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

1,681) Johnny Young — “Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy of Arts”

Australian Johnny Young’s (see #682) irresistible version of the Bee Gees’ pop psych classic was a hit on UK pirate radio stations and heading skywards . . . until the British government shut them all down.

The definitive Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964-1975 gives us the story:

Arriving in London Johnny was reunited with the Gibbs and during his stay he cut three more Bee Gees tracks: “Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy of Arts” (backed by the Bee Gees and produced by Barry), “I Am The World” and “Every Christian Lionhearted Man Will Show You”. “Craise Finton Kirk”/“I am the World” was released as Johnny’s next single in August 1967. It made the Australian national Top 30 (#14 in Melbourne and #29 in Sydney) during September and also gained considerable airplay on British radio, notably on the legendary pirate station Radio London. The single entered the Radio London Fab Forty at #31 on 30 July 1967, and rose the following week to #27, but regrettably it was at exactly that point that Radio London was forced off-air, a victim of the Maritime Offences Act, which was being rigidly enforced by the British government in order to shut pirate stations down. . . . . Mike Manners, who recently contacted Milesago, has fond recollections of his time working with Johnny:  “I was Johnny’s UK keyboard player in 1967. As a London-based organist . . . I was recruited by Johnny Young’s London team to help his Australian drummer, Danny Finlay, form a backing band for John. This we did. . . . [W]e made several promotional appearances, including a music slot on the famous national TV chat show . . . ‘Dee Time’, hosted by Simon Dee. . . . THE show to be seen on during the United Kingdoms ‘Flower Power’ era! On the show we performed ‘Craise Finton Kirk’ live, each of us wearing white embroided floor-length Carnaby Street kaftans(!) with me on harpsichord for this production.” 

Mary Payne: adds:

Many frequently-played records on the pirate stations . . . were hits as far as the listeners were concerned, but never became bestsellers. . . . Craise Finton Kirk by Johnnie (sic) Young had been on the Radio London playlist for the final four weeks of the station’s life . . . . Each of the Radio London DJs had a weekly ‘climber’ – a disc touted as his pick for imminent chart stardom, although the records selected from the pile of new releases were not necessarily self-chosen. We do not know if Willy Walker . . . chose Craise Finton Kirk as his climber for w/c 23/07/67 or whether the disc was assigned to him. The single entered the Fab Forty at #31 on 30/07/67, rising the following week to #27, just as Big L was forced to close down. The late Mike Ahern cited Craise Finton Kirk as being on Caroline’s ‘pay-for-play’ list – records that usually appeared in the lower end of the Countdown of Sound. A clip of a TV interview with Johnny . . . explains what the song was all about. Craise Finton Kirk was a real person – an eccentric Scotsman who used to parade up and down London’s Oxford Street. He mumbled incomprehensibly as he made a meagre living by carrying sandwich boards, advertising passport photography. Newly-arrived in London, the Bee Gees had asked him for directions, but found themselves unable to understand a word he said. A fellow sandwich board carrier told them that the mystery man’s unusual name was Craise Finton Kirk and the Gibb brothers felt a song coming on! Apparently, the sandwich board star did know that he had been immortalised in song, as he had posed for publicity shots with Johnny! Where the Royal Academy of Arts part of the song title comes in is not discussed in the interview, but we might hazard a guess that Craise Finton Kirk’s sandwich boards bore the name as part of the advertisement. Johnny also comments ruefully on how the loss of offshore radio had adversely affected his budding career in the UK. Johnny’s take on Craise Finton Kirk may have achieved only offshore chart action in the UK, but a month after the closure of all our sea-based stations with the exception of Caroline, the single hit #14 in Melbourne and #29 in Sydney.

https://www.radiolondon.co.uk/sixties/jyoung/jy.html

Milesago tells us of Young:

Johnny spent three frantic years as one of Australia’s top beat performers . . . . He was born . . . in Rotterdam . . . . Johnny’s parents migrated to Western Australia when he was three . . . . After he left school, Johnny began work as a trainee disc jockey on Perth radio, started singing at local dances, and [was] lead vocalist with local group The Nomads . . . . In 1965 . . . he became host of a local Perth pop show Club 17 [and] issued two singles . . . . In 1966, Johnny signed to [the] Clarion label, and formed a new backing band Kompany . . . . The kick-start for his career as a pop star came in early 1966 when The Easybeats visited Perth. They . . . present[ed] him with one of their new songs. “Step Back”. . . . [which] became a double-sided #1 hit in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. . . . the second biggest-selling Australian single of the Sixties . . . . The next single . . . provided another double-sided Top Ten hit . . . . Johnny disbanded Kompany to go solo. . . . The first half of 1967 took Johnny to the peak of his pop career. He made his first major solo appearance on the “Big Show” tour on Australia Day 1967 . . . . [H]e took over as compere of The Go!! Show . . . . His cheerful boy-next-door personality and good looks enabled him to take on the role of TV host with relative ease . . . . [N]o doubt encouraged by huge international success of his friends The Bee Gees, Johnny decided to heed the siren call of Swinging London. . . . [He] set sail for the UK and . . . Clarion released his new single, “Lady” . . . which Barry [Gibb] had written specially for him. . . . Johnny’s follow-up . . . failed to chart . . . . Johnny failed to make a major impression on the UK scene, and he returned to Australia in January 1968, broke, exhausted and depressed. . . . Johnny fell back on his early training as a DJ and . . . joined Melbourne’s 3XY as the drive-time host . . . . His last hit single . . . was released mid-year and reached #31 in Sydney . . . . While in London, encouraged and coached by his friend Barry Gibb, he had begun to compose songs and he now began writing in earnest . . . . [H]is credits include Russell Morris’ “The Real Thing” and “Part Three Into Paper Walls”, Ronnie Burns “Smiley” — all national #1 singles . . . . Johnny scored yet another #1 single during 1970 with the sentimental country ballad “I Thank You”, recorded by former boxing champion Lionel Rose . . . . In 1970 he teamed up with Kevin Lewis . . . . [T]heir greatest success came with . . . the children’s talent quest cum variety show Young Talent Time, which . . . . was a massive success . . . .

http://www.milesago.com/mainframe.htm

Here are the Bee Gees off The Bee Gees 1st:

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

1,680) The Elois — “By My Side”

The B-side of the Elois’ sole single is a much-lauded, Nuggets-worthy Australian garage stunner that induces paroxysms of ecstasy in listeners. It is “incredible” (Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD comp Nuggets II (Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969)), “one of the greatest songs ever dedicated to wax[ — s]eriously” (On the Flip-Side, http://ontheflip-side.blogspot.com/2009/02/song-of-week-by-my-side-elois.html?m=1), a “[k]iller, wild and aggressive 60’s garage punker”. (TheItalianBeatnik, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IBAdKDDwDDQ&pp=ygUUVGhyIGVsb2lzIGJ5IG15IHNpZGU%3D)

“[T]his radioactive scorcher of a track leaves a trail of aural destruction in its wake that even repeated listens can’t diminish.” (Sammy-lou, http://holy-gogo-boots-batman.blogspot.com/2016/05/song-of-month-by-my-side-elois-april.html?m=1) “My fave all time Oz garage fuzzing 45 deejay spin! This monster tune is an essential spin in all all my deejay sets and it always causes an epic fuzz quake – brilliant stuff!!!” (narinderdhanjal221, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7-SQdfAbwDE&pp=ygUUVGhyIGVsb2lzIGJ5IG15IHNpZGU%3D) “[T]he ultimate Aussie proto-punk freakbeat monsters…2.15…that’s all it takes to turn Paul Hogan’s backyard into a burnt n’ charred wasteland smouldering and reeling from this sneering f*cked out and derailed punk.” (5DeadlyRecords, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7-SQdfAbwDE&pp=ygUUVGhyIGVsb2lzIGJ5IG15IHNpZGU%3D)

Mike Stax writes that:

[O]n the intro, guitarist Dennis Fiorini lays down a huge wave of feedback, and the band proceeds to ride it. Bassist Greg Heenan kicks in with a vicious bass line, the drums leap into motion, and from that point on it’s sheer mayham as the vocals shout out their plea for love against the howling, screaming fuzz-guitar lines. The song breaks down briefly for a rude, lurching bridge before whipping itself into a final frenzy of feedback and fuzz.

liner notes to Nuggets II (Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969)

On the Flip-Side adds:

[A] real gem . . . . a self-penned explosion of rage detailing a young man’s uncontrollable hormonal yearnings for the satisfaction of a young woman. It’s the song mom said she didn’t like. The one the band wouldn’t rehearse if mom was in the house baking cookies. . . . [T]he guitarist launches into a feedback heavy lead that would make even Jeff Beck and Pete Townshend envious.

