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Bill Blaine: still Rockin' at
67
Bill Blaine and Dr
Cecilia Netolicky
Uploaded 11/7/09
Those of you who
grew up in the 1950s and 60s in Perth will remember Bill Blaine and
the Dynamics, a band that rocked Perth's teenage hang-outs and
featured on early Western Australian television. As stated by David Arys
and Shane Hughes
"Peter Andersen and the Tornadoes vied with Bill Blaine and the Dynamics
as Perth's top rock and roll band in the early sixties ..... Bill's
group dominated Teen Beat and the Coca Cola Hi Fi Club Hops".
 Bill
came from a musical family. His father sang opera. Bill's parents
bought him his first guitar in 1957 after Bill saw Rock Around the
Clock for the thirteenth time. Bill became an ardent Bill Haley
fan, learning to play his songs directly from records. All the young
musicians learnt new material by listening to records, then figuring
out how to play them. "Half time they sang the wrong words". They all
wanted to be playing the latest material, that's what you had to be
playing to interest the 50s and 60s teenage audience.
Bill's father
gave him significant support with his musical goals, driving him round
town to the various talent quests. In those days pensioner groups got
together and ran talent quests at big houses. If you won a talent
quest, you won two guineas (about $4.50), and with luck you'd be seen
by someone in the industry. It was good cheap entertainment for the
pensioners, and provided opportunity for local musicians.
The Wentworth
Hotel talent quest was a popular event. There was no seating, but the
place was jam-packed. Bill and his Dad entered the quest. His Dad sang
Danny Boy, he sang Your Cheating Heart and Have I
told you Lately that I Love You. Bill won. They went again the
next week. His Dad won, and he came second, but a guy with a band,
The Revuelettes, asked Bill to join his group. They were an
eclectic group. It was an awkward mix, one guy singing opera, and Bill
singing Rock round the Clock, backed by the drummer, but it was
a start.
In those days
bands were paid a couple of guineas each person per gig. The average
wage was about $16 per week. Everyone worked regular jobs and music
was a sideline.
Another place
many people started off was The Windmill, a coffee shop run by
Coral Gunning. She was in the entertainment industry. Bill played solo
there occasionally. Musos were paid one pound ($2) for an hour slot.
There was not a huge choice of venues for young artists at the time.
When performing
with Rolf Harris at Jazz Jazzeroo at the Perth zoo in 1960,
Rolf offered to set up an audition for Bill for Teenbeat, a
Channel 7 television program (Rolf was doing Relax with Rolf
for Channel 7). For the audition, Bill put together a rock'n'roll band
called Bill Blaine and the Dynamics. The band performed as the
backing band for the program from October 1960 to March 1961.
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Bill Blaine @ The Swan Yacht Club
Bill Blaine & the Dynamics
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Teenbeat
was a Western Australian show aimed at 14 and 17 year olds. There was no
live audience. The bands played no local material, all covers, the
audience wanted songs they knew and the latest material from the USA and
Britain. There were generally some dancers, four or five couples. The
studio was very small and the show of course was only black and white.
It was later replaced by Club 17 with Johnny Young and The
Strangers as house band.
The band was
offered the opportunity to play at the Coca Cola Hi Fi Club
Hops at the Embassy Ballroom (on William Street next to
Capital Theatre). The Club started in 1959 and folded in 1963. In the
early years between 1,000 and 2,000 teenagers attended these Saturday
afternoon dances. The band became known as The Coca Cola House Band.
This provided them with local standing, and, as a result, they were
offered opportunity to play as the support act for many visiting big
names, such as, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Lonnie Lee, Johnny
O'Keefe, Lucky Starr, Peter Allen, and many more. |
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The Coca
Cola Hi Fi Club was an international franchise. The Perth Coca
Cola Hi Fi Club, at The Embassy Ballroom, had a huge wooden
dance floor and no seating. It cost three shillings and six pence to get
in (about 70 cents). You had to be a member. Members had cards which
they got from the 6KY radio show. The local Hi Fi radio show ran
from 5 to 6pm five nights a week on 6KY. Every state club ran on the
same format. Johnny O'Keefe and the RJs were the House Band in
NSW; Col Joye and the Joye Boys in Victoria and The Penny
Rockets in South Australia. Those bands did guest appearances on the
Perth show.
Colin Nichol was a
radio announcer on 6KY. He was also President of the local Coca Cola
Hi Fi Club.
He would get copies of all the new international releases to play on the
show. Bill Blaine would go through the records and put aside what he
wanted to learn. The band would practice every Tuesday night and learn
the new material for the Saturday afternoon gig.
Colin Nichol was a
perfectionist. He insisted musicians wear a suit, white shirt and tie.
He moulded them: no smoking on stage; breaks no longer than 10 minutes;
and unless you were an established singer you couldn't get on stage. On
one occasion he had a challenge quest: Peter Andersen (came 3rd),
Johnny Young (came 2nd), Victor Ripley (came 1st).
The next week Peter and Johnny had bands up-and-going. |
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Bill believes the
advent of Canterbury Court Ballroom (about 1962/63) brought about
the demise of The Hi Fi Club. Canterbury Court featured
Ray Hoff and the Off Beats, a Sydney group. When The
Embassy Ballroom dances started, in 1960, The Hi Fi Club had
an attendance of about 1,000. By 1963 the dances started to wane in
popularity and when the Canterbury Court ran gigs at the same
time as The Hi Fi Club, the audience was split in two. Each gig
attracting about 150 teenagers. With those attendances, the dances were
no longer viable, and the Club folded.
From 1961 -1966,
Bill Blaine and The Dynamics also played before the movie and during
intermission every Sunday night at the Wirrina Drive-in in
Morley, "a hotspot for teenagers".
It was jam-packed. Most people remember the band from these gigs, and
The Hi Fi Club, and not so much Channel 7's Teenbeat, as not
many people had television in those days. |
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One Sunday night
Colin Nichol and Bill went to a film at the Drive-in. There was almost
no one at the movie and an empty restaurant with a stage up one end and
a guy playing piano accordion and singing opera in the intermission.
Bill describes himself as a "smart ass in those days". He was 20 years
old with a pretty good music career; they were the "top Rock'n'Roll Band
in WA". At interval Bill bought a drink and asked the guy if he wanted
to fill this place. He said, "yes". Bill said, "then hire us!". The
bloke rang Bill and said, "you mean what you said?". Bill said, "in a
week or two weeks we'll have the place packed". They were paid a guinea
each and played an hour before the show and the half hour interval.
Colin advertised the gig on radio. In two weeks they had to hire police
at the door to control traffic on Walter Road. The place was "chockers
and rockin'". That went from 1961 to 1966.
The Band broke up
in 1963, but used a variety of other musicians for the Sunday night gig.
The Drive-in put their pay up to $3 (one pound ten shillings) a night.
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Bill can't remember
there being live bands at The Snake Pit, only records. He
remembers it rather as "a little patio with no place to put a band".
Bill believes the
big thing that made that time was the advent of television with the
influence of international shows. He thinks The Beatles heralded
the end of the true Rock'n'Roll era.
