The Easybeats
Encyclopedia
The Easybeats were an Australian rock and roll
band. They formed in Sydney
in late 1964 and broke up at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s, and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single "Friday on My Mind
". The Easybeats manager was former Sydney real estate
agent, Mike Vaughan.
The band's line-up exemplified the influence of post-war migration on Australian society. All five founding members were from families who had migrated to Australia from Europe
: lead singer Stevie Wright and drummer
Gordon "Snowy" Fleet were from England
; rhythm guitarist George Young was from Scotland
; lead guitarist Harry Vanda
and bassist
Dick Diamonde
were from the Netherlands
.
(Now the Villawood Detention Centre) and the band members' families spent their first years in Australia housed at the Villawood Migrant Hostel in the early and mid sixties.
Beginning their career in Sydney in late 1964, the band was inspired by the "British Invasion
" spearheaded by The Beatles
. They quickly rose to become one of the most popular groups in the city. They were signed to a production contract with Albert Productions
, one of Australia's first independent production companies. It was established by Ted Albert
, whose family owned J. Albert & Sons, one of Australia's oldest and largest music publishing companies.
Albert then signed the band to a recording contract with EMI
's Parlophone
label, and they began a meteoric rise to national stardom. By the end of 1965 they were the most popular and successful pop band in Australia, and their concerts and public appearances were regularly marked by intense fan hysteria which was very similar to 'Beatlemania
' and which was soon dubbed 'Easyfever'. Stevie Wright's charisma and energy (including 'mod' dancing and onstage backflips) were matched with strong songwriting.
(no relation) in 1966.
In early 1966, while the group were still touring Australia, their manager, Mike Vaughan, flew to New York
to attempt to secure an American recording contract for the band. After initial lack of interest, on the last scheduled day of his visit Vaughan was able to convince United Artists Records
to sign The Easybeats. Ten days of negotiations resulted in a groundbreaking five-year contract for overseas releases.
Just before relocating to London
in late 1966, they recorded a farewell TV show, The Coca Cola Special, regarded as one of the prime artefacts of Sixties Australian pop TV. The show had a tragic postscript - after taping the special, guitarist Harry Vanda returned home in the early hours of 4 July 1966 to discover that his wife Pam had killed herself with an overdose of sleeping tablets. Despite this, the group was obliged to honour their overseas commitments; the grief-stricken Vanda had to send his young son to be cared for by his parents in The Netherlands and the group left for the UK on 10 July 1966.
They briefly stopped over in Perth, Western Australia
but a planned farewell performance on a temporary stage set up on the tarmac at Perth Airport had to be cancelled amid chaotic scenes, with 4000 fans breaking through barriers and storming the runway. A bomb threat then forced the group to evacuate the plane, and they had to be smuggled out the emergency exit into a catering van and driven to the end of the runway, where they hid for half an hour until they were able to rejoin the plane.
After arriving in London the band recorded a number of songs with Ted Albert
at EMI's Abbey Road Studios
, but these were deemed unsuitable by UA and Albert was removed as producer. The band were then teamed with freelance producer Shel Talmy
, who had achieved great success with his production for The Who
and The Kinks
.
One of the tracks they recorded with Talmy became their first big international hit, "Friday on My Mind
". It made #1 in Australia, #6 in the UK, #16 in the US, and the Top 10 in Germany, Holland, France and Italy, eventually selling over one million copies worldwide, and being awarded a gold disc
. In 1973 David Bowie
covered the song on his Pin Ups
album, and in 1977 the punk band London
introduced the song to a new generation on a four-track EP for MCA Records
; the London version, produced by Simon Napier-Bell
, was actually recorded in the same studio (IBC Studios
in Portland Place
) in which the Easybeats had cut the original.
Vanda now having mastered English, he replaced Wright as Young's songwriting partner from this point on. They toured Europe with The Rolling Stones
and the United States. After a triumphant homecoming tour of Australia in mid-1967, original drummer Snowy Fleet left the band, unhappy at the amount of time he had to spend away from his wife and young children. After extensive auditions in London he was replaced by Tony Cahill, formerly of the Purple Hearts
, but in the interim several recordings (including "Good Times
") were cut with session drummer, Glaswegian Freddie Smith (who'd played with George Young's older brother Alex Young aka George Alexander of Grapefruit fame in Bobby Patrick & The Big Six). The group spent the remainder of their career based in London.
