonna Do?" (1977)
"Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You" (1980)
Ozzie the Music Man has one of her last singles for download. Click link to "You'll Never Know":
Out of the above list of hits, many of Pattie's songs have not been on CD. No company has ever done a double CD set although she would have more than enough songs.
For download are two Tom Mix extended versions of her hits from 1965 “Pushin’ A Good Thing Too Far” and “Dance Puppet Dance”. These have been on CD but both have been poor copy transfers (with some clicks and pops audible in the quiet passages) so to redress this imbalance I have worked on strengthening their sound as well as making them a little longer. They are in a zip file. No password.
Geeza is a legendary Oz rock band that deserves some kudos for their brief blaze in the music charts in the period 1976 to 1978. The band had a simple but distinctive "west coast" style although at times they tended to sound a bit like Dragon the NZ/Oz band.
Band members included: Terry Halliday (vocals), Gabrielle Vandetti (guitars), Lee Martin (bass) and Alan Fraile (drums).
The band kicked off in 1976 with a single called "Vamboo". It gained them critical notice which led to the band spending time in the studio to produce a great album. Their one and only album was called "Street Life" which contained 2 of their 1977 singles: "Song To Warilla" and "Run'n'Hide".In its day the single of "Run'n'Hide" got to #27 in the Sydney charts in late 1977 and was also issued on a K-tel compilation record in 1978. Terry has his own web site nowadays and the digitised "Street Life" album is for sale on CD at the following link:
Terry is only too happy to field any questions. He is also very supportive of this blog and has allowed me, with kind permission, to set up an mp3 download of the single "Run'n'Hide". It is a Tom Mix remix from CD with a few overdubs and edited slightly, so it now sounds slightly different to the long album mix.
Terry sent me this message... "G'day mate, God bless your soul, and thanks for the word up on your site...If I can be of any help just shout out. It's nice to be remembered, so thanks and keep on rockin' and keep in touch"...Terry.
LRB is still a working band but the Americans currently in the band had nothing to do with the hit songs which made the name famous.
LRB started in about 1975 in Melbourne Oz. Their first hit was "Curiosity Killed The Cat". From there they went off to conquer the world with their stylish vocals and good pop sensibilities. They kept the lyrics simple and the melodies flowed easily. Most of their songs could be replicated live and when John Farnham took over as lead singer for a while, replacing Glenn Shorrock, their live work was better than their studio stuff. ...Band member Graeham Goble wrote their most successful song, “Reminiscing,” which LRB recorded in 1978, earned Goble a Four Million Air award from US collection society BMI in 2001. That means the song has been broadcast over 4 million times in America, the highest achievement for any Australian pop song internationally, putting him in an “elite group” of writers, according to BMI. “A lot of musicians love ‘Reminiscing’ because of the chords, the way they seem to work, they say it’s a brilliantly written song,” Goble says. “People like Frank Sinatra and John Lennon have gone on record as saying it was among their favourite songs at the time. In [Lennon’s lover] May Pang’s book there’s a whole passage about where he and May made love to ‘Reminiscing’.” The song’s success, however, has at times baffled Goble. He thinks the song is less consummate than a lesser-known LRB song he wrote, “Mistress of Mine.” And, ironically, “Reminiscing” was one of his songs that his LRB band-mates were less than ardent about, so back in 1978, getting the song on the album was Goble’s primary objective. Having it be a hit in the US or seeing it rise to classic status was beyond his dreams. “It’s quite staggering. You don’t realise you’ve written something like that until it happens, until it’s history”... Beeb Birtles and Graeham Goble were two of the original LRB line up and they had worked together in prior bands, writing and performing for many years. They had started in bands like Mississippi, Alison Gros, and Drummond (some of these bands have songs for download on this blog or at Ozzie The Music Man's blog - please use search facility to locate these groups).
When LRB was beginning to tire of touring, Birtles and Goble decided to make their own polished little gems. The released two hits "I'm Coming Home" and "Lonely Lives" from the album "The Last Romance". The album has been remastered and issued on CD in America but is nowadays deleted. Their collected works/hits have not been released on any kind of official CD anthology which is a shame as they are high profile artists.
The original Ozzie line up of the band are unable to perform under the LRB name due to "legal" issues but they still manage to get together and sell out venues nowadays under their surnames: Birtles, Shorrock and Goble.
