Various Artists - So Good Together The Stars Of Spin Records FLAC

The Bee Gees - Words/Ronnie Burns - When I Was Six Years Old/Dianne Holder - Don't Bother Me/Jeff St John & The Yama - Nothing Comes Easy/Fia Karin - You Don't Know Where Your Intrest Lies/Marty Rhone - Lonely Too Long/Dave Miller Set - Why Why Why/ Jeff St John & The Yama - Everyboby's Gone (Rode Away On Horses)/ Marty Rhone - Green Mansions (The Residence Of Simon Grae)/The Dave Miller Set - Hard Hard Year/Fia Karin - I'm Making The Same Mistakes Again/Ronnie Burns - So Good Together/The Bee Gees - World/Dianne Horder - Here Comes The Morning





 Spin Records was established in late 1966 by Clyde Packer, the elder son of publishing and broadcasting magnate Frank Packer, and the older brother of Kerry Packer. The label's first A&R manager was Nat Kipner (the father of musician-songwriter-producer Steve Kipner), who produced several early Spin releases. Most Spin recordings from the late 1960s and early 1970s were produced by Festival Records house producer Pat Aulton.

Launched in late 1965 with the single "Someday" by former Aztecs guitarist Tony Barber, the label was originally called Everybody's, which was also the name of the popular teen magazine published by the Packer family's Australian Consolidated Press. According to Australian historian Bill Casey, the overt cross-promotion reportedly met with resistance from commercial radio, so the label was rebadged as "Spin" after only four singles.

By January 1966 Everybody's had been renamed and re-launched as Spin Records and the parent company, Spin Records Production Pty Ltd, now included two new partners—NZ-born, Sydney-based entrepreneur Harry M. Miller, and Nat Kipner, who was originally hired retained as A&R manager, but later bought a financial interest in the label. After abortive negotiations with the Australian division of EMI Records, Spin Productions signed an exclusive ten-year distribution agreement with Festival Records and the first three Spin singles, released to coincide with the rebranding, were Ray Columbus' "We Want A Beat", Jeff St John & The Id's debut recording "Lindy Lou", and Marty Rhone's "Nature Boy".

Spin releases played an important part in Festival's business in this period, releasing successful albums and singles including the 1969 hit single "Mr Guy Fawkes" by The Dave Miller Set and the original Australian cast recording of the rock musical Hair, which became the first Australian cast recording to earn a Gold Record award. Through Kipner, Spin was also able to secure the lucrative Australian release rights to the Bee Gees' Polydor recordings from 1967 until the Spin label folded in 1973.

The early Spin releases were produced (or co-produced with Ossie Byrne) by Nat Kipner, or by noted producer-arranger Bill Shepherd, who accompanied the Bee Gees to the UK in 1967 as their musical director. From 1967 onwards, following the collapse of Ivan Dayman's Sunshine label, its acquisition by Festival, and his subsequent appointment as a Festival house producer, musician-composer-producer Pat Aulton took on a central role in Spin's productions, and he produced a large proportion of the label's output in the late '60s and early '70s.

In 1966 Spin played a pivotal role in the Bee Gees story, issuing the group's final batch of Australian singles, including their first major Australian hit, "Spicks and Specks", released in September that year. It was one of Spin's most successful singles, spending 19 weeks in the Sydney charts, where it peaked at #3, and it went to #1 in other cities including Melbourne, and reached #1 on the newly established national Top 40 in Go-Set magazine, who also named it their 'Best Record of the Year'.

The Bee Gees had originally signed to Festival's subsidiary Leedon Records, established by promoter Lee Gordon in the 1950s, and which Festival had acquired after Gordon's untimely death. According to Bee Gees historian Joseph Brennan, by late 1965 Festival were on the verge of dropping The Bee Gees from Leedon after eleven successive chart failures, although the band and their manager and father Hugh Gibb felt that much of the blame lay with Festival itself, and that the company had done little to promote their recordings. (It is notable that several other Australian performers had scored local hits with songs written by the Gibb brothers during the same period.) Hugh Gibb also raised questions about the legality of the boys' contract—they were all under 18 when they signed with Leedon—but Festival managing director Fred Marks negotiated a compromise, agreeing to release the trio from their Leedon contract on condition that they transfer to the Spin label. It was at this point that Nat Kipner briefly took over from Hugh Gibb as the Bee gees' manager, until they moved back to the UK at the start of 1967, when they signed a new management contract with Robert Stigwood and the NEMS organisation.

Once signed to Spin, Nat Kipner's support and guidance proved invaluable to The Bee Gees' career, as did the production skills and support of independent producer and studio owner Ossie Byrne. Over several months during mid-1966 Byrne gave the Gibb boys virtually unlimited time in his St Clair Studio in Hurstville, Sydney and the Gibbs have acknowledged that Byrne's generosity and guidance were crucial in enabling them to find their feet as studio artists.

Despite Festival's earlier misgivings, the deal proved lucrative for both Spin and Festival. After they arrived in Britain, The Bee Gees signed with Stigwood's RSO Records (distributed by Polydor) for the UK, and Atlantic Records in the USA, but Spin (and therefore Festival) retained the exclusive rights to distribute The Bee Gees' recordings in Australia for the better part of a decade. The first Bee Gees single released under this arrangement was their international breakthrough hit "New York Mining Disaster 1941" (1967).

Spin released some of the best local and international singles of the late Sixties, including all of The Bee Gees late '60s UK recordings. Artists on the Spin roster included former Aztecs guitarist Tony Barber, Steve & The Board (led by Nat Kipner's son and future hit songwriter Steve Kipner), Ronnie Burns, Toni McCann, Ray Columbus, Jeff St John, Marty Rhone, Tony Summers, Chris Hall & The Torquays, The Sunsets (later renamed Tamam Shud), The Ram Jam Big Band, Janice Slater, The Dave Miller Set and expatriate Hungarian fusion group Syrius, which featured legendary Australian jazz-funk bassist Jackie Orczarsky. Harry M. Miller's interest in the label also led to Spin releasing the highly successful Australian cast recording of Hair in 1970, the first Australian stage cast recording LP to be awarded a Gold Record.

The label was very productive, releasing 116 singles, 35 EPs and 38 LPs over the eight years between May 1966 and May 1974. Spin typically released 2-3 singles per month during its peak years. All Spin recordings were manufactured and distributed by Festival Records. Up to 1973, all singles distributed by Festival were catalogued in a consecutive four-figure series, with the different labels identified by prefixes. Festival's own releases (and some of the overseas recordings it released under license) were identified with a "FK" prefix (e.g. FK-1340). Spin singles were identified by the prefix "EK", an artefact of its original incarnation as "Everybody's". The final Spin single release, one of only two in Festaival's new "K" series (1973–74), was the Bee Gees' "Mr Natural".