Two of their songs, "Bring a Little Lovin'" and "Come In, You'll Get Pneumonia", were covered by Los Bravos
and Paul Revere and the Raiders, respectively. "Good Times
" and "Falling Off The Edge Of The World" were minor hits in the United States
. However their career soon stalled due to poor management, problems with radio airplay (one single, "Heaven and Hell", was banned by US radio because of a mild sexual reference, and likely the title) and lack of record company support.
A 1967 album intended as the follow-up the success of "Friday", produced by Glyn Johns
, was recorded and prepared for issue but was never released because of the band's complicated financial and contractual problems. One of the songs recorded for the LP, "Good Times
" was released as a single; when broadcast on BBC
radio it was reputedly heard by Paul McCartney
on his car radio; McCartney apparently rang the station immediately to request a repeat playing. The song featured Steve Marriott
of The Small Faces
on backing vocals and the late Nicky Hopkins on piano.
A cover version
of "Good Times
" by INXS
and Jimmy Barnes
became a #47 hit in the US after being featured on the soundtrack of the film The Lost Boys
in 1987 and a #2 in Australia as well the previous year, becoming the biggest selling single on Mushroom Records
).
Their last official LP Vigil was released in June 1968 in the UK and it was issued in an altered form in Australia and in the US in October, retitled Falling off the Edge of the World.
In early 1969 Vanda and Young took over a flat in Moscow Road, London, which had previously been used as a jingle studio for pirate radio stations. With modifications, it became a 4-track home studio and Vanda & Young began producing demos, working mostly on their own. The only official recordings they made—which provided the songs for the last Easybeats single—was the rocking "St Louis" (presaging their later work with AC/DC
), and the B-side "Can't Find Love", recorded in April at Olympic Studios
with Ray Singer
, a former member of UK band Nirvana
, who had made a name for himself as a producer with Peter Sarstedt
's "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
". The single was issued in June in the UK and US, and began to chart there during their final tour later in the year.
In August "St Louis" was released in Australia, along with a new album released on Polydor. Friends was in fact not a real Easybeats album—the only true Easybeats tracks being "St Louis" and "Rock & Roll Boogie". The bulk of the tracks were Vanda-Young Moscow Road recordings, intended as 'demos' for other artists. The album was also issued in the UK in October, and in the US in November on the Rare Earth label.
In September the band undertook a short European tour and then reluctantly accepted the offer of a five-week Australian tour. The group were worn out, disillusioned, and at odds with their management—they reportedly viewed the tour as a last-ditch attempt to bail the group out of its mounting pool of debts. Again they were victims of bad timing, having reverted to 'no frills' hard rock, while the Australian pop scene was preoccupied with progressive rock, soul and bubblegum pop
. The situation was further complicated by Parlophone's unwelcome release of the psychedelic 1967 song "Peculiar Hole in the Sky" as a single, presumably to cash in on the tour. Regardless of its merits as a song, it was released against the band's wishes, since it had been made purely as a demo for The Valentines
.
In October the band made a valedictory TV appearance in the ATN-7 Easybeats Special, then gave their final Sydney performances at the Trocadero
and Caesar's Disco. Once the tour was over, The Easybeats drifted apart, although there was no official announcement of the split. After a final gathering for Dick Diamonde's wedding in early 1970, they went their separate ways.
The original lineup reunited for a warmly-received series of Australian concerts in 1986.
The 2000s saw a band calling itself "The Easybeats" tour and make TV appearances around Europe. No members were in any line-up of the Australian band or played on any of the records, despite the lead singer using a similar name.
remained in the UK for three years, working to pay off debts incurred during the Easybeats years (and recording under various names like Paintbox, Band of Hope, Grapefruit, Haffy's Whisky Sour and Marcus Hook Roll Band). They returned to Australia in 1973 and reunited with Ted Albert and became the house producers for his new Albert Productions
record label, writing for and/or producing many chart-topping acts including Stevie Wright, Rose Tattoo
, Cheetah
, and The Angels
.
They wrote and produced several major hits for John Paul Young
including "Love Is in the Air" and "Yesterday's Hero", which was also a cover version
hit when recorded by Bay City Rollers
, and produced the first six albums for AC/DC
(which featured George's younger brothers Angus Young
and Malcolm Young
).
