Today's entry is a change of plan. I had an album ready to go but then I got a request. Long time listener, first time caller John Birrer put in a bid for The Easybeats.
I departed England for Australia at the end of September 1964 and left some great music behind. I had no idea what was ahead of me 12,000 miles away at the bottom of the world. The only Australian music we'd heard up to that time was stuff like Frank Ifield's 'She Taught Me To Yodel', the now discredited Rolf Harris singing about 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport' and Slim Dusty lamenting about his 'Pub With No Beer'.
Bobbing about on the immigrant ship as we got ever closer to the west coast of Australia I'd go up on deck with my portable radio and try to pick up a signal. One day towards the end of October, after almost 4 weeks at sea, through the crackle and static and interference I heard faintly, but so happily, the sounds of Roy Orbison singing 'Oh, Pretty Woman'. I knew then that life still had meaning.
We settled in Brisbane and my portable radio that once tuned in to Radio Luxembourg and Radio Caroline was now jumping between 4BC, 4BH and 4IP to pick up the music I was missing. Lots of British and American stuff but there was something else. Australian music !! Gradually, names started to become familiar. Even by 1964, Johnny O'Keefe was part of the old guard of rockers. Novelty songs by Lucky Starr, Rob E.G.'s big instrumental '55 Days at Peking' and sneaking over from next door neighbour New Zealand was Ray Columbus and the Invaders. By the following year, 1965, The Seekers gained some international fame but on home turf it was people like Billy Thorpe and Normie Rowe who kept the hope alive. Then suddenly, through the speaker of my trusty little radio came a choppy guitar, a cymbal and a primaeval scream.
"I woke up bright and early this mornin'
My little girl was not in sight
I been lookin' everywhere
Mornin', noon and daylight"
The Easybeats were here. This wasn't their first single, that was 'For My Woman' but this one, 'She's So Fine' made it's mark, reaching #3 on the Australian chart. On the strength of that they put out their first album - 'Easy' which had the distinction of being one of the earliest Australian albums where all the songs were written by members of the group. Most prolific amongst them was Stevie Wright and George Young. Between them they wrote or co-wrote 8 of the 14 tracks.
The Easybeats were adopted and claimed by Australia but in fact they were the very epitome of the Australian immigration policy. There were five founder members, George Young (rhythm guitar) was Scottish, Stevie Wright (vocalist) and Gordon 'Snowy' Fleet (drummer) were English and Dick Diamonde (bass) and Harry Vanda (lead guitar) were Dutch. In the true spirit of "New Australians" the 5 of them formed the band while they were all living at the Villawood Migrant Hostel.
Along came 1966. That's when I went to see The Loved Ones in concert in Brisbane supporting Eric Burdon & the Animals. They were raw and wild and finally here was a group that embraced the times and the changes. Things were looking up - Normie and Johnny and Billy were almost as bland as Frank Ifield compared to these guys. Then, not long after came a familiar sound. After minor hits with 'Wedding Ring' and the slower 'Sad, Lonely & Blue' here was more choppy choppy strumming and a catchy hook going into a roughly sung lyric -
"Mailman came this morning
Brought a message by
Said it was from my babe
Think I know just why"
The Easybeats were back with 'Sorry'. This was the one they'd been aiming for. This was their first Australian #1. Due to the close proximity it also hit #4 in New Zealand, but there was still no international success (that wasn't too far away). Because this was still the age of the extended play 45rpm, they also had a #1 hit with their fourth EP 'Easyfever', only the second time an EP had made it to the top of the charts.
1966 both in Australia and overseas had a very eclectic mix of hit songs. In between The Beatles giving us early experimentation with 'Norwegian Wood', The Rolling Stones telling us to 'Paint It Black' and Reg Presley leading the Troggs with 'Wild Thing' there were still the old school and novelty songs. The Seekers 'The Carnival is Over', Peter & Gordon's 'Lady Godiva', New Vaudeville Band's 'Winchester Cathedral' and in Australia, Bobby and Laurie were on the road with 'Hitch Hiker'.
Something was needed, something gritty. Sometimes referred to as a'working class anthem' there was a song primed and ready to become a rock standard, a classic, recorded, rejected and then released worldwide by a bunch of Australian immigrants. 'Friday on my Mind' had arrived.
The Easybeats went to the U.K. in July 1966 and initially recorded at Abbey Road but United Artists didn't like the stuff and dumped their producer. Shel Talmy, who had worked with among others The Kinks and The Who listened to some of their work. When they got to the Young/Vanda composition 'Friday on my Mind' Shel sat up and took notice. The rest, as they say, is history. In the few years that The Easybeats existed, this was by far their most successful release. #1 in Australia (obviously), #2 in New Zealand, #6 in the U.K., #16 in the U.S. and #19 in Canada, it cemented it's place in the musical timeline. As an aside, although there have been other covers of the song, my favourite is David Bowie's version from his 1973 album 'Pin Ups'.
1969 saw The Easybeats go in different directions. 'Snowy' Fleet had already gone by 1967 and been replaced by Tony Cahill and they both, along with Dick Diamonde, eventually retired from music. Tony Cahill died in 2014 from a brain tumour.
Stevie Wright had a brief solo career after touring with the Australian cast of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. His most recognised song is the 1974 opus 'Evie (parts 1,2 & 3)' which is believed to be the first 11 minute song ever to reach #1. Sadly Stevie's personal life was a mix of drug addiction, therapy and even attempted housebreaking and he passed away in 2015 officially from pneumonia.
Harry Vanda and George Young on the other hand kept up their collaboration as artists and songwriters, composing hits for other Australian singers as well as performing themselves. Famously they wrote John Paul Young's hit 'Love is in the Air' and the aforementioned 'Evie (parts 1,2 & 3)' for Stevie. As well as that, they recorded studio-only songs under the pseudonym Flash and the Pan, notably 'Down Among the Dead Men'. Add to that the fact that George is the brother of AC/DC's Malcolm and Angus Young and produced 6 of Acka-Dacka's albums and you begin to appreciate the musical heritage. Sadly George and Malcolm have since passed away.
A nice bit of trivia here. The "Guitar George" and "Harry" who are mentioned in the Dire Straits hit song "Sultans of Swing" are George Young and Harry Vanda.
On 28 May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming 'Friday on my Mind' the Best Australian Song of all time, as decided by a 100 strong industry panel.
I'm sure that John, who suggested this post and has lived in Australia all his life knows far more than I ever will about the later career of these guys, but for the sake of this review I can only speak to what I know, and what I know is that The Easybeats gave me joy in the sunburnt landscape of my 1960's Australia and spread that joy throughout the world. All it took was one song.
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