Easybeats (Official Thread)

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Re: Easybeats appreciation thread



From Wikipedia ...

The Easybeats were a rock and roll band from Australia. They formed in Sydney in late 1964 and split at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single "Friday on My Mind". The Easybeats manager was former Sydney real estate agent, Mike Vaughan.

The band's line-up exemplified the influence of post-war migration on Australian society. All five founding members were from families who had migrated to Australia from Europe: lead singer Stevie Wright and drummer Gordon Henry "Snowy" Fleet were from England; rhythm guitarist George Young was from Scotland; lead guitarist Harry Vanda and bassist Dick Diamonde were from the Netherlands.

History

Early career

Beginning their career in Sydney in late 1964, the band was inspired by the "British Invasion" spearheaded by The Beatles. They quickly rose to become one of the most popular groups in the city. They were signed to a production contract with Albert Productions, one of Australia's first independent production companies. It was established by Ted Albert, whose family owned J. Albert & Sons, one of Australia's oldest and largest music publishing companies.

Albert then signed the band to a recording contract with EMI's Parlophone label, and they began a meteoric rise to national stardom. By the end of 1965 they were the most popular and successful pop band in Australia, and their concerts and public appearances were regularly marked by intense fan hysteria which was very similar to 'Beatlemania' and which was soon dubbed 'Easyfever'. Stevie Wright's charisma and energy (including 'mod' dancing and onstage backflips) were matched with strong songwriting.
Rise to success

During 1965 and early 1966 they released a string of hit singles, all co-written by Young and Wright, including "For My Woman" (#5), "She's So Fine" (#1), "Wedding Ring" (#6), "Sad and Lonely and Blue", "Easy as Can Be", "Women (Make You Feel Alright)" (#1), "In My Book", "Come and See Her" (#1), "I'll Make You Happy" (#1), and "Sorry" (#4), and all produced by Ted Albert. In addition, the Wright-Young songwriting team wrote a number of hits for other artists, including "Step Back", which became a #1 hit for Johnny Young (no relation) in 1966.

In early 1966, while the group were still touring Australia, manager, Mike Vaughan, flew to New York to attempt to secure an American recording contract for the band. After initial lack of interest, on the last scheduled day of his visit Vaughan was able to convince United Artists Records to sign The Easybeats. Ten days of negotiations resulted in a groundbreaking five-year contract for overseas releases.

Just before relocating to London in late 1966, they recorded a farewell TV show, The Coca Cola Special, regarded as one of the prime artefacts of Sixties Australian pop TV. The show had a tragic postscript, however - after taping the special, guitarist Harry Vanda returned home in the early hours of 4 July 1966 to discover that his wife Pam had taken her own life with an overdose of sleeping tablets. Despite this, the group was obliged to honour their overseas commitments; the grief-stricken Vanda had to send his young son to be cared for by his parents in The Netherlands and the group left for the UK on 10 July 1966.

They briefly stopped over in Perth, Western Australia but a planned farewell performance on a temporary stage set up on the tarmac at Perth Airport had to be cancelled amid chaotic scenes, with 4000 fans breaking through barriers and storming the runway. A bomb threat then forced the group to evacuate the plane, and they had to be smuggled out the emergency exit into a catering van and driven to the end of the runway, where they hid for half an hour until they were able to rejoin the plane.

London: 1966-1969

Friday on My MindAfter arriving in London the band recorded a number of songs with Ted Albert at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, but these were deemed unsuitable by UA and Albert was removed as producer. The band were then teamed with freelance producer Shel Talmy, who had achieved great success with his production for The Who and The Kinks.

One of the tracks they recorded with Talmy became their first big international hit, "Friday On My Mind". It made #1 in Australia, #6 in the UK, #16 in the US, and the Top 10 in Germany, Holland, France and Italy, eventually selling over one million copies worldwide, and being awarded a gold disc. In 1973 David Bowie covered the song on his Pin Ups album, and in 1977 the punk band London introduced the song to a new generation on a four-track EP for MCA Records; the London version, produced by Simon Napier-Bell, was actually recorded in the same studio (IBC Studios in Portland Place) in which the Easybeats had cut the original.

Vanda-Young songwriting partnership

The song also marked the end of the Wright-Young partnership. With Dutch Vanda now having mastered English, he replaced Wright as Young's songwriting partner from this point on. They toured Europe with The Rolling Stones and the United States. After a triumphant homecoming tour of Australia in mid-1967, original drummer Snowy Fleet left the band, unhappy at the amount of time he had to spend away from his wife and young children. After extensive auditions in London he was replaced by Tony Cahill, formerly of the Purple Hearts, but in the interim several recordings (including "Good Times") were cut with session drummer, Glaswegian Freddie Smith (who'd played with George Young's older brother Alex Young aka George Alexander of Grapefruit fame in Bobby Patrick & The Big Six). The group spent the remainder of their career based in London.

Two of their songs, "Bring a Little Lovin'" and "Come In, You'll Get Pneumonia", were covered by Los Bravos and Paul Revere and the Raiders, respectively. "Good Times" and "Falling Off The Edge Of The World" were minor hits in the United States. However their career soon stalled due to poor management, problems with radio airplay (one single, "Heaven and Hell", was banned by US radio because of a mild sexual reference, and likely the title) and lack of record company support.

A 1967 album intended as the follow-up the success of "Friday", produced by Glyn Johns, was recorded and prepared for issue but was never released because of the band's complicated financial and contractual problems. One of the songs recorded for the LP, "Good Times" was released as a single; when broadcast on BBC radio it was reputedly heard by Paul McCartney on his car radio; McCartney apparently rang the station immediately to request a repeat playing.[citation needed] The song featured Steve Marriott of The Small Faces on backing vocals and the late Nicky Hopkins on piano.

A cover version of "Good Times" by INXS and Jimmy Barnes became a #47 hit in the US after being featured on the soundtrack of the film The Lost Boys in 1987 and a #2 in Australia as well the previous year, becoming the biggest selling single on Mushroom Records.


 
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billyshears

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Re: Easybeats appreciation thread

Australia's greatest rock n' roll band

ST LOUIS

Australia's greatest rock n' roll song - It swaggers, it sways, what a top vocal from Stevie Wright.
 
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Prime

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Re: Easybeats appreciation thread

Decided to look these guys up, gotta say, I really like this. It fits with a lot of music I currently listen to.

 
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