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Thursday 21 November 2013

Miss Linda George - Linda George


Neither One Of Us /If It's Alright With You/Our Day Will Come/Yesterday And You



Linda George (born 1951) is an English-born Australian pop, jazz fusion and soul singer from the 1970s. In 1973, George performed the role of Acid Queen for the Australian stage performance of The Who's rock opera, Tommy. She won the TV Week King of Pop award for "Best New Female Artist". Her cover version of "Neither One of Us", peaked at No.;12 on the Australian Singles Chart and her 1974 single "Mama's Little Girl" reached the Top Ten. From 1972 to 1998, George also worked as a session singer and later became a music teacher. Her last C.D. recorded in the late 90's will be available in 2012.


Tuesday 19 November 2013

Tony Worsley - It I


If I/Just A Little Bit/I'm So Glad/If You See My Baby



A British-born artist who made his name in Australia. Tony was born Anthony Asheen Worsley in England in 1944 and emigrated with his family from his hometown of Hastings to the sunnier climes of Brisbane when he was 15. Tough cookie Worsley was the first beat era artist in Australia to sport outrageously long hair. In 1964, he joined forces with a backing band called The Blue Jays who had various members during their two year existence Worsley's gruff and surly demeanour ensured that many of their live appearances ended in riots. He toured rural Australia extensively with The Easybeats.


Monday 7 October 2013

Barry Stanton - Teenage Idol


I Don't Want To Be A Teenage Idol/Indeed I Do/
Beggin' On My Knees/Solitary Confinement


Born on 23rd January 1941 in England, Barry's parents immigrated to Australia when he was five years old. He grew up in the Sydney suburb of Cremorne and while at school he was given a guitar as a birthday present. After graduating from high school in 1957, he got a job as an apprentice motor mechanic. Inspired by Elvis Presley, he began singing occasionally with a group called Deke Drew and the Rebels at their weekly dance at Warringah Hall in Neutral Bay. He then formed his own group called Barry Stanton and the Boppers but by the end of 1958 the group had folded. Barry then formed a new backing group called the Bel Aires.
A serious car accident in 1959 resulted in Stanton suffering a fractured skull and being hospitalised for several months. After recovering from his injuries Barry and the Bel Aires first engagement was playing during the interval at the Embassy Picture Theatre in Manly. A few weeks later they were invited back to the Embassy by the manager to play at a rock 'n' roll concert. This led to Barry being invited by Johnny O'Keefe to appear on Six O'Clock Rock. Barry, with his Elvis Presley looks and singing style, was so popular with the live audience and viewers that he became a regular on the show. He also became a regular on the radio program Rockville Junction, which Johnny also hosted.
As his popularity continued to soar he began appearing regularly on Bandstand as well. He was also making short, mainly overnight, tours around New South Wales. After parting company with the Bel Aires Barry regularly performed as a guest artist at dances run by a group called the Ark Royales. Barry eventually replaced their lead singer when he left the group. Barry's first big break came in 1960 when Johnny O'Keefe signed him to a recording contract with Leedon Records. His debut single in April failed to chart. In May, he headed off on his first interstate tour with Johnny, Lonnie Lee and Booka Hyland, Ray Hoff and Laurel Lee.
The tour became infamous as it nearly claimed the lives of Johnny and his two passengers, Dee Jays' saxophonist John Greenan and his wife Jan, in a car accident. But by the time of the accident Barry had already left the tour due to exhaustion. His second single Don't You Worry 'Bout That, which was written by Johnny O'Keefe, was released in September and made the charts in most states. When his follow-up flopped he turned to his younger brother Rod, who dabbled in songwriting, for his fourth single. The song, Beggin' On My Knees, was to be his biggest hit, spending twelve weeks in the charts and reaching the Top 20 nationally in November 1961.
Barry continued recording with Leedon until 1964 and then switched to RCA Records in 1965. While he didn't have much success on the recording side he was still appearing regularly on television. Eventually, his lack of record success forced him to give up his rock 'n' roll career for that of an electrician. Between 1974 and 1977 he toured around Australia with Johnny O'Keefe's packaged show The Good Old Boys of Rock 'n' Roll. Stanton continued to perform well into the Eighties, which included a stint overseas in Las Vegas at the famous Sahara Casino Nightclub. He continues to appear regularly at Melbourne's Annual Concert and also at the Wintersun Festival.

Saturday 21 September 2013

Johnny Noble - Lonely City


Lonely City/Tough Enough/That'll Be All Right/This Little Girl



Johnny Noble was born in Muswellbrook in 1945 and later moved to Newcastle.At the age of sixteen he entered a talent quest in the Newcastle area which led to an appearance with Johnny Okeefe at the Century Theatre his popularity around Newcastle gained him an appearance on Alan Lappan's Tempo on NBN Channel 3 Newcastle. This led to his becoming a vocalist with a number of Newcastles top groups.
Because of his popularity disc jockey John Maloney invited him to meet whith his nephew Vince Maloney, guitarist with Sydney Instrumental group The Vibratones as they were lookin for a vocalist. Johnny joined and they changed their name to the Aztecs his debut with the Aztecs was in Kings Cross at Surf City a popular Sydney venue. They obtained a recording contract with Linda Lee Records and Johnny may have started recording with them. After eight months with the band Johnny quit he was not happy with all the travelling and hated living in Sydney so he returned to Newcastle. The split led the Aztecs with finding another vocalist and who did they find Billy Thorpe.
Back in Newcastle Johnny joined the Starlites who then became Johnny Noble and the Mods. An LP was issued with the Aztecs on one side and Johnny on the other called Poison Ivy Three of Johnny's songs were credited to Johnny Noble and the Mods but two of these "That'll ge All Right" and "Mean Women Blues" may have been recorded with the Aztecs and not the Mods. Johnny only ever had one charting single with another Newcastle group the Incas "Lonely City" whch Charted in Sydney for 9 weeks and reached #21. After his brief stint in the limelight Johnny continued to perform in the clubs around Newcasle including stints with big bands. As late as 2008 Johnny still had two regular gigs at the Toronto RSL and the Carrington Country Retreat.