Various - 2014 - Downunder Tracks RE-POST

Downunder was one a shortlived Australian Sixties labels -- it lasted only five months, from June to October 1966, and released just thirteen singles. It was set up by producer-engineer Ossie Byrne and producer-songwriter-entrepreneur Nat Kipner to release recordings they made at Ossie's St Clair Studios in Hurstville. All thirteen singles were manufactured and distributed by Festival Records.
The label was owned by LKB Productions; it is probably safe to assume that Nat Kipner was the "K" and Ossie Byrne the "B" in this partnership. According to historian Bill Casey, Derek Lee, a Wollongong singer-songwriter who was a friend of Ossie Byrne, recorded demos at St Clair studio. Derek won a talent contest on Johnny O’Keefe’s TV show Sing Sing Sing, the prize being a trip to England and when Byrne and The Bee Gees left Australia on the Fairsky in January 1967, Derek Lee was with them. These associations makes it probable that Derek Lee was the "L" in LKB. In addition, the B-side of the Derek's Accent single was a song written by Lee.
The Downunder singles were either produced solely by Nat Kipner or co-produced by Kipner and Byrne. Both sides of the Barrington Davis single were written by Nat and Ossie, and several other songs --including those on the Bip Addison single -- were written collaboratively by Maurice Gibb and Nat Kipner. Downunder is of considerable interest to Bee Gees aficionados, since it operated during the extraordinarily fertile period when the Bee Gees were working almost round the clock at the St Clair studio and collaborating freely with almost all the other performers who came through the studio.
"June and July (1966) witnessed the Bee Gees virtually living at the St Clair studio, with all night recording sessions involving themselves and other artists for whom they provided songs and musical backing. Production duties were shared around between Nat Kipner, Ossie Byrne and the Bee Gees themselves."
Luckily, virtually all of the Bee Gees' St Clair recordings have survived and were collected on Festival's Brilliant From Birth CD compilation, including their own versions of "Coalman" and "Exit Stage Right" (later covered by Ronnie Burns) as well as The Bee Gees' own breakthrough hit "Spicks and Specks". Many of the recordings made at St Clair during 1966 were released on other labels like Leedon, Kommotion, Spin, Go!! and HMV, including albums and singles by Marty Rhone, Steve & The Board, Tony Barber, Ronnie Burns, Dinah Lee, Jeff St John & The Id, Toni McCann and even an album track by The Twilights.
The most obscure release on Downunder is the only known single by "Wee Liz", a teenage singer from Wollongong, whose real name was Elizabeth Reed. Liz performed around the Wollongong area, backed by local groups such as The Fyrebyrds, Four Sale and The Sons of Adam, and amassed a loyal following at teenage dances in the Illawarra region in 1965-66. How she came to record for Downunder is not known, although it's possible that she had come to attention of Derek Lee, who was also from Wollongong. According to a Sydney collector on the Phoenix Rising web forum, it was reported at the time that only four copies were sold, and that the collector himself owns the only known survivng copy.

The Church - 1987 - Under The Milky Way (12'' Single) RE-POST

Under The Milky Way/Warm Spell/Musk

The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Canberra in 1980. Initially associated with New Wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of "progressivr rock," featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay.
The Church's debut album, Of Skins and Heart (1981), earned them their first radio hit "The Unguarded Moment". They were signed to major labels in Australia, Europe and the U.S. However, the U.S. label was dissatisfied with their second album and dropped the band without releasing the album. This put a dent in their commercial success, but they made a comeback in 1988, with the album Starfish and the American Top 40 hit "Under the Milky Way" , this post is the 12" extended single of that hit .