Here in one zip file are 3 rare items indeed:
1) The USA 12" of "Reminiscing" which was issued on vinyl - it has been reworked and further edited and overdubbed in the studios of Tom Mix. 2) An edited Tom Mix version of "Help Is On Its Way" from CD - it has been edited to match a version done by K-tel. 3) An extended Tom Mix version of "I'm Coming Home" from CD - because I can!.
There is a password on the zip file: http://tommixmusic.blogspot.com/
Tommy Leonetti has other songs on this blog. Please use search facility to locate them.
Tom had a couple of singles in the 1950s in America before he came to live in Oz for part of the 1960s and 70s.
"Free", Leonetti's 1956 single has been described as a USA One Hit Wonder peaking at #23, he also had a minor hit with his version of "I Cried" which reached #30 in 1954.
In Oz, Tom and step-daughter Kim had a hit with "Let's Take A Walk" in 1969. Tommy's most famous but non-charting Ozzie song "My City Of Sydney" was used as a sign-off on Channel 7 for most of the 1980s. It is fondly remembered and well-loved by many east coast Ozzies. The stereo version has appeared once on CD many years ago. It was issued on a series released by Sydney radio DJ Bob Rogers.
Here for download is the mono single mix of "My City Of Sydney":
Ozzie The Music man came across a rare Vista vinyl pressing of an old 1968 single which has the song "An Australian Anthem" on both sides. The song uses the tune of "Waltzing Matilda" but with new lyrics. The paper labels on this particular single are incorrect as they are pasted on the wrong sides.
One side is sung by New Lambton Kindergarten 1st, 2nd and 6th Classes conducted by Mrs Archer with accompaniment by Mrs Baggs. The b-side has the same song by The Iolanthe Ladies' Choir conducted by Mrs Butler.
After cleaning up the track and converting it to CD quality I have passed this song onto New Lambton Public School for their archives as well as leaving it on this blog for all to download. I thank Ozzie for his valuable find and I'm sure many old pupils of the school will too. The current principal of New Lambton Public School and I go a long way back. We first met in 1988 when I did my first teaching list and he was my inspector. Coincidentally, my great grandfather was a coal miner in New Lambton and my grandfather was a pupil at the school in the 1920s. Here for download is "An Australian Anthem" by New Lambton Kindergarten 1st, 2nd and 6th Classes.
The Venetians have other songs on this blog - please use search facility to locate additional tracks.
The Venetians had many top 40 hits and a few of the singles were given 12" makeovers. Their 1988 album Amazing World produced 3 national top 100 hits "Amazing World" #77, "Must Believe" #81, and "Bitter Tears" #23. It was the latter, that was given a set of 3 extended mixes.
"Bitter Tears" had 3x12" mixes and 1x7" version released by Parole Records. The 3 extended mixes were released on blue vinyl. The 12" had centre paper labels which were not regulation size and contained large pictures of the group. The sound production on the 12" was below standard as the mixes on the blue vinyl b-side were set at an extremely low volume level and disc rumble and surface noise are audible throughout both mixes on this side. The a-side mix called "Electric Mix" is excellent!
The group in 1988 consisted of: Rik Swinn - lead vocals, Dave Skeet - guitars and vocals, Peter Watson - guitars and bass and Tim Powles - drums. Tim was a member of the Oz band The Church after being in The Venetians.
For download is the "Bitter Tears" (Electric Mix):
The Melbourne outfit called The Strangers started in the early 1960s. The group played mainly instrumentals but slowly transformed and were still a cohesive vocal pop ensemble up to the late 1970s. Their ranks included a variety of well known Oz rockers. The most famous was John Farrar who was responsible for some of the most enduring hits of the last century. His most known work is on the soundtrack of the movie "Grease" which starred Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.
John Farrar (sitting alone in picture) was with the group up until 1970. He left just after they had their biggest commercial success with a single called "Melanie Makes Me Smile"...This song was originally written for UK singer Tony Burrows. Tony who, you ask? Tony Burrows is the obvious contender for the singer with the most "one hit wonders" to his credit...Tony recorded at least 9 top 40 UK hits under various pseudonyms or from being in various studio concocted pop groups. He was in The Kestrels, The Ivy League (who had 3 hits) , The Flowerpot Men (Let's Go To San Francisco) , White Plains (My Baby Loves Lovin'), Pipkins (Gimme Dat Ding), Brotherhood Of Man (United We Stand), Edison Lighthouse (Love Grows), First Class (Beach Baby), Domino, Touch, West End Boys and Magic.