Spin's EP and LP releases were similarly catalogued; Festival catalogued all EPs in its consecutive '11000' series, prefixed with a two-letter ID prefix (Spin's was "EX"). Spin LPs were initially catalogued in Festival's '30000' series and identified with an "EL" prefix"; this series changed to Festival's '930000' series ca. 1967. Early Spin LPs were released in mono; Jeff St John & The Id's Big Time Operators (1967) was Spin's first stereo LP, and one of the first stereo pop music albums by an Australian group. The original Australian cast recording of The Boyfriend (Sep. 1968) was the last Spin LP released in mono and all subsequent albums were issued in stereo. Spin's last two LPs—The Bee Gees' compilation Double Gold, and Mr Natural (1974) were issued under Festival's new L series catalogue.

Spin Productions went into liquidation in mid-1974 and the company's catalogue was subsequently purchased by Festival. The Spin name was revived briefly in 2000 for what was planned as an extensive series of commemorative CDs that were to have been issued to mark the company's 50th anniversary, but the unfortunately the project was cancelled after only a few releases due to cost-cutting and restructures. Despite these measures, Festival Mushroom went into liquidation in mid-2005 and its entire recording archive—including the Spin catalogue—was sold to the Australian division of Warner Music for a reported AU$10 million in October 2005. Thanks to Mustang

Twilights - 1982 - Twilight Time @320

Needle In A Haystack/Barefootin'/Young Girl/Night Of Fear/Show Me/What's Wrong With The Way I Live?/Bowling (Brings Out The Swinger In You)/My Generation/(Baby You Can) Drive My Car/Smokestack Lightning/Battle Of The Sounds Medley:Bad Boy/Satisfaction/Yesterday/If She Finds Out/I'm Not Talkin'/Bad Boy/I'm A Man


 One of the better Australian groups of the '60s, the Twilights were not especially innovative, but played competent, harmony-driven British Invasion-styled rock, strongly recalling both the "beat" and pseudo-psychedelic era Hollies. Relying largely on the original material of guitarist Terry Britten, they recorded over a dozen singles, as well as a couple albums, between 1965 and 1968, chalking up a few large Australian hits. Like many Australian stars of the period, they traveled to England for a while in an attempt to crack the international market, managing to record a few tracks in London with renowned producer/engineer Norman Smith (who had worked with the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Pretty Things, and others). Like other Australian acts in the U.K., with the exception of the Bee Gees and Easybeats, they totally failed in this regard, returning to Australia for more sporadic success in the homeland before disbanding in early 1969.

Side 1 Tracks 1-7 recorded at Festival Hall 1967, Side 2 Tracks 1-3 recorded St. Kilda Palais 1966,  Tracks 4-6 Festival Hall 1966.

3 requested bonus tracks in comments.

Ronnie Burns - 1994 - Enter Stage Left WAVE

The Very Last Day/True True Lovin'/Coalman/All the King's Horses/Too Many People/Exit Stage Right/In the Morning/Tophat/Terrible Way You Treat Your Baby/I Can't Let Go/We Had a Good Thing Going/Can't You Feel?/When I Was Six Years Old/So Good Together/Age of Consent/Piccadally Pages/Love Song/Such a Girl/Sunshine/How'd We Ever Get This Way/Harry the Happy Hooligan/Smiley/Jodie/The Prophet/If I Die/Maggie Mine


Ronald Leslie Burns AM (born 8 September 1946) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and musician. He fronted the Melbourne band "The Flies" in the early 1960s, followed by a solo career into the 1970s and was a member of Burns Cotton & Morris in the 1990s. He retired from performing in 2000. His solo hit single, "Smiley" peaked at number two on the Go-Set National Top 40 in 1970. On 10 June 2013 Burns was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia with the citation "For significant service to the community, particularly to children recovering from illness and trauma, and to the entertainment industry".
 

 Born on 8 September 1946, Burns was raised in Melbourne, Victoria. His father was a butcher, his mother Edna was a fan of vaudeville and his brother Frank, who is five years older, was a drummer. To buy his first guitar for 10 shillings, Burns had part-time jobs selling newspapers, working in a milk bar and in a fruit shop. He joined his brother's folk music band as lead vocalist and was working in a clothes store. He transferred to the Myers Store' display window but was fired for having long hair, however he had already joined the Mod band The Flies in early 1964.

They won a Moomba band competition for a group most like The Beatles. The line-up consisted of Burns (rhythm guitar, lead singer), Themi Adams (aka Themistocles Adamopoulo, bass guitar), John Thomas (lead guitar) and Hank Wallace (drums). Concert promoter Garry Spry was looking for a resident band for his new rock club, Pinocchios, which opened in March. The Flies were reputedly the first long-haired band in Australia and drew heavily on The Beatles for their musical and fashion influences and soon acquired a large local following. Their repertoire included covers of The Searchers, The Hollies and Herman's Hermits. Spry became their manager and secured a recording deal with RCA Records – they started recording their first single, "Tell Her That", in Sydney, with producer-engineer David Mackay, it was released in June 1964 and was a local hit in Melbourne.

Burns befriended Ian Meldrum, a university law student looking for somewhere to stay, whose two-week visit became nine years of boarding at his parents' home. Meldrum later had a career as a pop music commentator, TV personality and record producer. The two were famously ejected from The Beatles' June 1964 Melbourne concert, because Meldrum was screaming too loudly. Meldrum later promoted Burns solo career in his writing for the weekly teen newspaper, Go-Set, which became a pop music "bible" by the late 1960s. After August, The Flies started appearing on television pop music The Go!! Show on ATV-0 – initially broadcast only in Melbourne but later extended to Sydney on TEN-10.

After six months residency at Pinocchios, Spry started booking The Flies into Sydney where they were arrested for vagrancy for having hair over their shoulders, but it was great publicity making all the papers. Back in Melbourne, Spry employed Carole West to organise a publicity shoot for TV and press to display his band having their long hair done at a women's hair salon in South Yarra. During the shoot, Burns sang with his guitar and was joined by apprentice hairdresser Lynne Randell – who was promptly signed by Spry and managed by West. In January 1965, they supported The Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison on their first Australian tour.

 In May 1965, The Flies embarked on their own six-week tour of Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania, becoming one of the first Australian beat groups to mount an extensive national tour. The Flies recorded their second single "Doing the Mod", in Sydney, which was released in June and was a hit in both there and Melbourne and became their signature song. Aside from The Go!! Show the band also appeared on the related ATV-0 offering, Kommotion. This show also included local artists miming to international hits. One of the dancers / mimers on Kommotion was Maggie Stewart, she also danced on ABC TV's Dig We Must where Burns introduced himself, the couple married in 1970. Another mimer on Kommotion was Burns' friend Meldrum. During The Flies national tour a third single "Can't You Feel" – composed by Burns and Thomas – became a minor national hit. By this time The Flies, alongside Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, had become one of the most popular bands in the country.

 In September 1965, Burns decided to leave The Flies to go solo – his place was taken by Peter Nicoll from The Wild Colonials. Promoter Jeff Joseph who ran Pinocchios Promotions – the booking agency for Spry's artists – left and took over as Burns' manager. An extended play was released by RCA consisting of four tracks from their singles, but was attributed to The Flies, vocal by Ronnie Burns.