Vanda and Young also recorded several Australian hit singles under the pseudonym Flash and the Pan
, including "Hey St. Peter" and "Down Among the Dead Men". They had even more success in Europe
with hits such as "Waiting for a Train", "Midnight Man", "Early Morning Wake Up Call", and "Ayla", from the number 1 albums Early Morning Wake Up Call, Headlines, and Nights in France. Singer-model-actress Grace Jones
also recorded a successful cover version
of their song "Walking in the Rain".
(1972–73) and then launched a successful but short-lived solo career with the hit single "Evie" and the album Hard Road in 1974, which reunited him with Vanda and Young, who produced the records and wrote many of the songs, including "Evie", an ambitious three-part suite split over two sides of a single.
In later years Wright suffered debilitating drug
and alcohol
problems which were further exacerbated by his self-admission to the notorious Chelmsford Private Hospital in Sydney. Its director, Dr Harry Bailey
, administered a highly controversial treatment known as "deep sleep therapy
" which allegedly cured drug addiction with a combination of drug-induced coma and electroshock. Many patients, including Wright, suffered brain damage
and lifelong after-effects, while others died as a result of the treatments.
Stevie's substance abuse problems spiraled out of control in the 1980s and 1990s and he came close to death on several occasions, but was pulled back from the brink by his current partner Faye. In 1999 journalist Jack Marx
published a much-anticipated book about Wright, entitled Sorry - The Wretched Tale of Little Stevie Wright. It was critically applauded by some reviewers - Australian music historian Clinton Walker
calling it "gonzo journalism
at its best", while The Bulletin
later referred to Sorry as "one of the most harrowing rock books ever written".
Nevertheless, Sorry earned the disdain of its subject, Wright's many fans and other critics. Internet reviewer Ken Grady (Luna Cafe, 1999) described Marx as "a self serving hypocrite" and concluded his review by observing: "The only thing that Marx has achieved is to depict himself as a very unlikeable, morally bankrupt leech."
By 2002, Wright was well enough to perform as part of the all-star Long Way To The Top
national concert tour. His autobiography, Hard Road, was published in 2004.
On 31 January 2009 Wright closed the Legends of Rock festival in Byron Bay Australia.
and now runs a rehearsal studio based in Jandakot, Western Australia. His replacement, Tony Cahill, remained in the UK for a time, briefly joining the final studio lineup of Python Lee Jackson
(as bassist) before moving to the United States. Bassist Dick Diamonde moved to the New South Wales
north coast and retired from performing, after some years of singing and playing in local pubs.
issued a special edition set of twelve stamps celebrating the early years of Australian Rock ‘n’ Roll, featuring Australian hit songs of the late '50s, the '60s and the early '70s.
In 2007 Stevie Wright performed at The Gathering Festival in Yandina, Sunshine Coast.
In 2011, punk rock cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released a version of Friday on my Mind on their Australian themed 7", Go Down Under.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band. They formed in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in late 1964 and broke up at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s, and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single "Friday on My Mind
Friday on My Mind
"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group The Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, #1 in Australia and #6 in the UK, as well as charting in several...
". The Easybeats manager was former Sydney real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
agent, Mike Vaughan.
The band's line-up exemplified the influence of post-war migration on Australian society. All five founding members were from families who had migrated to Australia from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
: lead singer Stevie Wright and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Gordon "Snowy" Fleet were from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; rhythm guitarist George Young was from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; lead guitarist Harry Vanda
Harry Vanda
Harry Vanda , is a Dutch-born Australian popular music singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:...
and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Dick Diamonde
Dick Diamonde
Dick Diamonde ) was the bassist with Australian rock group, The Easybeats....
were from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Early career
The Band formed at the Villawood Migrant HostelVillawood Immigration Detention Centre
Villawood Immigration Detention Centre is an Australian immigration detention facility located in the suburb of Villawood in Sydney, Australia...
(Now the Villawood Detention Centre) and the band members' families spent their first years in Australia housed at the Villawood Migrant Hostel in the early and mid sixties.
Beginning their career in Sydney in late 1964, the band was inspired by the "British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
" spearheaded by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. They quickly rose to become one of the most popular groups in the city. They were signed to a production contract with Albert Productions
Albert Productions
Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent Australian record label to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1964 by Ted Albert, whose family owned and operated the Australian...
, one of Australia's first independent production companies. It was established by Ted Albert
Ted Albert
Edward 'Ted' Albert was an early pioneer in Australian independent record production and founder of Albert Productions...
, whose family owned J. Albert & Sons, one of Australia's oldest and largest music publishing companies.