For Bill's biography
see -
Bill Blaine's website:
http://www.billblaine.id.au/index_files/Page354.htm
References/Sources:
Interview with Bill Blaine 10/07/09
Bill Blaine-Biography (http://www.billblaine.id.au/index_files/Page354.htm)
Western Australian Snake Pit Rock'n'Roll
(Collector Records CLCD 4484)
Photographs sourced from artists collection and texts above. Photo "Bill
Blaine and the Dynamics" includes his first guitar with pick-up (1961).
He was 20 years old. Photo taken by Daily News.
Western Australian Snake Pit Rock'n'Roll (Collector Records CLCD
4484)
The Club had 15,000 teenage members in those days.
Bill Blaine's Biography, http://www.billblaine.id.au/index_files/Page354.htm |
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Les Meade: crooner,
entertainer, showman
Les
Meade and Dr Cecilia Netolicky
Uploaded 14/7/09
Les Meade's curriculum vitae would impress anyone
familiar with the early rock'n'roll scene in Australia. He appeared on many
of the nation's top television shows of the day: Brian Henderson's
National Bandstand, Johnny O'Keefe's Six O'Clock Rock, The Happy Go Lucky
Show, Teentime, The Brian Davies Show and The Mike Walsh Midday Show.
He also had a recording contract with Festival Recording Company and
was dubbed "Australia's Dean Martin". Rocky Thomas (A&R Manager, RCA
Records Australia), described him as "a blend of Dean Martin, Elvis
Presley and Jim Reeves".
In 1956 Les entered
and won three talent quests in succession at the Charles, Raffles and
Willagee Park Hotels. These successes kick-started his music career,
convincing him to give up his apprenticeship in electrical fitting. Les
says, "in the late 50s, at The Charles Hotel talent quest, on a Saturday
night, you'd run into everyone trying to break into show business". The
quest took place in The Rainbow Room. It was twice the size it is
today. There was a cash prize, and it was "good money". The Charles was the
most popular hotel then. It was central, and that worked for it. First
there'd be the House Band, The Silver Platters, and a bit of dancing,
followed by the talent quest. You had to win your heat, then your semi
final, and then the finals. So, you had to have a few good numbers to get to
the finals. It wasn't all Rock'n'Roll in those days: there was Pop and
Ballads as well. Les liked to sing Ballads. He describes himself as "a
crooner". He won the Charles Hotel talent quest singing Perry Como's hit
"Moon talk".
The Raffles also had talent quests in the 50s. It was
another place to make your mark in the music industry. It was a "pretty good
club, not exclusive, but well-run, with new decor" It didn't attract the
riffraff. |
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The Willagee Park
Hotel also had talent quests. They all ran on the same format, but the
Willagee was more for families. It was not a big venue, and only ran in
summer, as the talent quest was held in the beer garden.
Following these talent
quest successes Les began to pick up professional gigs around Perth, but
rather than places like The Snake Pit, Les was sought after for
events at Cottesloe Civic Centre; Embassy and Canterbury
Court Ballrooms; Government House; and Romano's and La
Tenda Night Clubs. He also featured frequently in Perth's first live
television variety shows In Perth Tonight and Spotlight.
Les discussed
appearing on Spotlight on Channel 7 in December 1959, "you were paid
four pound ten shillings. You performed one song. You had one run-through in
the afternoon, and then did it".
The turning point for Les came when he won the talent quest
at the Capitol Theatre run by 6KY, Coca Cola and Festival
Recording Company. Festival ran the quest to find a rock star
from Perth, however, they decided to award a contract to Les Meade, a
crooner. This was in 1959, and Les' contract required him to relocate to
Sydney.
Les
said there was no chance to "make it" in the music industry if you stayed in
Perth. You had to go "over East", or overseas. However going "over East" was
a shock. You went very quickly from being a "big fish in a
small pond, to being a very small fish in a very big pond".
Les had thought he'd do a couple of years in Sydney, "then
go out and conquer the world". His first show in Sydney was with Ricky May
and a juggling act, then Les closed the show. Ricky May was great! Les felt
intimidated following him, but Ricky was also impressed with Les. There were
so many good acts on the circuit - "acts as good as Tom Jones, Sinatra and
Presley, and yet they were still working the scene". Les began to feel it
was not what you could do, but who you knew. For instance, trying to get
your record played on radio was impossible, "it seemed to all be about
connections and payola".
Les recorded his first song with Festival as
contracted. However, that didn't involve getting it radio play-time. He did
get to meet John Laws, Bob Rogers, and Ken Sparkes, the top DJs of the day.
You had to have their support to get your record in the Top 40 Prediction
List, and then onto the Top 40. Cutting a record was great for
the ego, but where to from there?
Making it in Sydney didn't guarantee you'd make it
overseas. Some of the people who made the transition had family in the
entertainment industry, others, like Col Joye and Johnny O'Keefe never had
success overseas and repeated the pattern of WA musos heading East - the
big-fish-small-pond-syndrome. Olivia Newton John, Lana Cantrell and The BGs
are stand-outs who made a success of moving overseas. |
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Les made appearances on most of the top music and daytime
variety shows of the time. Being on TV brought instant recognition in the
50s and 60s. Even though only about 25% of people had TV in those days,
everyone watched TV. They'd go to town and watch in the windows of Boans
Department store, in Murray Street. They'd stand in the street outside the
shop window to watch their shows. TVs were on in shop windows all the time.
It became part of window dressing. It was a way to bring people in to look
at your other goods.
Les always performed as a solo artist. He's self taught,
he doesn't read or write music. He listened to songs, and memorised the
lyrics. He wrote them down, and used a tape recorder. He'd stop the tape and
write each line as he went along. He liked keeping up-to-date with new
material. He felt it was part of being in the business, giving people what
they were listening to, and what they wanted.
Listening to Les talk you become aware that he's not just a
singer, you'd have to call him an entertainer, or showman. To him it's about
the performance, giving the audience a whole experience, making them part of
the show, and most importantly, reading the audience, and adapting the show
to that particular audience. He says he sings "to people, not at them". He
walks into the audience, sits on women's laps, makes the audience feel
valued, flirts with the women in the audience ... whilst assuring the guys
they're "safe". You can see, listening to Les, that he believes people
leaving a show shouldn't just feel they heard good music, to him there's so
much more, there's the whole theatrical experience, the engagement and
interaction, of performers and audience.
Les penned a number of songs: "I Know Why", "Fickle Minded
Heart", and "Give, Give, Give", but he never performs his original material.
At 70, he remains a hard-working musician and promoter. He's currently
staging The Tristar Show, Reflections, Total Eclipse and
The Les Meade Solo Show. These shows provide opportunity for local
performers, and Perth Rock'n'Roll legends, to continue entertaining, whilst
keeping Rock'n'Roll music alive and in the public eye. |
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This is not a biography.
