Mid-way through 1966 Ivan Dayman, owner of Sunshine Records employed former rock’n’roller Lonnie Lee to start a new record label. Lee was well respected in the music business and during his heyday he had scored eight number one hits. The new label was called Kommotion. Maggie Makieg announced the new label in her weekly column in Everybody’s,
“Lonnie Lee, one of the original singers in the rock’n’roll boom 10 years ago, has gone into the flip side of the record business. He is producing all the records on the Kommotion label, which has signed Mike Furber, Donna Gaye, Ja-Ar, Graham Chapman and Greg Anderson.” (Everybody’s, June 12th, 1966).
The Kommotion TV show commenced on Melbourne’s Channel 0 in December 1965 and the fast-paced 30 minute show was aimed at the young teenage audience. Pat Aulton who was the A&R man for Sunshine Records was asked to record the theme song. Melbourne 3UZ DJ Ken Sparkes was given the job of hosting the show to introduce a whole new group of hopeful young pop acts miming to their latest single and around a dozen dancers miming to Overseas hits.
Ivan Dayman was a clever businessman, and he knew what a powerful promotional tool a TV show provided. Several Sunshine artists, including Normie Rowe, Marcie Jones, Peter Doyle and Tony Worsley had become household names due the wide exposure they received by appearing on the Go!! Show, since it began in August 1964.
Having a record label named after a TV show also made good business sense because artists who recorded on the label would be able to showcase their latest release by making regular appearances on the show. The Go!! Record label had been quite successful and made big stars out of a number of talented new acts including Bobby & Laurie, Yvonne Barrett and the Cherokees.
The first release on the Kommotion label was Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys in April 1966. Their single, You Stole My Love/It’s Gonna Work Out Fine was initially released on Sunshine, then issued on Kommotion after the first production run. Eight recording acts issued a total of 15 singles, 3 Eps and one LP in the less than one year life span of the label. The artists included Sydney based acts the Vince Maloney Sect, Donna Gaye and NZ singer John Rowles, marketed as Ja-Ar, Melbourne based singers Greg Anderson and Tony Shepp and Brisbane based Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys and Graham Chapman.
As the poster said, they were all “Sensational on Kommotion
GREG ANDERSON
The multi-talented Greg Anderson was born into a show business family and began performing at a very young age. The two singles Greg recorded for the Kommotion label as a 16-year-old are hard to find these days and are highly sought after by collectors.
Born in Melbourne on October 12th, 1950, Greg’s parents had a whip cracking act and at the age of 15 months he appeared with them when they toured England which included a performance at the London Palladium. Greg continued to make regular appearances growing up and back in Australia, aged 7, he took part in the Moomba Rodeo Festival as a trick rider. When he was 10 years old he made his first appearance at the Orama Ballroom as a singer, appeared on major TV shows and travelled around Victoria performing his own stage show for Coca Cola. He then joined the ‘Tarax Show’ on Channel 9 where he performed weekly.
At 15 Greg competed in the TV talent show, ‘Showcase’ and made the finals. Early in 1966 the clean-cut teenager signed with the Dayman Organisation and began performing on Sunshine package shows around the country and appeared on all the teenage music shows including ‘Bandstand, ‘Go!!’ and ‘Kommotion’.
The Vince Maloney Sect backed Greg on his first Kommotion single, I Feel Good/When It’s Over (Feb ’66) and what an incredible debut recording it is. I Feel Good was written by Allan Toussaint under the pseudonym ‘Naomi Neville’ and was first recorded by New Orleans singer Benny Spellman. American record reviewer Vernon Joyson described Greg’s version as “a superb beat number with a great guitar riff.” The song never made the charts but has achieved notoriety in more recent times by being included on a number of various artist albums including ‘Diggin’ For Gold Vol.5 Downunder’ LP (1996), the bootleg CD ‘Pretty Ugly’ (1998) and the Japanese 2CD set ‘Come On – Sunshine Records Story’ (2020).
Greg’s second Kommotion single was, I’ve Been Unfaithful/Mickey’s Monkey (Nov ’66). I’ve Been Unfaithful by American songwriter Stan Schwatz was originally recorded by the Allan Vallone Group in August 1966. The B-side, Smokey Robinson’s Mickey’s Monkey has been covered by many artists including the Hollies (Sept ’65) and Ray Brown & the Whispers (May ’66).
In 1970 Greg represented Australia at Expo ’70 in Osaka Japan and performed his own song No Roses For Michael. The song was used as the theme for a television drama of the same name which dealt with drug addiction. The single No Roses For Michael/Ned Kelly was released on Festival and was another Pat Aulton production. The song became Greg’s only chart hit peaking at No. 21 of that year. The single was followed by a self-titled album which was Greg’s attempt at being a serious songwriter. It was not well-received and has been given some harsh reviews. Festival released three more singles over the next two years. Unusually, the A-side of his December 1971 single, It’s Over, was re-used as the B-side for the next two singles.
At 20 Greg married ‘Bellbird’ actress Lynda Keane. They bought a property in Sydney and established a Quarter horse stud. In 1975 the couple established Gala Productions which they built up to include audio and video recording facilities, theatrettes, and management offices. In 1980 Greg began a new phase in his entertainment career when he was asked to appear at the premier of the movie, ‘The Electric Horseman’. Decked out in a costume which included hundreds of lights on himself and his horse, Greg went on to win a number of Australian entertainment awards in the late ‘80s early ‘90s. He then decided to try his luck in the US.
Billed as ‘Australia’s Electric Horseman’ he appeared at the International Awards at Disney World Florida. Over the next few years Greg divided his time between Australia and the US. Back in Australia in 1992 he appeared on ‘Hey It’s Saturday’ showing off his whip cracking skills with Red Symonds and Wilbur Wilde. The You Tube video of his performance is very entertaining. In 1995 he opened Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Theatre in Branson Missouri. He also released his first US album, ‘City Cowboy’. American audiences loved his show and some of his engagements in the States included stints at the Mirage Hotel in Los Vegas and a show in Montana with Wayne Newton.
Greg and his family relocated to Las Vegas and now rotate between Sydney and the US performing and breeding Quarter Horses. His latest CD ‘Christmas For Cowboys & Inspirational Songs’ is a collection of his favourite Christmas and Gospel songs.
THE AULTON MOB
During the ‘60s and early ‘70s Pat Aulton was Australia’s most successful record producer. As well as producing records for several artists, he recorded in his own right. Among these was one single for the Kommotion label which was credited to the Aulton Mob.
“I cannot speak highly enough of Pat Aulton. As far as I am concerned, he was one of the absolute greats of the Australian Record Industry in the ‘60s/early ‘70s. His track record as a producer of ‘hit’ records proved that. He was a very talented musician in his own right, keyboards particularly, and he would stretch all the boundaries to get sounds and effects he heard in his head.” (Dave Miller)
William Patrick Aulton was born in Ireland in 1939. Pat had an interesting early life, leaving home at 14, he worked at a number of jobs, whatever he could do to earn some money. The most interesting one was handing out fresh towels at a brothel. At 16 he travelled to London with a traditional jazz and skiffle group and set off with them travelling through Europe performing at inns, dances and fairgrounds, In 1959 he joined the army, serving in the Arab Legion. He became a disc jockey on the local forces radio and formed a band with some of his army mates.
In 1961 Pat emigrated to Australia and settled in Adelaide. Keen to continue with his musical interests he joined the Clefs as rhythm guitarist. The group were a big dance band led by keyboard player Tweed Harris. Harris was about to sack Pat until he convinced him that he was a better singer than the band’s current singer. Pat became the lead singer with the Clefs and attracted a great deal of attention with his outstanding voice. One day he was approached by local dance promoter Ivan Dayman who had just started a new dance at the Norwood Ballroom and he was looking for someone who could emcee and sing, which Pat could do very well. Dayman offered him more money and a full-time job if he quit the Clefs and came to work for him. So, Pat quit the Clefs and went to work for Ivan Dayman. It was the start of a fantastic partnership.