As a solo artist, Burns became one of Australia's most popular male pop singers from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. His first single, "Very Last Day" was released in June 1966 on Spin Records and peaked at No. 12 on Melbourne's Top 40 singles chart. His second single, "True True Lovin" followed in August and reached No. 15. Go-Set published their inaugural pop poll on 5 October, Normie Rowe won 'Australian Male Vocal' of the year – he was later called 'King of Pop' – with Burns second and Johnny Young third. Also in October, Go-Set published Australia's first National Top 40 singles chart, Burns' third single, "Coalman", which was released in January 1967, peaked at No. 6. Another Top 20 single was "Exit, Stage Right" in June. In August, Burns topped the Go-Set pop poll for 'Top Male Singer' and ABC-TV broadcast a documentary, The Life of Ronnie Burns. Over the next four years, he consistently finished third on the Go-Set pop poll.

Burns had several minor national hits – "We Had a Good Thing Going" (October 1967), "When I Was Six Years Old" (March 1968), written for him by Brian Cadd and Max Ross of The Groop, and "Age of Consent" (January 1969), written by Terry Britten of The Twilights. Most of Burns' 1967 material was written by The Bee Gees, the tracks appeared on his first solo album Ronnie (Spin, July 1967). The Bee Gees had written and recorded them in Sydney in late 1966, which included their breakthrough hit "Spicks and Specks". Shortly afterward the group left Australia to return to the UK. The tracks were intended for a planned album which was not released, so they were sent to Burns who shared the same recording management. Burns provided his own vocals over The Bee Gees' backing tracks. The original versions were eventually issued by Festival Records on The Bee Gees compilation albums, including a 2-CD set Brilliant from Birth (2000).

 In 1968, Burns appeared on Once Upon a Twilight, the pilot for a projected TV series starring The Twilights, he performed the Barry Gibb song 'In The Morning' with the group and comedian Mary Hardy, but plans for the series were scrapped after the sponsor withdrew support. Late that year, former pop star Johnny Young was writing "The Real Thing" as a ballad and intended to offer it to Burns. Young was practising it in a dressing room while TV pop show Uptight was being recorded. Meldrum happened to walk by and wanted it for his newly managed artist, Russell Morris (ex-Somebody's Image). Morris recorded it as his debut solo single with Meldrum's production turning it into a six-minute long psychedelic pop song – it became a national No. 1 hit in May 1969.

"Smiley", Burns' biggest hit, reached number two on the Go-Set National Top 40 in February 1970. It was also written by Young, who was later involved in television production (see Young Talent Time). Young revealed that the song was inspired by the experiences of fellow pop star, Rowe, whose music career ended in late 1967 when he was drafted into the Australian Army and he was sent to fight in the Vietnam War. It is one of the first Australian pop singles released in stereo and features a lavish orchestral and vocal arrangement by John Farrar (ex The Strangers) who went on to write and/or produce many hits for Olivia Newton-John.

In the early 1970s, Burns had moved from pop to more adult contemporary music, he toured the club and cabaret circuit. Further Young-penned singles were "The Prophet" in January 1971 and "If I Die" in 1972. He appeared on variety TV shows including as a judge on Young Talent Time, where Maggie Burns was a choreographer. Burns' last single, "Brand New Number One" was released in 1980 on the Fable Records label.

Burns later supported touring artists such as Peter, Paul & Mary, and The Bee Gees. In 1996 he formed a trio with fellow Australian 1960's pop singers Morris and Darryl Cotton (ex Zoot) called Burns, Cotton & Morris which toured for several years and released a self-titled album. He retired from performing in 2000 – his place was taken by former Masters Apprentices lead singer Jim Keays with the trio renamed as Cotton Keays & Morris.

The Sharp - 1995 - Single File-The Best Of The Sharp FLAC

Alone Like Me/Scratch My Back/Where Am I Now/Talking Sly/Nightclub/Train Of Thought/Yeah I Want You/Spider/I Know You/Honest & Sober/Dance For Me/Get Out Of My Way/Caught In The Deep/Love Your Head/In Collingwood



The Sharp were a three-piece pop, rockabilly band which formed in 1991 with Allan Catlin on double bass and lead vocals, Piet Collins on drums and Charlie Rooke on guitar and lead vocals. They issued three albums, This Is the Sharp (September 1993), Sonic Tripod (October 1994) and Single File (compilation, September 1995). Their highest charting single, "Alone Like Me" (1994), reached the ARIA Singles Chart top 20. They disbanded in October 1995.

In 1991 the Sharp were formed as a three-piece rockabilly, pop group in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood by Allan Catlin on double bass and lead vocals, Piet Collins on drums and Charlie Rooke on guitar and lead vocals. Rooke had formed 59 Sharp, a "good-time bar-band", in 1988; he was later joined by Catlin, and alternating drummers Danny Simcic (also a member of Real Life, a new wave-synth pop band) and Tony Day (Broderick Smith Band). They "played 1950s rock'n'roll and rockabilly covers to a hardcore Melbourne following."

Piet Collins, who was writing Neighbours episodes at the time, joined on drums in 1991 due to other commitments for both Day and Simcic. The group were renamed as the Sharp, which according to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane "Boasting double bass, stand-up drums, rockabilly-tinged guitar licks and musicians dressed in all black... [they] presented a united front and an interesting twist on 1990s pop... [their] aesthetic push incorporated frisky pop melodies, tight arrangements, strong harmonies and grungy guitar riffs." For the Sharp Catlin and Rooke wrote original tracks, both individually and jointly. The group acknowledged the influence of the Kinks, the Beatles and the Easybeats.

In June 1992 they issued their debut CD three-track extended play, Love Your Head, on Mushroom Distribution Services. It was produced by Nick Mainsbridge (The Triffids, Tall Tales and True, Ratcat). They were signed to East West Music/Warner Music Australasia later that year. Their first hit single, "Talking Sly" (from the Spinosity EP), was written and sung jointly by Rooke and Catlin, which "received plenty of radio support and high critical acclaim." It reached the ARIA Singles Chart top 30. Their third EP, Train of Thought, which appeared in May that year, was co-produced by Mainsbridge with Peter Farnan (of Boom Crash Opera).

The Sharp released their debut album, This Is the Sharp, in September 1993, which was co-produced by Farnan, Mainsbridge and the group. It peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[7] They promoted the album with an Australian tour as a support act for United States group, Spin Doctors. At the ARIA Awards of 1993 the Sharp received two nominations for "Talking Sly", Breakthrough Artist – Single and Best Video (directed by Chris Langman).

The Sharp singles/EPs which appeared in the top 50 of the ARIA Singles Chart include Train of Thought (May 1993), "Scratch My Back" (October), and Yeah I Want You (November). The latter EP had five tracks with an original, "Yeah I Want You", followed by four cover version of work by The Cure ("The Love Cats"), Blondie ("Hangin' on the Telephone"), Lou Reed ("Vicious") and The Violent Femmes ("Add It Up"). Collins explained "We've been playing these songs in our live set on and off for the past two years and we've created our own versions of them."