If you want to read Les' biography go to his website
www.lesmeade.com. This article documents Les' memories of working as a
musician in the 50's in Perth and later over East. |
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Les Dixon:
reputed to have formed
Perth's
first Rock'n'Roll
Band
Extracted from
Western Australian Snake Pit Rock'n'Roll (David Arys and Shane Hughes)
Uploaded 24/07/09
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In late 1956, 15 year old Les Dixon formed what was
possibly Perth's
first rock and roll band, the Saints. The line-up of the
Saints comprised Les (vocal/rhythm guitar), Johnny Agnew (lead
guitar), George Brunker (drums) and Ray Robbins (piano). The group
performed regularly at such venues as the Snake Pit at
Scarborough Beach, as well as Rick's
Barn in the city and Canterbury Court. They also did the
rounds
of smaller halls in Midland, Subiaco, and Cottesloe as well as
performing in country areas such as Bunbury and Kalgoorlie. Les even
remembers playing the week long Perth Royal Show, on a
ramshackle stage, tucked between a belly dancer and Rex the Wonder
horse.
In
late 1957 he entered and won Perth's
Elvis Presley competition.
The first prize was
the 'privilege'
of performing during the intermission of Loving You at Perth's
Royal Theatre.
George
Brunker appeared with him and together they bravely faced the
barrage of pennies thrown at them. In early 1958, Les traveled to
Sydney to enter Amateur Hour. On the show he performed
Long Tall Sally and, although popular with the audience, he
finished second to a classical pianist. Compere Terry Deare
described his effort as 'vocals
with gymnastics'.
While in Sydney, Les also sang with different bands at various town
hall dances. He stayed in Sydney for around three months before
parental pressure forced his return to Perth and studies.
With Les Dixon's
return, the band continued as before, playing very much the same
venues. In early 1959 the Saints split up. Ray Robbins,
disillusioned with the band's
lack of success, found a 'regular
job'
(although he would still be occasionally play with the Zodiac All
Stars) and George Brunker moved back to the east coast. Prior to
George Brunker leaving, he coerced Les into making an acetate
recording. The session was held with future Clarion label
owner Martin Clarke. The recording took place at Martin Clarke's
house in Mosman Park. Les did Giddy Up A Ding Dong, At The Hop,
Saints Rock and Roll and Endless Sleep. The personnel
on the session were Les (vocal/rhythm guitar), George Brunker
(drums), occasional Saints saxophonist Jimmy Cook, as well as an
unknown lead guitarist and a middle aged lady on piano. As far as
Les can remember Martin Clarke organized the piano and lead guitar.
In
early 1959, Les Dixon joined the band as additional vocalist. As Les
recalls, one afternoon he and Saints band mate Johnny Agnew heard a
new group were playing at the Bamboo nightclub in Bentley. The band,
of course, was
The
Zodiacs. Impressed by the rocking sounds, Les and Johnny soon
gravitated to Daisy's
florist. With their arrival the band
'modestly'
renamed themselves Clive Higgins and The Zodiac All-Stars
featuring Les Dixon. The All-Stars consisted of Clive,
Les (Vocals/rhythm guitar), Brian, Tommy, Johnny Agnew (lead guitar)
and Jimmy Cook on saxophone.
Toward
the end of 1959, The Zodiac All-Stars
decided to cut an acetate recording. One of the main reasons, given
by both Clive and Les, was to hand out to the girls during shows.
Entering the Bale Sound Studio in Cremorne Arcade, Hay
Street, Perth, The
Zodiacs recorded four tracks. The Bale
Studio
was basically one small room, with a sound booth. There was one
microphone to record the band, while another mike was fed into an
empty office next door for echo. The tracks recorded were an
original number by Les, Stingy Mingy Mama (written for a
'mean'
girlfriend), as well as a flat out version of At the Hop with
wild piano courtesy of Brian and two numbers, Hold Me
Tight and Danny Boy with Clive on vocals. The personnel
on the session were Clive (vocal/rhythm guitar), Les (vocal/rhythm
guitar), Johnny Agnew (lead guitar), Brian Prior (piano), Tommy
Menzel (drums) and Peter Fairbrother (saxophone). The band sent
copies of the acetate to Festival records, but nothing eventuated.
The
beginning of 1960 saw many changes to
The
Zodiac All-Stars.
Les Dixon left the group for a more regular source of income.
Recently married Les decided to play and sing for show bands like
the Norman Wrightson Dance Band, before starting his own show
band, The
Aristo-Cats, in1961. |
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Clive Higgins and The Zodiac All-Stars
Extracted from
Western Australian Snake Pit Rock'n'Roll (David Arys and Shane Hughes)
Uploaded 29/07/09
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Clive Higgins was born in 1937. With his family, Clive moved
to Perth from Malaya in 1957. In mid 1958, while studying at Leederville
TAFE, he was roped by some mates into trying out for a band being formed by
Tommy Menzel and Brian Prior. Up until this time Clive had only
'thumped'
his guitar around the house.
The newly formed Clive Higgins and
The
Zodiacs, with Clive on vocals and rhythm guitar, Brian on piano and
Tommy on drums, started to slowly build up a repertoire, which at first
consisted mainly of Elvis songs. The band practiced regularly in the back
room of Tommy's
mum's
florist shop -
Daisy's
florist in Subiaco. Encouraged by the number of teenagers who showed up at
the bands rehearsal, Daisy Menzel decided to organize The Zodiacs
first regular dance at the R.S.L. Hall in Subiaco on Saturday afternoons.
The dance started to attract larger crowds every Saturday and soon Daisy and
The
Zodiacs realized a larger venue would be needed. The band was still
playing as a three piece, and was on the look out for a regular lead
guitarist. The Zodiacs were also playing other venues in Perth,
including the YAL Hall on Irwin Street.
In early 1959, Les Dixon joined the band as additional
vocalist. As Les recalls, one afternoon he and Saints band mate Johnny Agnew
heard a new group were playing at the Bamboo nightclub in Bentley. The band,
of course, was
The
Zodiacs. Impressed by the rocking sounds, Les and Johnny soon gravitated
to Daisy's
florist. With their arrival the band
'modestly'
renamed themselves Clive Higgins and The Zodiac All-Stars
featuring Les Dixon. The All-Stars consisted of Clive, Les
(Vocals/rhythm guitar), Brian, Tommy, Johnny Agnew (lead guitar) and Jimmy
Cook on saxophone.
With Daisy Menzel acting as group manager, the band moved the
dance to the Maylands town hall and received sponsorship from Coca Cola
bottlers. By mid-1959
The
Zodiac All-Stars were established as Perth's
best rock and roll act and the Maylands dance was an important part of the
bodgie and widgie scene. The band had also met up with popular 6KY DJ Colin
Nichol and used him as a source of material. Also through Colin they made
semi regular performances at the Coca Cola Hi FI Club Hops at the
Embassy ballroom. The dance was run by Colin Nichol (who was also the club's
president). The Hi Fi Club boasted around 25,000 members, 2,000 of
which would attend the weekly dance.
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Clive
The Band |
Toward the end of 1959, The Zodiac All-Stars
decided to cut an acetate recording. One of the main reasons, given by both
Clive and Les, was to hand out to the girls during shows. Entering the
Bale Sound Studio in Cremorne Arcade, Hay Street, Perth,
The
Zodiacs recorded four tracks. The Bale
Studio
was basically one small room, with a sound booth. There was one
microphone to record the band, while another mike was fed into an empty
office next door for echo. The tracks recorded were an original number by
Les, Stingy Mingy Mama (written for a
'mean'
girlfriend), as well as a flat out version of At the Hop with wild
piano courtesy of Brian and two numbers, Hold Me Tight and
Danny Boy with Clive on vocals. The personnel on the session were Clive
(vocal/rhythm guitar), Les (vocal/rhythm guitar), Johnny Agnew (lead
guitar), Brian Prior (piano), Tommy Menzel (drums) and Peter Fairbrother
(saxophone). The band sent copies of the acetate to Festival records, but
nothing eventuated.