By early 1962, Pat started building up quite a good reputation as a singer at dances and coffee shops around Adelaide, as this article in Young Modern confirms,
“One of the finest jazz voices in South Australia may be heard every Saturday night at the Boomerang Club coming from the vocal chords of Pat Aulton. The visitors’ first impressions of Pat is that he is a wild ‘rocker’, but give him his guitar, put him in a coffee lounge, and the true artist in him comes out.” (Young Modern, March 5th, 1962)
After opening a few more dances in Adelaide, Dayman wanted to expand his business to Melbourne. He asked Pat to come with him because of his organising skills and his ability to set-up quality sound systems. So Pat moved to Melbourne and helped establish dances at Preston and Canterbury. Soon more dances were added at Ballarat and Bendigo. After around 18 months Dayman was the top dance promoter in Melbourne and wanted to further expand into Queensland. Once again he wanted Pat to make the move with him and he leased the Cloudland Ballroom in Brisbane planning to liven up the venue and establish a 60/40 dance.
Pat became the emcee and singer at the Cloudland dances with three bands and during the day he was the cleaner, cleaning toilets and sweeping the large ‘sprung’ floor. The venue quickly became popular and was soon attracting up to 3000 people at the dances. Pat had vivid memories of the day Dayman came into Cloudland one day and told him that he saw a young singer called Normie Rowe at his dance at Preston Town Hall. He asked him to travel with him to Melbourne and tell him what he thought. Pat recalled,
“So we flew down to Melbourne, walks in the hall, saw Normie on stage. ‘What do you reckon.’ Ivan said. ‘Shit that’s amazing. He’s good.’ ‘So what we should do is record him.’ “
Seeing such a dynamic performer as Normie Rowe was the incentive Dayman needed to start his own record label. He did not have a producer so he asked Pat to take on that role. Despite having no experience operating a panel in a recording studio before, Pat quickly learnt and was responsible for hit records by Tony Worsley, Mike Furber, the Purple Hearts and Normie Rowe. Sunshine became the most successful local record label in Australia.
In 1965 Pat was given the opportunity to record two songs on the album, ‘Music Of The Cloudland Ballroom/Music Of The Norwood Ballroom’. The album consisted of tracks by the singer’s and bands from Cloudland on one side, and the singers and bands from Norwood on the other side. Pat’s contribution were great renditions of It’s Not Unusual and Tips Of My Fingers.
The next opportunity Pat had to record was the theme for the TV pop show ‘Kommotion’. When I spoke to Pat in 1999, I asked him about the Aulton Mob single, he replied, “They had this tune and Festival said, ‘Do you like it?’ And I said, ‘I like it, it’s terrific.’ Then they said, ‘Well do you want to record it.’ I said, ‘Yeah, what are we going to call the band.’ They said, ‘We’ll call it the Aulton Mob.’
The single “March Of The Mods/What Did The Seagull Say was released in May 1966. March Of The Mods was written by English songwriter Tony Carr who adapted the tune from a traditional Finnish Party dance. The original version was recorded by UK group the Executives (not to be confused with the Australian group of the same name). The musicians who played as the Aulton Mob on the record were Sydney group the Questions. Billy Green was the guitarist for this group, and he is credited as writing the B-side What Did The Say. The Questions line-up included Rory Thomas on keyboards, Billy Green on guitar, Duncan McGuire on bass and Bill Flemming on drums. Bill recently recalled,
“…all that fun was ages ago. The Aulton Mob was basically my band the Questions before Doug Parkinson joined us in the mid ‘60s….. we did quite a lot of session work for Pat as we could basically read a bit and were working all the time, could play pretty much anything. The sessions were huge fun and I remember a lot of laughs during the recording sessions. Sadly, Duncan died a long time ago and Rory passed away in 2011. Billy went through some name changes. My recollection is he is of Dutch heritage …… The last I know of him was that he moved to the US, started playing saxophone, changed his name again to Wil Greenstreet and at one stage was playing solo on one of the viewing platforms of the Empire State Building in New York. In my case, I kept playing into the noughties but have now retired and happily help my 10 male grandchildren with percussion interests.”
The record made the Top 20 in South Australia and was awarded Best Instrumental at the 1967 5KA Top Talent Awards. A ‘March Of The Mods’ EP, which was shared with the Blue Jays was issued on Sunshine in July 1967. Another Aulton Mob single Theme From This Day Tonight and an EP of the same name was released on Festival.
In early 1967 Ivan Dayman got into serious financial problems. Pat was held partly responsible for the debts and as a result his furniture and car were repossessed. Sunshine was taken over by Festival, Kommotion folded, and Pat was offered the job as A&R producer for Festival. During the time Pat worked for Festival he produced many hit singles and outstanding albums. The artists he produced included the Affair, the Executives and classic albums by Kahvus Jute and Jeff St John. One of his biggest successes was a studio project The Lion Sleeps Tonight. The 1969 the Dave Miller Set single Mr Guy Fawkes is considered “one of Australian pop’s most brilliant psychedelic productions.” (Bill Casey)
Pat also had a successful career as a jingle writer/producer. Among his most well-known are TAA’s 'Up Up & Away' jingle, the ALP’s 'It’s Time Theme' song and the Singapore Girl jingle for Singapore Airlines.
In 1995 Pat and his family moved to Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. He owned and operated an ice-cream shop for a while then set-up a studio underneath his house. He taught singing and stage presentation which he loved doing. He became well-known around Noosa for riding around town on a red motor scooter with the sign ‘Postman Pat’ pinned to his back.
Pat passed away at his home in Noosa on February 13th, 2009, aged 70 after a two-year battle with cancer. He left behind his wife Jenny to whom he was married for 30 years and five children. Jenny said of her husband,
“He was a wonderful man with a wicked sense of humour. He was quiet and gentle, he would never raise his voice at anybody, he was a very loving and compassionate man. He was just a lovable larrikin really, a truly amazing man.”
GRAHAM CHAPMAN
Dynamic singer Graham Chapman released a total of eight singles in Australia between 1966 and 1971. The two 45s he recorded for the Kommotion label, did not create much interest when they were released, but are now considered to be his best efforts on disc.
“Graham Chapman is probably the smallest pop star around, in fact, Little Stevie looks like a front row footballer in comparison. However, Graham has come a long way since his beginning on the dance circuit four years ago. Graham’s record, his first for EMI is getting a lot of airplay and selling well. Like many other singers he began by doing the odd spot appearances here and there and managed to put out a couple of moderately successful singles. His big break came when a promoter realised the impact that Graham’s smooth, strong voice would have on the club circuit. Graham signed up and has been working the clubs for the past year. Then EMI signed him, and David MacKay produced ‘Gee, I’m Gonna Miss You’. While club work is profitable as well as enjoyable Graham feels a little frustration at not being able to perform in front of teenage audiences. Television is his obvious medium because of his wide audience appeal. Unfortunately, because of the lack of pop TV shows, Graham has had little chance of appearing in this medium. When are Sydney TV stations going to wake up and give us a pop show? Surely there is great demand for one. Graham likes the work of the Supremes, Manfred Mann and the Beatles. He has a passion for sport’s cars and it is said that if his record goes to No. 1 on the Go-Set national Top 40 he will trade his VW in on a Maserati.” (David Elfick, Go-Set May 1st, 1968)
Born in Watford, England on February 9th, 1949, Graham migrated to Australia with his family as a five-year-old and settled in Brisbane. He attended Camp Hill State School and when he left school, he worked in the rag trade, but he always had ambitions to be a singer. In 1964 he began singing at dances and the club circuit around Brisbane and though only small in stature he made a big impression whenever he performed. In 1965 he entered Bandstand’s 'Starflight Quest', a TV talent show, and the talented youngster made the finals. Another singer who also entered the competition and made the finals was Pat Aulton. The competition was won by Helen Reddy.