A world tour followed in 1994 across the US, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany. This Is the Sharp was released in 14 international territories, and their live shows received favourable reviews.[citation needed] At the 1994 ARIA Awards they received two further nominations, Breakthrough Artist – Album for This Is the Sharp and Engineer of the Year for its tracks, "Scratch My Back", "Yeah I Want You" and "Train of Thought" by Mainsbridge and Kalju Tonuma.

Sonic Tripod, the band's second album, was released in August 1994, which also reached No. 13 and was co-produced by Farnan, Mainsbridge and the group. Jacqueline Fuller of The Canberra Times felt it was "a foray into the new lyrical themes of social comment and psychological turmoil rather than The Sharp's typical love and party songs." It provided their highest charting single "Alone Like Me", which peaked at No. 20. The group were known for their image of black high neck skivvies, and energetic live shows, including Catlin balancing on his double bass while playing, and Rooke leaping off the drum kit mid-guitar solo.

Early in 1995 Adam May replaced Collins on drums, however in August the group announced their proposed disbandment due to burn out. Rooke explained to Liz Armitage of The Canberra Times in that month how the Sharp had decided to break up: "It was a round-table discussion. A lot of people like to think there was (a conflict) but there wasn't, otherwise we wouldn't be doing a tour." Rooke reflected on their legacy "I think people will remember us for being a bit different... I'm sticking with the simplicity... I seemed to go for that vibe in the first, and I've always believed in it. I think you can do so much with that approach, but most groups these days are into bigger production." According to Armitage "Both Catlin and Rooke are expected to release something (separately) at the start of next year."

A compilation album, Single File (The Best of the Sharp), was released in September. They performed their last gig on 22 October 1995 at the Hallam Hotel. The label issued a posthumous collection, Skeletons in the Closet, of previously unreleased studio tracks, in 1996. Caitlin formed a group, the Rush Effect and wrote music for ads; Collins took up a career in journalism and writing; Rooke formed a group, Earlobe. Rooke was later a studio session guitarist for Cezary Skubiszewski. In 2000 the Sharp performed a sole reunion gig in Melbourne, and in July 2010 they reunited for a series of shows playing in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Jimmy Little - 1969 - The Country Sound Of Jimmy Little WAVE

Oh, Lonesome Me/Green Green Grass Of Home/Bye Bye Love/Streets Of Loredo/He'll Have To Go/I Love You Because/Lonesome Number One/ Born To Lose/The Gal Who Invented Kissing/Still/ I Really Don't Want To Know/Take Good Care Of Her





James Oswald Little, AO (1 March 1937 – 2 April 2012) was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher from the Yorta Yorta people and was raised on the Cummeragunja Mission, New South Wales.

From 1951 he had a career as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, which spanned six decades. For many years he was the main Aboriginal star on the Australian music scene. His music was influenced by Nat King Cole and American country music artist Jim Reeves. His gospel song "Royal Telephone" (1963) sold over 75,000 copies and his most popular album, Messenger, peaked at No. 26 in 1999 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999 Little was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and won an ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. On Australia Day (26 January) 2004, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia with the citation, "For service to the entertainment industry as a singer, recording artist and songwriter and to the community through reconciliation and as an ambassador for Indigenous culture".

As an actor, he appeared in the films Shadow of the Boomerang (1960) and Until the end of the World (1991), in the theatre production Black Cockatoos and in the opera Black River. As a teacher, from 1985, he worked at the Eora Centre in Redfern and from 2000 was a guest lecturer at the University of Sydney's Koori Centre.

In 1958 Little married Marjorie Rose Peters and they had a daughter, Frances Claire Peters-Little. Little was a diabetic with a heart condition and, in 2004, had a kidney transplant. After his transplant he established the Jimmy Little Foundation to promote indigenous health and diet. Marjorie died in July 2011. On 2 April 2012, Little died at his home in Dubbo, aged 75 years.

Johnny Devlin - 1958 - How Would Ya Be @320

How Would Ya Be/Honey Don't/Koala Bear/Pointed Toe Shoes/Twenty Flight Rock/Why Don't You Believe Me/Leroy/Cast Iron Arm/I'm Counting On You/Love Me/Move It/You're Gone Baby/Tiger/Crazy, Crazy Baby/Wicked, Wicked Woman/Gotta Lotta That/Matador Baby/I Got A Rocket In My Pocket/Slipping Around/Doreen



Johnny Devlin was New Zealand's first true superstar of the rock & roll era, a teen idol whose national fame and revolutionary impact made him a Kiwi counterpart to Elvis Presley. Born May 11, 1938 in the small town of Raetihi, Devlin was raised in nearby Wanganui, where in 1951 he made his solo performing debut yodeling at the local opera house. After graduating high school, he spent two years as a bank clerk, occasionally playing country & western music with his brothers in a band called the River City Ramblers. Then, in mid-1956, Devlin heard Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel"; overnight he became obsessed with rock & roll, snatching up Presley singles and performing Elvis songs on the amateur talent quest circuit. Complete with ducktail, loud suits, and hepcat lingo, he assimilated himself completely in the culture portrayed in American teen movies of the era, earning something of a reputation as the town eccentric.

Although Devlin regularly appeared in talent contests, he at first enjoyed little success, but in early 1957, he was spotted by Johnny Cooper, who had cut the first-ever New Zealand rock record, a cover of Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock," two years prior. Cooper became Devlin's mentor, and his career surged, he regularly won top honors at talent shows and played to increasingly enthusiastic crowds. After settling into a regular gig at Auckland's Jive Centre, Devlin's fame grew, and his nightly sets of dead-on Presley imitations were the stuff of massive teen hysteria; finally, in mid-1958, he recorded his debut single, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." It was a massive hit, selling over 2000 copies in Auckland alone during its first month of release on its way to passing the unprecedented five-figure mark; trumpeted in the press as "New Zealand's Elvis Presley," Devlin was a true phenomenon, mobbed by fans wherever he went.

Between November 1958 and May 1959, Devlin's label Prestige released some eight singles, three EPs, and an LP, amounting to total sales of over 200,000 copies; with his backing band the Devils in tow, he toured the country, playing everywhere to capacity crowds. However, more conservative quarters were outraged over the hysteria and destruction left in Devlin's wake, and as more and more theater managers became wary of booking the band, his career began to slip. For his part, Devlin was becoming increasingly disillusioned, with backstage bickering and record-label trickery leaving him more and more disgusted by fame; in May 1959,he and the Devils toured Australia as part of a package tour including the Everly Brothers and Tab Hunter, and by the time they returned home, the ballyhoo had died down. Still, Devlin remains the benchmark by which all New Zealand phenoms are judged; no one was ever bigger among Kiwi teens except the Beatles, whose opening act during their 1964 NZ tour was none other than Johnny Devlin himself.

Ronnie Burns - 1971 - Virgo FLAC

Prophet/Jesus/Are You Ready/Maggie Mine/Maggie Mine/If I Die/Tomorrow And The Next Day/War Is Over/Please Be My Friend/Easy Rider



Ronnie Burns’ initial claim to fame was as a member of Melbourne band The Flies (usually billed as ‘Victoria’s top Beatles group’). They were Australia’s longest-haired band and supported many major overseas acts, including The Rolling Stones.