Albert then signed the band to a recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
label, and they began a meteoric rise to national stardom. By the end of 1965 they were the most popular and successful pop band in Australia, and their concerts and public appearances were regularly marked by intense fan hysteria which was very similar to 'Beatlemania
Beatlemania
Beatlemania is a term that originated during the 1960s to describe the intense fan frenzy directed toward The Beatles during the early years of their success...
' and which was soon dubbed 'Easyfever'. Stevie Wright's charisma and energy (including 'mod' dancing and onstage backflips) were matched with strong songwriting.
Rise to success
During 1965 and early 1966, they released a string of hit singles, all co-written by Young and Wright, including "For My Woman" (#5), "She's So Fine" (#1), "Wedding Ring" (#6), "Sad and Lonely and Blue", "Easy as Can Be", "Women (Make You Feel Alright)" (#1), "In My Book", "Come and See Her" (#1), "I'll Make You Happy" (#1), and "Sorry" (#4), and all produced by Ted Albert. In addition, the Wright-Young songwriting team wrote a number of hits for other artists, including "Step Back", which became a #1 hit for Johnny YoungJohnny Young
Johnny Young is an Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from Netherlands, his family settled in Perth, Western Australia in the early 1950s...
(no relation) in 1966.
In early 1966, while the group were still touring Australia, their manager, Mike Vaughan, flew to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to attempt to secure an American recording contract for the band. After initial lack of interest, on the last scheduled day of his visit Vaughan was able to convince United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
to sign The Easybeats. Ten days of negotiations resulted in a groundbreaking five-year contract for overseas releases.
Just before relocating to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in late 1966, they recorded a farewell TV show, The Coca Cola Special, regarded as one of the prime artefacts of Sixties Australian pop TV. The show had a tragic postscript - after taping the special, guitarist Harry Vanda returned home in the early hours of 4 July 1966 to discover that his wife Pam had killed herself with an overdose of sleeping tablets. Despite this, the group was obliged to honour their overseas commitments; the grief-stricken Vanda had to send his young son to be cared for by his parents in The Netherlands and the group left for the UK on 10 July 1966.
They briefly stopped over in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
but a planned farewell performance on a temporary stage set up on the tarmac at Perth Airport had to be cancelled amid chaotic scenes, with 4000 fans breaking through barriers and storming the runway. A bomb threat then forced the group to evacuate the plane, and they had to be smuggled out the emergency exit into a catering van and driven to the end of the runway, where they hid for half an hour until they were able to rejoin the plane.
London: 1966-1969
Ted Albert
Edward 'Ted' Albert was an early pioneer in Australian independent record production and founder of Albert Productions...
at EMI's Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, but these were deemed unsuitable by UA and Albert was removed as producer. The band were then teamed with freelance producer Shel Talmy
Shel Talmy
Shel Talmy is an American record producer, songwriter, arranger best known for his work in London with The Who and The Kinks in the 1960s, with a role in many other English bands including Cat Stevens and Pentangle...
, who had achieved great success with his production for The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
.
One of the tracks they recorded with Talmy became their first big international hit, "Friday on My Mind
Friday on My Mind
"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group The Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, #1 in Australia and #6 in the UK, as well as charting in several...
". It made #1 in Australia, #6 in the UK, #16 in the US, and the Top 10 in Germany, Holland, France and Italy, eventually selling over one million copies worldwide, and being awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. In 1973 David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
covered the song on his Pin Ups
Pin Ups
- Personnel :* David Bowie – vocals, guitar, tenor and alto saxophone, harmonica, arrangements, backing vocals, Moog synthesizer* Mick Ronson – guitar, piano, vocals, arrangements* Trevor Bolder – bass* Aynsley Dunbar – drums- Additional personnel :...
album, and in 1977 the punk band London
London (band)
London were a four piece punk band formed in London in 1976 and were best known for their wild stage act. The original line-up was Riff Regan , Steve Voice , Jon Moss and Dave Wight . They were managed by Simon Napier-Bell and recorded two singles, a 4 track EP and an album for MCA Records in 1977...
introduced the song to a new generation on a four-track EP for MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
; the London version, produced by Simon Napier-Bell
Simon Napier-Bell
Simon Napier-Bell has undertaken many jobs in the music industry, including bandboy, manager, producer, songwriter, journalist and author and gourmet...