http://ontheflip-side.blogspot.com/2009/02/song-of-week-by-my-side-elois.html?m=1

And Sammy-lou goes deep:

Blasting off with a stinging, sustained guitar note that’s soon joined by bass and drums in one of the most raucous intros ever to be committed to tape, the song gets even more intense when the snarling vocals of Alan Rowe kick in. Belting out the repetitive lyrics like some kind of desperate mantra, he sounds like a man possessed: howling, growling, a slave to his hormones as he informs the object of his affections in no uncertain terms how badly he wants her. There’s a similar sense of, ahem, urgency about the backing vocals. About 30 seconds in, a series of drum rolls signal a change of pace, and the band flips from full-throttle into thumping, grinding mode (punctuated by some cool sliding bass), gradually building up into a cacophony of voices that’s almost unbearable – then bam! That fuzzed-out guitar is back, even more blistering than before. And just when you think things can’t get any more insane…they do. The song ends with an extended rave-up that makes The Yardbirds seem refined, all unhinged drums, guitar as deadly feedback weapon, relentless bass and an almost chanted refrain, “I can’t get enough from you, girl”.

http://holy-gogo-boots-batman.blogspot.com/2016/05/song-of-month-by-my-side-elois-april.html?m=1

I love the song too, but lay off the cane toads!

Kimbo writes of the Elois:

The Elois were from Maryborough in Victoria. The short-haired, well dressed lads called themselves The Elois after the “tranquil sunshine people” from H.G. Wells’ book The Time Machine. The Elois had won the Ballarat heat of the 1965 Battle Of The Sounds where they caught the attention of DJ Graham Lever who suggested they move to Melbourne. Sometime in 1967 they cut their one and only record at Bill Armstrong’s studios. The A-side is a Who inspired cover of Bo Diddley’s oft-covered ”I’m A Man”. But the real gem was to be found on the flip side. ”By My Side” was a self-penned explosion of garage rock detailing a young man’s uncontrollable hormonal yearnings for the satisfaction of a young woman. The Elois managed to make an appearance on TV show Kommotion with Mike Furber [see #596, 1,658] and The Loved Ones. While the single wasn’t a hit, it did make the lower echelons of the Melbourne charts, helped along no doubt by the band’s growing reputation as a killer live act. Playing venues such as Pinocchio’s, 5-4-3-2-1 and the Thumpin’ Tum, they blew audiences’ minds (and ear drums) with their fast, loud and feedback-heavy shows. . . . The band would soon return to the small town of Maryborough and try to sell their record. Truth be told, most people didn’t hear either side of the record and the group soon disbanded to go about their normal daily lives. Their recording didn’t get a breath of attention until 1980 when a Melbourne record collector compiled a bunch of his favourite forgotten singles from unheralded local bands dating between 1964-1967 and released them on an album called Ugly Things.

http://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-elois.html?m=1

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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

1,679) The Second Movement — “Fairyland (Why, Oh Why)”

“Rare Australian psychedelic pop/freakbeat” (urbanpharaoh, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3UozBJZNKU) with a Spanish classical guitar feel. Unique and mesmerizing.

Kimbo tells us:

The Second Movement played in and around Canberra in the late 60’s and early 70’s and were resident band at the Civic Hotel Lounge. The group became resident band at the Deakin Inn when it opened in 1969. The band played at the Deakin Inn up to six nights a week for four years until the band retired in 1974. In 1967 the band signed a recording contract with EMI and recorded two singles, ”The Big Top”/”Fairyland (Why, Why, Why)” and “It’s Love/Gabrielle” which were released nationally. . . . The singles had moderate success and made it into a few top 40 charts.

https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-second-movement.html

Discogs adds:

Originally called The Diplomats, in early 1968 the band changed its name to The Second Movement and recorded 8 original songs (written by lead vocalist Arthur Laing) at EMI in Sydney . . . . From that six hour session emerged [the band’s two] singles . . . . The band mainly played commercial pop music and wore flashy suits. . . . The band ceased around mid 1974, with Arthur Laing the only remaining original member. 

https://www.discogs.com/artist/3390343-The-Second-Movement?srsltid=AfmBOoptTY5v9-VUm5vfnvd1DP8hXSX3ByGmIXEAI2Or0c4Crb5Ud3EK

Finally, “the band included well-known Canberra musicians Peter Dodson, Alan Cook and Steve Maughan, who would later form the progressive rock band The Ritz”. (urbanpharaoh, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3UozBJZNKU)

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

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

1,678) Billy Nicholls — “Portobello Road”

Another installment of gorgeous UK pop psych from Billy Nicholls, who gifted us with one of, if not the, greatest “lost” albums of the ’60’s — Would You Believe (see #2, 64, 144, 428, 757, 964, 1,085, 1,205, 1,396). As David Wells says, “lost classic is a much abused term amongst pop historians, but it’s difficult to know how else to describe Would You Believe.”(Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era) 

“[T]he psych life affirmation pop of ‘portobello rd’ actually takes
you there…it’s like a swingin’ tardis, man!!” (moondoggieferg, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/billy-nicholls/would-you-believe/reviews/5/) “Perhaps, it was a Magic mushroom road”. (thomassmith8721, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXVgAAdTlDI) Well, if 20 Turkish “cigarettes” go for a pound . . . perhaps!

Euphorik6 is spot on in observing that Would You Believe “is a distillation of a time – whatever made swinging London swing is captured in these tracks” (https://johnkatsmc5.tumblr.com/post/180490928324/billy-nicholls-would-you-believe-1968-mega-rare/amp), as is Rising Storm in observing that “the album is still the epitome of sixties Britsike, a bunch of fine acid-pop songs rendered with glorious harmonies and superb lysergic arrangements that wouldn’t have disgraced George Martin.” (https://johnkatsmc5.tumblr.com/post/180490928324/billy-nicholls-would-you-believe-1968-mega-rare/amp). As Graham Reid notes, “[t]he album . . . reminds again of how much British psychedelic music was driven by different traditions (brass bands, pastoral classical music, music hall singalongs, strings . . .) than electric guitars which were so prominent in America at the time.” (https://www.elsewhere.co.nz/weneedtotalkabout/8107/we-need-to-talk-about-billy-nicholls-would-you-believe-care-for-pet-sounds-inna-english-accent-g). And as MusicStack says. “this soundtrack to a Swinging London that never was contains songs so great . . . you’ll swear you’ve heard them before.” (https://www.musicstack.com/album/billy+nicholls/would+you+believe)

Len explains that:

When [Andrew Loog] Oldham fell out with the Stones in 1967 he redirected all his resources into making the youthful Nicholls a star of the psychedelic pop scene. The results were the single “Would You Believe”, which hitthe racks in January 1968, and the like-titled album that followed in short order. The single has been described as “the most over-produced record of the sixties”, and with reason; a modest psych-pop love song, it’s swathed in overblown orchestration including baroque strings, harpsichord, banjo (!), tuba (!!), and demented answer-back vocals from Steve Marriott. A trifle late for the high tide of UK psych, it failed to trouble the charts. Unfazed, Oldham and Nicholls pressed on with the album, Nicholls providing a steady stream of similarly well-crafted ditties and a bevy of top-rated London sessionmen providing the backings . . . . The album was ready for pressing just as the revelation of Oldham’s reckless financial overstretch brought about Immediate’s overnight demise, and only about a hundred copies ever made it to wax . . . .

https://therisingstorm.net/billy-nicholls-would-you-believe/

In words that I could have written myself, Rising Storm notes that “[i]t’s an absolute tragedy that this never got released, as it would DEFINITELY be hailed now as a solid gold true 60’s classic right up there with Pet Sounds, Blonde On Blonde . . . .” (https://johnkatsmc5.tumblr.com/post/180490928324/billy-nicholls-would-you-believe-1968-mega-rare/amp) I will never forgive Andrew Loog Oldham for letting Would You Believe sink (apparently literally) to the bottom of the sea.

It all come back to Pet Sounds. Oldham himself explains:

Pet Sounds changed my life for the better. It enhanced the drugs I was taking and made life eloquent and bearable during those times I set down in London and realised I was barely on speaking terms with those who lived in my home and understood them even less when they spoke – that’s when Brian Wilson spoke for me. My internal weather had been made better for the costs of two sides of vinyl.