Melbourne born and bred, Ronnie Burns bought his first guitar aged eight, and by the time he was 14 he had formed a rock & roll band with his brother Frank. From there he entered the world of coffee houses and folk music until in 1964 the arrival of The Beatles changed everything. Burns grew his hair and formed The Flies.

In August 1965, Burns left the band to go solo. Over the next five years, he had nine hit singles in Melbourne, starting with The Very Last Day and True, True Lovin’. Ronnie’s big break came in 1966 when he released his third single, Coalman, backed by The Bee Gees.  It was a deserved national hit, and was followed up with a Bee Gees double, In The Morning b/w Exit Stage Right.

His profile was now high enough to make him runner-up to Normie Rowe in Go-Set‘s prestigious pop poll of 1966. The following year was the big one for Burns, culminating in being named Australia’s most popular male singer in the Go-Set poll. He was a genuine pop star, pursued wherever he appeared.

Ten days at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show saw daily riots, with audience hysteria a regular sight at his live shows. His popularity was acknowledged by the ABC who filmed a special documentary, The Life Of Ronnie Burns.

Burns maintained his chart blitz in 1968 with When I Was Six Years Old, written by Max Ross and Brian Cadd of Australian band, The Groop. He showed no signs of flagging in 1969 either, when he produced his biggest hit ever, Smiley – one of the few Australian anti-Vietnam War songs – penned by Johnny Young who would go on to fame with the national kids TV talent show, Young Talent Time.

Ronnie married dancer Maggie Stewart in 1970. Maggie went on to become choreographer on Young Talent Time and Ronnie became a regular judge on the show.

In 1971, Ronnie was banned from performing the track Virgin from his Virgo album on the television show Happening ’71. His November 1972 album (We’ve Only Just Begun) featured a cover photo of Ronnie naked except for a fur draped over him.

By the mid-70s, Burns had ditched the pop trappings for a more middle-of-the-road sound and a new nightclub image. He became a regular on the Australian Leagues Club circuit, and on television variety shows, and appeared in the 90s on the rock & roll revival circuit.

Johnny Farnham and Allison Durbin - 1971 - Together FLAC

Baby Without You/The Green Green Grass is Dying/You're Alright With Me/Stay Awhile/I Don't Mind The Rain/Singing Our Song/That's Old Fashioned/Come On Round To My Place/Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing/Nobody Knows/Better Put Your Love Away/Get Together



Together is a studio album of duets by Australian pop singers John Farnham (known then as Johnny Farnham) and Allison Durbin, which was released on HMV for EMI Records in September 1971. It peaked at No. 20 on the Australian Go-Set's Albums Chart.

Farnham had earlier No. 1 singles with "Sadie" in 1968 and his cover of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" in 1970; he was the reigning 'King of Pop' on Go-Set's popularity polls during 1969–1971. New Zealand-born, Durbin had a hit with "I Have Loved Me a Man" in 1968 and was 'Best Female Artist' for the same Go-Set polls. A Farnham and Durbin duet single, "Baby, Without You", was released in November and reached No. 16 on the Go-Set Singles Chart.

 As Johnny Farnham he had his first No. 1 single on the Go-Set National Singles Charts with the novelty song "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)". Selling 180,000 copies in Australia, "Sadie" was the highest selling single by an Australian artist of the decade. His second No. 1 was a cover of B. J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", which peaked at No. 1 for seven weeks in January–March 1970. A non-album single, "Comic Conversation" was released in October 1970 and peaked at No. 10 on the Go-Set National Top 60 Singles Chart and was still charting in March 1971. His fifth album, Johnny was released in August, which peaked at No. 24 on the Kent Music Report Albums Charts. Another non-album single, "Acapulco Sun" had been released in May and peaked at No. 21 on the Go-Set Top 60, but there were no charting Albums from Johnny. Aside from Johnny, Farnham also released a compilation, The Best of Johnny Farnham, and a duet album with Allison Durbin, Together, all in 1971.

Allison Ann Durbin (born 24 May 1950), who now goes by the married name Alison Ann Giles is a former New Zealand Australian pop singer, known for her success in the late 1960s and 1970s as the "Queen of Pop". Durbin's visual 'trademark' at her height was her lustrous waist-length auburn hair. She is a relative of Canadian actress and lyric soprano Deanna Durbin

Durbin's first single for New Zealand HMV, "I Have Loved Me A Man", (a cover of Morgana King) became a No.1 hit in New Zealand and also a hit in Australia. The song won her the New Zealand music award, the 1968 Loxene Golden Disc and she was named New Zealand Entertainer of the Year in 1969. For three years running (1969, 1970 and 1971), she won Australia’s "Queen Of Pop" award for Best Female Artist.

In 1971, she recorded a duet album, Together, with John Farnham, who had been voted Australia's "King Of Pop" during the same years Durbin received her awards.  Thanks to Sunny

Allison Durbin - 1983 - Country Love Songs FLAC

Tennessee Waltz/Funny Face/Please Help Me I'm Falling/Your Cheating Heart/I Love A Rainy Day/Take These Chains From My Heart/You Always Hurt The One You Love/Save The Last Dance For Me/Lying Eyes/Truely/I Believe In You/Blue Eyes/Lady/Satin Sheets/We've Got Tonight/Before The Next Teardrop Falls



Allison Ann Durbin (born 24 May 1950), who now goes by the married name Alison Ann Giles is a former New Zealand Australian pop singer, known for her success in the late 1960s and 1970s as the "Queen of Pop". Durbin's visual 'trademark' at her height was her lustrous waist-length auburn hair. She is a relative of Canadian actress and lyric soprano Deanna Durbin.

 

 Durbin was born in Auckland, New Zealand to Owen Durbin (born c. 1912/1913) and Agnes Durbin, the second eldest of seven She attended school at Westlake High School, and performed for four year in a children's choir. She became interested in singer, and has inspie dby artist like Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone and Dionne Warwick and began performing in public in her early teens and after winning a talent contest at an Auckland ballroom, she was signed to Eldred Stebbing's Zodiac Records at the age of 14 and issued a number of singles on the label. Her third Zodiac single, a cover of Herman's Hermits "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", out-sold the original in New Zealand and became her first chart hit. She built up a following in New Zealand, recording and fronting the Mike Perjanik Group and she travelled with them to Australia in 1966 for residencies in Sydney. After nine months in Sydney she left the group to establish a solo career, making numerous appearances on Australian TV pop and variety shows.
 

 Durbin's first single for New Zealand HMV, "I Have Loved Me A Man", (a cover of Morgana King) became a No.1 hit in New Zealand and also a hit in Australia. The song won her the New Zealand music award, the 1968 Loxene Golden Disc and she was named New Zealand Entertainer of the Year in 1969. For three years running (1969, 1970 and 1971), she won Australia’s "Queen Of Pop" award for Best Female Artist. In 1971, she recorded a duet album, Together, with John Farnham, who had been voted Australia's "King Of Pop" during the same years Durbin received her awards.