 

Link Updated 11.03.2022

Sherbet - 1975 - In Concert FLAC

Cassandra/Wishing Well/Another Hustler/Jungle Jiver/Do It/Freedom/Medley - Can You Feel It,Baby-You've Got The Gun-You're All Woman/Hound Dog/Medley - Au Revoir-Goodbye


In Concert is a live album by Sherbet, released in 1975. It reached number 11 on the Kent Music Report in Australia. To promote the album, "Freedom/Wishing Well" was released as a single. Recorded live on Sherbet's National '74 Spring Tour at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Festival Hall.Engineered, mixed and edited at Festival's 'Studio 24', December 1974.


Bass Guitar, Harmony Vocals – Tony Mitchell, Drums, Percussion – Alan Sandow, Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar, Harmony Vocals – Clive Shakespeare, Lead Vocals, Tambourine – Daryl Braithwaite, Organ [Hammond], Grand Piano [Steinway Concert], Mellotron, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer], Harmony Vocals – Garth Porter

Production  Producer – Roger Davies, Sherbet,  Produced, engineered, mixed and edited by Richard Batchens  New Link Added 16.05.2021

The Numbers - 1982 - 39.51 RE POST

Big Beat/Secrets/Day to Day/Somedays/Again/ Dreams from Yesterday/ Blacktown/Dancer/ Turn Back/ Telephone/Jericho


In the early 1980s, Australia was home to a host of excellent pop and new wave bands such as The Reels, The Dugites, Eurogliders, and Flaming Hands, and Sydney’s The Numbers were no doubt one of the finest. The band went through many lineup changes in their existence from 1978 to 1984, but the one constant was brother and sister duo Chris and Annalisse Morrow. Throughout the group’s existence, Chris shined as a talented songwriter and guitarist, while Annalisse was a strong bassist and gave the material a distinct personality with her hard-edged, commanding vocals.

The group’s first release was a 3-track EP, Govt. Boy, in 1979, which took a louder, faster and overall more punk approach than what was to come. At this point, Chris was the focal point of the band, singing lead on two of the three tracks on the EP. By the time the band signed to the Deluxe label that same year, they had begun moving in a more accessible power pop direction, a shift evident on their first single for the label, 1980’s “The Modern Song.” Along with the cleaner sound came a decision to put Annalisse at the forefront. In a 2008 Mess+Noise interview, Annalisse explained of the decision, “You’re young and you’re taking advice from other people. And by that stage we were with a major label and we had a manager and we were with an agency and those people have a very large influence on how you think, because you’re taking advice from people you believe have the experience. And also personally I always thought I was a much better singer than I was a bass player.” This change in direction proved successful for the band, with the single cracking the Australian Top 50 and the band scoring an appearance on the TV show Countdown. Their next single, “Five Letter Word,” was another national radio hit and brought them further into the spotlight.


Once the band released their debut, self-titled LP in late 1980, they seemed poise to break out internationally. “The feeling I got then was the record company’s expectation was we were going to go absolutely ballistic,” explained Chris in the same Mess+Noise interview. “We were going to go from suburban Thornleigh to Madison Square Garden, we were going to be amazingly huge.” While the debut record included highlights in the form of the previous singles and select album tracks such as the melodic “I Don’t Know” (which found Chris back on lead vocals) and the punky “Hello,” third single “Mr. President” failed to chart and the album - while regionally successful - didn’t break the band as expected.
After a series of lineup changes, the band issued a new single, “Jericho,” and returned to the studio to record their sophomore release, 1982’s 39-51. Armed with more memorable songs and more confident vocals from Annalisse, things looked promising for The Numbers. The album's singles “Big Beat” and “Dreams From Yesterday” as well as standout album tracks such as “Day to Day,” “Blacktown” and “Dancer” sounded a bit like a rougher-around-the edges version of The Go-Go’s and deserved widespread chart success. Unfortunately, by this point interest in the band had waned and the record went largely unnoticed.

After two albums and years of hard work on the road and in the studio with little commercial success to show for it, The Numbers soon called it quits. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that Chris and Annalisse released more music together, this time as Maybe Dolls. While this incarnation of the band gave the duo their biggest success to date in the form of the catchy pop singles “Nervous Kid” and “Cool Jesus,” the band once again faced record label difficulties, grew disillusioned, and a recorded second album was never released.