On the strength of his success in ‘Starflight’, Graham was signed to Ivan Dayman management and like every singer on the Sunshine roster was kept busy performing at Dayman’s many dance venues which included the Bowl venues in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and touring on Sunshine package shows. During 1965 he was part of the Sunshine Spectacular and the Normie Rowe Show.
Graham recorded his first single Baby Let Your Hair Down/Feel So Good and it was released in April 1966. Baby Let Your Hair was co-written and originally recorded by Bobby Hart before he teamed up with Tommy Boyce and wrote many hits for the Monkees. Despite Graham building up a strong following of fans and a fine production by Pat Aulton, the single did not make the charts. However, in subsequent years the disc has received much critical praise. The late Dean Mittlehauser liked the single and reviewed it in Livin’ End,
“Most Graham Chapman singles you can’t give away, and to put it bluntly, it doesn’t surprise me. This solid platter though is one I’d hold onto…The first time I dug an earful I thought it was OK but no great shakes. On successive listens I’ve grown to like it, like it a lot, and now I think it’s great! …It may not be your typical punker, but Chapman adopts this slightly snotty tone to his voice which works well and considering that he was only a 14- or 15-year-old…at the time he put this out only serves to testify that he was cool. The B side, ‘Feel So Good’ had been overlooked by yours truly till I came to review it and found it also mighty tasty. It’s a slow fuzzed out rocker with very much a ‘Peter Doyle’ sound to it. An excellent 45.” (Dean Mittlehauser, Livin’ End No. 5, 1989.)
Baby Let Your Hair Down was included on Big Beat’s ‘Of Hopes & Dreams & Tombstones’ CD compilation in 2002. UK music historian Alec Paleo commented in the liner notes “Chapman made several singles for Kommotion and Columbia between 1966 and 1969. Most of these are fairly poor except for this sprightly take on Bobby Hart’s ‘Let Your Hair Down’ “
Graham’s second Kommotion single, Mr Blue/Lover Girl (Oct ’66) is a quality recording that also deserved to be a hit, but it suffered the same fate as the previous single. Mr Blue is a smooth ballad by late ‘50s trio the Fleetwoods which Chapman handles well, and the B-side Lover Girl by David Yates is a bouncy pop song with a pleasant instrumental backing. Graham also recorded two unreleased tracks Hold Back And Let Her Go and Shop Around.
In the latter part of 1967 Graham changed managers and labels and recorded four quality singles on Columbia with producer David MacKay. The second of these, Gee, I’m Gonna Miss You was backed by the Twilights and became Graham’s most successful single. Released in April 1968, the disc scored No. 1 in his hometown Brisbane and Top 20 in Sydney. Even though the single made the No. 1 position and sold many copies, I don’t think it would have made enough money for him to buy the Maserati mentioned in the Go-Set article.
“Five-footer Graham Chapman has proved there’s a lot more money playing in hotels than the teenage dance scene – even though he is still one of the biggest pullers in the Brisbane dance scene at the moment. Flash: Graham leaves for Sydney May 5th.” (Go-Set, April 26th, 1967)
Columbia also issued an EP titled 'Gee I'm Gonna Miss You.' His last Australian single, Sing A Long Song/Scratchin’ My Head (June '71) on HMV was produced by Mike Perjanik. It was not successful.
In the mid-‘70s Graham moved to New Zealand and joined the Auckland based pop group Salty Dogg. Having such an experienced vocalist in their line-up was a great asset to the group. The band was quite successful releasing two singles and an album in 1976 and 1977. Band members included Graham Chapman (vocals, percussion), Chris Gunn (bass, percussion), Mike Harvey (keyboards, vocals), Martin Winch (lead guitar), Vic Williams (drums, percussion). When Salty Dogg disbanded Graham returned to Australia and was based in Sydney working in clubs and as a compere.
Graham appeared at the Brisbane 1960s Rock’n’Roll Reunion held at the Gateway Hotel, Brisbane on October 11th, 1992. Graham was part of a large line-up of artists who performed floorshows that weekend including Ross D. Wylie, Toni McCann, Donna Gaye and Tony Worsley. A number of bands reformed for the weekend with as many original members that could be found including Ronnie Williams & the Five, Normie Rowe & the Playboys, the Purple Hearts and the Escorts.
In 2009 Graham was performing in Sydney with his daughter. They sang a song together and when he came off stage, he suffered a heart attack and sadly died. He was aged 60. Graham was survived by a wife and six children. His son Daniel posted this comment on You Tube,
“My dad loved to sing and loved life. It’s so nice to see that his music still resonates with people. He passed away 13 years ago now. Gone far too soon.” (Daniel John Chapman, You Tube comment 2022)
MIKE FURBER & THE BOWERY BOYS
When 18-year-old Mike Furber burst onto the Australian pop scene in 1966 he was one of the most exciting young talents to emerge that year. The Bowl booking agency described him as “A wild exciting teenage performer.” The two singles, two EPs and one album Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys recorded on the Kommotion label are all highly prized by collectors. During 1966 Mike had a hectic schedule of touring, tent shows, recording sessions and TV appearances. He built up a huge following of teenage fans during a very competitive year on the pop market.
“With his long silky fringe, big brown puppy dog eyes and vulnerable ‘take me home and mother me’ poses, teenage pop star Mike Furber was a pin-up boy of choice for many a young Aussie female in the mid-‘60s. Between 1966 and 1967 he (along with his former band the Bowery Boys) released no less than six singles, four EPs and an album, and, for a while there, it looked as if Furber would usurp Normie Rowe’s King Of Australian Pop crown. However, it was not to be. Other equally talented boys like Ronnie Burns, Jim Keays and Russell Morris would come along and steal Furber’s screams.” (Ian D. Marks, Tomorrow Is Today)
Michael Alexander Furber was born in the London suburb of Battersea on September 26th, 1948. He migrated with his family to Australia when he was 10 years old and they settled in Brisbane. His father Ed was a steward on a ship and was away from home a lot. Mike and his sister Marion were largely raised by their mother, Mary who had been a singer in her younger days. Mike’s interest in singing started in the early ‘60s with folk music but after the Beatles visit to Australia in 1964, he was keen to join a beat group. After a chance meeting in mid-’65 with bassist Paul Wade and drummer Neville Peard on a Brisbane suburban train, he was able to realise this dream. Wade and Peard had formed a band with guitarists Robbie Van Delft and Greg Walker and they were looking for a singer. When Mike mentioned he could sing they invited him to audition for a spot in the band. The audition went well and Furber was asked to join the band, which was called the Bowery Boys.
The Bowery Boys worked at dances in Brisbane and the Gold Coast for a few months until a car accident put them out of action for about six weeks. When everyone recovered, they decided to audition for the biggest promoter in town, Ivan Dayman, at the Brisbane Bowl. Dayman noticed the ‘star’ potential of the young Mike straight away and signed the group on the spot, but he insisted that they call themselves Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys. In Jim Oram’s 1966 publication ‘The Business Of Pop’, Dayman is quoted as saying,
“A lot of kids walk into the Bowl asking for the same thing (an audition) …. I haven’t got time to hear them all, but I had a feeling about Furber. So I told him to go ahead. By the time he finished a couple of numbers I had a contract made out waiting for him to sign.”
Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys debut single, Just A Poor Boy/Mailman Bring Me No More Blues was released on Sunshine and in January 1966. Just A Poor Boy was an original written by band members Paul Wade, Robbie Van Delft and Neville Peard.
