THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,666) The Gibsons — “Lazy Summer Day”
An Australian band takes off for the UK . . . No, I’m not talking about The Bee Gees! I’m talking about the Cicadas (renamed the Gibsons since, as Kimbo tells us, no one in the UK knew what a cicada was! (https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-cicadas.html)). In any event, delightful harmony pop for a lazy summer’s day.
As to the Gibsons:
John Kaye, Geoff Dart and John Rigby relocated to the U.K. as early on as 1964 signing to Phil Solomon’s booking agency . . . . Solomon immediately set about employing his producer Tommy Scott to work with the band in securing a hit record and by 1966, they were signed to Deram for their debut single. Although they delivered a number of singles, the big time sadly eluded the band . . . .
liner notes to the CD comp Piccadilly Sunshine: Volumes 11-20: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era
Kimbo dives deep:
The Cicadas were one of the first of Australia’s bands to be influenced by The Beatles. . . . Managed by Horrie Dargie and originally known as The Hi-Fi’s with Geoff Dart (bass), John Kaye (vocals/guitar) and John Rigby (vocals/guitar) they formed around 1960 performing on TV variety shows like Bandstand and Sing Sing Sing and they recorded a couple of singles on the Astor label ”I Want The World To Know” and ”Step By Step”. In 1964 The Hi-Fi’s gained a recording contract with RCA Victor, jumped on the Beatles bandwagon and released a cover of British band The Marauder’s ”That’s What I Want”. Johnny Devlin produced the record, renamed the group The Cicadas, and backed them up with The Denvermen. This single was their most successful release. . . . [and] also released in Canada, Denmark, Germany, NZ and the USA. The Cicadas toured Australia and New Zealand with Billy J Kramer, Robbie EG and Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs . . . . Their second single with a similar Beatles title, ”I Need You” was written by Devlin. This was a minor hit in Sydney. After a further, unsuccessful, single, a cover of another Marauders single, Carter-Lewis’s ”Always on My Mind” followed by the self penned ”Is It Love”, they headed to the UK in December 1964 adding longtime friend John Bromell as drummer. . . . The group was managed by Phillip Solomon, who did not like the name The Cicadas (as no one in UK knew what a cicada was) so renamed the band The Gibsons. In September 1966, John Rigby left the group and returned to Australia being replaced by Paul Stevens . . . as lead singer. The Gibsons continued doing BBC radio and TV, as well as performing at American Bases, including Tripoli and North Africa . . . . The Gibsons released a number of singles all throughout Europe on various labels, (none were released in Australia) including the catchy “Magic Book” (which did well on the charts with the help of radio) . . . . In February 1968, Paul Stevens left the group and went back to solo work, and John Bromell returned to Australia. Geoff Dart and John Kaye were then joined by Jim Shaw . . . on banjo. The Gibsons returned to a being an ‘unplugged’ trio – banjo, guitar and double bass. They continued working, which included a stint on an American Air Base in Berlin . . . . That group finished abruptly . . . in September 1969 when Jim had to leave the group. Being tired of changes to the band, Geoff and John asked their wives, Pam and Gaye, to join the group. Pam had been a Tivoli dancer and Gaye had never sung a note in her life. After frantic rehearsals for a month, they were off to American Bases in Germany and Spain. Musically, the group was not as good as previous group line-ups, but visually, so much more attractive! The Bases loved them. Although no longer doing any radio or recording, the group did add theatre seasons to their standard venues. . . . [T]he group returned to Australia in 1970 . . . . On arriving home Geoff and Pam returned to Melbourne and John and Gaye continued on as duo Gaye & Johnny Kaye.
https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-cicadas.html
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