The Numbers and the Maybe Dolls never achieved international commercial success, but they created a canon of strong power pop songs worth discovering. In 2007, Australian label Aztec Music brought the band to attention once again by releasing a compilation of Numbers material, including highlights from both EPs, rare B-sides and the complete Government Boy EP. The disc is titled Numerology 1979-1982 and is available via the label’s site. In addition, the Blue Pie label recently released the band’s output digitally, and it can be downloaded on Amazon MP3 and iTunes (but beware, many of the tracks are mislabeled in these releases).

The Numbers band members:
Annalisse Morrow - Bass, Vocals
Chris Morrow - Guitar, Vocals
Simon Vidale - Drums
Graham Bidstrup - Drums
John Bliss - Drums
Craig Bloxom - Bass
Russell Handley - Keyboard, Guitar
Marty Newcombe - Drums
Collin Newham - Keyboard, Bass
Marcus Phelan - Guitar
Garry Roberts - Bass

The Numbers discography:
- Govt. Boy (EP, 1979): Government Boy, Private Eyes, Guerilla
- The Modern Song (single, 1980): The Modern Song, Take Me Away
- Five Letter Word (single, 1980): Five Letter Word, Alone
- The Numbers (self-titled LP, 1980): Five Letter Word, I Don’t Know, Mr. President, Hello, When I Get Older, The Modern Song, Partys, Talk to Me, OK, Teenage Wonderland, Wind
- Mr. President (single, 1981): Mr. President, Private Eyes, Guerilla
- Jericho (single, 1981): Jericho (original version), Turn Back (original version)
- 39-51 (LP, 1982): Big Beat, Secrets, Day to Day, Somedays, Again, Dreams from   Yesterday,   Blacktown, Dancer, Turn Back, Telephone, Jericho
- Big Beat (single, 1982): Big Beat, Telephone
- Dreams From Yesterday (single, 1982): Dreams From Yesterday, Again
- Numerology: 1979-1982 (compilation CD, 2007): The Modern Song, Five Letter Word, Mr. President, Jericho, Big Beat, Turn Back, Dreams From Yesterday, Alone, Partys, Dancer, Secrets, Day to Day, Again, Take Me Away, Blacktown, When I Get Older, Hello, Govt. Boy, Private Eyes, Guerilla

Cash Backman - 1983 - Truck Drivin Man FLAC

On The Road Again/Speedball Trucker/West Bound And Down/Drivin' My Life Away/Six Days On The Road/Truck Drivin' Man/Good Ole Boys Like Me/Semi Truck/Convoy/Brother Trucker/Six Pack To Go/Trans Canada Highway/Is Anybody Going To San Antone/Movin' On/Lights On The Hill/Me And Bobby McGee/Ramblin' Fever/Take This Job And Shove It


 Cash, whose real name is Arvids Krastins was born of Latvian parents. He grew up in Ascot Vale a Melbourne suburb. At the age of 15 he began singing and writing songs, his first hit was a cover of Jim Stafford's hit "My Girl Bill" for Image Records in 1974. The song became a top 10 hit. His next chart success was in February 1975, with another cover, this time Jim Reeve's "He'll Have To Go". He was also developing into an actor with roles in Division 4 and Homicide as a tough man. Australian country singer-songwriter Cash Backman seems to have been everywhere and appeared with everyone during a long career that continues to this day with appearances at clubs and festivals around Australia.