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The beginning of 1960 saw many changes to
The
Zodiac All-Stars.
Les Dixon left the group for a more regular source of income. Recently
married Les decided to play and sing for show bands like the Norman
Wrightson Dance Band, before starting his own show band,
The
Aristo-Cats, in1961. John Agnew left shortly afterwards and Jimmy
McRoberts joined as The
Zodiacs new lead guitarist.
Channel
7 was launching a local teen based music show to compete with 6
o'clock
Rock on the
ABC and Clive Higgins had been approached by Channel 7 promotions man
Bob McGuire to see if The
Zodiacs would be interested. After the producers, Brian Williams and
Coralee Condon caught The
Zodiac All-Stars
act they were signed as the show's
house band. The show, originally titled Rock At 5:50 but renamed
Teen Beat, started February 27th 1960. Sponsored by
Coca Cola, the show aired Saturday afternoon at 5:50 and ran for a
half hour. Teen Beat's
original compere was David Farr. The format of the show was based on its
ABC rival. There were two guest artists per episode, both performing two
songs live to air. The house band would provide three or four numbers a
show with vocal backing provided by
The
Rhythmaires. The guest artists would be chosen early in the week and
would have to come to the Channel 7 studios by 10 o'clock
Saturday morning to rehearse the numbers with the band. |
The Rhythmaires |
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Memories
of an Era: Perth in the Late 50s and Early 60s
Ron
Spargo, Carol Spargo, Don Baker and Dr Cecilia Netolicky
Uploaded 5/8/09
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A lot of people went
into town to The Embassy Ballroom in those days. You weren't
allowed to jive on Friday, or Saturday, night. The policy was 50%
modern, 50% old time dancing. In the 50s,
"modern"
meant quick step, foxtrot or the modern waltz. Staff who worked for
The Ballroom "wanted
to keep it nice, so jiving wasn't
allowed". Staff policed the dancers. You'd
be asked to, "quick-step
only please".
The
Ballroom
was always packed. "It
was standing room only". There were tables and chairs and
"loges".
These were alcoves with lounges. Dress code was jacket and slacks for
blokes, on Saturday night they always wore a tie. Women really dressed
up, generally with below-the-knee dresses and high-heeled-pointy-toe
dancing shoes. The way you dressed in those days generally determined
the kind of partner you attracted. Down at The Snake Pit most of
them wore tight black jeans and desert boots, but as Carol remarked,
"I
wasn't
allowed to wear desert boots, because my parents thought
'nice
girls'
didn't
wear them". |
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The last
few dances of the night were usually waltzes. The blokes saw this as
"warming
up to take the ladies home". The slow dances generally started, at
least, at the second last dance. This gave you a few slow ones with the
same girl. You generally tried to find out where the girls lived before
you made plans for afterwards. If the girl lived too far, you didn't
ask her home, as most didn't
have cars.
The
dances closed at 1am for a Ball, or midnight for a Dance. But, street
lights were turned off at 1am, or 1.30am, and buses stopped running at
11.30pm or 11.45pm, so you may have to walk a long way home if you
missed the last bus, and you may be walking on unlit streets.
You
could only get your license at 18, so the younger kids bused into
dances. Also most of the girls didn't
have cars. It was safe on public transport in those days, and safe to go
home with blokes you'd
just met. Most people had Ford Prefects, little Morrises, Anglias, Holdens or Vauxhalls, there were no big
American cars.
Pubs
closed at 9pm, so some of the older dancers only came to the dances at
9pm. No alcohol was allowed at The Embassy Ballroom or
Canterbury Court. After the dances, kids often headed to
"Burnie's", "Cookie's", "The
Fox Hole" or "The
Bright Spot".
Canterbury Court
was really good fun on Wednesday nights. You'd
meet all your friends there. Saturday night they often went to
Subiaco Town Hall or The Embassy Ballroom. Canterbury
Court was more "with
it". You could jive there, and "more
interesting fellows went there", according to Carol.
There
were two groups of kids: the
"Ivy
Leaguers" and the "Bodgies
and Widgies", or, you could say the Richie-Cunningham and Fonzarelli
types. Perth's "Fonzarelli"
was Andy Andros. He was the key figure down at The Snake Pit in
Scarborough. He was like "the
boss" of the Bodgies. The Ivy Leaguers "never
wore desert boots with pink shoe laces", but they did wear jeans and
desert boots. They'd
take them into work and change before they went out at night. But when
they went to The Embassy Ballroom, or Canterbury Court,
they always dressed smartly and neatly.
While
Ron's
folks listened to Bing Crosby, they tolerated him listening to rock'n'roll
because they believed it was a just passing fad. Carol was allowed to go
down to the Snake Pit. She used to hang over the edge and watch
the dancers. Her family lived in Mt Lawley in those days and it was a
direct bus trip down to Scarborough Beach. The family used to go there
on hot nights, as there was no air-conditioning. They'd
take a picnic and stay down there in summer till 9pm when the
temperature cooled down.
Fights
were generally fist fights, and the smart kids kept out of them. Perth,
in those days, was safe. You could travel on public transport and feel
safe. You could go out with someone you only met that night, and not
have to worry.
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Clive Higgins
and the Zodiac All-Stars: making it in Perth's early Rock'n'Roll scene
Clive
Higgins and Dr Cecilia Netolicky Uploaded: 9/8/09 |
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Clive grew up in Malaysia and Singapore. He came to Western Australia as
a young adult in 1957, just as Rock'n'Roll was taking off here. He'd
travelled to Perth to study Accounting at TAFE, but got side-tracked by
the phenomenon of Rock'n'Roll.
Clive had grown up with classical music, learning piano as a child, but
the energy, rhythm and drive of early Rock'n'Roll music grabbed him. He
describes Rock'n'Roll as "the music of my generation". "The musicians of
the day, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, all put a different
spin on Rock'n'Roll. They all had their distinctive styles, doing the
same stuff, but in very different ways". Clive saw the music itself as
quite simple, "almost like nursery rhymes", but "it was the way the
early artists interpreted it, that made it special".
On
arriving in Perth, Clive went to Musgroves in Barrack Street to
buy a guitar and record player. A friend taught him some basic chords
and he started "learning by ear". "The music was very basic in those
days, and the lyrics were simple. If you could play three or four chords
on a guitar, you could play a lot of Rock'n'Roll".
The musical instruments available for Rock'n'Roll in those days "were
very primitive". Generally they were cheap imports from the USA, or
England. Few were made locally, and the guitars were all semi-acoustic.
There was also very little around in the way of amplifiers.
Purvisonic Sound built an amp for their band. "It was large, it had
to be, because it was all valves, not transistors. It weighed a tonne.