After the success of "Melanie Makes Me Smile", The Strangers were encouraged to record a follow-up single with a similar big brassy sound. At roughly the same time John Farrar decided to leave the group for pastures greener in the UK so the next single was a double A-side but vocals fell to a different lead singer. The songs were "Mr President" backed with "Looking Through The Eyes Of A Beautiful Girl". Both songs were more than credible cover versions of overseas hits. In some states this double A-side single got to be in the top 10 and the various pop shows of the time played clips for both tracks.
"Mr President" was originally a hit in the UK for "Dozy, Dave, Beaky & Tich". "Looking Through The Eyes Of A Beautiful Girl" was originally a hit in Ireland and it was written by members of The Times - guys who were from Joe Dolan's backing group.
Here in Oz "Looking Through The Eyes Of A Beautiful Girl" was a #9 hit in Brisbane and #22 hit in Adelaide for The Strangers but in Sydney, The Autumn had a #4 hit with their version. This song was also a big hit for a group in NZ called Kal-Q-Lated Risk.
The Stranger's version of "Looking Through The Eyes Of A Beautiful Girl" is available for download on this blog - please use the search facility to locate this track. The Strangers have all their major work nowadays on CD thanks to companies like Canetoad Music but for some reason the version of "Mr President" that continues to be issued is a stereo album cut which flounders compared to the punchy single mix. The single mix was first issued on a 1994 CD called "People Gotta Be Free". This CD is long out of print but it has the best version of the "Mr President" single I have ever found. For download is a Tom Mix exclusive, two versions of "Mr President" in a zip file. The mono 7" single mix and an extended 12" stereo Tom Mix version - both from CD masters.
There is a password on the zip file - see previous postings for the same old password...
Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb had so many hits that their record company Polydor are still finding retakes and remixes to release on CD for their rabid fans. You can buy the stereo and mono mixes of their old albums along with bonus tracks and rare extras etc...
Festival records here in Oz has also issued just about every song that had anything to do with the brothers Gibb. The "Brilliant From Birth" CD is a classic collection of older Oz items. In short there is little left in this world which has not been on CD. Except the officially sanctioned "SaturdayNightFeverMegamix" they issued here in Oz in 1983. It was on the back of their extended version of "The Woman In You". The long "SaturdayNightFeverMegamix" was 9:00 mins and the edited version for radio was 5:00 mins. Neither has been on CD as far as I know.
The "SaturdayNightFeverMegamix" includes songs:
More Than A Woman Stayin' Alive Night Fever Jive Talkin' You Should Be Dancing
Here for download is the radio edit in a zip file. The password is: http://tommixmusic.blogspot.com/
For a number of years The Blue Echoes had provided an ongoing party atmosphere at pubs and clubs in Melbourne and then recorded an album of party standards and favourites just before they went their separate ways. The album "Dancing In The Streets" was used as a staple by Mobile DJs in the late 1970s early 1980s. I know here in Newcastle it was used at pubs up until 1985. The old album still shows up at second hand music places like Rice's Secondhand Records And Bookshop here in the Hunter Valley.
They were the resident band at Tottenham Hotel for numerous years. The Blue Echoes are credited as a cabaret act playing covers but had a wealth of experience. Members had been playing and recording with bands such as the Checkmates, Blue Jays, Jigsaw, and Fantasy.
Phil Golotta did lead vocals, Ray Eames was lead guitarist and the saxophonist was Ken "Sam" Semple. Ken's resume is lengthy with bands like the Fairlanes, The Allstar Band, Bobby James Syndicate and The Cadillacs.
One interesting side fact is that Phil Golotta wrote "Hitch A Ride On A Smile" for Jamie Redfern who had a big hit with it in 1974. This song is is available on CD as of 2009 but is also available for download on this blog - please use search facility to locate the track. The Blue Echoes had a few local hits in Melbourne one of which was "Going To A Party". The first singles were on the Image label. Singles:
1973 "Going To A Party" / "Don't You Want Me" - got to #4 Melbourne 1973 "Please Daddy" / "Back Out On The Road Again" 1974 "Don't Play Around With Love" / "In The Country" 1974 "High Heeled Rock'n'Roll Shoes" / "When I Get You Again" 1975 "Mary Anne" / DC9"
Thanks to the folk at Midoz and Ozburn for chart placings and band info.
Here for download is Tom Mix remix of "Going To A Party":
Friend and contributor Jimmy B. has been working overtime again to find some rare items for this blog. He has already contributed many rare oldies and here are some more.