Cash Backman's album Thirty Years On was completed in the early 2000s with producer Mick Hamilton (ex-Vibrants), but it had been a work in progress since the 1960s.  Thanks to Mustang

Doug Parkinson - 1981 - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore (Single)

The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore/Gonna Shake It

Since the mid-Sixties Doug Parkinson has been regarded as one of Australia's finest vocalists, a “singer's singer” who is one of the truly great soul/R&B vocalists of our time. His deep, resonant, smoky baritone voice is operatic in its power, yet possesses a range and subtlety that few others can match. His sound is instantly recognizable and unmistakable, yet his great versatility enables him to be equally at home in almost every popular genre including soul, R&B, pop, psychedelia, heavy rock, jazz, swing and musicals. Added to his vocal prowess is an imposing stage presence (including his trademark "Lucifer" beard) and a solid acting ability. Doug has enjoyed a long and remarkably varied career in the Australian music industry, although like many of his contemporaries it has to be said that he has been woefully under-recorded. He is best remembered as the frontman for a fine array of top-notch groups from the mid-60s to the early ‘80s -- the most memorable being the redoubtable Doug Parkinson In Focus. http://www.milesago.com/Artists/dougpark.htm

Chr!st!ne @nu - 2005 - @coustically FLAC

01 'Coz I'm Free    
02 Monkey And The Turtle    
03 Dive    
04 Wanem Time    
05 Last To Go    
06 Reprise 1    
07 Fire And Water (Take Me Down)    
08 Island Home    
09 Party    
10 Reprise 2    
11 Ocean Of Regret    
12 Redemption Song    
13 Sunshine On A Rainy Day    
14 No Woman, No Cry




 Christine Anu (born 15 March 1970) is an Australian pop singer and actress. She gained popularity with the release of her song "My Island Home". Anu has been nominated for 17 ARIA Awards.
Anu began performing as a dancer and later went on to sing back-up vocals for The Rainmakers, which included Neil Murray of the Warumpi Band. Her first recording was in 1993 with "Last Train", a dance remake of a Paul Kelly song. The follow-up, "Monkey and the Turtle", was based on a traditional story. After "My Island Home", she released her first album, Stylin' Up which went Platinum. 

 In 1995, Neil Murray won an Australasian Performing Right Association songwriting award for writing "My Island Home". Christine Anu won an ARIA Award for best female recording artist as well as a Deadly Sounds National Aboriginal & Islander Music Awards Award in 1996 for best female artist.

Baz Luhrmann asked her to sing on the song "Now Until the Break of Day" on his Something for Everybody album. It was released as a single and the video then won another ARIA award and led to her being cast in Moulin Rouge!.

In January 1998, Anu teamed up with Archie Roach, Paul Kelly, Judith Durham, Renee Geyer, Kutcha Edwards and Tiddas and formed 'Singers for the Red Black and Gold'. Together, they released a cover of "Yil Lull"

In, 2000, Anu released Come My Way which peaked at number 18 on the ARIA albums chart and went gold. In 2000 she sang the song "My Island Home" at the Sydney 2000 Olympics Closing Ceremony.

 In November 2003, Anu released her third studio album, 45 Degrees. In 2007, Anu toured a children's show and released an associate album titled Chrissy's Island Family. The album gained an ARIA Award nomination. On 26 September 2010, she released a new digital only single, "Come Home". On 7 November 2014, Anu released a Christmas album, titled Island Christmas.


Anu has also had an acting plus TV career. She appeared in Dating the Enemy, a 1996 Australian film starring Guy Pearce and Claudia Karvan. She then appeared in an Australian production of the stage musical Little Shop of Horrors in the same year.

Anu's stage career developed with a starring role in the original Australian production of Rent in 1998 and 1999. Anu was offered a role in a Broadway production of this musical but had to decline due to commitments in recording her second album. Her links with Baz Luhrmann led to him offering her a part in Moulin Rouge!. In 2003, she appeared as Kali in The Matrix Reloaded and played the character on the video game Enter the Matrix.

 

In 2004, she became a judge on Popstars Live, a television quest broadcast on the Seven Network at 6.30 pm on Sunday night in Australia along the lines of Australian Idol. The program failed to achieve a similar level of success, leading network executives to pressure the judges to offer harsher criticism of the contestants. Christine Anu refused to offer harsher criticism, leading to her resignation as a judge in April 2004. In a statement issued on her departure, she said: "I chose to play a positive role model and wanted to encourage these young people in their endeavours, rather than criticise them. Although leaving Popstars Live was a difficult decision for me to make, I do feel somewhat relieved that I can now focus on my music."

