QUASAR

Experimental rock, avant-prog band Quasar was formed in Brisbane in the mid 70s with brothers Trevor Tiplady on drums and Barry Tiplady on bass, Len Henderson on guitar, Colin Timms on trumpet and Garry Smith on keyboards. This lineup played two gigs at Sydney's renowned jazz club The Basement in 1976 and also supported Frank Zappa at his Brisbane concert. The band decided to move to Melbourne for an extended period leaving behind Timms who was still studying at the Queensland Conservatory of Music. Whilst in Melbourne they ventured west to Adelaide playing at various campuses plus the Tivoli Hotel and the Creole Room.

Moving back to Brisbane they reunited with Colin Timms who produced and arranged their first album 'Nebular Trajectory' in 1979 along with Howard Davidson. Garry Smith at this time had left the band but contributed one track on the album, ''Force Funk''. Business student Terry Humphries remembers ''I heard this amazing band called Quasar who were 5 piece at the time, including trumpet and keyboards. I was impressed not only with their experimental jazz rock style but the “rock band” Quasar that did covers of greats like Stevie Wonder to make a living. I must say still the best version of ''Superstition'' I have ever heard. I invited the guys to play for us at NRCAE (Southern Cross University) a couple of times and had used them too at Bruce Windows studio in Brisbane to do a demo tape for a young singer/songwriter. After that the boys told me of their desire to put out an album of their music. I applied for an Australia Council Grant to fund an album and was successful in getting the grant thus seeing the album 'Nebular Trajectory' being produced. ACR was my record label and I was very proud to be associated with such a talented and brave group of musicians''. 

The debut album by Quasar, now a three-piece, was limited to a very small pressing of only 500 copies. The album was very experimental with leanings to King Crimson, Stanley Clarke, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Their second album 'Man Coda' was released in 1981 with only a limited number of copies pressed. Again, produced by Colin Timms and Howard Davidson it was recorded direct to digital tape at the Conservatorium studios in Brisbane. After they disbanded, Barry Tiplady went to on to play with Tim Gaze in The Aussie Rebels and country band Ruckus, Len Henderson founded Binary Music in 1990 winning five Redland retail awards located in Cleveland QLD. Garry Smith became a respected music and advertising industry identity in Brisbane as a composer, producer, arranger and writer. Colin Timms became a composer and producer and a member of Redgum for a short time. 'Nebular Trajectory' was re-released in 2018 on Dutch label on MFSE.

Members

Len Henderson (guitar), Barry Tiplady (bass), Trevor Tiplady (drums), Garry Smith (keyboards), Colin Timms (trumpet)

ALBUMS
'Nebular Trajectory' 1979 ACR
'Man Coda' 1981 AIJA