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Monday 29 November 2021

Various Artists - 1987 - Ugly Things #3


 The Loved Ones - Everlovin' Man/The Pleazers - Hurtin' All Over/Machine Gun Kelly's Rejects - I'm Going Back/The Others - Why Can't She Be Mine/The Twilights - I'm Not Talking/Tony Barber - I Want Her Too/The Lost Souls - This Life of Mine/The Throb - One Thing to Do/The Modes - Baby Please Don't Go/The La De Da's - How Is the Air Up There/The Chants R&B - Neighbour, Neighbour/ Blue Stars - Social End Product/Larry's Rebels - Flying Scotsman/14 Steve & The Board - Farmer John/The Bobby James Syndicate - Hey Hey Hey/The Showmen - Naughty Girl/Russ Kruger - Keep Me Satisfied/The Easybeats - For My Woman

 

 

 

 The preliminary studies of the unique garage-dwelling Antipodean marsupial known commonly as UGLY THING (Uglidendrom Thingamibob) which were commenced with volume one of this folio (RVLP-02) and continued with volume two (RVLP-13), have now reached a critical stage. We at the Ugly Things Unit of the Raven Institute of Advanced Rockology are greatly concerned by the escalated pace of extinction of the species and the paucity of choice examples of its primal utterances. Accordingly, research for this folio, due to be completed in 1984, was not able to be brought to a satisfactory conclusion until 1987. However, the location, excavation and restoration programme, although denied government funding, remains high on the institute's priority list and further folios, monographs and definitive statements on the matter can be expected during 1988. Meanwhile, footnotes to our research follows.

If Melbourne's Loved Ones had left us with nothing more than the magnificent Loved One, they would have been enshrined in Oz Rock history books. That they were able to come up with a second classic as cataclysmic as the first is a cause for both wonderment and celebration. This legendary ensemble began life as the Red Onions Jazz Band, moving over to 'beat' music when jazz engagements became a little thin on the ground. Gerry Humphreys' undeniable charisma and the band's deep, mysterious blues base gave the Loved Ones a primal appeal that has not diminished in two decades ............

The half Kiwi-half Oz Pleazers formed in Brisbane but came to fame in New Zealand, where they scored a string of hits on the Zodiac label around 1965, including Last Night, Gloria and Like Columbus Did. Bass player Ron Peel was the most notable member, ending up in the latter edition of the La De Das and his own Rockwell T. James & The Rhythm Aces. Hurtin' All Over is the meanest track the prolific outfit laid down ............

From Auckland we move to Adelaide, where Rick Morrison was emerging as a guitar hero equivalent to Brisbane's Lobby Loyde. After searing ears in the original Masters Apprentices, he formed blues-rock Others, who were poorly represented on disc by one Festival single, Dancing Girl. In fact, the band had another single ready for release but it was deemed too raucous and never saw the light of day. Why Can't She Be Mine? is one side of that lost single, made available by Ian Nancarrow, who leads the band to this day. After leaving the Others, Morrison put together Machine Gun Kelly's Rejects, a pile-driving unit never officially captured on disc. From the sounds of the demo tape I'm Going Back, that was a great shame ............

Adelaide's incredibly vibrant beat scene was dominated by the all-powerful Twilights, a consummate pop outfit who could handle hard-edged rhythm & blues as well as any maniacal garage band. Fronted by the venerable Glenn Shorrock, and powered by guitarist/songwriter Terry 'What's Love Got To Do With It' Britten, the musically superb Twilights left behind a few thunderous thumpers, Mose Allison's I'm Not Talking being one ..............

Englishman Tony Barber was the hip lad who turned Billy Thorpe onto what was going down in the British Isles, r&b-wise, in 1964. As a member of the ofiginal Aztecs he wrote quality songs, such as Blue Day and (for Ray Brown & The Whispers) That's Evil. He scored a big solo hit with Someday and cut one fine beat album for Spin, from whence I Want Her Too has come. Tony married Go-Set reporter Sue 'Pretzel' Peck in April 1967 and, when last heard of, was a partner in Billy Thorpe's 'Sunshine Friends' cuddly toy project. He is not and has never been a quiz show compere ............