In 2009 Anu participated in Who Do You Think You Are. She appeared again on television in 2012, in the Australian sci-fi television series Outland, about a gay sci-fi fan club. Anu plays wheelchair using Rae, the sole female member of the group.

 In 2016, Anu was appointed as host of Evenings 702 ABC Sydney, 1233 ABC Newcastle, 666 ABC Canberra, and ABC Local Radio stations across New South Wales. She took over from Dominic Knight who had hosted the program since 2012. In the first half of 2016 the program suffered a dip in the ratings after she began hosting.

In December 2016, it was announced that Christine will no longer host Evenings on 702 ABC Sydney, but will instead present a national Evenings program on Fridays and Saturdays in 2017. In January 2017, Chris Bath replaced Anu hosting Evenings from Monday to Thursday. Christine has a number of regular guests she speaks to about a range of topics.

 

New Link Added 27.06.2021

Doug Parkinson In Focus (Single)

Advice /I Had A Dream


In March 1968 Doug Parkinson, Billy Green, Duncan McGuire and Rory Thomas all ex Questions reunited and recruited a new drummer, Doug Lavery (ex Running Jumping Standing Still, Andy James Asylum) and took a new name that acknowledged the rapidly growing stature of their lead singer Doug Parkinson In Focus.
The debut In Focus single "Advice" / "I Had A Dream" (May 1968) didn't chart, although it set the scene of things to come in confident fashion, but the original

The Thunderbirds - 1999 - The Thunderbirds FLAC

 Go Downtown/Prehistoric/House Will Rock/Rollin' On Sunset/Caravan/Botswana Beat/We're Gonna Teach You To Rock/Henri's Groove/Royal Whirl/Gonzo/Rompin' And Stompin'/RaunchyVoodoo/Wild Weekend/Brothers Go To Mothers/Rockin' Is Our Business/Bell Boogie


 Nineteen-year-old drummer Harold Frith had a vision. It was 1957, rock'n'roll had arrived in Australia a couple of years before courtesy a tune recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets titled Rock Around The Clock, and though he was a jazz fan, Frith thought it was too exciting to ignore. He was going to put together a rock'n'roll band, and they were going to be called The Thunderbirds. The first line-up Frith had put together in September the year before had lasted four months. This time Frith was determined to find the right 
players.

"My original plan was to join the Preston Symphony Orchestra," bass player Peter Robinson explains how he became a Thunderbird. "I didn't know what rock'n'roll was. It was in [the opening credits of] Blackboard Jungle that I first heard it, and I thought, 'Aw, that's pretty exciting,' but that didn't sway me into becoming a musician, I just thought it was pretty good. I took 13 lessons off a guy who was in the Victorian Symphony Orchestra, and on my way back from lessons, on the train with my double bass, I bumped into Harold Frith, who said, 'I see you're a bass player. I'm looking for a bass player. I'm in a rock band,' and I said, 'What's that?' and he said, 'Come to rehearsal and we'll show you,'" Robinson chuckles. "So that's how the rot set in!"

Laurie Bell was the only member of the first line-up to rejoin Frith in what would become the classic Thunderbirds line-up. Frith literally headhunted 16-year-old Scottish immigrant, singer Bill Owens, from one of the few other bands tentatively playing rock'n'roll in Melbourne, The Autocrats, and recruited pianist Murray Robertson; singer, guitarist and baritone saxophonist Colin Cook; and another 16-year-old, tenor saxophonist and flautist Graeme Lyall.

"As far as mainstream teenage rock'n'roll that was on the radio," Robinson points out, "we were the only band who actually did all that stuff — we used to do all the Top 40 songs, which other bands didn't really do. We were the first band to actually do all the main halls."