2 Stoned

David Wells explains that:

[Oldham] was desperate to create a British corollary to the American harmony pop sound of the Beach Boys and the Mamas & Papas, and his nurturing of many Immediate acts only makes sense when considered from this perspective. But many of the label’s early signings . . . were merely pale imitations of the American model, copycat acts rather than originators who were further hamstrung by a lack of songwriting talent. And then along comes Billy Nicholls — a superb singer, gifted songwriter and as green as the Mendip hills. Oldham . . . quickly latched onto the manipulative possibilities. [H]e could turn his back on cutting unconvincing facsimiles of Brian Wilson tunes in order to mastermind his own three-minute pocket symphonies. Fired up by this grand conceit, Oldham commandeered the Nicholls sessions, recreating the American harmony pop sound in a resolutely English setting courtesy of a string of virtuosos production techniques, multi-layered harmonies and plenty of Wilsonesque baroque instrumentation. . . . [The album] can be see both as a magnificent achievement and an outrageous folly — how . . . Oldham thought he could recoup the budget that he’d bestown on the album is anyone’s guess.

liner notes to the CD “re”-issue of Would You Believe

Nicholls himself observed that “Andrew had a great belief in the songs I was writing . . . and fortunately we had Andrew’s money to spend fortunes on the orchestration.” (liner notes to the CD reissue of Would You Believe)

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

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

1,676) The Spectrum — “Portobello Road”

Utterly delightful, “a nice slice of whimsydelia it is” (zabadak, https://www.45cat.com/record/rca1619), “a song about London’s then fashionable street market, which surprisingly failed to chart despite considerable airplay on pirate radio [including Radio London]”. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “Never understand why this wasnt a hit, much played on Radio Caroline in August 1967 – and the Admiral Robbie Dale’s sureshot too!” (Paul Rusling, https://www.45cat.com/record/rca1619) “The record itself was a sly dig at consumerism that was even then nudging in on the counter-culture, hidden in a stately 60s Pop shell – ‘when business starts, the friendship ends’.” (Ian Canty, https://louderthanwar.com/the-spectrum-all-the-colours-of-the-spectrum-album-review/) “Feeling good but at a price”!

As to the Spectrum, Fred Thomas writes:

British pop/rock band the Spectrum were formed in 1964, first going under the name the Group 5 with a lineup of vocalist Colin Forsey, guitarist Tony Atkins, bassist Tony Judd, keyboardist Bill Chambers, and drummer Keith Forsey. After issuing one single in 1965 . . . the band changed its name and achieved a number one hit in Spain with the debut single “Samantha’s Mine,” though the Spectrum would linger in relative obscurity in their home country for the remainder of their existence. Though their songs failed to chart in the U.K., they were featured performing the title song to the popular children’s television program Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, as well as contributing to various film soundtracks. Subsequent singles charted in Spain and Germany, and a self-titled full-length was issued only in Spain in 1969. After some minor lineup changes, the group released full-length The Light Is Dark Enough in 1970 and split up shortly thereafter. 

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-spectrum-mn0001270069#biography

Ian Canty gives the full Spectrum:

[T]he Spectrum story begins at the very start of the 1960s. Early participants included . . . Charlie Watts, but the band settled itself around singer/guitarist Colin Forsey, lead guitarist Tony Atkins and bass player Anthony Judd. They supported the Beatles in 1963 working under the name of Dale Stevens and the Group Five, but generally busied themselves with live work in and around the capital. . . . [T]heir first recording action was a cheapo LP of covers cut for the European market . . . under the snappier sobriquet Group Five. . . . After a debut single release with the oddly dated, Doo Wop-tinged “Little Girl” on EMI, they were snapped up by RCA, who through some sort of agreement with Screen Gems (“The Monkees” makers) decided that the time was right to repeat the Monkee modus operandi with a British band. Around this time both Colin’s brother Keith came in on drums and keyboard player Bill Chambers . . . also joined the band. Though trumpeting the band as the new Monkees the bands didn’t actually have much in common, the Spectrum being a working group in their own right for 7 years before the bigwigs at RCA “discovered” them. Around this time too came possibly the Spectrum’s biggest break, via a link up with the Gerry/Victoria Anderson “supermarionation” tv series “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons”. Apparently the Andersons heard the group on the radio and seeing they shared names with the security organisation in the show, decided the Spectrum should record a new end theme for the programme as well as having a Monkees’ like tie-in to the show. This resulted in the band having to wear Captain Scarlet outfits (well it was the 60s!), which meant the odd spectacle of the band being filmed messing about Monkees-style on the Portbello Road (the title of their current single at the time), dressed in their puppet uniforms and driving about in a Mini-Moke.

https://louderthanwar.com/the-spectrum-all-the-colours-of-the-spectrum-album-review/

Discogs adds that:

But their third single, “Headin’ for a Heatwave,” hit number one in Spain, and their fifth single, a cover of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” reached the top spot in Germany during 1968. The group was also featured in the closing credits of the Gerry Anderson-produced series Captain Scarlet & the Mysterons, singing the title song, but this exposure failed to get them any significant sales and the song was never issued commercially . . . . This early record of mixed success seemed to be nothing up a hiccup in the career of Keith Forsey, who went on to play drums with numerous other artists, in addition to becoming a major songwriter (including co-authoring “Flashdance (What a Feeling)” and “Don’t You Forget About Me”) and producing Billy Idol, Nina Hagen, the Pointer Sisters, and the Psychedelic Furs, among numerous other artists, and writing several movie soundtracks.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/339425-The-Spectrum

1,677) The Gathering — “Portobello Road”

The Gathering’s cover is even better. Pop Archives writes that:

The Gathering had the original single by The Spectrum as a reference, thanks to Perkins’s brother who would ship him the latest singles from England. This wasn’t a slavish copy of the original’s wistful Toytown sound, though: the Aussies made it their own with stronger rhythm and lead vocals.

https://poparchives.com.au/the-gathering/portobello-road/

Kimbo tells us of the Gathering:

The Gathering, formed in 1967, were a covers band from Melbourne. The original lineup was Col Perkins on lead vocal and guitar (ex-The Outlaws, Cherry Stones), Cliff Newby on lead guitar (ex-The Outlaws, The Beavers), John “Hank” Wallis on drums (ex-The Flies with future solo pop star Ronnie Burns [see #1,657]) and Barry Patterson on bass (ex-The Outlaws). Their first single “Portobello Road” was released in 1968 on the Astor label and made the lower end of the charts [#87]. Festival signed them up and their second single “Lovely Loretta” . . . fared much better. They played this song on the ABC show Hit Scene. Their final charting single was “Rosetta” (1972, #21 Melbourne). Two more singles followed but they went nowhere. Other TV shows they appeared on were Uptight, Happening 71 and Turning On. They disbanded in 1973. Wallis and Perkins would later form Wallis and Matilda who had a hit with the Banjo Patterson poem “Clancy Of The Overflow” in 1980.

https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-gathering.html

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

1,675) The Strangers — “Take the Time”

Australia was no stranger to the Strangers. Here they give us gorgeous and romantic harmony pop with “absolutely brilliant harmonies and musicianship!” (karabata297, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H982r-UPraY) written and sung by John Farrar.