“Mike Furber, a Brisbane boy who sings ‘Just A Poor Boy’ with heart and feeling and soul … and with enough professionalism to get automatic airplay in Sydney and Melbourne. Mike has the kind of voice that has landed hundreds of letters on DISC desks asking for more about Mike Furber.” (Everybody’s, March 16th, 1966)
Just A Poor Boy made the charts in Melbourne (No.25), Brisbane (No.21), Adelaide (No.5) and Perth (No.42) and is regarded as being among the best songs to come out of Australia during that period.
The follow-up single You Stole My Love/It’s Gonna Work Out Fine was initially released on Sunshine in February 1966, then after the first production run it was switched to Kommotion and became the first single release on this label. English songwriter Graham Gouldman wrote the song and it was originally recorded by his group, the Mockingbirds. The song is very similar to another Gouldman song, For Your Love, which was a big hit for the Yardbirds. The single made Top 10 in Brisbane, Top 20 in Adelaide and peaked at No.8 in Melbourne. The single did not make the Sydney charts. Surprisingly, throughout is career, none of Furber’s singles made any impression on the charts in Sydney. Existing You Tube footage shows Mike delivering an exciting and energetic rendition of You Stole My Love.
The much over-looked B-side, It’s Gonna Work Out Fine is an R’n’B ballad by US songwriters Rose Marie McCoy and Sylvia McKinney (wrongly credited on the label to Seneca-Lee). The original version was recorded by Mickey & Sylvia in September 1961. Ike & Tina Turner also recorded a version of the song.
It was five months before Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys next single, You/That’s When Happiness Begins. Released in July 1966 it was produced by Pat Aulton. You (‘very much a cool, moody punk ballad”- Mittlehauser), was the intended A-side, but Happiness seemed to gain more attention. The song was written by American song writing brothers, Don and Dick Addrisi and there were two versions recorded in 1966. One by US group the Grains Of Sand and another by UK band the Montanas.
“’That’s When Happiness Begins’ was a stompin’, riff-based R’n’B number with thumping drums, blues harmonica solos, feedback guitar and, for the first time, the whole group (not females, as in their first two songs) backing vocals.” (David Johnston, The Music Goes Round My Head, 2010)
About a month after the release of this third single, Mike parted company with the Bowery Boys who were becoming increasingly annoyed at being left out of television appearances and interstate tours. About the same time that the group broke up, the Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys LP, ‘Just A Poor Boy’ was issued on Kommotion. Most collectors of ‘60s music would give their eye teeth to own a copy of this awesome album. In the collector’s magazine ‘From The Vault’, Dean Mittlehauser wrote,
“This LP has taken over the mantle as Australia’s rarest and most collectible (ie: though there may be rarer LPs, none are as much sought after as this one) ‘60s LP. Cool black and white cover with Furber in his much photographed ‘little boy lost’ pose. Apart from the classic ‘You Stole My Love’ the LP features a great gritty version of ‘Diddy Wah Diddy’, which almost rivals RJSS’s version. There are some weaker tracks on the LP, where Furber’s vocal range doesn’t hold up real well. But all things considered it’s a pretty strong album.” (From The Vault, Vol.1 No.4, 1988)
During 1966 Kommotion issued an EP containing both sides of Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys second and third singles. As with all of Mike’s EPs it features cool cover art work and is highly prized by '60s music enthusiasts.
The next single Mike released was as a solo artist in January 1967. The single had a lot to like about it, as both sides of Where Are You/Second Hand People were written by Barry Gibb. Barry, Robin and Maurice sing backing vocals. Produced by Nat Kipner the disc received a positive review in Everybody’s magazine,
“Mike Furber, who has been quieter than a library of late, has returned to the record scene with ‘Where Are You/Second-Hand People’. The radio stations can't decide which side they like the best - always the sign of a good record. (Maggie Makieg, Everybody’s, February 8th, 1967)
The single possessed all the qualities of a hit record but failed to create much interest from radio stations and fans. Melbourne-based Go-Set reporter Bob Staines made this comment a few weeks later,
“Mike Furber, who at one stage was billed as the second Normie Rowe, admits he's in the doldrums. Said Mike: ‘I seem to be losing the battle.’ His latest chart effort, ‘Where Are You’ is getting poor airplay down here, despite the fact that it is a very good record. Mike joins the long list of middle-rung pop stars who are finding the scene increasingly chilly.” (Bob Staines, Go-Set, February 22nd, 1967)
Kommotion issued a second EP in early 1967, ‘Where Are You’ which included both sides his last single and two tracks that had already been included on Mike’s first Sunshine EP, the Lonnie Lee penned You’re Back Again and Love Talk. This was to be Mike’s last release on Kommotion and his next two singles, I’m So Glad/It’s Too Late (Aug ’67) and If You Needed Me/Bring Your Love Back Home (Oct ’67) were both issued on Sunshine.
Even though Mike’s records were not selling, it was a different story when he performed live. In July 1967 Mike was supporting Normie Rowe on a national tour. When the tour travelled to the NSW city of Queanbeyan, the fans got a bit out of control,
“…. Three girls ran down the middle aisle and dragged a singer, Mike Furber, off the stage. Furber, stunned and groggy, climbed back with the aid of police and continued his act.” (The Canberra Times, July 6th, 1967)
Everybody’s journalist Maggie Makeig never held back her feelings regarding what she thought was Ivan Dayman’s lack of support for Mike Furber's career as a pop star. In the November 1st edition of the magazine she wrote this scathing article,
“If you were Mike Furber …. And moons ago you had a record called ‘Poor Boy’ that was hailed as the greatest thing since Normie Rowe ….. and since then, you’d been second stringer on a hundred tours and been under-bubbling so long you felt it was your middle name. …. How would you feel? Depressed? Cynical? Bored? Desperate? Mike is some of these things and yet none of them, yet there remains the conviction that he can sing, and that the Dayman management could, if it wanted, make him a star. So, he is waiting. On both the Johnny Young and Normie Rowe tours he had second billing, and in each town, he was a smash. The kids loved him. But it didn’t help his national image. Why, then does he not strike out and ally himself with one of the young managers who abound with confidence and drive in Melbourne … or Sydney? He says that the way things are now he earns good money. He puts out records (his latest was released last month, titled ‘Bring Your Love Back Home’). He is content to wait.” (Everybody’s, Nov 1st, 1967)
In February 1968 Mike split from manager Ivan Dayman and signed with Peter Cunningham in the hope of having his career steered in a better direction. In mid-1969 Mike signed with Columbia records and released two singles There’s No Love Left/Keep A Little Love (June ’69) and I’m On Fire/Watch Me Burn (Nov ’69). The last single was especially written for Mike by Harry Vanda and George Young and despite being an outstanding single, it failed to chart.
In the early ‘70s Mike was called up for National Service and friends say he was traumatised by the experience. After completing National Service he restarted his career picking up a key role in the stage production of ‘Godspell’. Then he scored a part in the stage musical, ‘Nuclear’ from which he was sacked in controversial circumstances.
Mike died on May 11th, 1973 and according to the police report he hanged himself. But there has always been some mystery surrounding his death. Whatever happened to Mike Furber, his death at the age of 25 is a tragedy. He is fondly remembered by his family, friends and his many fans. All of his recordings on Sunshine, Kommotion and Columbia were re-issued on the Festival CD, ‘Diddy Wah Diddy’ in 1999.
Well-respected Australian musician, Bob Daisley (Kahvas Jute, Mungo Jerry, Uriah Heep) was a close friend of Mike. In an interview in 2008 Bob said,
“He was a lovely, gentle man. We became really good mates …He was a very articulate, understanding and aware man. Back then some people mistook him for being gay because he was so sensitive and aware.” (Melbourne Sun Herald, September 29th, 2008)
DONNA GAYE
Sydney girl Donna Gaye was the only female artist to record for Kommotion. Donna’s three singles were all recorded at Festival Studios in Sydney with three different producers. Her first 45 Norman – Normie was a tribute to Normie Rowe who was the most popular teen idol in Australia at the time. Female support acts were generally not well received at Normie Rowe shows but when Donna got up on stage and sang Normie the teenage girls in the audience would all be singing and clapping along with her.