It took four of us to lift it. It was about three metres long. It was
good for the period, but not great quality by way of sound, and that
amplifier was just for the guitars. We hired speakers and microphones
for the vocals. The whole system was huge and you didn't have 'roadies'
then. You had to cart and set-up your own gear".
In
the beginning they were a three piece band: Clive Higgins (rhythm
guitar/vocals), Tommy Menzel (drums) and Brian Prior (piano). They'd get
together in Daisy's Florist Shop. Daisy was their Business Manager. She
was also Tommy Menzel's mother. They'd get there at mid-day, listen to
records and jam-it-up at back of florist shop until late at night.
In
time, the band expanded to include: Clive, Brian, Tommy, Les Dixon
(vocals/rhythm guitar), Johnny Agnew (lead guitar) and Jimmy Cook
(saxophone). They called themselves The Zodiac All-Stars. (For
more of the band's history see "Clive
Higgins and The Zodiac All-Stars", extracted from Western
Australian Snake Pit Rock'n'Roll by David Arys and Shane Hughes).
Many of the musicians of the day began their careers in the local talent
quests. The Zodiacs All-Stars however were proactive, they
started their own dances, hiring halls for their "Hops".
Colin Nichol, from radio 6PM, did a lot of plugging for their dances
and compared their shows. There was no charge for plugging their Hops.
Colin was the "hot-shot" of time. He was the local radio
presenter supporting Rock'n'Roll. Daisy, Tommy's mother, sold tickets
for 2/- (about 20c) at the door. During the breaks they'd play records
from a record player hooked into their sound system.
They also did occasional gigs at The Coca Cola HiFi Club at
The Embassy Ballroom. The HiFi Club ran all afternoon on a
Saturday. It attracted young people from 15 to 20. Colin Nichol was the
President of The HiFi Club. The Club had strong teenage
support with 2,000 teenagers reportedly attending dances.
The Zodiac All-Stars
dances were successful, largely because they were one of the only bands
going at the time with regular gigs. The fans would be screaming and
yelling. They'd come up to get their autograph. "It was good for the
ego". There'd be "a wall of girls right against the stage screaming
their lungs out, reaching out, and putting lipstick on our shoes (they
wore white shoes in those days)". The band had a fan club. Fans would
flock around them as they walked down Hay Street in those days.
The band got a break with Channel 7's Teen Beat in 1960.
They became the House Band for the show for six months. Teen Beat
was on round 5 or 6pm on Saturday. It was a half hour show. On the show
they did all covers. There was a select group of jivers as "audience".
There'd be about 12 couples. The show was all done live. They'd go in
around 11am and practice with the artists performing in show, then do
their own practice. They generally did their own make-up. Occasionally
there was a make-up lady. The makeup "was Maxfactor's pancake
makeup. At the end of the show your clothes were covered in it".
Unlike many of the Rock'n'Roll musicians of the period, for four years,
Clive made his living solely from his music. Then he joined the public
service and moved to Canberra. He continued performing until 1993. In
1998 Clive's contribution to Western Australian Rock'n'Roll was
acknowledged when he was awarded the Rock'n'Roll Dance Industry Award
(See image).
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Clive as a young man
Clive's Dance Industry Award |
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Colin Nichol: Perth's
Father of Rock'n'Roll
Colin
Nichol and Dr Cecilia Netolicky
Up-loaded 11/08/2009
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1955 heralded a critical change in music, it was the
beginning of a distinct era. In Perth that change came a little
later, in 1957. In those days,
"there was a
lag, trends hit the USA and Britain, then reached Sydney and
Melbourne, and still later, arrived in Perth".
Colin Nichol's
radio career began
"on the cusp
of the change".
A new music was being forged. It was to become the music that
defined a generation. It was wild, unruly, exciting, and rebellious.
It deliberately broke with tradition, creating a rift between
generations. It was the first music that defined an age-set,
fracturing it from its predecessors. It became a sub-culture,
incorporating more than the music. It included styles of speech, new
terms, fashion, hairstyles, automobiles, and the dance trends of the
group of young people who became known as
"teenagers".
Some
people say Colin Nichol introduced Rock'n'Roll to Perth. He began
working at 6PM, in June 1957, at the age of 20. At the start, he
played anything from late 19th century operettas, to the popular
music of the day, such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Doris Day,
Frankie Lane and Glen Miller,
"a
real mixture".
In 1957 Colin played
"the
odd Rock'n'Roll
record".
"There
weren't
many around then".
However, within a year, things changed. |
Colin in his HiFi Club jacket |
Colin
worked at 6PM Perth from 1957 to 1960. During that time he developed a
close relationship with the record companies. This facilitated the early
acquisition of new releases. He discussed overseas trends with the
record companies, and read Cashbox and Billboard
magazines, to see what was happening abroad. Colin became the local
'man
in the know',
when it came to Rock'n'Roll.
In those days, listeners would write to the radio station making
requests, and those listeners started to request Rock'n'Roll.
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In
the late 1950s the recording studios were very basic. Radio
commercials were on a record, or read live.
"When you recorded, a
commercial, or wanted something to be kept for semi-permanent use,
you used a large device called an acetate cutting machine". At the
time, all programs were compiled by the station librarian according
to station policy, except for specialized programs, and programs by
request, such as Housewives Choice, and teenage programs.
These programs followed more relaxed formulae - chatting to
listeners, reading their requests and playing old scratchy 78
records. In between on-air shifts, disc-jockeys were asked to write
advertising copy. It was a 9 to 5 job, and the station could
allocate any fill-in tasks, while they were not on-air.
In
1959 the Coca Cola Bottlers Company in WA contacted Colin
about a club for teenagers centred in New York City. Coca Cola
approached a leading disc-jockey in an area, and facilitated the
setting up of a club under that person. They head-hunted Colin for
the Perth Club. Running The Coca Cola Bottlers HiFi Club
involved presenting the Club's radio programs, and organizing
occasional events. The disc-jockey was sent regular shipments of
disks from New York, ahead of their Australian release date, thereby
assuring their programs had the most up-to-date material. Coca
Cola used its contacts, and influence, to get hold of the latest
releases.
Coca
Cola
had a bottling company here in Perth. They shipped in the
secret-formula-syrup from the factory in Atlanta, Georgia. The water
and sugar were added here, prior to bottling. The secret of the
syrup's formula has always been a closely guarded secret. This added
to the mystique of Coca Cola. At the HiFi Club hops
they "only sold Coke and Schweppes (the other brand
the local Coke representative bottled). You could only get
those drinks and there was no food". |
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Hansen-Rubenson McCann-Erickson
of Madison Avenue, New York City, was the advertising company
employed to promote Coca Cola. They developed some very astute
strategies for promoting the product to this new market sector with cash
to spend, "teenagers". In this era Coca Cola became the major
sponsor of teenager-targeted events, such as, dances, radio shows and
talent quests. Their product and logo were ever-present. Without their
support many of these events wouldn't have got off the ground, however
through this sponsorship they modified the modus operandi of a
generation, influencing their drink of choice, and encouraging the
consumption of high-sugar-content drinks. It was an insidious, and
highly successful, campaign and succeeded in changing the dietary habits
of following generations.