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

The Strangers were one of the best and most important Australian pop bands of the 1960s, and their contributions should be better recognised, because they played a vital role in shaping the sound of Australian Sixties pop. They enjoyed considerable success as a recording act, in their own right, gained national recognition through their many concert and TV appearances, and they were universally regarded one of the most versatile and musically accomplished bands in the country. . . . [T]hey quickly became Australia’s most in-demand backing group for recordings, the concert stage and TV. . . . [I]t’s not unreasonable to describe them as Australia’s version of L.A.’s famous “Wrecking Crew”. Original members Peter Robinson, Laurie Arthur and Fred Weiland all knew each other from Glenroy High School, although they had lost touch . . . and moved into different bands. Peter met Garth Thompson in 1961 and they talked about the idea of forming a group based around material by popular overseas artists like The Ventures, The Shadows, Rick Nelson, Elvis Presley Carl Perkins, Ray Charles and Hank Ballard. Thanks to a chance meeting with his old friend Laurie Arthur on a train from Glenroy to the city, Peter realised that Laurie and Fred had similar ideas and tastes, so they decided to join forces. . . . . The Strangers began their performing career at the Glenroy Police Boys’ Youth Club, promoting their own dances and also booking and backing many of the current popular solo acts . . . . They were soon drawing regular crowds of 800-1200 people every Saturday night . . . . They quickly rose to become one of the top bands on the booming Melbourne dance circuit . . . . In late 1962, after cutting a series of demos, they signed a contract with local label W&G Records, having already proven their worth as a studio band . . . . [T]hey were profoundly influenced by the new wave of British guitar acts like The Shadows and The Tornados, and their set-list in earlier days was dominated by Cliff Richards/Shadows covers . . . . Their first single, “Cry of the Wild Geese” was a notable success, reaching #12 in Melbourne. This was followed by three more instrumental Singles during 1963, one of which reached the lower end of the Melbourne Top 40. Their first vocal single, a cover of the perennial “Poppa Oom Mow Mow” came out in early 1964. The group’s first big break came in January 1964 when they were booked as the support act on [a] tour with Roy Orbison, The Beach Boys, The Surfaris and Paul & Paula. Laurie Arthur left the group around this time . . . and . . . was replaced by a ferociously talented 18-year-old guitarist-singer called John Farrar. . . . [H]is arrival enabled to the band to cover material such as The Beach Boys covers, which few other local groups could convincingly tackle. Indeed, the Strangers became extremely adept at creating note-perfect renditions of the latest hits by The Beatles, The Beach Boys and many other overseas acts. By late 1964 . . . . aside from their own recordings, they were more and more in demand as session musicians . . . . The group were voted top instrumental/vocal group of 1964. . . . Their biggest break was in August 1964, when The Strangers were selected as the ‘house’ band for the new ‘Australian pop Tv show, The Go!! Show, broadcast nationally on the new 0-10 Network. The Strangers backed the numerous solo singers who performed on the program, as well as featuring on their own. . . . Between 1964 and 1967 The Strangers recorded eight Singles, one EP and one LP under their own name for W&G . . . . [and] they recorded scores if not hundreds of other tracks as a backing group for other artists, as well the many numbers they taped as backing tracks for The Go!! Show . [But] they did not break out to major national success as recording artists . . . . After their W&G contract expired they briefly signed to the Go!! label in 1967 and their only Go!! single, “Western Union” . . . returned them to the Melbourne charts, reaching #30. Around this time vocalist Terry Walker . . . replaced Fred Weiland . . . . [When] The Go!! Show had been cancelled and the Go!! label had folded . . . [they] moved on to the Philips label, for whom they recorded three Singles. The first, “Happy Without You”, was quite successful — it reached #39 nationally in May 1968, but went as high as #8 in Melbourne and #11 in Brisbane. . . . In 1970 they signed to Ron Tudor’s new Fable label. . . . The Strangers’ biggest commercial success came with their 1970 single “Melanie Makes Me Smile”, which peaked at #10 and spent eighteen weeks in the national chart.

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

Here they are on Uptight, broadcast on October 19, 1968. Uptight was “an Australian music television series aired on ATV-0 in Melbourne in 1967 until 1969 every Saturday mornings at 8am to 12pm . . . hosted by Ross D. Wylie.” (nzoz1968, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YltLghbcwls):

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

1,674) The Sunsets — “I Want Love”

World-class garage rock from Australia’s Sunsets (see #403), who would morph into proggers Tamam Shud (see #1,058). Man, this unrelenting testosterone-fueled epic sounds like it came straight outta Cleveland or Corpus Christi. What do we want? Love! When do we want it? Now!

World Treasures Music writes:

Tamam Shud evolved from an instrumental surf band called The Four Strangers, formed in 1964 in Newcastle, New South Wales. . . . As The Strangers in 1965 they issued the single “Sad and Lonely” and then changed their name to The Sunsets. The Sunset’s tracks were used for two surf films – A Life in the Sun (1966) and The Hot Generation (1967) – both directed by Paul Witzig. Later that year . . . the group . . . changed their name to Tamam Shud.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/worldtreasuresmusic.com/2016/08/06/evolution-tamun-shuds-cult-surf-soundtrack/amp/

Alec Paleo adds that:

[The Sunsets] smarted from press criticism that they were behind-the-times [because of the surf music], when in fact, after moving to Sydney permanently . . . the group had begun to psychedelicise at a rapid rate. By the years end [bassist Eric] Connell had quit and the group had become Tamam Shud.

liner notes to the CD comp Hot Generation!: 1960s Punk from Down Under

The authoritative Milesago: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 delves deeper:

[The band’s] origins lay in Newcastle instrumental band The Four Strangers — Dannie Davidson (drums), Zac Zytnic (guitar), Eric Connell (bass) and Gary Johns (guitar). They cut one well-regarded surf instrumental single “The Rip”/”Pearl Diver”, for the Astor label in 1964. Johns left the band at the end of the year and was replaced by singer-guitarist Lindsay Bjerre. . . . Under Bjerre’s guidance The Four Strangers . . . were steered into a more up-to-date beat/R&B style and they snared a five-year deal with the Festival label. . . . Their first Festival release was a gritty R&B single “Sad & Lonely”/”You’ll Be Mine”, which sold in respectable numbers in their hometown of Newcastle. At the end of the year they changed their name to The Sunsets and during 1966, as they became one of the top bands in Newcastle, they began making forays into Sydney. During this period they also recorded the music for the soundtracks for Paul Witzig’s surf-films A Life In The Sun and Hot Generation. While very successful, this link contributed to them being pigeonholed, quite inaccurately, as a surf band . . . . The Sunsets shifted to Sydney’s eastern suburbs in 1966 . . . . 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.

Lindsay: “We played at this nightclub, Digby’s, just as 1967 came around and the whole LSD thing took off. The start of acid rock, the hippies, LSD, all those things first hit. The big revolution took place. We were doing covers, “Happy Together” by The Turtles, Eric Burdon & The Animals stuff, and [a] few of our own things and we were playing six nights a week and it made the band incredibly tight. The whole band took LSD and no longer were we innocent surfie guys. All the people we ran into around the drug scene were putting us onto Albums like Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow, Arthur Lee and Love’s Da Capo. We were all getting into jazz.” 

As the year progressed The Sunsets, now immersed in the blossoming psychedelic scene, reinvented themselves as Tamam Shud. . . . They were certainly one of the first Australian groups to take up the new acid-rock style led by artists like Cream, Hendrix and Pink Floyd.

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

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

1,673) The Wild Colonials — “Get the Picture”

I love me my Pretty Things (see #82, 94, 153, 251, 572, 731, 892, 1,001, 1,327), but these wild Australians’ cover exceeded the original on ‘65’s “Get the Picture”. The Pretty’s version seems pretty lethargic, a “head-boppin’, but ultimately static number” (DangHeck, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=38082), but the A-side to the second of the Colonials’ three singles is magical and “has become something of a classic of Australian ’60s rock”. (Kimbo, https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/tough-melbourne-beat-group-which-issued.html) Though frankwren8215 writes that “My dad was the rhythm guitar player for this, and it’s about as subpar as everything else he did. I’m proof of that.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hq2WjuS5Lk) 🤣

Kimbo tells us of the WC:

Tough Melbourne beat group originally called The Pressmen. They were discovered by Pinocchios owner Garry Spry. In 1965 they auditioned for the job as house band at Pinocchio’s night club. Pincocchios promotions manager, Jeff Joseph liked what he saw and booked them for a six-month residency. This also saw a name change to The Wild Colonials. In the same year they had regular appearances on TV in Melbourne and Sydney and scored a recording contract with EMI that saw them release three singles on their HMV imprint. . . . In Jan 1966 they supported the Herman’s Hermits and Tom Jones tour of Australia. . . . They disbanded in 1967.

https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/tough-melbourne-beat-group-which-issued.html

Here are the Pretty Things:

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The D-Coys — ATV-10 program The Go!! Show — September 19, 1966.

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

1,671) The Roulettes — “Bad Time”

How was this “priceless” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/album/stakes-chips-mw0000057150) irresistible ‘64 Merseybeat number not a hit (though it did reach #43 on Melody Maker)? (My Friend Jack, https://www.45cat.com/record/r5110)) Well, listen to the first line. Did he really say that? Well, teabiscuit “got a 45 of this & he really does seem to be saying a rude word, if more like ‘Wuck’ out of the door a regional accent.” (https://www.45cat.com/record/r5110) But to alquin, “[i]f anyone really thinks that there is a ‘rude’ word in the sentence ‘If you should walk right out of this door, and never come back anymore’ then that person has only him/herself to blame…” (https://www.45cat.com/record/r5110)

Bruce Eder writes about the Roulettes:

An underrated British quartet made up of John Rogan (bass), Russ Ballard (lead guitar), Peter Thorpe (rhythm guitar), and Bob Henrit (drums), the Roulettes featured future Argent alumnus . . . Ballard on lead guitar. They were originally formed as a backing band for . . . Adam Faith [see #1,274] . . . . Beginning in 1963 with the start of the rock & roll explosion coming out of Liverpool, the group was somewhat reorganized, and their and Faith’s work together became much more assertive; the result was Faith’s last big hit “The First Time” in August of 1963. The group began recording on their own for EMI in late 1963 and revealed themselves as an above-average group, fully competitive on a musical level with acts like the Searchers and the Hollies. . . . [with] soaring harmonies behind strong lead vocals, crisp guitar playing, and a good ear for memorable hooks. Ballard and Henrit and also appeared on “Concrete and Clay,” a major hit for the acoustic rock outfit Unit Four Plus Two, but the Roulettes’ own records stubbornly failed to make the charts. By 1965, they’d split with Adam Faith, but the concentration on their own careers didn’t change the inexplicably lackluster performance of their records. The group soldiered on through 1967 without any chart success, playing shows on the European continent, where any good British rock band could still earn a decent living. Finally, Ballard and Henrit joined Unit Four Plus Two, while Thorpe and Rogan left the music business. [Then] Ballard and Henrit hooked up with Rod Argent and Chris White, late of the Zombies, and formed Argent . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-roulettes-mn0000491652#biography

1,672) The D-Coys — “Bad Times”

The D-Coys give us an even better version — “one of the best beat songs I know . . . a censored cover of a Roulettes song” (michelst14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbhxDWvgoJ8), with “the offending line . . . pointedly sung as Back right out”. (duckrrrs, https://www.45cat.com/record/r5110)

“Oh rip it up baby!!! (livinlifetothefullest2750, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvCbLTMJMsM) “Love this. The aussies kill it”. (harrywmiller, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk4UabDPXlk) “[F]erociously fetching”. (Beverly Paterson, https://somethingelsereviews.com/2013/11/27/the-bee-gees-easybeats-others-down-under-nuggets-original-australian-artyfacts-1965-67/ “[N]othing short of . . . sensational”. (djiaind, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-d-coys/bad-times-youre-against/) Yeah, baby! And they kill it on the Go!! Show!

Kimbo:

The D Coys formed as a trio in Adelaide, South Australia around 1965. By 1966 Alistair Innes was the only one left until he was joined by Kevin Smith (ex-The Viscounts). After being signed by EMI they moved to Melbourne, released three singles, appeared on the Go!! Show and then sunk into obscurity. Kevin Smith would end up fronting The Cherokees around 1967. Innes later turned up in Multiple Balloon.

https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-d-coys.html

Pop Archives:

Glenn A. Baker, who included “Bad Times” on his landmark Ugly Things Vol. 1 collection (1980), wrote that they were “remarkably adept at producing both great pop and great punk on either side of the one single”, and noted that [Alistair] Innes was a fine songwriter. Ian McFarlane in his Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (1999) . . . [found] “jubilant pop and tough garage-punk on either side of one single”.

https://poparchives.com.au/the-vacant-lot/leaving-here/#the-d-coys:leaving-here

Oh, and from Verona here is I Memphis’ ’67 Italian version — “Che Farò”/”What Will I Do”:

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

1,670) The Lost Souls — “This Life of Mine”

Today’s phrase is Animal angst! This “gritty slab of Animals-inspired angst” (Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD comp Nuggets II (Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969)), this “angst-laden punk complaint . . . was heavily influenced by the Animals, both in [Rob] Woff’s vocal performance and its pounding beat, while the fuzz-laden guitar called to mind the Pretty Things [see #82, 94, 153, 251, 572, 731, 892, 1,001, 1,327] at their raunchiest, and the whole record rivalled the Who [see #548, 833, 976] for ballsiness.” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-lost-souls-mn0001293249#biography)

Mike Stax adds that: “Delivered over a dark, brooding backdrop of booming bass, angry fuzz, and a barbed-wire rhythm guitar, the lyrics . . . are indicative of a new attitude among rock ‘n’ roll musicians who wanted to move away from hackneyed boy-girl themes and write about their personal experiences of frustration and alienation”. (liner notes to Nuggets II (Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969))

Kimbo dives downunder into the underworld to find the Lost Souls:

The Lost Souls formed in Melbourne in 1965. . . . In August 1966 they entered a talent quest for amateur pop artists called Star Seeker. It was conducted by radio station 3AK and the first prize was a recording agreement with Sunshine Records. The Lost Souls won it and wanted to record [Bo Diddley’s] ‘Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut’ [see #1,326-28] but the label did not want to go along with the idea. Sydney band The Missing Links! had already recorded it [see #1,328]. The band ended up recording “This Life Of Mine” backed with ”Peace Of Mind”. Both sides were written by the band. Released in September 1966, with 3AK getting right behind it turned the single into a minor hit reaching the top 20 on the Melbourne charts. The band recorded more material . . . in 1967 which wasn’t released at the time but later came available as an EP on the Kavern label in 1987. They disbanded in 1968. Guitarist Bill Putt would go on to play bass with Spectrum from its 1969 formation through to its disbandment in 1973, after which he went on to form the band, Ariel.

https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-lost-souls.html

Alec Palao adds that “[t]he Melbourne based combo haunted the local scene, purveying a brand of Anglicised R&B”. (liner notes to the CD comp Hot Generation!: 1960s Punk from Down Under)

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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

1,669) Steve & Stevie — “As I See My Life”

Yesterday, I wandered through Australia’s Groves of gorgeous music, or at least Australia’s Steve Groves’ gorgeous music with the Kinetics (see #1,668). Today — Groves’ gorgeous music with Steve & Stevie (see #1,496). “In my dreamworld, I am the man I want to be”

Peter Gough tells us:

Steve & Stevie aka Steve Kipner and Steve Groves were an Australian popsike harmony duo who released their only album (under this name) on the small, Toast record label in the UK in 1968. As is the case with most Australian and New Zealand bands from the sixties, the sound is very British like. A good comparison would be Chad & Jeremy [see #1,060], although this is possibly a little more twee! . . . The whole of this album consists of both of the Steve’s Davey Jones-like, chipmunk voices harmonising over a heavily orchestrated backing, courtesy of Gerry Shury . . . listed here as Jerry Shuri. If there was ever a record to “File under Fading Yellow” then this is it! If you like one song then you’ll like them all. Production was handled by Steve Kipner’s father Nat, who owned Oz record label Spin and is famous for signing the Bee Gees in 1966 and producing their single “Spicks and Specks”. The first two tracks on the album, “Merry Go Round” and “Remain To Be Seen” were tipped as a single by Toast in the UK but failed to chart. There is not a bad song on here and picking a favourite is hard . . . . Following the failure of the LP, Kipner and Groves relocated to the UK in 1969 and under the guidance of Maurice Gibb, changed their name to Tin Tin [see #355, 1,121], releasing a couple of killer albums for Polydor records.

https://biteitdeep.blogspot.com/2014/06/steve-stevie-steve-stevie-1968.html?m=1

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

1,668) The Kinetics — “Fed-uping Day”

Mellow, melancholy Australian gold from a group featuring future Tin Tin man Steve Groves. He had a heart!

Kimbo:

The Kinetics were a popular band in Melbourne following their formation in 1965. Playing a progressive style of pop/rock, they managed to score a recording contract with the international label CBS although none of their three singles was released outside of Australia. The first single ”Excuses” and third single ”You’re So Good For Me” charted at #18 and #29 respectively on the local Melbourne charts and nationally they peaked just outside the Top 50. The group quickly became popular at local dances. They toured up and down the east coast . . . . Following the band’s last single which charted in July ’67, [vocalist] Steve Groves left, and they changed their name to The Trap adding Yvonne Barrett on vocals. No recorded product eventuated and they disbanded at the end of 1967. Steve Groves relocated to England in 1968 and teamed up with Steve Kipner (ex-Steve & the Board) to form Steve and Stevie [see #1,496] as a vocal harmony duo where they recorded an unsuccessful LP on Toast Records. . . . After Kipner ran into Barry Gibb in 1969, Kipner and Groves were signed to Robert Stigwood with Maurice Gibb as their producer. Under the name Tin Tin [see #355, 1,121], the group scored an international hit, “Toast and Marmalade for Tea,” which was a #10 hit on the Go-Set National Singles Chart and went No. 20 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100. . . . Steve then returned home and played in many low-key Australian bands over the next 30 years. John Vallins went on to co-write the Johnny Mathis/Deniece Williams million selling smash “Too Much, Too Little Too Late”.

https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-kinetics.html

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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

1,667) The Twilights — “Comin’ on Down”

From “one of the most successful and popular Australian pop acts of the 1960s” (see #563) comes a late gem, a “cosmic, slightly confusing, phasing-drenched [song that] seemed to be about the apocalypse or something”. (Paul Culnane, http://www.milesago.com/artists/twilights.htm) “I don’t want to be afraid
When Father Time ticks in the hour”. Yeah, doesn’t read “hit”, but a really cool song.