“Rocking Little Miss Mod. That’s what they call her down her street. Shoulder length hair, all the latest gear (clothes) and a troll in her arms, she really raises the brows. But 15-year -old Donna Gaye, of Bayview Road, Five Dock, is headed for the stars – a way out young singer with a yen for the stage. Her ambition is to be bigger than Little Pattie and with her charm and natural talent her goal might be in sight. She left school only a short time ago but has never been to work – not in an office. Already she has several professional engagements which keep her busy. She sings at ‘The Bowl’ in Castlereagh Street, the ‘Teenage Cabaret’, ‘Caper Cabaret’… “(The Recorder, May 6th, 1965)
Donna was born Vivienne Jarvis on September 18th, 1949, in Five Dock, a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney. Donna was the youngest in a family of five children and she started appearing on the Saturday morning children’s TV show ‘Kaper Kabaret’ when she was around 13 years old. The show was hosted by Penny Spence and Desmond Tester and 14-year-old Trevor Gordon was a junior host. The format of the show included the hits of the day performed by a group of young singers around the same age as Donna with funny skits by Uncle Reg (Veteran actor/comedian Reg Quartley). Some of the young performers who appeared on the show would go on to have successful careers in music. They included Karl Van Rhoon (Marty Rhone), Jeff Newton (Jeff St John) and Barrington Davis. Donna recalls doing a duet with Karl Van Rhoon singing Ferry Across The Mersey on the Manly ferry.
Donna started appearing at dances at Surf Clubs, Community Halls and Ballrooms around Sydney in 1964 with a local band led by John Bradshaw, the Convairs. Then she worked with another band called the Secrets. The following year Donna successfully auditioned to be part of the ‘Sounds Of 65’ tour headlined by Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs. Having scored a huge hit with Poison Ivy in June 1964, Billy Thorpe was the hottest act in the country. The concerts were always pretty wild affairs and every night as the tour moved up the east coast of NSW and into Queensland, there would be a party every night which Donna was not invited to. She was told to go to her hotel room and stay there. Donna recalls,“I was so bored because I’d do the shows and I had to sit in the room. They wouldn’t let me go anywhere or talk to anyone else. I couldn’t wait to get on the bus.”
It was through Donna’s friendship with Trevor Gordon (later one half of the duo the Marbles) that she met the Bee Gees. Maurice and Robin were the same age as her and were frequent visitors to Donna’s home in Five Dock. The twins especially liked the bacon and eggs Donna’s mother cooked up for them. John Rowles and Steve Kipner (Steve & the Board) would often join Trevor Gordon and the Gibb twins at Donna’s house and they’d sing/jam together on the back veranda.
Towards the end of 1965, Donna signed with Ivan Dayman’s Bowl Booking Agency and began appearing at the Bowl which was becoming increasingly popular with appearances by various popular Sunshine artists. Donna was backed by whatever group was passing through the city at the time including the Playboys and the Blue Jays. Donna was then asked to tour with Normie Rowe who was enjoying incredible success at the time.
In early 1966 Donna was asked to record for the Kommotion label. Her debut recording Norman – Normie/Untrue, Unfaithful was released in April 1966. It was a touch of genius whoever came up with the idea to record a remake of Sue Thompson’s 1961 hit Norman by American songwriter John D. Loudermilk. The song’s lyrics were changed (most likely by Lonnie Lee) to ‘Normie’ in tribute to Normie Rowe. Other Sunshine artists were also name checked in the song including Tony Worsley, Mike Furber and Peter Doyle. The single was produced by Lonnie Lee who for some reason wanted to hide his involvement by using the pseudonym ‘Dav-Gin’, which was an abbreviation of his children’s names, David and Virginia.
The B-side Untrue, Unfaithful was originally recorded by Tom Jones as the B-side to his July 1965 hit With These Hands. The composer of the song was Gordon Mills who was Tom Jones’ manager. Another version of the song was recorded by Nita Rossi in August 1965 who was also managed by Mills. Early pressings of the single gave incorrect writer’s credits, but this was corrected on later pressings.
Donna started appearing on all the popular TV shows to promote her single. In Sydney she was a regular on ‘Bandstand’, ‘Saturday Date’ and ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’. Dayman would fly Donna to Melbourne to appear on the ‘Go!! Show’ and ‘Kommotion’.
Pat Aulton was assigned the task of producing Donna’s follow-up single. Pat chose Little Things Like This, a catchy pop song well suited to Donna’s teenage audience. The earliest known version of the song was recorded by US singer Barbara Mills in November 1965, the sister of Larry Henley of the Newbeats. The B-side, the folk-pop tune Bring It All Down by American songwriter Bob Lind is an interesting choice. Lind’s song Elusive Butterfly was riding high on the charts at the time. Despite having all the elements of an excellent pop single, Little Things Like This/Bring It All Down did make the charts.
When Donna was going on tour or appearing in tent shows, she would draw the designs of the number of dresses she needed, and her mother would make them. Donna recalls,
“My mother worked from 7 in the morning till 4 every day at Dri Glow Towels, she was a machinist. She’d come home and make all these outfits, admittedly they were only small, because they were miniskirts. I’d draw them and wake up the next morning and they were hanging there. She was amazing.”
When Nat Kipner found out that the trendy dresses that Donna wore were designed by her and made by her mother, the canny entrepreneur, who was quick to spot a good business opportunity, asked Donna’s mother “Do you want to go into production?” It was an exciting offer, but nothing ever came of it.
Brisbane group the Escorts were the backing band for Donna’s third and final 45, Hey Beach Boy/Why Should We Take The Easy Way Out. Released in January 1967 and produced by Steve Neale, the single was a disappointment. The highly regarded musician Steve Neale was the piano player from the Cloudland resident band Sounds Of Seven. Donna was not happy with the choice of Hey Beach Boy and describes it as “a nothing song.” Radio stations agreed with her, and the single did not receive much airplay and was not successful.
Interestingly, the original version of the song by US singer Andrea Carroll was included on the 2010 Ace Records CD, ‘Hey Beach Girl’, a collection of surf and hot rod songs by female singers and groups from the ‘60s. Donna’s version of Hey beach Boy was included on the CD, ‘Come & See Me’ issued by the UK re-issue label Cherry Red Records in 2015.
Steve Neale did not look too far to find the B-side, Why Should We Take The Easy Way Out. It is the same B-side on the Andrea Carroll Hey Beach Boy single released by United Artists in July 1966.
Donna went to Vietnam in 1968 entertaining American troops. The tour was dangerous and full of dramas. Six weeks after she returned to Australia, she married Dennis Annable, bass player with the Escorts and reluctantly gave up her singing career.
For a more detailed history of Donna’s music career please see the blog ‘Gonks, Mini Skirts & Normie’ on this web page.
JA-AR (JOHN ROWLES)
“The adage of tall, dark and handsome certainly applies to John Rowles and his voice is as striking as his appearance. John’s personal taste in music covers a wide range from the Shadows, an Australian group called the Questions, Chet Atkins, Leonard Bernstein to Soul Music. Mike Leander who arranged and produced this album says of John, ‘He is the finest artist I have ever worked with, there is no doubt that John Rowles is destined to become an international name in the entertainment world and will be around for a very very long time.’ “(Liner notes ‘John Rowles’ LP 1968)
John Rowles was born on March 26th, 1947, in Whakatane and grew up in the nearby township of Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand’s North Island. The youngest in a family of seven children, John’s father was an outstanding Rugby player who had played for the 1938 Māori All Blacks. John’s first public performance was at the age of 10, when he entered and won a talent contest singing All Shook Up. At 15 John left school and began working in a forestry camp planting trees and for two years he worked as a fitter & rigger. During this time, he joined a band and performed at local dances. One year later he moved to Auckland where he gained valuable experience playing in a club band.