, was actually recorded in the same studio (IBC Studios
IBC Studios
The IBC Recording Studios were recording studios in 35 Portland Place, London, England. After the Second World War it was the address of the leading independent studio in London and the British Isles...
in Portland Place
Portland Place
Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London, England.-History and topography:The street was laid out by the brothers Robert and James Adam for the Duke of Portland in the late 18th century and originally ran north from the gardens of a detached mansion called Foley House...
) in which the Easybeats had cut the original.
Vanda-Young songwriting partnership
The song also marked the end of the Wright-Young partnership. With DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Vanda now having mastered English, he replaced Wright as Young's songwriting partner from this point on. They toured Europe with The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and the United States. After a triumphant homecoming tour of Australia in mid-1967, original drummer Snowy Fleet left the band, unhappy at the amount of time he had to spend away from his wife and young children. After extensive auditions in London he was replaced by Tony Cahill, formerly of the Purple Hearts
Purple Hearts (Australian band)
The Purple Hearts were an Australian rock group, formed in Brisbane in 1964. The band consisted of lead vocalist Mick Hadley, lead guitarist Barry Lyde , rhythm guitarist Fred Pickard, bassist Bob Dames, and drummers Adrian 'Red' Redmond and Tony Cahill .It is notable that Brisbane, traditionally...
, but in the interim several recordings (including "Good Times
Good Times (Easybeats song)
"Good Times" was a song by The Easybeats released as a single in Australia in December 1968. It was written by George Young and Harry Vanda....
") were cut with session drummer, Glaswegian Freddie Smith (who'd played with George Young's older brother Alex Young aka George Alexander of Grapefruit fame in Bobby Patrick & The Big Six). The group spent the remainder of their career based in London.
Two of their songs, "Bring a Little Lovin'" and "Come In, You'll Get Pneumonia", were covered by Los Bravos
Los Bravos
Los Bravos were a Spanish beat group, formed in 1965, and based in Madrid. Their single "Black Is Black" reached #2 in the United Kingdom in July 1966, and #4 in the United States selling over a million records.-Biography:...
and Paul Revere and the Raiders, respectively. "Good Times
Good Times (Easybeats song)
"Good Times" was a song by The Easybeats released as a single in Australia in December 1968. It was written by George Young and Harry Vanda....
" and "Falling Off The Edge Of The World" were minor hits in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. However their career soon stalled due to poor management, problems with radio airplay (one single, "Heaven and Hell", was banned by US radio because of a mild sexual reference, and likely the title) and lack of record company support.
A 1967 album intended as the follow-up the success of "Friday", produced by Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
, was recorded and prepared for issue but was never released because of the band's complicated financial and contractual problems. One of the songs recorded for the LP, "Good Times
Good Times (Easybeats song)
"Good Times" was a song by The Easybeats released as a single in Australia in December 1968. It was written by George Young and Harry Vanda....
" was released as a single; when broadcast on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio it was reputedly heard by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
on his car radio; McCartney apparently rang the station immediately to request a repeat playing. The song featured Steve Marriott
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
of The Small Faces
The Small Faces
The Small Faces were an English rock and roll band from East London, heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues. The group was founded in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band's...
on backing vocals and the late Nicky Hopkins on piano.
A cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Good Times
Good Times (Easybeats song)
"Good Times" was a song by The Easybeats released as a single in Australia in December 1968. It was written by George Young and Harry Vanda....
" by INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
and Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
became a #47 hit in the US after being featured on the soundtrack of the film The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
in 1987 and a #2 in Australia as well the previous year, becoming the biggest selling single on Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
).
Decline and break-up
Through late 1968, the formerly tight-knit band began to drift apart. Drugs were a factor, but the growing independence of the Vanda-Young team as a creative unit was also a major catalyst. By this time the duo were working substantially on their own, and between them they could now play almost any instrument needed for recordings and had become skilled in engineering and producing their own recordings. They wrote prolifically, but many of their songs from this period remained unreleased for many years. They were also reluctant to do more than a few gigs per month, and so the band only came together for occasional performances or for 'demo' sessions at Central Sound studios in Denmark St.Their last official LP Vigil was released in June 1968 in the UK and it was issued in an altered form in Australia and in the US in October, retitled Falling off the Edge of the World.
