THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,010) The Dave Miller Set — “Mr. Guy Fawkes”
This New Zealand-moved to Australia band’s “psychedelic masterpiece”, a “tour de force” that “continued the great tradition of Aussie bands covering obscure overseas tracks and coming up with versions that far surpassed the originals”, is “now counted . . . as one of the classics of Australasian psychedelia” (MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20100316061804/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/35967/20100315-0848/www.milesago.com/artists/dms-3.html) and “one of the great Australian psychedelic classics of the sixties” (New Zealand Music of the 60’s, 70’s and a bit of 80’s, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090915214845/http://www.sergent.com.au/davemillerset.html) and “ranks . . . as [a] highwater mark of Australian pop production in the late ’60s, a phenomenal single from a most memorable band”. (Glenn Baker, liner notes to So You Wanna Be A Rock’n’Roll Star?, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20190303201134/http://poparchives.com.au/99/dave-miller-set/mr-guy-fawkes)
As to “Guy Fawkes”, the definitive Milesago tells us:
In early ’69 . . . a friend at Polydor Records . . . loaned Dave an advance copy of Sunrise, the debut album by Irish group Eire Apparent, which included guitarist Henry McCullough (later of Wings). Their album was produced and featured guitar contributions by Jimi Hendrix, whom the band had supported on tour in America in 1968. Dave was immediately captivated by two songs from the LP [including] “Mr Guy Fawkes”, written by lead guitarist Mick Cox . . . . [It] immediately inspired him and he set to work remodelling the song . . . and convincing the rest of the band and [producer] Pat Aulton that this had to be the next single. . . . [T]he ironic twist to the story is that we almost didn’t get to hear it.
Dave: “The guy that was running the Spin record company . . . . the day that the promotional copies of ‘Guy Fawkes’ came out he called me on the telephone and said, ‘Can you get down to the office?’. I said, ‘Yeah’. Got to the office … and I was pasted. I was berated for “the worst piece of trash that the Spin record company has ever been involved with … an absolute disgrace“. And I was told that if it hadn’t been for the fact that they trusted Pat with this particular project, had they heard it at any stage prior to this, it would never have been released. It was the fact that it had already been pressed that meant they had to go through with it. And they didn’t want to know it. I was told in no uncertain terms that it was the worst record that the Spin record company had ever been associated with!” . . .
[W]ithin weeks of its release in July it was a Top Ten hit in NSW and at year’s end, . . named . . . Go-Set’s “Single Of The Year” for 1969 . . . . [I]n Sydney . . . [it] reached the Top Ten.
https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20100316061804/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/35967/20100315-0848/www.milesago.com/artists/dms-3.html
As to the Dave Miller and the Byrds and then the Dave Miller Set, New Zealand Music of the 60’s, 70’s and a bit of 80’s says:
Dave Miller and the Byrds came from Christchurch, before moving to Auckland in 1965. They were one of the best R&B cover acts to appear in the early sixties, faithfully reproducing all manner of Chuck Berry and Chicago blues originals on stage. . . . In 1962 Phil Garland formed the Playboys . . . . [a] later version of the Playboys consisted of Graeme Miller, John O’Neill, Kevin O’Neill, Brian Ringrose, Phil Garland and Dave Miller. Phil left the group and with Dave Miller as the lead singer, and a couple of more personnel changes, they very shortly afterwards renamed themselves Dave Miller and the Byrds. After arriving in Auckland, they soon became a top attraction on the club scene. The group came to the attention of Eldred Stebbing [owner of the Zodiac label] and he soon had them into his studio to do some recordings. “Bright Lights, Big City”, a cover from the Pretty Things, was their first single on Zodiac in 1965 . . . and it performed quite well on the local charts. . . . In 1967, [two members departed and] the rest of the group renamed themselves the Dave Miller Set and moved to Australia.
Not long after their arrival, the band fell apart and Dave put together a new line-up with John Robinson on lead guitar. . . . A recording contract was negotiated with Spin Records . . . . In 1969 . . . John Robinson emerged as a fluid and inventive guitarist and the Dave Miller Set attained prominence as one of the first heavy rock bands on the local scene in the Led Zeppelin mould. Under the direction of Festival’s in-house producer Pat Aulton, the band cut its fourth single, “Mr Guy Fawkes”/”Someone Is Sure To” in July 1969. By 1970 the group was near its end. . . .
