Every Second Day/ First Street Blues/High Noon/ Long Black Veil/Just Dreaming/Since You're Gone/John Lee Strange/Each And Every Time (Four In All)/Philosophy On A Phone Call/ I Have Been Told/My Sweet Bay-B/I Do Not Lie
Dynamic vocal duo Bobby & Laurie was one of the leading acts in the first wave of Australian 'beat pop' 1964-67. They cut a series of fine recordings which rank alongside those of Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, Ray Brown & The Whispers, The Easybeats, Normie Rowe and MPD Ltd as milestones of Australian pop in the mid-60s.
Although perhaps not as well remembered today as some of their contemporaries, they were one of the most popular and successful acts of their day, and deserve a lot more recognition for their contributions. Bobby, Laurie and the members of their regular backing band, The Rondells were all important figures in the development of the Melbourne rock scene, and their History is also a great illustration of the intricate (and sometimes confusing) interconnections between the many groups of the '60s and '70s.
Laurie Allen was a veteran of the earliest days of rock'n'roll in Melbourne. His first amateur group in the late Fifties was The Three Jays, followed by The Lories ca. 1958. He was a member of The Roulettes in 1958-59, then from 1959-61 he was lead guitarist for Malcolm Arthur & The Knights, one of Melbourne's pioneering rock & roll bands. Original Knights members Graham Trottman and Phil Blackmore later joined Normie Rowe's backing group The Playboys.
After leaving the Knights he joined The Blue Jays as singer/organist in 1962. Laurie stayed with them until the end of 1963, when they became part of Ivan Dayman's Sunshine organisation; shortly after that, in 1964, they became the "Fabulous Blue Jays", the backing band for singer Tony Worsley. Laurie then rejoined The Roulettes, a long-running Melbourne revue band whose roster included brothers Ron Blackmore, brother Phil Blackmore , Graham Trottman and Bob Arrowsmith.
By the time Laurie joined the Roulettes, Ron Blackmore had moved off the stage and into management. He assembled a stable of solo singers and groups that worked the booming dance circuit around Melbourne. It was at this time that Laurie first met and worked with singer Bobby Bright. Bobby had made his start as a solo artist in Adelaide, working for Dayman, and then moved to Melbourne. He also released two solo Singles on the W&G label in 1963. When Bobby and Laurie left The Roulettes in 1963, Ron Blackmore became their manager. Each initially struck out on his own, performing separate solo spots in one show (complete with coffin!) backed by Melbourne instrumental band The Hearsemen, which included a young Mike Brady (MPD Ltd) in its first lineup. Early in 1964 (11 March) Laurie made his first solo TV appearance, on Graham Kennedy's IMT.
Later in the year, both singers appeared on The Go!! Show, a new TV pop show screening on Melbourne's recently-established third commercial station, Channel 0, and it was at this point that they decided to merge their solo acts into one, and "Bobby & Laurie" was born.
Bobby & Laurie was one of the first Melbourne acts to adopt the new 'longhaired' image pioneered by The Beatles and the Stones, and they rapidly became a popular drawcard. Like several other important artists of the time, they became regulars The Go!! Show, and this led to a contract with the allied Go!! record label.