In early 1969 Vanda and Young took over a flat in Moscow Road, London, which had previously been used as a jingle studio for pirate radio stations. With modifications, it became a 4-track home studio and Vanda & Young began producing demos, working mostly on their own. The only official recordings they made—which provided the songs for the last Easybeats single—was the rocking "St Louis" (presaging their later work with AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
), and the B-side "Can't Find Love", recorded in April at Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
with Ray Singer
Ray Singer
Ray Singer is a British record producer and owner of Singer Records. Singer was instrumental in launching the careers of Peter Sarstedt, David Sylvian, Japan, and Ana Silvera.-Early Years: 1960s - 1970s:...
, a former member of UK band Nirvana
Nirvana (UK band)
Nirvana were a United Kingdom-based progressive rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Though the band only achieved limited commercial success, they were acclaimed both by music industry professionals and critics...
, who had made a name for himself as a producer with Peter Sarstedt
Peter Sarstedt
Peter Eardley Sarstedt is an Anglo-Indian singer-songwriter.-Career:Sarstedt was born in India and attended Victoria Boys' School in Kurseong, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. His family relocated to England in 1954...
's "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
"Where Do You Go To ?" is a 1969 song by Peter Sarstedt and recorded by renowned producer Ray Singer. Engineered by John Mackswith at Lansdowne Recording Studios. It was a #1 hit in the UK charts for four weeks in 1969 and was awarded the 1969 Ivor Novello Award, together with David Bowie's "Space...
". The single was issued in June in the UK and US, and began to chart there during their final tour later in the year.
In August "St Louis" was released in Australia, along with a new album released on Polydor. Friends was in fact not a real Easybeats album—the only true Easybeats tracks being "St Louis" and "Rock & Roll Boogie". The bulk of the tracks were Vanda-Young Moscow Road recordings, intended as 'demos' for other artists. The album was also issued in the UK in October, and in the US in November on the Rare Earth label.
In September the band undertook a short European tour and then reluctantly accepted the offer of a five-week Australian tour. The group were worn out, disillusioned, and at odds with their management—they reportedly viewed the tour as a last-ditch attempt to bail the group out of its mounting pool of debts. Again they were victims of bad timing, having reverted to 'no frills' hard rock, while the Australian pop scene was preoccupied with progressive rock, soul and bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
. The situation was further complicated by Parlophone's unwelcome release of the psychedelic 1967 song "Peculiar Hole in the Sky" as a single, presumably to cash in on the tour. Regardless of its merits as a song, it was released against the band's wishes, since it had been made purely as a demo for The Valentines
The Valentines
The Valentines may refer to:* The Valentines , an Australian rock 'n' roll band active from 1966-1970, chiefly noted for their lead singer, Bon Scott...
.
In October the band made a valedictory TV appearance in the ATN-7 Easybeats Special, then gave their final Sydney performances at the Trocadero
Trocadero
The stylish connotations of the name "Trocadero" derive from the Battle of Trocadero in southern Spain, a citadel held by liberal Spanish forces that was taken by the French troops sent by Charles X, in 1823...
and Caesar's Disco. Once the tour was over, The Easybeats drifted apart, although there was no official announcement of the split. After a final gathering for Dick Diamonde's wedding in early 1970, they went their separate ways.
The original lineup reunited for a warmly-received series of Australian concerts in 1986.
The 2000s saw a band calling itself "The Easybeats" tour and make TV appearances around Europe. No members were in any line-up of the Australian band or played on any of the records, despite the lead singer using a similar name.
Vanda and Young
Vanda and YoungVanda & Young
Vanda & Young are Harry Vanda , and George Young...
remained in the UK for three years, working to pay off debts incurred during the Easybeats years (and recording under various names like Paintbox, Band of Hope, Grapefruit, Haffy's Whisky Sour and Marcus Hook Roll Band). They returned to Australia in 1973 and reunited with Ted Albert and became the house producers for his new Albert Productions
Albert Productions
Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent Australian record label to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1964 by Ted Albert, whose family owned and operated the Australian...
record label, writing for and/or producing many chart-topping acts including Stevie Wright, Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo is an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, that was formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice Boys", "We Can't Be Beaten" and "Scarred for Life"...
, Cheetah
Cheetah (band)
Cheetah were an Australian rock band active between 1977 and 1982. The main members and vocalists were sisters Chrissie Hammond and Lyndsay Hammond . They had been session vocalists for many Australian artists including Jo Jo Zep, Jon English, Marc Hunter, Flash and the Pan and as a vocal duo...
, and The Angels
The Angels (Australian band)
The Angels are a hard rock band that formed in Adelaide, Australia in 1970. The band later relocated from Adelaide to Sydney and enjoyed huge local success until well into the 1990s. For the purposes of international release, their records were released under the names Angel City and later The...