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Every
week, or so, the HiFi Club disk-jockeys received a package
through the post from Hansen-Rubenson McCann-Erickson
containing LP disks with sound effects (such as a crazy clock,
noises, and other sound effects), amusing jokes and jingles. These
were all used to make the radio shows more interesting, and were
unique to HiFi Club shows.
"These
add-ons made their radio programs fascinating to listen to".
In
this package Hansen-Rubenson McCann-Erickson also distributed
12 inch vinyl disks to the various club Presidents (Colin was
President of the Perth HiFi Club). These disks contained
interviews with famous stars. The disks only had the answers to the
questions. There was a blank segment on the disk for the local radio
presenter to read the question. This gave the feel of the famous
artist being interviewed live by the local radio personality. It
provided a feel of celebrity and local content, and added interest,
to the shows. |
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This was something other programs couldn't compete with,
as Coca Cola had a massive network of contacts, and vast cash
resources to sink into the project. As a result, the HiFi radio
shows became the most popular local shows - they were exciting, featured
interviews with the teenagers'
favourite stars, and fore-grounded a
local radio personality. Through these shows'
advertisements, and
promotions, Coca Cola's products were able to be marketed
directly to teenagers.
| "The Hops were popular because there was nowhere for
teenagers to go.
[The drinking age was 21.]
Pubs might have had a
duo, trio or soloist, performer, but it was small scale. There were
not enough venues for artists. There was nowhere for them to
appear". Through the HiFi Club Colin ran regular talent
quests. This provided opportunity for young musicians to get a
start. Many local legends such as Johnny Young and Peter Andersen
began their Rock'n'Roll career at these talent quests.
The HiFi Club
radio shows ran: Sunday at 10.30 am, Wednesday 5.30 to 6pm, and Friday
5.30 to 6pm. The shows also included interviews with local bands and
visiting artists. The HiFi Presidents also compered events with
visiting artists at the local Ballrooms, and other venues.
"In Perth,
the HiFi Club Hops expanded from the Embassy Ballroom to
regional areas. We took it to the audience. It was a huge exercise. We
had a massive sound system built by Bob Purvis of Purvisonic Sound.
We also used Purvisonic's broadcast van for airport interviews to
welcome visiting stars. These visits were promoted on radio so fans
could be there live at the interview. The interview was put to air
later". In this way, Club members got to feel they were
'in the know'.
They could keep up with the latest action just by listening in. They
could be there, and feature in events, as radio and TV stations reported
on the arrival, in Perth, of national and international stars. For
instance, Cliff Richard and the Shadows came to Perth in the
early 1960s. "They didn't even have a proper vehicle to transport him
in, so I used a friend's father's Jag to pick him up".
Coca Cola
strongly emphasised that events
"had to be clean
- no fights, no immoral
goings on, clean living - that was the image of Coke. No smoking
on stage and the performers had to dress properly". Andy Andros and his
mates (from The Snake Pit) used to help keep order at the Hops. |
Colin at The HiFi Club |
The HiFi Club
started in the USA about two years earlier than in Perth. Perth's club
started "in 1960 and ran to February 1963" when Colin left Australia. It
moved from Radio 6PM-AM with Colin when he shifted to Radio 6KY-NA in
1961. Perth's club was
"the last HiFi Club standing". All the
others had folded, but Coca Cola kept it going just for the Perth Club.
Interview
with Colin Nichol
What was
the price of a Coke in those days?
About 6
pence. "The price of a
coke in 1959 was 5 cents" (WikiAnswers
http://wiki.answers.com/)
Why do
you think the Club achieved such popularity? Would the same sort of
thing succeed today?
It was an exciting radio program introducing the stars of
the era. It drew on the creation of
"the teenager"
as an entity
(teenagers, as a defined group, didn't exist before then). It provided
opportunity to meet people. It was very social. It attracted huge
crowds. I don't know how many romances I was responsible for indirectly.
There was a hesitancy of some parents to let kids go. Some kids didn't
tell their parents where they were going. Some parents thought it was
okay if they went in groups.
How much
input did Coca Cola have? Were the Clubs clones, or was there
opportunity for Clubs to adapt to their members?
It was largely up to the President to develop the Club
according to the situation. They varied. We sent back tapes to show what
we were doing. We had own approach. I just did what I do. As something
appeared to be a logical follow-on I'd do it. So it grew.
Did the
local Club evolve into more than you originally expected?
Yes. The framework stayed the same. The structure was set
up around the radio program, variations
occurred through events run by
the Club. The radio show was it, the Hops were tacked on. The role of
President was not clear-cut. I got involved in talent searching, seeking
venues, rehearsing and training singers and bands, and advising on
singing and staging. Live dances and shows were tacked-on to the HiFi
Club. We'd run our own functions.
What were
the highlights of the era?
In 1957 Elvis got here. Then Rock Around the Clock
and Blackboard Jungle. These were seminal to whole story of
Rock'n'Roll.
How much
a part of your life, at the time, was the
HiFi Club?
It suffused my whole life. I had to be careful taking
back streets, because I had to be careful about being followed. I had to
move home a couple of times.
What was
the high point of the era for you?
Going away with that accumulation of experience behind
me. Standing on stage
in
a theatre full of people, over a 1,000
people, at the Capital Theatre. Going to DJ conventions to Hayman
Island and Terrigal. Flying back on a charted aircraft from Sydney with
no one on board except The Everly Brothers, Crash Craddock, Bobby Rydell,
Buddy Holly's group The Crickets, their managers and me.
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What do
you see as the legacy of the early 50s/late 60s Rock'n'Roll era?
It was a transition period. It set us up sociologically
for what followed. More than chronology, the development from
"no jiving
in the Ballroom", to the extremes of dance and behaviour we see today,
began in that period and permeated to every home in WA. From the music
point of view, it put a lot of performers on their feet, and gave them a
start, and an
artistic outlet they had not had before. The constrained atmosphere in
which people lived in 50s was a shell, they had to crack it, and break
out. It was a very confining atmosphere. There were lots of conventions
that were unrealistic and governed our lives. These had to be swept away.
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Colin Nichol's Dance Industry
Award |
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How
Something got into the Water
and WA's
Rock'n'Roll
Past
Colin Nichol (23/04/08)
up-loaded 24/08/2009
The recent ground-breaking and exciting doco-film
"Something
in the Water"
directed by Aidan O'Bryan,
working from the Mt Lawley WBMC studios, explores the current and
recent popular Perth music scene, endeavours to explain why Perth
has produced so much music talent
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and has triggered this reaction.
Much popular culture memory these days seems to stretch back about
ten or fifteen years:
'The
good old days',
to the younger generations. But there are still those who can recall
when the Beatles started and a few has-beens around whose memory is
insufficiently unimpaired to be able to recall what was going on
even before the Swinging Sixties.
It was only recently I felt the need to check I was still extant
when I discovered I had became the subject of an exhibition at Perth's
HM Theatre Museum of Performing Arts and accept I was being put in
my place, or at least in my era. In a museum indeed! Perhaps I
should take the hint, accept my designation as a part of faded
history and withdraw from protesting my common complaint that our
pop music culture did not start with the pub and club scene of the
Seventies, much less in subsequent decades, not even back in the
Sixties, but in the Fifties.
