Perth Rocks

50's & 60's Rock'n'Roll and Rockabilly dance, music and venues in Western Australia
Keeping WA Rockers informed, fit and healthy

"The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock And Roll" - Muddy Waters
"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'"- John Lennon
"Nothing against the Louvre. But you can't dance to DaVinci" - Stax Museum of American Soul Music
"You can stop the show, but you can't stop rock'n'roll" - Alan Freed
"You don't stop rockin' because you get old, you get old because you stop rockin'" variation from George Bernard Shaw
"A country man's song with a black man's rhythm" Carl Perkins description of Rockabilly music
"If there was rockabilly before Elvis, it wasn't like the rockabilly after Elvis" Craig Morrison

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Breaking News and Views

WHAT'S HOT AND WHAT'S NOT COLUMN Just watched The Boat that Rocked on Foxtell Box Office. It's based on the Rock'n'Roll  pirate radio boats off-shore in the UK in the mid 1960s. It's really uplifting and captures what it was all about. Well worth watching for anyone who loves Rock'n'roll and remembers the spirit of rebellion it embodied. Email from Fossil Rock: We'd like to thank everyone who supported the evening last Friday. It was a great night, terrific music and some great snapshots of Greg as a young muso. The  more recent video of Greg performing was very moving. We raised $2070 for The Leukaemia Foundation. Greg's family was very appreciative of the effort. Hope you all enjoyed the night. See New Articles Peter Andersen: Rockin' Perth for 40 years. Just up-loaded. Red Dusk Jewellery is moving back to Perth from Kalgoorlie for all fans of their great looking bustiers. See http://redduskjewellery.com/default.html or go to our "Gear" page.   Great photo of Marilyn and Ashley dancing on the front page of The Stirling Times this week. Hadn't realized we hadn't uploaded the New York 2009 page! Now uploaded for anyone who wants to see what we were up to, or for tips on visiting "The Big Apple". See our History of WA Rock'n'Roll page for archived articles on WA's Rock'n'Roll History.	Important Wintersun News: About 200 days to Wintersun and lots of things are happening! Wintersun Mildura will be an annual event every August (2010 will be 13th to 16th August). Wintersun Coolangatta/Tweed June 4 to 14, 2010. Dance Competition: May be running again in 2010. Dance Workshops: Any dance teachers who would like to be included in our dance workshop series are requested to email us. Car Entries: We are finalising a couple of new initiatives for our car entrants and hope to have entry forms available on line and by email toward the end of the month. Merchandise Sites: have been available for about 4 weeks. Competitions: It looks as if The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist search will be back together with a brand new any performer Tribute Show (band or solo) as long as it fits the Wintersun theme. Entertainment: We are planning the best line up ever for 2010 with some old favourites and new stars. Bands and performers should email an expression of interest now to be considered for Coolangatta & Mildura. Fundi Raising: Thanks to Geoff & the team at Gladstone who has come up with a fantastic fundraiser for Camp Quality and for Wintersun which hopes to involve dance clubs throughout the country, if you are in a dance club email me and I'll forward the details. Future: Good news continues in Coolangatta with more positive meetings with Gold Coast City Council finalising a three year agreement with Wintersun. Before Christmas we will also be visiting Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, Port Maquarie and other possible host sites. Email: info@wintersun.org.au   DANCE SCHOOLS BREAKING NEWS COLUMN See "Dance Schools" page for lesson details. This column only has "Breaking News" Wokalup classes email: Lessons resume on Tuesday the 10th of November at the Bunbury Rowing Club: 7pm revision, 7.30 beginners/ improvers 8.30 / 9 Cha cha & line dance.

 