.
They wrote and produced several major hits for John Paul Young
John Paul Young
John Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"...
including "Love Is in the Air" and "Yesterday's Hero", which was also a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
hit when recorded by Bay City Rollers
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the 1970s. The British Hit Singles & Albums noted that they were "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", and were "the first of many acts heralded as the 'Biggest Group since The Beatles' and one of the most screamed-at...
, and produced the first six albums for AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
(which featured George's younger brothers Angus Young
Angus Young
Angus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician, and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the rock and roll band AC/DC. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of AC/DC in 2003 and is known for his energetic performances,...
and Malcolm Young
Malcolm Young
Malcolm Young is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, along with the other members of AC/DC...
).
Vanda and Young also recorded several Australian hit singles under the pseudonym Flash and the Pan
Flash and the Pan
Flash and the Pan was an Australian New Wave musical group initiated during the late 1970s by Harry Vanda and George Young, both former members of The Easybeats...
, including "Hey St. Peter" and "Down Among the Dead Men". They had even more success in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with hits such as "Waiting for a Train", "Midnight Man", "Early Morning Wake Up Call", and "Ayla", from the number 1 albums Early Morning Wake Up Call, Headlines, and Nights in France. Singer-model-actress Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
also recorded a successful cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of their song "Walking in the Rain".
Stevie Wright
Stevie Wright went on to become a cast member of the original Australian stage production of Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
(1972–73) and then launched a successful but short-lived solo career with the hit single "Evie" and the album Hard Road in 1974, which reunited him with Vanda and Young, who produced the records and wrote many of the songs, including "Evie", an ambitious three-part suite split over two sides of a single.
In later years Wright suffered debilitating drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
and alcohol
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
problems which were further exacerbated by his self-admission to the notorious Chelmsford Private Hospital in Sydney. Its director, Dr Harry Bailey
Harry Bailey
Harry Richard Bailey was a controversial Australian psychiatrist. He bore the primary responsibility for treatment of mental patients via Sledge hammers, and other methods, at a Sydney mental hospital. He has been linked with the deaths of a total of 85 patients...
, administered a highly controversial treatment known as "deep sleep therapy
Deep Sleep Therapy
Deep sleep therapy , also called prolonged sleep treatment or continuous narcosis, is a psychiatric treatment based on the use of psychiatric drugs to render patients unconscious for a period of days or weeks.-History:...
" which allegedly cured drug addiction with a combination of drug-induced coma and electroshock. Many patients, including Wright, suffered brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
and lifelong after-effects, while others died as a result of the treatments.
Stevie's substance abuse problems spiraled out of control in the 1980s and 1990s and he came close to death on several occasions, but was pulled back from the brink by his current partner Faye. In 1999 journalist Jack Marx
Jack Marx
Jackson Gregory Marx , known as Jack Marx, is an Australian journalist and author. He was born in Maitland, New South Wales and is the second youngest of four children.- Career :...
published a much-anticipated book about Wright, entitled Sorry - The Wretched Tale of Little Stevie Wright. It was critically applauded by some reviewers - Australian music historian Clinton Walker
Clinton Walker
Clinton Walker is an Australian writer, best known for his works on popular music but with a broader interest in social and cultural history and theory....
calling it "gonzo journalism
Gonzo journalism
Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to be first used in 1970 to describe an article by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style...
at its best", while The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
later referred to Sorry as "one of the most harrowing rock books ever written".
Nevertheless, Sorry earned the disdain of its subject, Wright's many fans and other critics. Internet reviewer Ken Grady (Luna Cafe, 1999) described Marx as "a self serving hypocrite" and concluded his review by observing: "The only thing that Marx has achieved is to depict himself as a very unlikeable, morally bankrupt leech."
By 2002, Wright was well enough to perform as part of the all-star Long Way To The Top
Long Way To The Top
Long Way To The Top was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era.-Production:...
national concert tour. His autobiography, Hard Road, was published in 2004.
On 31 January 2009 Wright closed the Legends of Rock festival in Byron Bay Australia.
Snowy Fleet, Tony Cahill and Dick Diamonde
Original drummer, Snowy Fleet, became a successful builder in Perth, Western AustraliaPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and now runs a rehearsal studio based in Jandakot, Western Australia. His replacement, Tony Cahill, remained in the UK for a time, briefly joining the final studio lineup of Python Lee Jackson
Python Lee Jackson
Python Lee Jackson was an Australian rock band active from 1965 to 1968, before a brief sojourn in the United Kingdom. The group's most famous hit was "In a Broken Dream", featuring Rod Stewart as guest vocalist.-Members in Australia:...