Paul Culnane sheds some light on the Twilights in the definitive Milesago: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964 -1975:

The[y] have earned acclaim and respect for their formidable body of recorded work, coupled with their legendary status as arguably the most polished and accomplished Australian live act of the era. . . . [I]n Elizabeth, north of Adelaide in South Australia, a[] mob of young guys, like so many youths all over the world, were seduced by the magic of . . . “A Hard Days’ Night”. Drawn together by their British origins . . . Glenn Shorrock (hailing originally from Kent, UK), and his friends Mike Sykes and Clem “Paddy” McCartney (although born in Belfast, blessed with a classic albatross of a surname!), formed an a-cappella trio to try out their pop and folk wares, eventually gaining regular bookings around the relatively meagre Adelaide folk/coffee-house circuit. Occasionally, and especially for more prestige engagements, the vocal three-piece teamed with local instrumental outfits, among them The Vector Men and The Hurricanes. . . . The Twilights and The Hurricans developed a solid bond. . . . [T]he prospect of blending it all together . . . prove[d] irresistible. Thus, the six-piece, fully electric-and-vocal group as we know and revere them, was born. Still based in Adelaide, self-managed and produced, the newly-formed band released its debut single, “I’ll Be Where You Are” . . . in June 1964. . . . [that] got some airplay in Melbourne but failed to chart outside their hometown. Subsequent releases made further inroads — their second single, “Wanted To Sell”, cracked the Melbourne charts and the third . . . “If She Finds Out” gained them fans in Sydney and Brisbane. The Twilights began to cause a stir with their dynamic live shows in Adelaide, and a ‘vibe’ quickly built about the band who could knock out note-perfect renditions of the latest hits with ease and could also rock out with wild abandon. . . . After taking over the group’s management, [Gary] Spry’s strategy was to establish the group in Australia’s pop capital, Melbourne, so The Twilights moved there in late 1965, and rapidly became established as one of the top acts . . . . It was with their classic fifth single “Needle In A Haystack” that The Twilights achieved national success. . . . [with a] superb rendition of the Motown song (originally cut by Martha & The Vandellas) . . . . [that] was a Top 10 in most states and reached the coveted #1 spot on the new Go-Set national chart in October 1966. . . . And to consolidate, the funky follow-up . . . a cover of the Sam Cook classic “You Got Soul”, together with a strong first album, confirmed critics’ and fans’ faith in the band. On their eponymous debut LP, The Twilights demonstrated their diversity as a recording unit. With a strong mix of self-penned tunes, songs specially written for them ([including] by Barry Gibb . . . ), and tour-de-force reproductions of their stage favourites, the group’s dexterity with a variety of styles was proven. . . . The next milestone was a new established national pop competition, The Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds. . . . [F]irst prize being full return passage to England . . . two definite gigs and $1,000 prize money. . . . [They won] the competition ahead of over 500 other hopefuls. . . . [In] September 1966 the group set sail for London, and . . . made a bee-line for all the essential landmarks of swingin’ London. . . . [T]he band’s lofty ambitions were tempered somewhat when the boys were confronted by the sheer quantity and quality of the British groups they encountered. . . . A clutch of songs from the Abbey Road sessions soon saw release back in Australia. In February, the splendid “What’s Wrong With The Way I Live?” made the national Top 10. . . . [c]omposed especially for the group by Graham Nash, Tony Hicks and Alan Clarke of The Hollies . . . . The third song recorded [was] the next a-side. “Young Girl” was a Laurie Pryor tune — melancholy and evocative . . . . [and] became the group’s biggest hit to date. . . . [There was the] increasing dominance of Terry Britten. . . . [who] seemed the one to have most absorbed the kaleidoscopic influences on offer in the melting pot of Swinging London. Not only did he sport the best clothes and haircut (!) of the bunch [and] exhibited the greatest creative growth in the band . . . . [He] assumed the role of chief songwriter and virtual helmsmanship. Embracing, like his hero George Harrison, elements of Eastern philosophy and religion, Terry introduced exotic instruments and musical forms into The Twilights’ music . . . . The last single from the group in 1967 [“Cathy Come Home”/”The Way They Play”] used the sitar as a lead instrument on both sides. . . . The spine-tingling A-side showed the group at the peak of its formidable pop powers . . . . The single was another unqualified airplay and chart success, but it was to be the last major hit that the band enjoyed. . . . [T]he Seven Network [invited them] to develop a weekly television sit-com series based around the group at work and play, loosely along the lines of “The Monkees” . . . . While the disappointing fate of the TV show was only revealed at the end of the year, when the Ford motor company withdrew its sponsorship, the project helped to inpsire what was to become The Twilights’ recording zenith, as the “soundtrack” to the shelved TV show took on a life of its own. A long gestation period, interspersed with the band’s most concentrated regime of live touring yet, resulted in one of the finest albums of the decade, Once Upon A Twilight. . . . [T]he album is essentially Britten’s own. . . . present[ing] a suite of spirited and captivating pop songs that hinted at brilliance. . . . Concurrent with the release of the album came the group’s eleventh single, “Always”. . . . Great single, crap response – the demise was about to set in. . . . [with a] lacklustre reception to . . . [the] album and the . . . single . . . . Nevertheless . . . . Melbourne was “theirs” as they dominated the city’s thriving dance and disco circuit. . . . [T]he group released the double-a-side, “Tell Me Goodbye”/ “Comin’ On Down” in August. . . . It was a fine single . . . but criminally ignored by the public. By this time the band was beginning to outgrow the audience that had so hungrily supported them only months before. . . . Spry had quit as manager mid-year and internal divisions and petty power struggles had begun to surface. . . . Preparations for a return foray to the UK were thwarted later in the year when Laurie [Pryor] declined to participate and resigned from the group . . . . Disappointed and dejected with their recent lack of progress and perceived declining public response, the group decided then to cut its losses and disband . . . .

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

As to the breakup, Glenn Baker notes that they “were becoming disinterested; after all they had seen the Beatles record, been once joined on stage by an enthusiastic Steve Marriott and here they were, grinding away in the same old dives to audiences with whom they were gradually losing touch.” (liner notes to the CD comp The Twilights: The Way They Played)

Glenn Shorrock later was lead singer of the Little River Band and, as Paul Culnane says, Terry Britten became “songwriter to the stars . . . plac[ing] strong chart hits for Cliff Richard [and] Tina Turner . . . writing ‘Just Good Friends’ with Graham Lyle . . . for Michael Jackson’s mega-selling Bad album. . . . [and] winning a Grammy for his theme to the movie Mad Max 3 – Tina’s ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ ”. (http://www.milesago.com/artists/twilights.htm)

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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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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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

1,665) The Blue Beats — “She’s Comin’ Home”

Sneering, “Cracking 60’s Aussie Garage Beat” (Sean Parry, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1dBgGRJgUM) by a “Sydney-based band . . . . [that] changed their name when they moved from Melbourne where they were known as The Outcasts. Neither [of its two] single[s] was a hit, but the A-side of their first single, “She’s Comin’ Home”, written by the band’s Wayne Poll, has appeared on a number of retrospective collections”. (Pop Archives, https://poparchives.com.au/the-blue-beats/under-the-moon-of-love/)

The Blue Beats were comprised of Wayne Poll (vocals), Mike Gibbons (guitar) (also in the Dave Miller Set (see #1,010)), Brian Patterson (guitar) (also in Tony Worsley and the Blue Jays (see #349)), Barry Dessaux (bass) and John Pasto (drums).

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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

1,664) Doug Ashdown — “For Lovin’ Me”

Peter, Paul and Mary (see #1,307) had a #30 hit with this early Gordon Lightfoot (see #92, 167, 392) classic, which has been covered about a billion times (https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/119685/all) by everyone from Elvis Presley to Johnny Cash to Chad and Jeremy, but the hands down best version is by Australia’s folk giant Doug Ashdown (see #1,375, 1,589).

Of the song, William Ruhlmann writes:

In the liner notes to his 1999 box-set retrospective, Songbook, Gordon Lightfoot acknowledged that “For Lovin’ Me” was “likely the most chauvinistic song ever written.” Well, there’s stiff competition for that title, but certainly “For Lovin’ Me” is not kind to women. Against an attractive, fingerpicked guitar accompaniment, the peripatetic singer kisses off a woman he’s met and seduced with the careless remark, “That’s what you get for lovin’ me.” . . . [I]f you listen closely, “For Lovin’ Me” is a little too cruel, and a little too cool, to be entirely believable. Like “The Wanderer,” it is a song of transparently false boasting in which lines like, “I won’t think of you when I’m gone” and, “I’ll have a thousand ‘fore I’m through” come across as patent lies. Lightfoot notes that Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary heard a tongue-in-cheek quality in the song, which led him to suggest it to his group at a time when Lightfoot, a 26-year-old Canadian folksinger, was virtually unknown. Peter, Paul & Mary’s recording of “For Lovin’ Me” was released as a single during the winter of 1964-1965 . . . vastly increasing Lightfoot’s exposure and making the song a familiar one to folk fans. Lightfoot’s own version was released that spring, followed by covers by Ian and Sylvia and Chad and Jeremy. Peter, Paul & Mary’s version remains the best-known one, but the song is significant as the first Gordon Lightfoot composition to get wide attention.

https://www.allmusic.com/song/for-lovin-me-mt0005811460

The genius of Ashdown’s version is that it comes across as neither a cruel kiss-off nor a comic farce, but rather as gut-wrenching tragedy, with the singer left devastated. The reality is clearly the exact opposite of the bravado conveyed by his words.