Even the Beatles' beginnings can be traced back as far as 1957 to
John Lennon's
band The Quarry Men. On a local level, while Rolf Harris'
first hit song Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport was released here in 1960,
just making it as a Sixties hit, he first came up with it in 1957.
His was our first great success, recorded at Channel Seven.
Both Rolf and WA-raised
Johnny Young appear in 'Something in the Water' but none of their
predecessors gets a mention, despite my urgings to the documentary's
producers at the time. They had good reason
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go back that far and it's
hard to know where to begin; only so much could be covered or even
discovered and majority public interest is in the colourful current
scene and its immediate origins, not in the black and white past of
the Fifties. Furthermore there is no film, Channel Seven archives of
the time are landfill and there are few tangible souvenirs left,
other than a few old rockers.
There were, after all, as many as 20 groups and artists on our Perth
scene from about 1955, when the likes of Bill Haley and Elvis
Presley burst onto the world scene. The list of international names
of that period is too long to quote in full, other than to note it
included the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and the
Crickets, Duane Eddy, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bobby Darin,
Jerry Lee Lewis, Ricky Nelson, Cliff Richard, Brenda Lee, Billy
Fury, Bobby Rydell, Eddie Cochran, The Big Bopper, Connie Francis,
Tommy Steele, Neil Sedaka
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names and songs many associate with the Sixties but which originated
in the previous five or so years.
We weren't
likely to see them here at the time except on film and our isolation
was omnipresent, so we made our own music and often copied the
originals, along with our own material. Early national stars of the
Fifties included Col Joye, Johnny O'Keefe,
Dig Richards, Frankie Davidson and Lonnie Lee along with a growing
list of performers who achieved record success in the face of the
power of overseas artists.
Meanwhile at age 18 Martin Clarke was recording local singers in his
Mosman Park home from 1958 and the Perth group scene was already
lively. This was the prelude to his forming Clarion Records in 1962
with studios in North Fremantle and then Hay Street Perth. It was
Clarke and Clarion that later gave Johnny Young his first hit record
in 1966, as well as success to many others. Bob Purvis of Purvisonic
Sound provided the most advanced audio of world standard for our
events from the late Fifties onwards. Many world-famous singers and
groups later used his facilities at Perth appearances.
The advent of television, notably Channel Seven, opened new
opportunities and the teenage programme Club 17-teen on Channel
Seven was a Sixties sensation. Its less well-remembered predecessor
in the Fifties, however, was Teen Beat, for which I provided early
artists and running schedule. Those artists had first appeared and
'auditioned'
on my Hi Fi Club
'hops'
at the Embassy Ballroom in central Perth and shows at Canterbury
Court Ballroom and the Pagoda Ballroom, as well as suburban and
country venues. Coral Gunning's large Windmill Tea Rooms on Hay
Street was a popular venue as well as the early hotel circuit.
The careers of many bands and artists from our suburbs were boosted
at these shows, amongst others Bill Blaine and the Dynamics; Les
Meade; the Hi-Five; the Silver Platters; Joy Mulligan; Tex Croft;
Clem Croft with the Recordites; the Revuelettes with Bill Harris,
John Gianetti, Roland Akari and Bill Blaine; the Rhythmaires; the
DeKroo Brothers; Clive Higgins and the Zodiac All-Stars; the
Malayanaires and probably our first rock group, Les Dixon and the
Saints. Just into the Sixties, along came Noelene Batley; Brian
Davies; Paul Gadenne; Pam Bradley; Janice George and a flood of
others.
As one who was there, I can't restrain the urge to gently remind the
present generation that while so much of the nostalgic pop music of
today was certainly generated in the phenomenal Sixties decade of
more than forty years ago, it may come as a surprise to many as to
how much was going on in the five or so years before. And Perth was
no exception, despite its population being barely a quarter of what
it is now. The scene was creative and fun, of good standard
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and everywhere.
So that justly praised documentary, although exhilarating to myself
and plainly to others, judging by its excited reception, tells only
a part of the story and does not fully explain
'how
something got in the water'
in the first place, to create the environment that breeds so many
talented and successful rock performers of the current era. It was
the accumulation of the energy of the Fifties pioneers of Perth pop
that set the scene, casting a potion into the well of musical
inspiration.
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Kelly Green:
our Rock'n'Roll Cinderella
Dr Cecilia Netolicky
(All material from an
interview with Kelly Green 31/08/2009. Pictures from Kelly Green's
collection)
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What an
incredible story, and it's not make-believe. It doesn't happen in
real life, or just maybe, sometimes it does. Kelly Green (real name,
Elaine Sherratt) was born in England in 1947 into a musical family.
Her father played guitar in a band, her mother had a great Peggy-Lee
style voice and occasionally sang with the band. Kelly's father
played Gypsy and Country and Western music. In the house she'd hear
Peggy Lee, Doris Day, Julie London, and Katheryn Grayson. One of the
first songs she sung was "Only Make Believe", a Katheryn Grayson
tune from the musical Showboat. Kelly has three sisters. Her
older sisters were twins. They were also local performers. Kelly
migrated to NSW, from England, with her mother and sisters in 1956.
Her father had come out two years earlier.
Kelly's father
created figures for Royal Doulton. As he was one of their
last remaining artists, his figures have become collectors' pieces.
The family moved to Perth around 1957, when he began working for
Brisbane and Wunderlich.
On moving to
Perth, Kelly went Rosalie Primary School, followed by Hollywood High
School. As was common in those days, she left school at 14 seeking
employment. She secured work in a deli in Shenton Park. In those
days "you handed your pay over to your parents, and they gave you a
bit back as pocket money". |
Kelly featured on the cover of
Local Scene |
Kelly used to go to Canterbury Court and Fiesta Theatre
(in Scarborough) with her older sisters. Her sisters performed at both
venues. Her mother would ask them to take her with them. The places were
packed with bodgies and widgies, "they were all the go at the time".
Kelly's sister went out with Andy Andros, "the Boss" at the Snake Pit
and the reputed head of the bodgies. Her twin went out with Rocky.
Talent scouts used to come to these venues.
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On one occasion a talent scout asked the twins if anyone else in the
family sang. The twins suggested Kelly. Kelly sang "Just the Way You
Look Tonight". She wasn't nervous as she regularly saw her family
performing. The talent scout suggested she get a tape made ("in those
days it was all reel to reel") and a photograph, and send them into
Bandstand. The scout suggested she may need to change her name to
something more catching. He came up with Kelly Green. Her father's band
backed her. They recorded the tape in their lounge room, and sent it to
Brian Henderson's Bandstand in Sydney.
Nothing happened for 12 months. They forgot about it. Kelly did a few
gigs with her sisters, and did some stuff with Pam Bradley, Peter
Andersen, Paul Hermitage and The Times at Fiesta Theatre.
Fiesta brought acts over from the East. Here Kelly met Barry
Stanton. He was the first big star she met.
Kelly attended an audition at Channel 7. Max Bostock was in charge then
(1960s). They liked her, but said "you probably need to get training
because your English accent comes out in your singing", so she didn't
get selected.