The Thunderbirds had scored a residency in an upstairs dance hall above a skating rink called Earl's Court that could hold up to 1000 kids. "When we started off we had about 100 kids or something, and then the next week we had about 400 and the next week we couldn't get in!"

    "When we started off we had about 100 kids or something, and then the next week we had about 400 and the next week we couldn't get in!"

Unlike the emerging Sydney rock'n'roll scene of the late '50s, in Melbourne, bands often had three or four different singers who would take turns through the night, and so alongside Bill Owens, The Thunderbirds soon had Billy O'Rourke and Judy Cannon, while Colin Cook would also step out front. When they were invited to record for Festival Records subsidiary, Rex, up in Sydney, their guest vocalists came too, each featuring on a track of the band's debut EP, Rex 4 Star, their self-titled second EP only featuring O'Rourke and Owens. Both EPs and three Rex singles were released in 1960.

 Cook left the band for a solo career, guitarist Laurie Bell moved on and was replaced by Charles Gauld, and Gordon Onley replaced Peter Robinson, who left soon after The Thunderbirds recorded their first single for Melbourne label W&G, the instrumental Wild Weekend. It reached #13 in the Melbourne charts in February 1961, but got to #6 when re-released late the following year, even scoring a US release and a #8 placing in the Cashbox Top 100. Their second single, another instrumental, New Orleans Beat, reached #10 in Melbourne. A third W&G single, Machine Gun, reached #16 in July, and three more singles were released in 1962, followed by an album, Quite A Party,recorded live at Preston Town Hall, which featured a new generation of singers, among them a youngster named
Johnny Chester — Owens had by now called it a day. With the arrival of Beatlemania however, for all their popularity and the fact that youngsters like Normie Rowe and Marcia Jones were guesting with them, The Thunderbirds saw the writing on the wall and parted ways in 1965.

In 1983, Greg Lynch of Stagedoor Productions got Billy Owens out of retirement and brought the W&G line-up of The Thunderbirds back together for a show dubbed Rockin' At The Arcadia. It would be a dozen years before the band reunited once more.

"We'd written half a dozen new songs and thought we'd re-do all the hits again when we reformed again in 1996," Robinson explains, "in the same format, the reason being W&G had all the master tapes and they wouldn't let them go to us. So we thought if we're going to do another record, we might as well get something out of it and we'll record them ourselves so we own them. We then leased them to Canetoad Records."

            FROM LEFT: Peter Robinson, Laurie Bell, Harold Frith and Murray Robertson


Frith, Robinson, Bell and Robertson reunited once more in May 2007 for a 50th anniversary Thunderbirds tour with a new album, The Thunderbirds In The 21st Century, which they launched at Rainbow Hotel in Melbourne. Essentially a reissue of the 1997 Canetoad album a previously "lost" cut from 1958, Bell Boogie, and three new tracks were added.  Thanks to Brian

Peter Blakeley - 1987 - Vicious (Mini ALbum) FLAC

Vicious/Caterina/Cattle Train/Ain't That Peculiar/Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing/Vicious (Reprise)
 

Peter Blakeley was a lead singer of The Rockmelons in the mid-1980s. He launched a solo career in 1987 and had a massive hit single in Australia in 1989 with "Crying in the Chapel", which was not a remake of the 1950s song "Crying in the Chapel". In 1990, he won an ARIA award for Single of the Year with "Crying in the Chapel", the first single taken from his album Harry's Café De Wheels. The song went platinum in 1990.

Blakeley's earliest breakthrough came when he was invited by Richard Clapton to accompany him on an Australian national tour in 1978. Clapton would prove to be an important mentor in the early years. By this stage, Blakeley was closely involved with Sydney's music scene, which was at that time concentrated in the inner-city suburbs of Darlinghurst and Kings Cross.