Ashdown tells us of Ashdown:

After playing lead guitar in a Shadows/Beatles cover band, I descended into the subterranean world of the folk clubs where I became a Dylan impersonator supreme. My first real break came when I recorded my debut album for CBS. I think it garnered me a tin record for 25 sales! My album Source released in 1968 featured one of my first compositions “Something Strange”. I got busy writing my own songs and began to write with Jim Stewart. Jim and I co-wrote an album called the Age Of Mouse. Featuring the band Fraternity, it was the first double album of original material released in Australia. I then travelled to Nashville where I lived and worked for three years. While there I met many great writers and singers, ate and drank lots of  “country breakfasts” and co-wrote many songs. One of these, “Just Thank Me”, became a number one country hit for the late David Rogers. Another unforgettable experience while in Nashville was co-producing a single for, and touring with, the great Broadway star Carol Channing. During my stay in America I also performed at Gerdes Folk City in New York,  at the Exit Inn in Nashville and on the Mike Douglas TV show in Philadelphia. Upon returning to Australia I fronted the country rock band, The Sleeping Dogs.

https://www.dougashdown.com/

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

Adelaide-born Doug Ashdown . . . . had travelled to England [by age 17], where he played in a rock band, returning to Adelaide the following year and working as lead guitarist in The Bowmen with Bobby Bright . . . . Doug’s first major break came when he signed with CBS. . . . [O]ver the next three years he recorded three albums for them . . . This Is Doug Ashdown in 1965. . . . The Real Thing (1966) . . . . [and] Source (1968) . . . . [B]y decade’s end, he was an accomplished performer, songwriter and recording artist, and a leading light on the Australian folk scene. After his CBS contract expired Doug . . . [i]n 1969 . . . joined forces with expatriate Irish singer, songwriter and producer Jimmy Stewart who had recently formed the Sweet Peach label. . . . Doug’s fourth album, his first for Sweet Peach, was The Age Of Mouse which earned him a place in the history books as the first double album of original material ever released in Australia . . . . The songs were co-written with Jimmy Stewart . . . . Sweet Peach lifted three Singles . . . [t]he first two . . . local chart successes, and the album gained considerable critical acclaim. As a result, it was picked up by MCA for overseas release in fifty countries. . . . [and] had generated enough interest in the USA to prompt Doug and Jimmy to move there. . . . Doug was unable to crack the US market, so Jimmy and Doug returned to Australia where they set up a new label . . . . Stewart produced Doug’s next album entitled Leave Love Enough Alone (1974). . . . [T]he album’s evocative title track, co-written by Doug and Jimmy Stewart during a bitter winter in Nashville. . . . was released in September 1974 and received some airplay, but . . . [didn’t] ma[k]e the charts . . . . [It] proved to be a classic ‘sleeper’ and the breakthrough finally came more than a year later when it was retitled and reissued as “Winter In America”. . . . bec[oming] a major hit through late 1976 and early 1977, reaching #14 in Melbourne and #30 in Sydney. . . . [and] remains one of the most popular and enduring Australian songs of the ’70s . . . .

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

Kimbo adds:

[Ashdown] formed his own skiffle band, The Sapphires, in 1958. When his father transplanted the family back to England for nine months in 1960-1, the youthful Ashdown played electric guitar with an ensemble called Rommel and the Desert Rats. On return to Adelaide, he spent time (1961-4) as one of The Beaumen along with Bobby Bright . . . . “I discovered Dylan and that was it”. . . . Ashdown debuted as a folksinger at Adelaide’s Purple Cow, late in 1964, and he had his first big break when Tina Lawton asked him to substitute for her at a Town Hall concert. [He] . . . brought the house down. . . . . [H]e quickly became a fixture on the coffee lounge circuit. . . . Saturday nights frequently found him performing five gigs . . . . It was as the Folk Hut’s chief drawcard that Ashdown came to the attention of CBS’s Sven Libaek, then in Adelaide scouting for new talent. He was offered a recording contract . . . . Almost from the beginning, Ashdown objected to being categorised, insisting that he never thought of himself as a folksinger, and that he found the whole folk thing too restrictive. . . . Unsurprisingly, this lack of commitment to the folk scene earned Ashdown the disdain of the folk establishment – as did the commercial success and orientation of his recordings, or his willingness to record Lennon-McCartney’s ”Hide Your Love Away” . . . . On one occasion, a number of audience members walked out of a folk concert in Sydney when he attempted to perform an electrified version of Dylan’s ”I Shall Be Released”. Ashdown, in turn, once confessed to interviewer Greg Quill that his third album, the ground-breaking 1968 LP Source reflected his dissatisfaction with both the folk and mainstream music scenes. Intensely critical of the pop scene’s preoccupation with drugs, doom and destruction, he teamed up with Jimmy Stewart in 1968, creating a solid body of self-composed material about “real things” – small portraits and studies of individual lonelinesses and the patterns of particular loves, recounted (he maintained) without either judgment or world-shattering conclusions. The material was preserved on . . . The Age of Mouse . . . . 

https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/doug-ashdown.html

Here is Gordon Lightfoot:

Here are Peter, Paul & Mary:

Here is Johnny Cash:

Here is Elvis Presley:

Here are the Fleetwoods:

Here is Waylon Jennings:

Here are Chad and Jeremy:

Here are Ian and Sylvia:

Here are We Five:

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

1,663) The Avengers — “Twiddle-E-Dee”

Warning: If you are from Brisbane, read no further! This “unpromisingly titled [song] turns out to be a bouncy mod pop gem [verging on bubblegum], penned by the very talented Terry Britten who wrote some amazing psych stuff with The Twilights [see #563]” (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Wy8KN_hIw), that reached #13 there (#27 in Melbourne, and #46 in the Australian (Kent) Music Report)). (Badger45, https://www.45cat.com/record/do8756)

The definitive Milesago tells us of the Avengers (a pretty popular band name in the ‘60’s):

Formed in 1967, The Avengers built up a strong following on the Brisbane club and discotheque scene . . . and rose to become one of the top Queensland bands of the period. . . . [with a “repertoire [of] mainly Top 40 covers. They were signed to EMI’s Columbia label in 1968 and released their first single, “What Price Love”, in June 1968. Late in 1968 the original version of the group fell apart and a new lineup — singer Julian Jones, guitarist Keith Kirwin (ex Capital Showband), drummer Don Lebler and bassist Andy Tait — was recruited. This lasted for approximately a year and recorded a second single “Listen, Listen” [originally by the Merry-Go-Round, see #50] . . . (Jan. 1969). Neither single made any impression on the charts, although the group was very popular by this time and entered and won the Queensland final of the Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds. In early 1969, following the shock demise of The Twilights, lead singer Glenn Shorrock briefly took over as the Avengers’ manager. Ex Twilights guitarist Terry Britten wrote the A-side of The Avengers’ third single, “Tweedelee Dee”/”Caroline Court” (May 1969) which was a minor hit in Brisbane and their only charting single. By this time the band had relocated to Melbourne and the lineup had changed again — Kirwin quit, unhappy with the group’s pop direction, and he was replaced by former Zoot guitarist Roger Hicks and drummer Don Lebler. Hicks — who had recently quit Zoot, unhappy with the group’s corny “Think Pink” publicity campaign — was reportedly The Avengers’ second choice. They had were hoping to snare Rick Springfield . . . who, was being pursued by several Brisbane bands at the time but, in an ironic twist, Springfield turned down the Avengers’ offer and wound up taking Hicks’ place in Zoot. The ’68-’69 lineup of The Avengers broke up in September, with Don Lebler soon joining Shorrock in the new supergroup Axiom. By the end of the year bassist Andy Tait had put together The New Avengers, which included guitarist David Briggs. He played with the New Avengers for about six months before leaving to join highly regarded Melbourne band Cycle — who backed Russell Morris for some time.  Briggs was replaced by John Bush, but this last incarnation The Avengers last only a short time and broke up in late 1970. David Briggs of course went on to great success in the 1970s, replacing Rick Formosa as lead guitarist in Little River Band in 1976. In late 1979 former Avengers guitarist Keith Kirwan joined Doug Parkinson’s acclaimed Southern Star Band.

