Flying Circus — “3667”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 5, 2023

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

944) Flying Circus — “3667”

I’ve asked before, what is it about trains and folk music and the blues? I should have added country music. This Australian band had two members — New Zealand vocalist Doug Rowe and guitarist Jim Wynne — who “were both dedicated steam-train enthusiasts”. Wynne wrote this country rock “commemorati[on of] the scrapping of an old [New South Wales] Railways steam engine”. (http://www.milesago.com/artists/circus.htm). It is a lovely and bittersweet elegy.

The authoritative Milesago: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 tells us that:

The Flying Circus[,] one of the most misunderstood, overlooked and underrated Australian groups of the ’64-75 period[,] . . . was formed in August 1967 by New Zealand-born singer, songwriter and lead guitarist Doug Rowe. . . . He got [to] know bassist Bob Hughes, another [Sydney Morning] Herald journo, who shared his interest in country rock. Doug and Bob began jamming regularly . . . [and] met Jim Wynne. . . . [An] . . . aspiring promoter, John Sinclair, was taken to a rehearsal . . . . [which] impressed Sinclair so much that the following month he presented them at the first dance he promoted . . . . Two weeks later he was driving them to gigs and in [January of ’69] he became their manager. Shortly after this, the band was offered their first major engagement — a short tour of New Zealand. . . . [They] play[ed] a mixture of country, bluegrass, folk and rock, drawing on a wide range of influences including . . . . Doug Rowe began making demo tapes of original songs . . . . The Flying Circus signed a contract with EMI’s Columbia label in late 1968. . . . [T]hey were offered a song called “Hayride”. Originally recorded by Gary Lewis & The Playboys . . . . [it] was trite, formulaic bubblegum pop, [but] it had obvious commercial appeal. . . . Released in February 1969, it . . . reach[ed] #4 in Sydney and #24 nationally. . . . [T]heir second single . . . . was even dumber than its predecessor, but . . . “La La” turned out to be an even bigger hit, going Top Ten across the country in June and peaking at #8 in Sydney. . . . [B]oth . . . had virtually nothing to do with the [band’s] real musical interests . . . . Jim Wynne later recalled: “We were so glad to be in a studio that we would have recorded nursery rhymes. As it turned out, that’s pretty much what happened.[“] . . . [T]hey had the effect of immediately branding Flying Circus as a one-dimensional bubblegum act . . . . As Doug Rowe ruefully observed: “‘La, La’ sealed our fate and made it impossible for us to break out and be honest about the music we played.” . . . [Y]ounger fans drawn to their concerts by the pop hits were bemused by the group’s serious stage demeanour and their country-rock repertoire. . . . During 1970 [t]he Flying Circus worked hard to leave behind the pop image and establish themselves as a serious country rock group. . . . Prepared In Peace [from which today’s song is drawn] . . . was a major step forward . . . and it remains one of the lost gems of early ’70s Australian rock. . . . consist[ing] almost entirely of original country-rock songs . . . . It was dominated by the songs of Doug Rowe . . . but also included Jim Wynne’s “3667” . . . . one of many Flying Circus songs with a railway theme — Jim** and Doug were both dedicated steam-train enthusiasts. . . . It was critically lauded, and while not a major commercial success, it so[ld] quite respectably . . . . [I]t was a pioneering record for Australian music and a landmark of the local country-rock-harmony style. . . . Flying Circus [soon after] became permanent residents of Canada . . . . [where they] found audiences much more receptive than at home . . . .

http://www.milesago.com/artists/circus.htm

* The Circus’ name was “apparently inspired by the . . . ‘Red Baron’ fad which derived from the popular Charles Schultz Peanuts comic strip and The Royal Guardsmen’s novelty single ‘Snoopy vs The Red Baron'”. (http://www.milesago.com/artists/circus.htm)

* “In [James Wynne’s] early years he had worked part-time as a fireman on the New South Wales railways, which supplemented his income and allowed him indulge in his passion for steam engines, which became a feature in the songs he wrote for Flying Circus, and featured prominently in his [later] paintings.” (http://www.milesago.com/artists/circus.htm)

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