In 1963 Rowles decided to try his luck in Australia as part of a duo with fellow Kiwi, Eddie Low. Low was a ballad singer and multi-instrumentalist. The pair secured a nine-month contract performing at the Riverside Inn in Melbourne. When the contract expired John thought he'd try his luck in Sydney. He joined a group called the Dingdongers who later changed their name to the more appropriate the Sundowners. Towards the end of 1965 John decided to have a shot at a solo career. He called the Bowl booking agency and spoke to Lonnie Lee.
During 1966 former rock’n’roll singer Lonnie Lee and New Zealander Graham Dent ran the Bowl booking and promotion agency for Ivan Dayman. Graham Dent came to Sydney at the beginning of 1965 after successfully managing the careers of Max Merritt & the Meteors and Johnny Devlin. In New Zealand Dent had built up a good reputation in artist promotion by masterminding a number of attention seeking stunts. One of these was unpicking the seems of rock’n’roller Johnny Devlin’s shirts so that hysterical fans could easily rip them off. This is Lee’s version of how he helped Rowles start his solo career,
“John Rowles called me one day, it was like three or four days before Christmas, and he said he’d come up from Melbourne. He’d been singing there and said he’d like to talk about getting him some work …. I said, ‘I’m going over to the city, I’ll meet you at the Bowl this afternoon.’ I told Graham that this guy was coming over and he came in and bought a photograph, which I asked him to bring, and a tape of him singing. So as soon as I saw him and heard the tape, I said, ‘Your ours.’ I took him to the barber, I bought him clothes, found accommodation for him. Did absolutely everything for him out of my own pocket because he didn’t have any money.’ “
Dent insisted on an image and name change for Rowles and dubbed him ‘The Secret’ and Lee worked on his stage presentation. Dent then convinced the producers of ‘Bandstand’ to include him in the ‘New Faces of 1966’ programme in February and not reveal his name. After Rowles appearance, apparently offers for work poured in for the young singer. Dent however deliberately kept him out of sight, feeding only snippets of information to the press and radio for the next four weeks. In a second Bandstand appearance John’s identity was revealed for the first time as Ja-Ar. In an article in Everybody’s magazine, John was listed as a solo act with “the hottest potential in 1966.’
“And then there’s 18-year-old Ja-Ar, not yet to record, but a name that’s been mentioned a lot in the past few months, following his first TV appearance. He has a deep mature voice made for ballads that swing and twist with complicated arrangements. You’ll be able to hear Ja-Ar on record in six weeks time.” (Everybody’s, March 16th, 1966)
Not long after, Lonnie Lee took John into the recording studio to cut his first single. The End (Of The Rainbow)/You Still Love Him was released in June 1966 on Kommotion. The Earl Grant song, The End seemed to be a good choice which suited John’s deep voice, but despite all the publicity the singer was receiving, the single did not make the charts. A turning point in John’s career occurred when Lee managed to get John some engagements at the Motorboat Club in Sydney which was an adult cabaret venue and more suited to the style of singing John was performing.
It was while John was performing at the Motorboat Club that he was spotted by Peter Gormley who was in Australia for the Shadows tour. Gormley was the Shadows manager and he worked for one of the top agencies in the UK and had been responsible for launching the careers of Cliff Richard and Frank Ifield. Gormley said he would be interested in doing something for John, but it came at a cost. The manager of the Motorboat Club, Eric Drury gave him $30,000 to kick start John’s career in England.
A second single Please Help Me I’m Falling/Girl Girl Girl was released on Sunshine in August 1966 with Pat Aulton handling the production duties. This single suffered the same fate as John’s previous 45, failing to make the charts. Sunshine also issues an EP which combined the first two singles. There seemed to be a falling out between Dent and Lee over the handling of Ja-Ar’s career and John’s next single was for a different record label, CBS. I Remember Mama/Broken Promises produced by Nat Kipner was released in 1967 with writing credits for both tracks listed as Kipner/Rowles.
Rowles headed to the UK at the end of 1967 and when news of his departure emerged, Maggie Makieg, writing in her Disc column in Everybody’s magazine, did not hold back on criticising the handling of John’s career and the poor choice of material for his recordings,
“Ja-Ar (so far we haven’t had official confirmation that he is changing his name for a more regular approach) might well be the solo success of the year. He appears to have gone to England as the logical end of a progression of hit-or-miss chances that took him through the pop and nightclub scene without lighting any fires. First, he came from New Zealand with much bally-hoo and made a couple of records that he didn’t care very much about. Nor did anyone else. The DJs chatted to him on air, and he sounded unsure and hesitant. But he did have a deep, interesting voice …. the kind that separates the men from the boys. He changed managers a few times, appearing in a bewildering and indiscriminate potage of teenage shows, club work, mini-musicals, tours, everything. Not once did he put out a good record (which speaks volumes for the limitations of vision and technique that abound in recording studios), but when big manager Peter Gormley arrived out of England to watch over the Shadows, it was Johnny he called to England.” (Everybody’s, Nov 1, 1967).
In England Rowles found almost immediate success. His first single, If I Only Had Time reached No.3 on the UK charts in April 1968, followed by Hush, Not A Word To Mary which went to No.12 in August. John’s success continued when made the US charts in February 1971 with Cheryl Moana Marie, a song he wrote about his younger sister. In America John was likened to Elvis and he was in big demand for cabaret work in hotels throughout the States, especially Las Vegas. In 1972 he signed a five-year contract with the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. He based himself in Hawaii for several years making frequent visits to New Zealand and Australia for club engagements.
John returned to live in New Zealand on a permanent basis in the mid-2000s and in 2008 ‘The Secret Life Of John Rowles’ a revealing documentary on the singer’s life was produced. In 1980 he was awarded an OBE for his contribution to music and promotion of his country overseas and in 2018 he was awarded a ‘Knighthood’ for his contribution to New Zealand’s entertainment industry.
THE VINCE MALONEY SECT
When Vince Maloney and Tony Barber left the Aztecs they formed a duo which only lasted a few months. Then in early 1966 Vince formed the Vince Maloney Sect. The band released one single and an EP on Kommotion and Vince also had a solo single issued on Kommotion, before he headed to the UK and joined the Bee Gees. The Vince Maloney Sect “were essentially a covers band featuring the talented work of Maloney with his quite laid-back vocal style.” (Paul McHenry)
“Every pop group needs at least one really good-looking member, and Vince was ours. He was also a superb guitarist and on his black Gibson, gave us an explosive and unique sound. Vince had a quiet calm, air about him, was soft spoken, always polite, and moved in an unhurried way but with a sense of nervous energy around him.” (Tony Barber, Long Way ‘Til You Drop, 2003)
Vince Maloney (correct spelling Malouney) was born on August 18th, 1945 and grew up in the Sydney suburb of Hornsby, approximately 23 kms north-west of the CBD. He attended Normanhurst Boys High, a newly built high school when Vince started there in 1958. When he was 12 or 13 Vince was at home with his mother when a man came to the door selling guitar lessons. The man was starting a guitar school in Hornsby to teach Hawaiian guitar. Vince’s mum said to him, “Do you want to learn to play guitar?” and Vince replied, “Sure.” Vince was not keen on Hawaiian music and by the time he had finished the course he was more interested in Elvis and the Sun label artists. He made some adjustments to his Hawaiian guitar, so the strings sat flatter on the fret and he bought a ‘How to play’ book and taught himself to play chords. Vince recalls,
“Once I started to pick it up, I was away, I couldn’t put the guitar down. I’d come home from school and all my mates would go out riding their bikes and I’d go straight into my bedroom and play the guitar.”