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

Here is a clip from “the first national edition of Hit Scene (ABC-TV Australia) May 17 1969, hosted by Dick Williams.” (Folk rock/Australian rock/MORE!, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlUmD78dD94&t=1s):

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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

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

1,662) Trevor McNamara — “Silver”

I could swear Bono was singing this “sweet open[ing song to McNamara’s sole LP Yeah Captain] sung with regret bordering on tears” (KildareJohn, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/trevor_mcnamara/yeah_captain/), a “pounding guitar-driven [number] . . . complete with a shattered, scratching guitar solo” (Steve Rostkoski, https://substack.com/home/post/p-158102075?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web) that is almost Edge-y. I can’t believe McNamara so blatantly ripped off U2 . . . wait a second, it was recorded in ’69 and released in ’71! Joey Dryfka says that “if Trev only ever recorded [this] one song . . . he would go down as one of the all-time great Aussies. It simply does not get much better than this.” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/176062052466424/posts/29481524741493433/)

As to Yeah Captain, “the whole album is great but very loner at times and trippy ta boot.” (Joey Dryfka again) Discogs notes that “Trevor creates a sound part way between acid rock and folk rock with multi-layered fuzz guitar mixing with acoustic guitar simple percussion and bass.” (https://www.discogs.com/release/3940562-Trevor-McNamara-Yeah-Captain?srsltid=AfmBOoqkSOchmnsHR58fbJS0wXx3LxdLgw_j-icvLs2siN0fhaQYUWjH) TastyOdds.com adds that it “is influenced by British electric singer and songwriters but also by early Pink Floyd and ranges between psychedelic, experimental folk and heavy rock in a fabulous and individual style. Trevor sang and played all instruments (all guitars, drums, flute, Moog, piano, cello). He created a perfect and fresh sound.” (https://www.tastyodds.com/en/Compact-Discs/Relics-from-the-past/Trevor-McNamara-Yeah-Captain-CD.html) And Steve Rostkoski writes that:

[Yeah Captain] bounces around from genre to genre like a pinball. . . . Australia’s version of the McCartney [see #132, 840] or Emitt Rhodes albums with the artist playing all the instruments himself. McNamara was a member of Musick Express who toured Australia extensively in the late 1960s and issued a hit single “Jackie’s Thing” [see #734] in 1970. The band broke up soon after and Trevor then gathered material for Yeah Captain, released in 1971. . . . [and] hav[ing] the flavor of a kaleidoscopic stage musical. It jumps from one short song to the other . . . . All in all, Yeah Captain is quite a trip. A trip that Trevor McNamara doesn’t particularly remember very fondly, so it turned out to be his last recorded work. The LP shows him to be a very imaginative musician who had the potential to create even more.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-158102075?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

The liner notes to the CD reissue of Yeah Captain tell us:

[After leaving] Musik Express to stage a rock opera called Piano which he wrote. . . . Trevor was urged to record, and the album Yeah Captain was made [in 1969] — Trevor was then 19. . . . All songs were written and performed by Trevor McNamara. . . . The record company suggested that short tracks be included on the album, because radio stations used “fillers” between hourly newsbreaks etc., and this would enable more airplay for the local release. . . . Trevor never liked [the LP].

Buffalo Billycan tells us more about McNamara:

Trevor McNamara’s career started in the Adelaide group 5 Sided Circle. During that time he also wrote “H.M.S. Buffalo”, picked up by psychedelic band Inside Looking Out for their last 45. He left after two years with and formed Musick Express. Their only single “Jackie’s Thing[“] . . . reached the Top 100 in 1970 but they quit soon afterwards. . . . He then recorded enough material for a solo album, which was finally released in 1971 on the little Nationwide label . . . . Musically speaking not much was heard about him since. As far as I understood he changed his instruments with brushes and found fulfillment in paintings but in 2010 he reformed his first band 5 Sided Circle for a few gigs.

https://faintlyblowing.blogspot.com/

The liner notes add:

He played in a band called 5 Sided Circle which was considered unique and ahead of its time in the “mod era” of music. He left after two years and formed . . . Musik Express. . . . [which] achieved national success in Australia and released . . . “Jackie’s Thing”, written by Trevor. . . . His work had been featured on many recordings, film scores, opera and a wide range of commercials in Australia. . . . [T]hese days Trevor is a successful businessman and contemporary artist. His paintings are featured all over Australia and the demand for his work grows daily.

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

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

1,661) The Executives — “Summer Hill Road”

This “glistening bauble of psych-pop whimsy” (Paul Culnane, http://www.milesago.com/artists/executives.htm) was a #15 hit in Perth and #35 in Sydney. (AussieOldies, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOChDAbGQkI)

Carole King (no, not that Carole King!) and her husband Brian founded the Executives (see #971), “widely regarded as . . . Australia’s most sophisticated pop group.” (Paul Culnane, http://www.milesago.com/artists/executives.htm) Paul Culnane writes in the authoritative Milesago: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 that:

[N]ot enough recognition has been accorded to The Executives. They . . . scored several Top 40 hits, including two consecutive Top 5 singles in Sydney . . . . They are also notable as one of the very first Australian groups to produce their own recordings. This polished sextet was founded by husband and wife Brian and Carole King in Sydney in late 1966, quickly gaining ‘must-see’ status around inner-city venues. Their musical expertise and versatility was unequalled for the time, and between them the six members could play thirty-one instruments, ranging from violin to harpsichord. In January 1967 they released their debut single, “Wander Boy” [see #452 for Bruno’s original version] backed by a cover of The Addrisi Brothers’ “You’re Bad”. . . . It was the one-two punch of follow-up 45s in mid-’67 that cemented The Executives’ reputation. “My Aim Is To Please You” was a beautifully arranged and recorded mid-paced ballad . . . . [that] became a sizeable national hit, peaking at #26 . . . . It paved the way for their biggest seller, the lush, majestic Steven Stills song “Sit Down I Think I Love You” . . . [in which they followed the arrangement of the Mojo Men (see #84)]. It was a Top 30 hit on most capital city charts . . . especially successful in Sydney, where it peaked at #4, and it reached #28 on the Go-Set chart in December. During 1968 they released a trio of self-produced singles, making them one of the very first Australian bands to produce their own recordings. The first was the brisk and catchy “It’s A Happening World” (March) written by . . . Barry Mann & Cynthia Weill, which made the Top 40 in Sydney and Brisbane [with “Moving in a Circle (see #971) the B-side]. The second was an irresistible slice of pure pop called “Windy Day” (June); originally recorded by US band The Lewis & Clark Expedition [see #427, 1,109], it . . . reached #7 [in Sydney]. The third single was . . . “Summerhill Road” (December) . . . . All . . . were respectable national sellers. . . . Shortly after the early-1968 release of their eponymous debut LP, The Executives made the first of two forays to the USA, where they attracted encouraging industry scrutiny. . . . [and] signed to the Buddha label . . . . Unfortunately nothing came of the Buddah deal, so they eventually returned to Australia. . . . [A] further bunch of singles, EPs and another album fared well on the charts, and they remained a popular live draw. . . . A second trip to America in late 1969 saw them absorbing the prevailing psychedelic-progressive trends [and] they changed their name to The Inner Sense, adopting a heavier musical style but still retaining their trademark vocal polish. The Mark 1 line-up of the group lasted until late 1969. . . . The Executive should be remembered for their sophisticated and inventive sound, those gorgeous vocal harmonies, their accomplished musicianship and their mastery of the three-minute pop single idiom.

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

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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.

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

1,660) Russ Kruger — “Keep Me Satisfied”

“Blistering Aussie freakbeat” (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLrq_K64tQc), “the best of the eight singles Kruger cut with the Atlantics between 1966 and 1968 . . . . [with] the distorted yet powerful sound of the [Atlantics’] classic singles “Come On” [see #1,656] and “It’s a Hard Life”, with an additional, abrasive, fuzz guitar for good measure.” (Alec Palao, liner notes to the CD comp Hot Generation: 1960s Punk from Down Under)

Kimbo tells us of Russ Kruger:

Russ Kruger (Russell Dellbridge) was born in Sydney . . . . He is the younger brother of recording star Johnny Rebb. He started his singing career in 1965 at the age of 17. Some of his single releases were produced by his brother and backed by The Atlantics. He recorded on the Leedon, Sunshine and Ramrods label. All in all, he released eight singles between 1966 – 69. https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/russ-kruger.html?m=1

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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.

Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.