Peter was involved with a number of line-ups between 1979–1984 including, Peter Black and The Reds (1980), The Blakeley Trio with Steve Stewart (Slime Men, Surry Hillbillies) and Denis Meagher, PM with Chris Bailey and Malcolm Green, Rat Tat Tat (1984) with Geoff Stapleton, Paul Abrahams, Jeff Raglus, Viola Dana and The Starlight Wranglers (1984) and Paris Green (1984).

The next phase of Blakeley's career prior to him forming Peter Blakeley & The Resurrection, was a spell as featured vocalist with pioneer pop/electronic outfit The Rockmelons. Peter can be heard on their second single "Sweat It Out" released on the Truetone Records label in 1985. Around this time, Peter also began performing and recording with Wendy Matthews, an affiliation which would continue through to the 1990 release of the Absent Friends single "I Don't Want to Be with Nobody but You" which featured Blakeley on backing vocals.

Peter Blakeley's commercial profile began to rise with the formation of Peter Blakeley & The Resurrection in 1986. This line-up included Wendy Matthews, Mark Punch, Hughie Benjamin, Paul Abrahams and Peter Kekel. With this line-up, Blakeley supported a number of international touring acts including Eric Clapton, the majority of the material presented in his live set at this stage was later recorded and released on the 1987 mini-album 'Vicious'. Two singles were released during 1986, "Must Be Chemical" and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar".

"Must Be Chemical" and another song, "When I Was a Little Boy" were included on the soundtrack of the stage musical Illusion which was released towards the end of 1986 by ABC music. Illusion was commissioned by the Adelaide Festival of Arts and featured words from noted Australian author Peter Carey arranged to music by composer Martin Armiger. The single "Must Be Chemical" b/w "When I Was a Little Boy" was Blakeley's debut solo release for the Truetone label.

Vicious was produced by the renowned Ricky Fataar (well known for his work with The Beach Boys, Bonnie Raitt and The Monitors) and released through the Truetone Records label. Two singles lifted from this record, "Caterina" and "Bye Bye Baby" received support from commercial radio as did the album track Cattle Train. This album was later released for the American market as The Truetone Sessions by Capitol Records in 1988.

Peter Blakeley moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to sign with Capitol Records in the US. The first US release was 'The Truetone Sessions' in 1988 on Capitol Records. In 1989, he released the album Harry's Café De Wheels, which was executive produced by Peter Asher.

Artists involved with the album included Linda Ronstadt, Siedah Garrett, Wendy Matthews and Andrew Gold, in addition to legendary session musicians such as Jeff Porcaro, Jim Keltner and Larry Klein. The lead single "Crying in the Chapel" was produced by Stewart Levine who worked extensively with Simply Red. Harry's Café De Wheels spawned a total of four singles including, "Crying in the Chapel", "Quicksand", "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", and "You Never Heard It From Me". The album was well received and highly successful, especially in Australia and Europe.

In 1990, he worked briefly with the Australian group Absent Friends which featured Wendy Matthews as lead vocalist. Blakeley provided the backing vocal and harmony on the song "I Don't Want to Be with Nobody but You" which peaked at number 4 in the Australian charts in May of that year. He was also instrumental in the band's arrangement and selection of the song. The single was the most successful song released by the Absent Friends and was lifted from the album Here's Looking Up Your Address.

Blakeley's follow up record, The Pale Horse, was released in 1993 by Giant/Warner in America. The album represented a different musical direction for Blakeley and incorporated stronger elements of Funk and Blues than Harry's Café De Wheels whilst still retaining a distinctive Soul sound. The album was recorded at the Paisley Park Studios in the US owned by Prince and included members of the New Power Generation on some of the tracks. The record was produced by Jeff Aldrich, David Z and Andrew Gold. David Z at that time had recently had major chart success with his production of The Fine Young Cannibals song "She Drives Me Crazy".

One of the songs from the album Be Thankful for What You've Got was used in the opening sequence of the film The Taking of Beverly Hills, the two singles released from the album were "I've Been Lonely" and "God's Little Elvis".

Bio source: Wikipedia
Vinyl rip: RAM