Not long after, a telegram came to the house. It had an air ticket in
it. The telegram said she was booked on Bandstand, and the ticket
was for Sydney. Her father was very supportive, even though she had just
turned 15. Her mother was hesitant. Kelly talked to her boss at the
deli, and he said, "go for it". Her father organized for her to stay
with friends in Sydney. This was her first plane trip. She had come out
from England by boat, and had come across from Sydney on the
Australia, a cargo ship. She had to change planes in Adelaide and
missed the connecting flight. There was a misunderstanding. She had to
pick up her ongoing ticket in Adelaide. When she told them her name,
they said there was no reservation in that name. By the time they worked
out the ticket was booked under her pseudonym, "Kelly Green", the plane
was taxiing out. So, she had to stay in Adelaide that night. She was
terrified, and wouldn't leave her hotel room. It was a massive adventure
for a 15 year old. It must have taken a lot of courage to make that
journey, leaving her family and friends behind.
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Dance poster for Pagoda Ballroom with Bill Blaine &
the Dynamics, Pam Bradley, Clive Higgins & The Zodiacs (with Les
Dixon), Les Meade, Kelly Green & Coupe de Ville,
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Ian Turpie met her in Sydney and took her straight to the studio. There
they recorded the backing tape, and picked the songs and keys for her
first performance. They selected "Little Miss Lonely" and "Vacation" as
her first numbers, then sent her off to her new home to learn the words.
"You had a week to learn them. It was all mimed. They laid-down the
backing first, then the vocals, then you'd go in and mime".
Kelly's first appearance on Channel 9's Bandstand was about 1962.
They rotated people between Bandstand and Sing, Sing, Sing,
Johnny O'Keefe's show on Channel 7. (Bandstand started about
1961, Sing, Sing, Sing started shortly after.) "You did mini tours
with different bands in between appearances". Kelly toured with Billy
Thorpe and The Aztecs, The Bee Gees, Digger Revel, Lonnie
Lee, Laurel Lee and others. "The boys used to get up to all sorts of
things. But they took the women 'under their wing' and protected and
nurtured them on tour".
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Kelly's record "Little Girl Lost"
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The songs they performed were generally on the hit parade. It was very
American oriented. The female performers were allocated songs made
popular by female singers. For instance, Caroline Young used to do
"Let's have a Party" as she had a Wanda Jackson type voice, Kelly was
generally picked for Dusty Springfield, Patsy Cline or Connie Francis
songs. "The shows were themed, and they picked songs they thought suited
your voice. Girls were expected to wear pretty dresses and look sexy".
Barry Stanton saw Kelly perform on Bandstand. He remembered they
had met at Fiesta Theatre in Perth. He rang Kelly at the studio
and asked, "do you remember me". He offered to pick her up for coffee.
They eventually married and had two children. Being pregnant ended her
career in Sydney. You didn't perform heavily pregnant in those days.
Kelly returned to Perth in 1965 with her young son, pregnant with her
second child, and with her marriage over.
Columbia Broadcasting
Systems (CBS),
including the Australian Record Company (ARC), was one of the two
largest broadcasters in radio and television in the United States in the
20th Century. CBS recognised Kelly's ability and asked her to
record with them. She was the first female to be signed to CBS.
Most of her numbers were written by Sven Liebaek and his wife Lolita
Rivero. Lolita wrote the lyrics. One of her songs, "Tell me that you
Love me too?", was written by her husband, Barry Stanton, another was a
translation of a Spanish song "Love me with all your Heart". Kelly cut
three singles: "I'll never be the Same" and "Little Girl Lost"; "Love me
with all your Heart" and "So What?"; and "Do You?" and "Tell me that you
Love me too". On television, artists generally performed covers, but
Kelly got to perform three of her own numbers: "I'll Never be the Same",
"So What" and "Do You". "I'll Never be the Same" made it into the
"Predicted Top 40" list.
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Top 40
poster featuring Kelly Green. Her song "I'll Never be the Same" was
19 on the Predicted Top 40. |
When you cut a record the recording companies made arrangements for you
to meet the DJs. "But, there were so many young bands. You needed drive
and confidence to market yourself, or a good manager. It wasn't enough
to be a good performer. You had to be able to sell yourself to the DJs,
to coax them into giving you air-time. Some of the more confident guys,
like Billy Thorpe and Johnny Devlin, were better at this".
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Cutting a record in the early 1960s was quite simple. You went into the
studio. "You did it all together with the whole band. There were not
many takes, two or three at the most. Most of people who did recordings
were professional musicians, so it worked out".
There were dozens of women who were regulars on Bandstand. "You
were paid for a performance. You got a cheque in the mail". Kelly just
worked at her music career, she didn't have another job. "You didn't
make much money, just enough to get by". There wasn't the pill at that
time, and if you got pregnant, that was the end of your career".
Kelly continued with her career in Perth running a theatre restaurant
and performing. When Kelly came back to Perth no one seemed to mind her
English accent anymore, because she'd "made it" in Sydney. In those days
you had to "make it" over East, or overseas, to get any recognition.
Kelly was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Council of Western
Australia's Hall of Fame, as was Bill Blaine, Clive Higgins, Colin
Nichol, Rick Selby and Pam Bradley. Kelly is a clear example of what is
possible with a little initiative, drive and considerable courage. Not
many 15 year olds would have the gumption to undertake the journey she
made. Some might see it as glamorous, but it was hard work. To maintain
your self esteem in the music industry with a fickle public, swaying
with each new trend, takes staying power, and commitment. Kelly has
continued to work in the industry. Talking to her, it's apparent it was
not always the easy path. At times, she battled financially, struggling
with the dual role of single parent, and professional. However, as is
apparent when conversing with her, adversity only made her stronger. She
is an awe-inspiring woman.
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Kelly's recording contract with CBS
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Interview with Kelly
Green
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What do you see as
Rock'n'Roll's legacy? What has it contributed to the way things are now?
I think because of the age we are now in, people are reverting to the
music and dancing of that era. Shows like Dancing with Stars and
So You Think You Can Dance have revived an interest in dancing.
If you're into dancing, modern music isn't suitable ... maybe that's
what's turning people back to the music of the 50s and 60s.
What special moments
do you cherish from those days?
Growing up in a musical family gave me my career, and the chance to do
what I did. I was supported. I had a natural talent I got from my
family. The early Rock'n'Roll musicians had no qualifications, we felt
it, and the music was happy. I got the opportunity to go to Sydney.
Nowadays you couldn't get in the door. I grew up in that era when people
had to go over East, or overseas, to become a star. When you came back you
were Perth's young girl making good, before that they didn't want to
know who you were. I've been lucky, I've been able to stay in the same
business all my life - performing in all different areas. There'll come
a time when it'll disappear. For many of the young people at that time,
they got big too quickly. They were very popular, but there was not much
money associated with fame. Then no one wanted you. Coming down a peg
was hard. Some didn't adapt well.
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Australia's Early Rock'n'Roll
Legends |
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Peter
Andersen: Rockin' Perth for more than 40 Years
Peter Andersen and Dr
Cecilia Netolicky
Up-loaded 5th
November 2009
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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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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.
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