Ronnie Burns - We Had A Good Thing Going

We Had A Good Thing Going/Can't You Feel/Fifi The Flea/Terrible Way You Treat Your Baby


Ronald "Ronnie" Leslie Burns (born 8 September 1946), AM is an Australian rock singer and guitarist. He fronted the Melbourne band The Flies in the early 1960s, followed by a solo career into the 1970s and was a member of Burns Cotton & Morris in the 1990s. He retired from performing in 2000. His solo hit single, "Smiley" peaked at number two on the Go-Set National Top 40 in 1970. On 10 June 2013 Burns was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia with the citation "For significant service to the community, particularly to children recovering from illness and trauma, and to the entertainment industry".

Ronnie Burns - 1968 - When I Was Six Years Old

When I Was Six Years Old/So Good Together/Can't Let Go/Monday Monday



As a solo artist, Burns became one of Australia's most popular male pop singers from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. His first single, "Very Last Day" was released in June 1966 on Spin Records and peaked at No. 12 on Melbourne's Top 40 singles chart. His second single, "True True Lovin" followed in August and reached No. 15. Go-Set published their inaugural pop poll on 5 October, Normie Rowe won 'Australian Male Vocal' of the year – he was later called 'King of Pop' – with Burns second and Johnny Young third. Also in October, Go-Set published Australia's first National Top 40 singles chart, Burns' third single, "Coalman", which was released in January 1967, peaked at No. 6. Another Top 20 single was "Exit, Stage Right" in June.

Burns had several minor national hits – "We Had a Good Thing Going" (October 1967), "When I Was Six Years Old" (March 1968), written for him by Brian Cadd and Max Ross of The Groop, and "Age of Consent" (January 1969), written by Terry Britten of The Twilights. Most of Burns' 1967 material was written by The Bee Gees, the tracks appeared on his first solo album Ronnie (Spin, July 1967).  

"Smiley", Burns' biggest hit, reached number two on the Go-Set National Top 40 in February 1970.
In the early 1970s, Burns had moved from pop to more adult contemporary music, he toured the club and cabaret circuit. Further Young-penned singles were "The Prophet" in January 1971 and "If I Die" in 1972. He appeared on variety TV shows including as a judge on Young Talent Time, where Maggie Burns was a choreographer. Burns' last single, "Brand New Number One" was released in 1980 on the Fable Records label.

 "When I Was Six Years Old" (March 1968), written for him by Brian Cadd and Max Ross of The Groop reached #30 on the Australian National charts. While in individual capital cities it made #37 Sydney, #19 Melbourne, #24 Brisbane, #38 Adelaide and  #42 Perth.

Ronnie Burns - Coalman

Coalman/Tophat/All The King's Horses/Butterfly


Ronnie Burns' third single, "Coalman", which was released in January 1967, peaked at No. 6 on the Go Set charts. It's B-side "All The King's Horses" charted as a flipside in Sydney.

Ronnie Burns - Smiley

Smiley/My Little Red Book/I'll Know What To Do/Jodie



Ronnie Burns is an Australian pop singer that first became famous in the mid-60s as the leader of popular group the Flies, who were the first long haired band in Australia and drew heavily on the Beatles. After leaving the group, Ronnie went on to become one of Australia's most popular pop singers from the mid 1960's to the mid 1970's. His song "Smiley" (#3 on the Australian charts in the winter of 1969-70), a song about a young man sent to the Vietnam war, has since become synonymous in Australia with that era and is a pop classic, while three of his other big hits - "Coalman", "Exit, Stage Right" and "All the King's Horses" - were written by the Bee Gees. His daughter, Lauren Burns, won a gold metal in Taekwondo in the 2000 Olympics. Burns currently lives with his wife in Tasmania. In 1998, they founded Appin Hall Children’s Foundation, a refuge for children with chronic illness and orphans of war.

Ronnie Burns - Exit Stage Right

Exit Stage Right/My Little Red Book/In The Morning/You Got To Hide You Love Away


"Exit Stage Right" became a national Top 20 hit, peaking at #19 at the end of July  "In The Morning" was the B-side. Both "My Little Red Book" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" were lifted from Ronnie's 1967 debut album "Ronnie"