 

In the late 1960s Durbin began a relationship with expatriate New Zealand record producer Howard Gable, then a senior A&R manager/house producer for EMI Australia, and they subsequently married and started a family. During the 1970s, as her career waned, Durbin began using heroin and her marriage to Gable ended. In 1985 she publicly acknowledged her battle with drugs and sought treatment at Odyssey House, a drug rehabilitation centre, but she was struck by a car just after her release from the centre, which left her with serious injuries, including a broken jaw. After she recovered, she worked as a country music singer in the late 1980s. On 1 June 2007, under her married name Allison Giles, she was sentenced to 12 months' jail for cannabis trafficking. One of her co-accused, the man she allegedly supplied with marijuana, was the convicted drug dealer Giuseppe "Joe" Barbaro. Thanks to Mustang.

Andy Armstrong - 1967 - At Last FLAC

Intro/Had A Little Girl/My Little Bird/Once Upon A Time/The Way You Talk/A Ray Of Hope/If Someone Is Following You/Call It On Your Own/Baby Said To Me/Did I hear You Right/How's Your Baby/Slidin' Blues/Plead Is All I Can Do/Bonnie George Campbell/Goin' Home


In 1967 when this album was recorded I had been playing guitar for three years and writing songs for two years. I was heavily influenced by Bert Jansch, the Scottish contemporary folk singer/songwriter and co-founder of the band Pentangle, best known for his song "Needle of Death" and his brilliant version of Davy Graham's "Angie" guitar instrumental.

Many musicians have said that Jansch was a huge influence, Jimmy Page and Neil Young among them. Jansch was such an inspiration to me in that I followed his path of contemporary folk rather than mainstream pop music. Although I listened to the Beatles, Peter Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan and James Taylor and the fabulous folk trio of women Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Odetta, it was the English sensibility that I tried to capture in my songs.

This meant one thing... I was never going to be big in terms of Australia wide success. In fact as long as I felt free to do my own thing I was happy. It wasn't until later when Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and the whole American West Coast sound became popular that I followed those trends and left my folkie days behind...and started to make headway both in studio work as a session singer and in live performance.

So here I am in 1967, 19 years old and virtually never sung in public except for the odd live gig at my high school and the thought came that I would like to do what my heroes had done and make a record. How I got on to Nationwide I don't remember but I booked some time and took the train into town with my song book and guitar and for the first time walked into a recording studio.

I knew nothing but Graham didn't know that! I had heard that when making an album the guitar part was recorded first then the vocals after that. I started at track one and recorded all the guitar parts in one take.  I didn't listen to any of them back then went straight into recording the vocals.  All the vocals I did in one take also! In less than two hours I had recorded a whole album of original material. At the end of the session Graham said "I've never seen that done before." I had no idea what he meant. It didn't occur to me to listen back to each song and do it again if it wasn't right... besides, I was used to singing songs live so I rarely made a mistake.

My best friend at the time Peter Ryan arranged the covers of the 50 albums I had pressed -also by Graham in his own pressing plant in the Nationwide building- and it was Peter that wrote (AT LAST) on the cover by hand. There were only ever those 50 pressed Copies... if you can get them... now sell for hundreds of dollars.

The guitar I used, which I still have, is a Hagstrom Bonita. Hagstrom acoustics have not been made in their original Swedish factory since the early 70s but have a cult following of die hard  collectors. The list of famous players is amazing, Cat Stevens being the foremost. Whether I sold any copies or whether I just gave them away I have no recollection. I simply had always wanted to make an album and AT LAST I had.
by Andy Armstrong, June 2011

Diesel - 1992 - Hepfidelity FLAC

Man Alive/Tip of My Tongue/Too Much of a Good Thing/One More Time/Get Lucky/There's a Love/Love Junk/Come to Me/Save a Little Lovin'/Picture of You/One Thing After Another



Mark Denis Lizotte (born 31 May 1966[2]) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician, who has released material under the name Diesel, Johnny Diesel, as leader of band Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, and as a solo performer, as well as under his birth name Two of his albums reached No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Charts, Hepfidelity in 1992 and The Lobbyist in 1993.




 

Since 1987, Lizotte, who was born in Massachusetts, United States, has played on several albums by his brother-in law, Australian rock singer, Jimmy Barnes. Although better known as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, Lizotte is also competent on bass guitar, drums, percussion and keyboards; and has also produced an album by Richard Clapton and one by Vika and Linda Bull. He has won six ARIA Music Awards with three for 'Best Male Artist' in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Hepfidelity is the debut solo album by Australian singer/songwriter Diesel. The album was released in March 1992 through Chrysalis Records/ EMI Records, and held the number-one spot on the ARIA Albums Chart for four weeks. It included the singles "Love Junk", "Come to Me", "Tip of my Tongue", "Man Alive" and "One More Time". The album was certified 3x platinum in Australia.

The Verses - 2010 - Seasons FLAC

Still Come Around/Want Everything/Settle Down/Never Knew/Teeth/Let You (W)in/Running Away/Lonely Moon/Midnight/The Winter/Waste of Time



The Verses is an Australian band that features the brother and sister combination of Ella and Jesse Hooper, the founding members of popular Australian rock band, Killing Heidi. Their debut album Seasons was released on Friday, 13 August 2010.


Ella and Jesse Hooper, born in Violet Town, Victoria, Australia, have been playing music together since they were young. In August 1999, they rose to fame with previous band Killing Heidi, which spawned three top 10 albums, and eight singles. In 2006, after rumors of the band splitting, they posted a blog on their MySpace blog stating they were taking a break. Throughout 2006, Ella and Jesse played several gigs as a duo under the name of Killing Heidi. They played a mix of old Killing Heidi material, as well as some new, unrecorded tracks.

 On 13 November 2009, the band's first EP, The Verses was released. It peaked at #11 on the Australian ARIA Physical Singles Chart, but failed to impact the top 100 overall singles. Its single, "Forever More", received little airplay. On their official website, the band posted news about their upcoming album, Seasons, to be released on 13 August 2010. It will feature new single "Want Everything", which combines the verses of previous single "Forever More" with the chorus of "Everything At Once", also from the band's debut EP. The album debuted at #13 on the Australian albums chart, and fell to #28 the following week. The 2nd single from the album is "Running Away".

Marshall Brothers Band - 1975 - Marshall Brothers Band FLAC

Falcon 1959-1912/Bright Light Lady/Pioneer Suite/Mr. 'l'/Come Out With Your Hands Up Baby/Flying High/Summer Love/Younger Now



 The Marshall Brothers Band from Newcastle (Australia), this classic rock combo was formed in 1975 are a lesser-known Aussie proggers, quite possibly due to their lounge-act name, but also quite possibly due to their lounge-act music, certainly when compared to the likes of Aleph or the mighty Sebastian Hardie. The Marshall Brothers Band (produced by noted 'Tronnist Chris Neal).

There aren't any Marshall Brothers on the band, their name came after Rob Scott's wish to use the word "Brothers" like Allman Bros or Doobie Bros, so they called the band after Dave’s amplifier brand!