https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090913081842/http://www.sergent.com.au/davemill.html, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090915214845/http://www.sergent.com.au/davemillerset.html
Milesago goes deep:
The Dave Miller Set is an important group in the history Australasian music, and one that has been long overlooked for too long. They were one of the most popular and hardworking live bands on the east coast scene in the late ’60s. . . . [G]uitarist and composer John Robinson, one of Sydney’s original ‘guitar heroes’ . . . went on to further fame with Blackfeather and also became an influential guitar teacher. Most importantly, the DMS was a key chapter the career of New Zealand-born singer-songwriter Dave Miller . . . . Dave is a crucial link between the formative music industries of Australia and New Zealand. He honed his craft in thriving Christchurch scene and since they were teenagers he has been a close friend and colleague of most of the top New Zealand acts of the era . . . . The DMS career spans the fascinating transitional period from the end of the “scream era” in 1967 to the start of the infamous Radio Ban in 1970 [over payola allegations]. They were one of the first Australian acts to pick up on the heavy rock/progressive rock trend pioneered by overseas acts like Cream, Hendrix, Free and Led Zeppelin . . . . Their style was forged on Sydney’s university and college circuit, and in the thriving inner-city club scene that was fuelled by the influx of American servicemen on “R&R” leave . . . . Despite a solid following throughout NSW and in Queensland, the DMS were victims of the infamous Sydney-Melbourne rivalry and they were almost completely ignored in Victoria . . . and unfortunately they never managed to establish a national presence. As with his first band Dave Miller & The Byrds, Dave handled virtually every aspect of the DMS business affairs, and his entrepreneurial skills guided them to considerable success in Sydney, in New Zealand and even as far afield as Fiji . . . . Another important thread is Dave’s association/collaboration with influential industry figures . . . . Dave moved easily in industry circles, had a good rapport with the media, was a tireless promoter and organiser on behalf of his band, and his collaboration with Festival house producer Pat Aulton created some classic recordings. The five records that The Dave Miller Set recorded for the Spin label are among the freshest and most enjoyable Australian pop-rock Singles of the late ’60s. . . . produced, arranged and included vocal and instrumental contributions by the great Pat Aulton, one of the most prolific, influential and talented producers of the period. . . . Well before he came to Australia . . . Dave Miller was already a significant figure in Kiwi music, fronting one of the best NZ ‘beat’ outfits of the period, Dave Miller & The Byrds. . . . A feature unique to Christchurch in the early ’60s was the influx of American personnel who passed through the city as part of “Operation Deep Freeze”, the establishment of the American Antarctic base. . . . g[iving] the Christchurch scene a special “leg up” and it many respects it became the “Liverpool of the south”, thanks to the infusion of original blues, R&B and rock’n’roll records brought in by the Yanks . . . . Dave proved to be a natural showman and a great addition to the [Playboys]. . . . The Playboys might have remained a local attraction but they got a crucial break in late 1964, which soon set them on the road to national prominence, when they were spotted by Howard Morrison . . . . the leader of the hugely popular vocal group The Howard Morrison Quartet . . . . [T]hey were impressed enough to invite them to be the Morrisons’ backing group on their upcoming summer tour of NZ holiday resorts. . . . Just before they set out they decided to change their name to The Byrds, to avoid confusion with other acts like America’s Gary Lewis & The Playboys, and Normie Rowe’s backing band of the same name. [This was] before the . . . American [Byrds] had their first hit[, which] necessitated the later addition of “Dave Miller & ..” prefix. Over that summer the Byrds and the Morrison Quartet played to literally tens of thousands of people, an experience which thoroughly honed their playing and showmanship. . . . Howard . . . recommended the Byrds to Eldred Stebbings . . . . Dave and The Byrds scored a major hit in Auckland 1965 with their debut single, a strong cover of Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights Big City” . . . [which] peaked at a very creditable #13 nationally. . . . [B]y 1966 [Miller] could see that even though the NZ scene was booming and The Byrds were doing extremely well, any further local success would be limited, and that they’d soon be going over old ground. . . . Australia was the obvious next step . . . . [T]he rest of the group were reluctant to move and start all over again . . . . The Byrds honoured their outstanding commitments and went their separate ways in early 1966. . . . [Miller’s] fiancé Corinne . . . had just moved to Sydney with her family. . . . When the DMS first formed they played much the same repertoire as The Byrds including covers of The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Animals and other popular favourites. . . . As John found his feet in the band they gradually adopted this “heavier” style, becoming one of the first Australian bands to do so . . . . Dave worked assiduously on developing John’s stagecraft and showmanship . . . . [ and o]ver the next three years Dave provided John with the space and scope to develop into one of the most powerful and innovative electric guitarists on the scene . . . . [T]he friendship that developed between Dave and Spin Records boss Nat Kipner led directly to the DMS being signed to the label. Kipner teamed them with Pat Aulton . . . justly famous for the many classic discs he produced for Normie Rowe, Kahvas Jute, Neil Sedaka and many others. . . . The debut DMS single, released in October 1967, was “Why Why Why”, a cover of a Paul Revere & The Raiders song . . . . Spin were obviously happy with the result, so Nat Kipner teamed them up with . . . Aulton . . . . By ’68 the influence of Cream, Hendrix and The Who were reverberating around the world and . . . DMS to become the first local groups to pick up on this trend and develop it convincingly in the local context. . . . By the start of 1969 the Set had become one of the most popular live draws in the Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong region, and each new single had gained successively greater attention. Yet throughout their career Melbourne was more or less a “closed shop” for them . . . .
Dave: “By that stage we were well and truly ensconced in that the progressive/underground direction of music we were taking. The band had expanded so much beyond the concept of a three-minute record that our live performances were up in the echelon of Zeppelin, Who, Cream . . . .”
As [1969] drew to a close, Dave became aware that trouble was looming for the music industry — a smouldering “pay for play” dispute between commercial radio and the record companies that was about to break out into open warfare as the infamous 1970 Radio Ban. . . . As the new year progressed the radio dispute hotted up, and many acts on major labels — including the DMS — would soon find themselves unable to get airplay. . . . [W]ithout another charting record to keep them in the public ear, the momentum they had built up began to dissipate. They were also tired from almost three years of incessant travel and gigging . . . and by now Dave could see the writing on the wall. . . . In May 1970, just as the Radio Ban was officially declared, Dave announced that he was leaving the Dave Miller Set.
https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20100316061804/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/35967/20100315-0848/www.milesago.com/artists/dms-3.html
Here is Eire Apparent:
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