Vince started putting bands together, changing players and group names often until in 1962 he had a group called the Vibratones consisting of Vince on guitar, John (Bluey) Watson on bass, Valentine Jones on guitar and Col Baigent on drums. They played small halls, scout dances and private parties, then they started to move into larger venues. The group decided on yet another name change and came up with the Aztecs and they issued their first single, an instrumental Smoke & Stack on the Linda Lee label. Vince secured a gig for the band at Surf City a popular dance venue in Sydney owned by John Harrigan. The Aztecs played Shadows-type instrumentals and backed vocalist Johnny Noble. While they were rehearsing one day at Surf City, Harrigan walked in with a smart looking guy with blonde hair. Harrigan said, “This is Billy Thorpe. He’s just come back from Surf City New Zealand.” Harrigan asked if Thorpe could get up and do a few numbers with them, to which Vince agreed. After Thorpe had run though a few songs Harrigan said, “I want Billy Thorpe to join your band.” Vince replied that they already had a singer. Harrigan then said, “Put it this way, either Billy Thorpe joins you or you don’t have a gig anymore.” Vince immediately turned to Billy and said, “Billy, you’ve got a job.”
One day a guy newly arrived from England named Tony Barber came into Surf City. He was a left-handed guitar player and could write songs. After seeing him play at one of Surf City’s Sunday afternoon auditions, Billy liked the look of him and said to Vince, “We’ve really got to get Tony into the band.” The original line-up of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs was now complete, and the fortunes of the band quickly began to change.
When the band recorded Poison Ivy, a song they found on a Rolling Stones EP in mid-1964, things started to really take off for the band. More hits records followed, the crowds at Surf City swelled to 2,500–3,000 a night and Harrigan arranged radio and magazine interviews. Then he began sending them on tours throughout the country. During the latter part of 1964 Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs were Australia’s most popular band.
“Concert footage from the time shows the band barely able to complete a number without wild stage invasions from hysterical fans.” (Paul Culnane, Milesago)
All this fame and excitement, however, came to an abrupt end for Vince in early 1965 when Harrigan announced to the band that he had arranged for the group to tour England, supporting English bands. Vince did not want to go because he thought they were not good enough. The Aztecs had toured with Billy J Kramer & the Dakotas and he witnessed first hand how good English bands played. Vince thought if Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs went to England, they would be a laughingstock. Tony agreed with him, and they both left the band. Vince recalls,
“Tony and I got together and Harrigan sued me. There were big problems. He tried to stop me from working, and he did for a while until my father stepped in. But it went on for a while, and Harrigan was a real bastard. Besides, he took all my money as well. Mind you, Harrigan made us too. He let people know we were there and he promoted us well.” (‘Wild About You’ interview 2010)
Vince and Tony went to Melbourne and formed a band with Jimmy Thompson on drums and Brian Shields on bass called the Vince & Tony Two. The band only lasted a few months, and Vince returned to Sydney and joined Tony Worsley & the Blue Jays in October 1965. During the time Vince was with this group they went on a country tour. All of their gear was in a trailer towed by the bus they were travelling in. The trailer swerved out and hit the side of a bridge and all their gear spilled everywhere. Tony Worsley tells the story of seeing Vince finding his guitar in pieces on the road. He was devastated and in tears, his guitar was his life.
Vince played on the Tony Worsley & the Blue Jays album, ‘Velvet Waters & Other Great Songs’ (Nov ‘65) and the single Something’s Got A Hold On Me/Something (Feb ‘66). The B-side Something, a little -known Georgie Fame non-hit, contains some excellent guitar work by Vince. Five months after Vince joined the Blue Jays they broke up. Everybody’ journalist Maggie Makeig reported,
“The Blue Jays are going their separate ways. Bobby Johnson started the group about six years ago when rock’n’roll was still strong. But now the call for the solo spotlight has split up the band…..Royce Nicols goes out as a duo with Toni McCann, Vince Maloney (and this is where the soloism started) is going out as a single with a supporting group called Vince Maloney Sect. Jimmy Thompson, the drummer will stay with this group. Mal Clarke …. is putting down test recordings for a solo debut. The question now is, who will back Tony Worsley?” (Everybody’s, March 23rd, 1966)
Vince formed the Vince Maloney Sect and signed with Ivan Dayman management. The group members included Vince Maloney (vocals, guitar), Bill Taylor (rhythm guitar), Brian Shields (bass) and Jimmy Thompson (drums). Their first single was She’s A Yum Yum/No Good Without You released in March 1966 and was produced by Pat Aulton. The original version of Yum Yum was by was written by Dallas Frazier and first recorded by Charlie Rich in November 1965. Vince did not like the song and did not want to record it, but went along with what he was told to do.
“Yum Yum is a groovy pop tune with some inventive bass backed with Ronnie Wood’s ‘No Good Without You’ with plenty of spark from Maloney’s guitar.” (Paul McHenry).
He was much happier with Pat Aulton’s choice for the B-side, No Good Without You. The song was written by William Stevenson and recorded by Marvin Gaye in August 1964. The song has been incorrectly credited to Ronnie Wood, although Wood did play guitar on English group the Birds’ version issued in April 1965.
Ivan Daymen would fly Vince down to Melbourne every week to perform his new 45 on the Kommotion TV show. Up until this stage of his career Vince had not done much singing, but in the Vince Maloney Sect he did most of the vocals when they played live and he took lead vocals on all of their records. Vince explains how this came about,
“I always wanted to sing but it took me a long time, actually because my father was brought up with Mario Lanza, Caruso and people of that ilk. So, when I was doing ‘That’s Alright Mama’ when I was younger, he thought it was a load of crap …. it really put me off and I lost my confidence for years and years.”
After this single, Kommotion issued an EP titled, ‘This Is The Vince Maloney Sect’ in June 1966. It contained both sides of the first single and two new tracks, Sticks & Stones and Watch Your Step, “two pacey R’n’B numbers showcasing Vince’s varied guitar solos.” (Paul McHenry).
The final single for Kommotion, I Need Your Lovin’ Tonight/Mystery Train (Oct '66) was produced by Nat Kipner and recorded at Ossie Byrne’s studio in Hurstville. Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb did the backing vocals on the single. Paul McHenry thought I Need Your Lovin’ Tonight is a pleasant mid-tempo R’n’B tune and was surprised at the cover of Elvis’ Mystery Train stating, “Vince and Kipner have a Sun recording touch right down to the drumming and Maloney’s guitar.”
Vince went to England in October 1966 and joined the Bee Gees and was in the group until the end of 1968. He played on numerous singles and their first four albums. In August 2002 Vince reunited with the rest of the original Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs to perform on the ‘Long Way To The Top’ tour. All of the Vince Maloney Set tracks plus his solo single on Kommotion have been re-issued on the Canetoad CD, ‘Punkville’ in 1999, Zenith Records issued a six-track EP in 2008 and Classic Trash Music issued the same tracks on cassette in 2021. To find out the latest information on Vince visit vincemelourney.com . The Vince Maloney Sect Facebook page is also worth checking out.
TONY SHEPP
No other artist in ‘60s Australian music was treated as badly by a record label than Adelaide singer Tony Shepp. He recorded three singles and only one was released. As well as this, a planned various artists album he was included on, was shelved. It seemed that bad luck plagued Tony throughout his career as an entertainer.
Tony Shepp (real name Howard Anthony Shipp born in Adelaide in December 1946) was a singer, multi-instrumentalist and talented actor. As a child he suffered from polio and as a result his father bought him a set of drums to help strengthen his legs. He was also given a saxophone, an instrument he enjoyed playing. Along with his two brothers, Tony was a student at the Adelaide College Of Music and by the age of 13 he was a proficient drummer and saxophone player. He also made regular appearances on ‘Music Man’, an Adelaide children’s TV show.