Classical rock music influenced by King Crimson, Vanilla Fudge and Rick Wakeman. Their 1975 sole album sold quite well, spending eight weeks in the charts. Later, they wrote the soundtrack for the movie, 'Summer City', in 1978.

Standing L-R: Kevin Wyatt, Rob Scott, Chris Brown Sitting L-R: John Zulaicha (Engineer),
                Chris Neal (Producer) Ian Matheson, David Hinds and John Halls

Judy Stone - 1974 - Pure Stone FLAC

Everybody's Reachin Out For Someone/The Summer Knows/Take Me Home Country Roads/Marieke/Song For You/No Regrets/Believe In Music/Cajun Man/Where Do I Begin/Day By Day/Until It's Time For You To Go/Love's Old Song


 Born on the first of January 1st 1944 in Sydney.

After travelling throughout the country with "The Reg Lindsay Show", Judy began touring with Col Joye and, before long, became a regular member of the popular T.V. show, "Bandstand". It was in the sixties that Judy's hit songs...I'll step down, Born a woman, 4003221 tears from now, established her as a recording artist as well as a T.V. star.

Since the "Bandstand" days, she has appeared on every major T.V. show in Australia and demand for her appearances has remained constant. Such is her popularity, that judy has been invited to perform with many Top International Artists on their Austrlian tours. They include: Sir Harry Secombe, Rolf Harris , Dick Emery, Johnny Mathis and Howard Keel.

 The song that gained Judy the National Award in 1974, "Field of Stone", coupled with "Mare, Mare, Mare", earned Judy the distinction of being the first Australian Female Entertainer with two records concurrently featuring in the Top 40. In 1976, "Silver Wings and Golden Rings" firmly established her in the Country Pop scene. "Hasta Manana" added to her successes, proving a hit in Australia with credits from England and Scotland.

Recognition of Judy's immense talents has been overwhelming, with more than twenty awards from T.V. and Recording Performances, including three T.V. Logies and eight "MO" awards.

Judy has represented Australia three times at International Expositions, in Japan and the United States. Her recording and singing in other languages, Flemish and Italian, led to a hit record recorded in Japanese which enabled Judy to successfully perform in Japan's top nightclubs.

 A memorable highlight of Judy's career occurred in 1986 when she signed a history making recording contract as the first foreign Female Performer with the Republic of China Record Company. In September 1986, to coincide with the release of her album, Judy was invited to Beijing to appear in a Television Special where she sang in Mandarin to her audience.

Whilst in China, Judy endeared herself to the Chinese people, further enhancing her reputation as one of Australia's most "PRECIOUS GEM'.

Throughout the nineties Judy Stone has performed in all major clubs and venues throughout Australia and starred in her own one woman cabaret show at the Tilbury Hotel in 1995. More recently Judy Stone has been a star performer in the Col Joye Show which has been touring Nationally.   Thanks to Geospiri

1984 – Inducted into the Hands of Fame.

 The Country Music Hands of Fame Cornerstone was established in Tamworth, Australia's Country  Music  Capital, in 1977 as a tribute to people who had made a name for themselves in Australian country music.

Marcia Hines - 1994 - Right Here and Now FLAC

Give It All You Got/Rain (Let The Children Play)/ Change/Point Of No Return/Right Here & Now/Common Mind/Ought To Know (duet with John Kenny)/Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees/Don't Mean Nothin'/Nobody Knows/Know It In Your Heart/ Sooner Or Later/Right Here & Now (Reprise)


 Right Here and Now is the eighth studio album released by Australian musician Marcia Hines, in October 1994. It debuted and peaked at #21 on the ARIA chart. It is her first album of original songs since Love Sides in 1983. In March 1994, Hines toured nationally for the first time in seven years and she signed a new contract with Warner Music Australia.
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born 20 July 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist, actress and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar. She achieved her greatest commercial successes as a recording artist during the late 1970s with several hit singles, including cover versions of "Fire and Rain", "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", "You" and "Something's Missing (In My Life)"; and her Top Ten albums Marcia Shines, Shining and Ladies and Gentlemen. Hines was voted "Queen of Pop" by TV Week's readers for three consecutive years from 1976.

Hines stopped recording in the early 1980s until she returned with Right Here and Now in 1994, the same year she became an Australian citizen. She was the subject of the 2001 biography Diva: the life of Marcia Hines which coincided with the release of the compilation album Diva. Since 2003 she has been a judge on Australian Idol, and her elevated profile led to a renewed interest in her as a performer. Her 2006 album, Discotheque, peaked at number 6 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums chart. Hines was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame on 18 July 2007.

Hines is the mother of singer Deni Hines, with whom she performed on the duet single "Stomp!" (2006)

Allison Durbin - 1976 - Born A Woman

Oh Boy/Blanket On The Ground/Born A Woman/He's So Fine/L.A. International Airport/Tar And Cement/In The Ghetto/Medley：How Can You Mend A Broken Heart; Feelings; Falling In Love Again/The Way I Want To Touch You/Sunshine On My Shoulders/Medley：Baby I'm A 'Want You; Honey Come Back/At Seventeen/Breaking Up Is Hard To Do


Born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 24 May 1950, Allison Anne Durbin joined New Zealand’s popular Uncle Tom’s Friendly Road Children’s Choir (a radio and concert choir made up of kids aged between 5 and 21) at the age of five. She stayed with the choir for four years.

At the age of 13, Allison sang a guest spot with a rock band at a venue called the Shiralee Club, impressing the club manager so much that he offered her a residency to sing at the club three night’s a week. She performed at the club for 12 months, with her mother accompanying her to and from the club each night.

 During her time at the club, she was spotted by a record company talent scout who arranged for her to record her first single. By the time she left school at the age of 15, Allison had five singles to her credit – the most successful being Can’t You Hear My Heart Beat?

Travelling to Australia with the 8-piece Mike Perjanik Show Band, Allison left the band in Sydney shortly after her 17th birthday and returned to New Zealand. Her biggest break came the following year when she supported Gene Pitney on his New Zealand tour. Soon after, she recorded Don’t Come Any Closer, which not only did well for her at home but was her first record released in Australia.

As a result, Allison was taken to Melbourne in March 1969 as a special guest artist on the Myer Music Bowl concert staged as part of Melbourne’s Moomba festival. She returned home for just two months before lucrative offers enticed her back to Australia in mid-1969.Allison developed into one of Australia’s leading female singers, regularly performing at all major hotels and clubs, making frequent television appearances and releasing numerous hit records. She also won a string of press and television awards in the early 1970s as Australia’s best female pop singer.

By 1976 she had moved from pop to country music, where she enjoyed equivalent success in sales and popularity, with seven charting albums between then and 1983.

As her career waned, Durbin began using heroin and, in 1985, she publicly acknowledged her battle with drugs and sought treatment at a drug rehabilitation centre. Shortly after her release from the centre, she was struck by a car which left her with serious injuries including a broken jaw. After she recovered, she worked as a country music singer but, although she made a couple of comeback attempts – including a 30th-anniversary tour of Australia in 1998 – Allison Durbin faded from popular view.

