Colin Cook - 1964 - Colin Cook

Heart/Sea Of Love/Mystery Train/A Teenager Feels It Too


Sax player/singer Colin Cook was born in Dacca, Bangladesh and moved to Australia with his parents in 1952. In 1957 he joined his first band, The Sapphires, but by 1958 was playing with Melbourne's most respected rock'n'roll combo, The Thunderbirds. Cook stayed with The Thunderbirds for two years, and played on the band's early EPs for the Rex label, Rex 4 Star and The Thunderbirds.

Upon leaving The Thunderbirds, Cook established himself as a singer on the Melbourne dance circuit, appeared on Bandstand and supported US teen idol Fabian on his Australian tour.
 

 In late 1962, Cook signed to Ron Tudor's W&G label, and issued 13 singles with that label over the next four years. The singles were Ricky Nelson's `It's Up to You'/`Just Another Rumour' (December 1962), `Crying Over You'/`C'mon Pretty Baby' (June 1963), `Come on Back Baby'/`Blues Baby' (November), Kenny Chandler's `Heart'/`Surfin' Holiday' (January 1964), Phil Philips' `Sea of Love'/`High School Romance' (June), `A Teenager Feels it Too'/`Put Me Down' (August), `My Gal'/`Handsome Guy' (November), Tommy Sands' `Blue Ribbon Baby'/`Heebie Jeebies' (February 1965), `Funny'/ `Stop Sneakin' Around' (July), Crash Craddock's `Well, Don't You Know?'/`Trying to Get to You' (September), Carl Perkins' `Boppin' the Blues'/`Hey Pretty Baby' (1966), `Ain't Got You'/ `Foolish Little Boy' (1966) and `Wanted'/`I'll Always Be in Love with You' (1966).


`It's Up to You', `Blue Ribbon Baby' and `Well, Don't You Know?' were all Top 30 hits in Melbourne. `Heart' was Cook's biggest hit when it peaked at #8 in January 1964. In early 1967, Cook moved to the Clarion label for three singles `Pocket Full of Rainbows'/`Everybody's Talking 'Bout a Thing Called Love' (February 1967), `You Baby'/ `Cry I Do' (August) and `Riot in Cell Block #9'/`I Have My Friends' (March 1968). In the late 1960s, Cook moved to the UK where he worked in the London stage productions of Hair and Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar. He issued a single on the Philips label in 1972, `Take Your Time Little Girl'/`Love for Living'. In 1979, he formed vocal group The Rainer Brothers, followed by rock'n'roll combo The Jealous Guys.

 


The Jealous Guys comprised Englishmen Robin McPherson (guitar) and Jim Twomey (drums; ex-Tourists), plus Aussie expatriates Mick Flynn (bass; ex-Mixtures), Fred Wieland (guitar; ex-Strangers, Mixtures) and Billy Kristian (guitar; ex-Max Merritt and the Meteors, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs). Cook moved back to Australia in 1982. He issued one single on the Southern Cross label in 1984 `Brylcream and Blue Suede Shoes'/`Be Bop and Blue Suede Shoes'.

Brylcream and Blue Suede Shoes 1984 release of Australian Colin Cook on the Southern Rock Records label. It was in fact recorded in the UK a couple of years earlier. The backing band was made up of Shakin' Stevens band members. The video clip was recorded at the Keysborough Hotel, Keysborough, in suburban Melbourne, Australia. The audience were regulars who attended the weekly 5o's rock 'n' roll night run by radio dj, promoter, and half-owner of label Southern Rock, Adam Joseph, who managed Cook at the time. While it was promoted with airplay & Colin made tv appearances, it never seemed to capture the public's attention enough to make it a chart success. Pity, because it's a very good piece of nostalgia.