New Articles:  responses, feedback, opinions welcome - perthrocks@optusnet.com.au. See Old News & Views page for archived articles. See our new WA Rock'n'Roll History page for archived articles. Popa Chubby and Galea article has been archived on New York 2009 page.     Peter Andersen: Rockin' Perth for more than 40 Years Peter Andersen and Dr Cecilia Netolicky Up-loaded 5th November 2009   Peter Andersen first heard guitar music at the Midland oval, which in those days had a concrete velodrome (push-bike race-track), which he used to frequent as his father was involved in the local cycling club. On occasion, there would be concerts at the oval. On one particular night, Tex Croft, a Country musician, was appearing. Tex let Peter run his fingers across the strings of his guitar. "It was the most magical sound I'd heard. From there I begged my father for a guitar, which he finally bought, and I was off to Billy Barnes School of Music". Peter was only about 10 at this time.  At age 11, Peter went with his parents to visit relations, on his father's side, in Brisbane. His uncle had a house just below the Cloudland Ballroom. One night Bill Hayley and the Comets were playing there. "The feel of that music had me hooked for life".  Peter began performing at 13. However, his first "serious gigs" were at 16 with The Rocketeers at a dance studio in Kings St. The band only lasted about three weeks, that's when Peter met Ken Mitchell.  A young Peter Andersen At 14, in 1959, Peter got a solo spot on Stairway to the Stars, on Channel 7. The Musical Director of Channel 7 virtually said, "don't give up your day job". Peter met that Director some years later in Adelaide, about 1975, where he reminded him what he'd said.  Peter worked in the automotive and rag trades briefly after leaving school, but all he wanted to do was play music. He's made his living as a musician his whole life, despite that initial discouragement.  Peter and Ken Mitchell formed a band called The Tornadoes. This band lasted only 12 months, but they played at The Embassy Ballroom. This was a huge achievement for local musicians, as The Embassy was regarded as a top venue for Rock'n'roll. Ken negotiated the gig through Colin Nichol. "Colin hadn't heard the band. He hired them off Ken's word. Ken was a good talker".  The Tornadoes made a self-funded recording about 1962. They recorded "Alone with the Blues" a song written by Ken Webster, the band's bass player. Colin played the record on radio 6KY, but it was never formally released.  Unfortunately the band broke up a week after recording was complete, over women issues, so the record never went anywhere. Peter plays guitar, saxophone, bass and drums, but he remains primarily a vocalist. He explained how he landed up playing such a wide variety of instruments:  In The Midnighters, Ken Mitchell was pianist, but when The Shadows hit the scene, he moved onto drums. On occasion, the band would still feature Ken on piano, then I would play drums (self taught).  Bass playing came about when I joined The Troupadors, and we were without a keyboard player. Therefore the bass player, Graham Flintoff, played keyboards, and I went onto bass.  The sax playing also started in The Troupadores. We were booked to open The Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore for 6 months (1971). However the agent had stated we had brass in the band. As I didn't like trumpet, I bought a cheap sax, and had three weeks to learn it. When we hit Singapore I could play two songs fluently, but there was more practice to come.  Playing with The Midnighters All the structured musical tuition Peter had, was those first few guitar lessons at Billy Barnes School of Music.  Peter joined The Troupadores in 1969 (they had been around since 1963). The Troupadores have continued to play professionally, now taking on mainly corporate gigs. Peter left The Troupadores because his "body couldn't handle the riggers of the road. They were always on the road. They played everywhere in Australia".  Interview with Peter Andersen 5th November 2009 Dr Cecilia Netolicky  What was it like playing at The Embassy Ballroom? Playing at The Embassy Ballroom was like the shows on TV and in the movies. There were screaming girls down the front. At one stage, I lost the sleeve off my shirt. The rest of the crowd was jiving and having an all round good time.  What were your other career highlights from those days? Some features, other than The Embassy, were appearing on shows brought to Perth staring American and Eastern states pop idols like Johnny O'Keefe, Dig Richards, Bobby Darin, The Everly Brothers, Col Joye and The Chessmen. At this time we were performing as The Midnighters. What do you think you did differently, that got you recognised? I believe showmanship gave me the edge over a lot of just singers, and I think humility and dedication to your audience is essential.  How was it going from being a big deal in Perth to trying to break-in in England? It was frustrating going from being a "big fish in a little pond", to a virtual unknown. I knew it would be hard. In London we worked as The Midnighters. We played gigs with some well-known local bands, such as, The Animals, while we were trying to get a recording out.  Why did you decide to go to England? We made the decision to go to England, rather than going over East, after talking to Johnny O'Keefe. He quoted "If you make it in Australia, you've still got to make it in England. But if you make it in England, the rest follows". It was good advice, but the doing was harder than the saying.  Do you regret going to England to give it a go? No. The experience gained by being where the whole world music scene was being generated from at the time was an experience you couldn't get anywhere else.  Do you have any regrets about getting involved in the music scene? Is there anything you would do differently with hindsight? No regrets at all. In this business there's a huge gap between making a lot of money, and just making a living. But, what it all comes down to is you've made a living doing something you love, and making a lot of people happy.  What were the significant changes you believe Rock'n'Roll contributed to music history? I think the start of the cross-rhythms between Country, Blues, up-tempo stuff and Big Band music gave Rock'n'Roll its unique feel.  Why do you think Rock'n'Roll music was portrayed as evil in the early days? I think it was a marketing strategy. It was cool to make it sinful. The "bad boy" image gave it an edge and made it seem different from what came before. The theory was, if the parents don't like it, the kids will love it. In Australia musicians and kids just believed what was said, Australia was just a clone of the USA in those days.  On reflection, who do you see as the significant History-makers of Rock'n'Roll? Bill Hayley, Elvis, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Big Joe Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. Who do you see as the local Rock'n'Roll History-makers? The lack of recording facilities made it hard here, but I'd say the pioneers were Les Dixon, Bill Blaine, Clive Higgins, Colin Nichol (who loved Rock'n'Roll and did everything he could to push it), Kelly Green, Clem Croft and, me of course.

We'd love to hear more stories of the era. That way we may slowly piece together a bit more of WA's rock'n'roll history. Send in your story, come and tell me your story and I'll write it up under dual authorship, or recommend musicians and participants who's knowledge can contribute to a richer picture of the Snake Pit days and the bodgies and widgies of the 50s and 60s era in WA.