New link added 26.03.2020

Wendy Matthews - 2004 - Cafe Naturale FLAC

All I Need/Early Morning Rain/Love And Happiness/Slave (just for love)/Short Note/This Time/All That It Takes/Moon Beneath My Feet/A Kiss To Build A Dream On/One/Protection/The Wing And The Wheel


Café Naturale is the seventh studio album by singer Wendy Matthews released by BMG in Australia on 24 May 2004. It is an album of cover songs Matthews and the album's producer Michael Szumowski chose themselves. Matthews enjoyed recording this album and felt the songs came together naturally, she also felt she broke down some personal barriers. The album yielded only one single, "All I Need".

In 2002, Matthews moved to a coastal haven outside Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. She spent a lot of time in her favourite cafe listening to records and explains "there’s nothing like a song to bring you back to a specific moment or feeling in time." This lead her to name the album Café Naturale. She was also surprised by some of the song choices. Matthews states "Once we got into the studio the record started to reveal its personality to me. It all came together and the songs, these very melodic songs, started to make themselves known. It just worked." Matthews believes this record seems charmed and she'd love for this record to play in someone’s favourite café and inspire a few memories.

The thought behind the album's cover artwork comes from a painting of a woman on a wall on Edgecliff Road in Sydney, Australia by Bruno Dutot in 1987. Matthews approached Dutot and she asked him to commission a painting of this woman for her cover. She states "basically, he's painted her as me with a chopstick in her hair and my dog at the feet. Every time I'm in Sydney I have to go and check the lady on the wall, what colour dress she's wearing this month, whether she's changed and she looks so cafe society to me, so I'm thrilled and honoured that he actually did a painting for this cover." Matthews states the painting has come to symbolise Sydney for her.

New Link Added 16.08.2020

Normie Rowe - 1973 - Hello FLAC RE-POST UPGRADE

Hello/Down On The Corner/Glory Road/For Once In My Life/Over You Now/Personality/Where's The Playground/Rings/
Home To Stay/Border Song/Come Here My Song/Willie And Laura May James


Norman John "Normie" Rowe AM (born 1 February 1947) was a major male solo performer of Australian pop music in the 1960s. Known for his bright and edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence, many of Rowe's most successful recordings were produced by Nat Kipner and later by Pat Aulton, house producers for the Sunshine Records label. Backed by his band, The Playboys, Rowe released a string of Australian pop hits on the Sunshine Records label that kept him at the top of the Australian charts and made him the most popular solo performer of the mid-1960s. Rowe's double-sided hit "Que Sera Sera" / "Shakin' All Over" was one of the most successful Australian singles of the 1960s.
Between 1965 and 1967 Rowe was Australia's most popular male star but his career was cut short when he was drafted for compulsory military service in late 1967. His subsequent tour of duty in Vietnam effectively ended his pop career and he was never able to recapture the success he enjoyed at his peak.   New Link Added 07.08.2020

The Hawking Brothers - 1976 - Special Edition FLAC

A Good Love Is Like A Good Song/Release Me/I've Found My Freedom/Me And Bobby McGee/Eighteen Yellow Roses/Molly Breen//Old Bark Hut/Julianna/Wild Rover No More/Home Ain't On The Range Any No More/Catfish John/This House Runs On Sunshine/Last Train To Clarkeville/Long And Dance/Wild Colonial Boy/Pretty Brown Eyes/My Elusive Dream/The Convict And The Rose/Maggie May/Mamma Tried


 Russel - born: July 1st 1931 / Died: November 2nd 1976 Alan - born: July 7th 1933 / Died: September 19th 1988

Alan was raised by his mother’s parents (his mother died when he was only 2yrs of age) whereas Russel was brought by his father’s parents.  They spent most their childhood days apart.

Mid 1950’s, both Russel and Alan joined The Trailblazers which were early Melbourne country music concert troupe.  It was in June 1955, the Hawking Brothers recorded their first disc for Regal Zonophone (EMI) – ‘My Darling Daisy’.  They would later record for W&G and RCA.
In the early 1960’s Alan & Russell Hawking were already established on the Australian Country Music Scene.  Later they decided to form a band which became one the greatest bands in Country Music history – they had an excellent career for over a decade ‘The Hawking Brothers & The Wildwoods.’  

The Hawking Brothers band included – Peter Cohen, Garry Newton, George Xanthos, Joe Attard, Peter Hayes, John Faubel, Leo Dalton and Doug Foley.
The Hawking Brothers & The Wildwoods were supporting band on the Johnny Cash and Buck Owns tour of Australia in early 1970’s and late 1970’s toured with Charlie Pride.  The highlight of their career was being the first Australia group to appear on the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, 1975. Later they would revert back to the Hawking Brothers.

Their biggest hits were: Hand in the Hand, Catfish John, The Melbourne Cup and Eighteen Yellow Rose.  There were a total of 16 LP’s cut by the brothers before the untimely death of Russel on November 2, 1976. 
Alan decided to carry on with the band – and 4 more albums were released – which included their biggest hit ‘One Day At A Time’.  In 1971 the Hawking Brother’s fan club was founded by a Dianne Johns.

 The Hawking Brothers arguably won more awards than any other Australian country group.   When the band started to have promotional problems and difficulties which saw the group falling to pieces, in 1981, Alan Hawking decided to go solo.
Alan’s solo recordings include:- RCA single ‘Just For Today’ and an LP of the same title. In 1983, Alan received a Gold Guitar for best instrumental. Up until his death, Alan recorded his own tracks in his home studio on multi track recording system.  Thanks to Mustang

Various - 1986 - Australian TV's Greatest Hits @320 RE-POST REQUEST

Ask The Leyland Brothers/Off The Beaten Track/Leyland Bros. Great Outdoors/Beyond 2000/Wonderworld/No. 96/Aunty Jack Theme/Hogan Theme/Tonight With Bert Newton Theme/Sullivans Theme/Daryl Somers Show/In Melbourne Tonight/Hunter/A Current Affair/Division Four/Darrods Theme/Here's Humphrey/Skippy/Logies Theme 1970/GTV9 Theme 1976/Nine Network Shuffle/9 News Theme/Tarax Magic Mirror/Theme From The Don Lane Show/Ford New Faces/Sale Of The Century/Willesee Theme/Rush/Cowra Breakout/Waterfront/Power Without Glory/Australia You're Standing In It/The Anzac's Theme/Mother And Son/A Big Country/Riptide/Carsons Law/Perfect Match/Sons And Daughters/Secret Valley/Class Of '74/Celebrity Game/The Restless Years/Chopper Squad/Glenview High/Blankety Blanks/Family Feud/It's A Knockout/Matchmates/Neighbours/Prisoner/Taurus Rising/Young Doctors/The New Price Is Right/Wheel Of Fortune/Concentration/Mavis Bramston Show/Theme From A Country Practice/Four Corners


Wonderful album 59 great tracks from some of Australia's best loved and watched TV shows throughout the years some great memories there.