(as bassist) before moving to the United States. Bassist Dick Diamonde moved to the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
north coast and retired from performing, after some years of singing and playing in local pubs.
Popular culture
In 1998 Australia PostAustralia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
issued a special edition set of twelve stamps celebrating the early years of Australian Rock ‘n’ Roll, featuring Australian hit songs of the late '50s, the '60s and the early '70s.
"Each of them said something about us, and told the rest of the world this is what popular culture sounds like, and it has an Australian accent."One of the stamps featured was the 'She's So Fine' stamp.
In 2007 Stevie Wright performed at The Gathering Festival in Yandina, Sunshine Coast.
In 2011, punk rock cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released a version of Friday on my Mind on their Australian themed 7", Go Down Under.
Discography
| Title | Release date | Label | AUS Chart |
| Easy Easy (The Easybeats album) Easy is a studio album by The Easybeats, released on 23 September 1965. It was later reissued by Repertoire Records and included eight new tracks.-Track listing:All songs written by Stevie Wright and George Young except as noted.#"It's So Easy" - 2:11... |
September 1965 | Parlophone Albert Productions Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent Australian record label to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1964 by Ted Albert, whose family owned and operated the Australian... |
4 |
| It's 2 Easy It's 2 Easy It's 2 Easy is a studio album by The Easybeats, released on 24 March 1966. It was later reissued by Repertoire Records and included eleven more tracks.-Track listing:All songs written by Stevie Wright and George Young except as noted.... |
March 1966 | Parlophone | 3 |
| Volume 3 Volume 3 (The Easybeats album) Volume 3 is a studio album by The Easybeats, released on 3 November 1966. It was later reissued by Repertoire Records and included eleven more tracks.-Track listing:All songs written by Stevie Wright and George Young except as noted.#"Sorry" - 2:38... |
November 1966 | Parlophone | 7 |
| The Best of The Easybeats + Pretty Girl | January 1967 | Parlophone | 3 |
| Vigil Vigil (album) Vigil is a studio album by The Easybeats, released 17 on October 1968. It was later reissued by Repertoire Records and included ten more tracks.-Track listing:All songs written by Harry Vanda and George Young except as noted.#"Good Times" - 3:23... |
October 1968 | Parlophone | - |
| Friends Friends (The Easybeats album) Friends is a studio album by The Easybeats, released on January 1969. It is technically not an Easybeats' album, with the exception of the album's leading single, "St. Louis". The bulk of the album was made up of Vanda/Young compositions that were demos for other artists.-Track listing:All songs... |
January 1969 | Polydor | - |
| Best of The Easybeats - Volume 2 Best of The Easybeats - Volume 2 Best of The Easybeats – Volume 2 is a compilation album by The Easybeats. The album was released on October 9, 1969.-Track listing:All songs written by Harry Vanda & George Young.#"Peculiar Hole In The Sky"#"H.P... |
October 1969 | Albert | - |
| Easy Ridin' | August 1970 | Rare Earth | - |
| The Shame Just Drained The Shame Just Drained The Shame Just Drained is a compilation album by The Easybeats. The album was released on October 10, 1977. It was later reissued by Repertoire Records and included nine more tracks.-Track listing:... |
October 1977 | Albert | - |
| Absolute Anthology Absolute Anthology Absolute Anthology is a compilation album by The Easybeats. The album was released on November 17, 1980.-Track listing:Tracks 1 and 3-16 of Disc 1 written by Stevie Wright & George Young; all other tracks, except where listed, written by Harry Vanda & George Young.-Disc 1:#"For My Woman"#"Say That... |
November 1980 | Albert | 35 |
| The Easybeats (compilation) | September 1981 | Hammard | 76 |
| The Definitive Series The Definitive Series The Definitive Series is a compilation album by The Easybeats. The album was released on September 18, 1992.-Track listing:#"For My Woman" #"She's So Fine" #"Wedding Ring"... |
September 1992 | Albert | - |
Audio samples
External links
- Albert Music: The Easybeats
- Music Australia Biography: The Easybeats
- MILESAGO - The Easybeats
- Listen to a sample of 'Friday On My Mind' and read more about the song on australianscreen online