At 16 Tony joined his first band and started to make a name for himself around various Adelaide clubs and dances. In 1964 he joined Hayden Burford & the Beaumen and it was while he was in this band that he had his first experience in a recording studio. The band recorded an earlier instrumental he had written and renamed it 403.1mph in tribute to Donald Campbell. Donald Campbell’s record-breaking land speed record of 403.1 mph on Lake Eyre in July 1964, was big news at the time. The record was promoted for release on the Young Modern label, but never appeared. It was reported in Young Modern magazine that the singles release was delayed due to EMI Sydney being too busy to press up copies. This is most probably due to the demand following the Beatles tour.
By the end of the year the Beaumen had broken up and Tony joined Adelaide dance band the Clefs. The Clefs were a popular band and held the residency at the Princeton Club, one of Adelaide’s top night spots and they were also the resident backing band for a weekly pop TV show called ‘Seventeeners’. Tony played on four instrumentals the Clefs recorded and two of these were combined for the single Last Night/March Of The Siamese Children. The disc made it into the lower portion of Adelaide radio 5DN Big 60 chart.
As well as playing saxophone, Tony started doing some vocal work for the Clefs. One night Melbourne DJ Grantley Dee heard him sing and took some tapes back with him to Melbourne. This resulted in Tony being offered a six-month contract on the Go!! Show and he departed for Melbourne in July 1965. Tony made his debut performance on the Go!! Show on September 6th, 1966 and made regular appearances and also appeared on the Kommotion TV show.
Tony signed to the Kommotion label and recorded his first single, Oh, What A Big Deal/Your Guaranteed Unbreakable Heart. The disc was allocated a catalogue number KK-1315 but was not released.
“A test pressing reveals ‘Oh What A Big Deal’ to be a tongue in cheek beat number. ‘Your Guaranteed Unbreakable Heart’ could have been a hit containing some nice guitar, punchy drumming and catchy chorus.” (Peter Millan, Rockin’ the City of Churches, 2020)
Tony recorded a second single Come On Over To My Place/Don’t Ask Me Why in March 1966 and it was set for release on the Sunshine label. An article in Go-Set magazine in early July reported that it’s release had been delayed but for some unknown reason the single was never released. Come On Over To My Place by US songwriting team Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil is catchy pop tune and was a minor hit for fellow Adelaide singer Bev Harrell in March 1967.
It must have been a great relief for Tony when the third single he recorded was released. Come To Your Window/Pretty Dull was issued on Kommotion in July 1966 and was produced by Pat Aulton. Come To Your Window is very much in the style of early Byrds/Dylan material and was written by Bob Lind of Elusive Butterfly fame. Lind never released the song but US folk/rock band’s the Hard Times version from May 1966 sounds very much like Tony’s version. The B-side, Pretty Dull was written by Adelaide-born Peter Best who would later find success as a jingle writer and film score composer. Pretty Dull is interesting because it has Tony doing his impression of early Peter Noone/Herman’s Hermits hits.
Another disappointment Tony suffered was that a planned compilation album titled ‘Kommotion ‘66’ which he was included on, was shelved. On the Facebook group ‘Rare & Collectable Australian Records, CDs & Cassettes, Peter Millen wrote,
“One of my best Aussie pick-ups of the last 10 years is this test pressing of the never released Kommotion ‘66 album. It would have been another in those 4 artists x 4 song Festival compilation albums that came out during the mid-sixties. This features 4 tracks each by Mike Furber, Graeme Chapman, Vince Maloney Sect and Tony Shepp. All the tracks were released either on single or EP except for two tracks by Tony Shepp and two by Graeme Chapman. The unreleased tracks are Tony Shepp’s cancelled single ‘Oh, What a Big Deal’ and ‘Your Guaranteed Unbreakable Heart’ and the two by Graeme Chapman are entitled ‘Hold Back And Let Her Go’ (only guessing, not sure of exact title) and ‘Shop Around’. It would be fun designing a mock album cover to house the LP as Kommotion is one of my favourite Aussie labels!” (Facebook post, April 18th, 2020)
In January 1967 Go-Set reported that Tony was hoping to get a re-recorded version of 403.1 released on RCA,
“Songwriter Tony Shepp is urgently trying to have a song he wrote in tribute to Donald Campbell released in Australia. He wrote the song after Campbell broke the land speed record on Lake Eyre, SA in 1965. Tony’s song was used as background music for an official film of the attempt – but the film was never released in Australia.” (Bob Staines, Everybody’s, February 1st, 1967)
The recording with RCA never eventuated and after he and his fiancée Jackie Rowson were attacked in Melbourne by six hooligans in late February, it’s not surprising that Tony decided to end his pop music career. He moved into acting and appeared on various TV Police dramas including, ‘Division 4’, ‘Hunter’ and ‘Long Arm’.
Tony then got involved in the finance business and a 1974 loan deal in which he was involved, resulted in him returning to Adelaide. He died tragically in a fire aged 42.
For a more detailed story on Tony’s refer to the blog ‘Tony Shepp – A Man Of Many Talents’ on this website.
KOMMOTION DISCOGRAPHY
Singles
Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys -You Stole My Love/It’s Gonna Work Out Fine KK-1227 04/66
Greg Anderson - I Feel Good/When It’s All Over. KK-1242 02/66
The Vince Maloney Sect - She’s A Yum Yum/ No Good Without Her. KK-1265. 03/66
Donna Gaye - Norman Normie/Untrue Unfaithful KK-131. 05/66
Graham Chapman - Baby Let Your Hair Down/Feel So Good KK-1333. 04/66
The Aulton Mob - March Of The Mods/What Did The Seagull Say. KK-1358. 05/66
Ja-Ar - The End/You Still Love Her. KK-1420. 07/66
Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys – You/That’s When Happiness Began. KK-1420. 06/66
Tony Shepp - Come To Your Window/Pretty Dull. KK-1434 07/66
Donna Gaye - Little Things Like That/Bring It All Down KK-1470 08/66
Vince Maloney - Need Your Lovin’ Tonight/Mystery Train KK-1498. 10/66
Ja-Ar - Please Help Me/Girl Girl Girl KK-1529. 10/66
Greg Anderson - I’ve Been Unfaithful/Mickey’s Monkey. KK-1530. 10/66
Graham Chapmen - Mr Blue/Lover Girl. KK-1532 10/66
Donna Gaye - Hey Beach Boy/Should We Take The Easy Way Out. KK-1559. 01/67
Mike Furber - Second Hand People/Where Are You. KK-1602. 1966
EPs
Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys - You Stole My Love KK-11204 1966
Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys - Where Are You. KK-11253 1967
Vince Maloney Sect - This Is The Vince Maloney Sect. KK-11160. 06/66
LPs
Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys - Just A Poor Boy. KL-32 030. 08/66
Sources:
Dennis & Donna Annable – Interview August 30th, 2024
Tony Barber – Long Way ‘Til You Drop, Five Mile Press, 2003
Graeme Brown – Sunshine Secrets, Moonlight, 2018
Bill Flemming – comments via messenger, August 18th, 2024
Brett Leslie & Milton Hammon – Go!! Kommotion: Teenage Music Shows Of The ‘60s, 2024
Ian D. Marks & Iain McIntyre – Wild About You, Verse Chorus Press, 2010
Paul McHenry – Liner notes, Punkville CD, Canetoad, 1999
Peter Millen -Rockin’ In The City Of Churches, Brolga Publications, 2020
David Johnstone – The Music Goes Round My Head, Independent Publications, 2010
Sargent’s.com
Various newspaper & magazine articles - Everybody’s, Go-Set, Young Modern, The Recorder, Gold Coast Bulletin, The Canberra Times, Melbourne Sun Herald.
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