Colin Cook - 1966 - Bopping The Blues FLAC

Blue Ribbon Baby/Money Money/Heebies Jeebies/Bopping The Blues



A popular Australian singer during the sixties.

Colin Cook was an original member of legendary Australian band the Thunderbirds playing saxophone. Before establishing himself as a successful soloist, Colin Cook worked as a back-up session vocalist. In fact he sang harmony backing on Frankie Davidson’s ‘Have You Ever Been To See King’s Cross?’.



Colin Cook was on the Melbourne charts seven times 1963-66, notably with It’s Up To You (#9 1963, the Ricky Nelson hit), the Mann-Weil song Heart (#8 1964), and Blue Ribbon Baby (#15 1965), all on W&G. He recorded with The Strangers at W&G, including on the LP Colin Cook and the Strangers (1964).

Colin Cook recorded “Hansome Guy” probably after hearing Dick Lory version.

From the late 60s until the early 80s Colin Cook worked variously in the UK, including time in the London casts of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar between 1974-77 and in The Jealous Guys, a band largely made up of Australian expats.


 Single releases:

1 It’s Up To You/Just Another Rumour (W&G S 1550) 1962
2 Come On Back Baby/Crying Over You (W&G S 1619) 1963
3 Blues Over You/Come On Back Baby (W&G S 1701) 1963
4 Surfin’ Holiday/Heart (W&G S 1809) 1964
5 Sea Of Love/High School Romance (W&G S 1834) 1964
6 A Teenager Feels It Too/Put Me Down (W&G S 1939) 1964
7 My Gal/Handsome Guy (W&G S 2028) 1965
8 Blue Ribbon Baby/Heeby Jeebies (W&G S 2324) 1965
9 Funny/Stop Sneaking Around (W&G S 2406) 1965
10 Trying To Get To You/Well, Don’t You Know (W&G S 2466) 1965
11 Boppin’ The Blues/Hey Pretty Baby (W&G 2516) 1965
12 Foolish Little Boy/I Ain’t Got You (W&G S 2551) 1966
13 I’ll Always Be In Love With You/Wanted (W&G S 2699) 1966
14 So In Love/We’re Gonna Stand Up On The Mountain (In IN-S 8029) 1966
15 Pocketful Of Rainbows/Everybody’s Talking ‘Bout A Thing Called Love (Clarion MCK 1630) 1967
16 You Baby/Cry I Do (Clarion MCK 1914) 1967
17 Riot In Cell Block #9/I’ve Had My Moments (Clarion MCK 2261) 1968
18 Take Your Time Little Girl/Love 4 Living (Philips 6006 215) 1972

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.