Bassist Bill Putt began his recording career in New Zealand with Mike Rudd in the monumentally magnificent Chants R&B, who may possibly be the world's most ferocious garage band, ever. After driving the dials off the meters with I'm Your Witchdoctor (coming on vol. 4) and Neighbour, Neighbour, the band headed for the lucrative Melbourne disco scene and disintegrated soon after. By 1966, Rudd had popped up in the Party Machine with Ross Wilson, while Putt was leading The Lost Souls, winners of 3AK's Star Seeker quest (look for an EP of unissued tracks, on the Kavern 7 label). Putt and Rudd reunited in Spectrum which in turn led to Ariel, Instant Replay, the Heaters and W.H.Y . ............

One Thing To Do is the last of our cache of unreleased tracks by Sydney quartet The Throb, comprised of John Bell, Marty Van Wynk, Peter Figures and Denny Burgess, the various activities of whom have been well documented on other Raven albums ............

Not so documented is The Modes, a little known band from the rural Victorian city of Shepparton who made it through to the grand final of the 1966 Hoadley's National Battle of the Sounds (won by The Twilights) and should have been nationally famous. From that event comes a ferocious version of Mary Johnson's blues classic Baby Please Don't Go, which is at least as good as Them's and almost as good as AC/DC's. If you're out there fellas, please write for your royalties! ............

The superb La DeDas dominated the New Zealand pop/rock scene in 1965-66 and must be the only band in the world to take a Blue Magoos song to number one. That's exactly where their killer treatment of How Is The Air Up There? ended up, although Australia managed to ignore it. Axe master Kevin Borich is now part of The Party Boys with Status Quo's Alan Lancaster ...........

Of the Blue Stars we can tell you little, except that they recorded on the long-defunct Allied· label in New Zealand and that Social End Product is so good it's unbelievable ............

We can tell you all about Larry's Rebels, the inheritors of the La De Das pop crown in the land of the long white cloud. Led by Larry Morris they could turn their hands to just about anything, from religious Christmas hymns to great garage gunge. While supporting the Yardbirds around New Zealand, they were taught the chords to Train Kept A Rolling by Mr Jimmy Page himself and then proceeded, with his blessing, to transform them into their own instrumental piece, Flying Scotsman ............

Steve 'Physical' Kipner, like Terry Britten, used 60's Oz Rock as a springboard to international songwriting success. The son of record producer Nat Kipner, his Steve & The Board landed a deal with Nat's Spin label (funny about that!) and had some small success with Giggle Eyed Goo. Drummer Colin 'Smiley' Peterson was summoned to London to join the Bee Gees in 1966. Steve & The Board's version of the Premiers' Farmer John is immeasurably tougher than the Searchers'........

The Bobby James Syndicate were a straight 'clubby' looking quintet on the Go!! label who left behind one strong side in HeyHey Hey. After that, zilch ............

The considerably accomplished Showmen beat out 57 other hopeful bands to take out the 1965 Battle of the Bands at Sydney Stadium and land the support role on the Dave Clark 5 tour. lan Hamilton and Baden Hutchinson ended
up in the Missing Links while Tony Hamilton remerged in (Gus &) The ·Nomads and Pirana. Naughty Girl has been on the Ugly Things short list since vol 1 ............

Big voiced Russ Kruger the lesser-known brother of Johnny Rebb, is generally seen as a 50's style performer, despite his fine sides with the Atlantics. Keep Me Satisfied may well reorientate some erroneous conceptions .....

Finally, the bravest debut Australian single of the 60's. Signed to a plum recording deal, the young Easybeats could have played it safe and done a cover version or even a cute catchy original (which they could knock out in their sleep) to announce themselves. Instead, their calling card was a piece of harsh, uncompromising self-penned r&b, which dared radio to take them as they were. In fact, For My Woman did initially fail, though it became a late hit after She's So Fine took off. No wonder we loved 'em so!

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