Various Aussie Artists - Seventies Downunder Volume 1, Raven Records (1991)

(Various Australian Artists 1970-75)

A continuation of Raven’s overview of the formative years of one of the world’s most highly acclaimed musical forces – Oz Rock. This volume, dealing with the first half of the 1970s, brings together 19 exceptional performances – not novelty chart hits but bands and records of credibility and consequence – Chain, Healing Force, Daddy Cool, Jeff St John & Copperwine, Spectrum, Country Radio, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, Axiom, Blackfeather, La De Das, Carson, Skyhooks, AC/DC and others. With an extensively annotated colour booklet, this is one of Raven’s most impressive and essential releases.

Liner Notes (by Glenn A Baker)

The infectious insanity which began with The Beatles just couldn't last. lt wasn't allowed to. The established order of the music industry had been bowled-for-six in 1964, and for three years, rock music galloped unfettered, unashamedly innocent, naive and enjoyable. But by 1967 the 'moguls' of showbiz raised their ugly heads and the adrenalin ride was over. The clumsy but sympathetic rock TV shows were castrated, radio banished the last traces of raw R&B rock from the airwaves and, in a final blow, record companies, managers and promoters bought sufficient consolidated pressure to bear on groups to make them follow a new version of the established order.

The screaming died because the fun died, music took upon itself a dreaded element of seriousness. Records were no longer made for fun, those few groups not dumped by their record companies saw recording as a 'new art'. The age of psychedelic and progressive music was upon us and under those labels was created some of the most intelligently complex and, alternatively, appallingly self-indulgent music imaginable.

The entire fabric of 'fandom' had undergone drastic change as well. Fans were split into two camps: teenyboppers and 'heads'. The boppers supported The New Dream, Zoot and bubblegum, while the heads (prodominatly male) got off on a level of musical snobbery, which decreed that the universe revolved around a stoned, hirsute guitarist gazing at his sandalled feet during a twenty minute solo. The newly emerged drug culture can be held responsible for the latter group ('mind expansion' failed because of the poor quality of raw material it had to work upon).

The change in Australian music and society between 1967 and 1970 was drastic and severe. Music moved out of Melbourne's (the new pop capital) steamy discos into Sydney's thriving dances and finalty on to open acreage. We intently watched Monterey and Woodstock and then (following a fine tradition of aping the rest of the world) tried rock festivals ourselves. Off we trooped to Ourimbah, covering ourselves with flowers and professing undying love for fellow man. A few years later we tired of sitting in muddy fields dodging beer cans and gave the whole thing up as a bad joke.

Protest went down much the same path, as the fine and just cause of anti-war activity became little more

than a trendy 'be-in'. We didn't change the world much, as hard as we tried.

The music made in this country after the end of the 60s certainly reflected the indulgence and the uncertainty but some of it also, as the selections herein doth attest, began to display a startling innovation born of both isolation and the distillation of myriad influences. This collection picks up the story of Oz Rock from 1970 and takes us through its final half-decade in the international wilderness.
From 1975 on, thanks to Little River Band, Rick Springfield, AC/DC, John Paul Young and others (and to a change in focus from England to America), it was no longer a one-off or fluke to have Australian music on the charts of the world.

Assembled here is a breathtaking array of styles - soul, blues, country-rock, heavy metal, rock'n'roll, progressive hippy rock, unashamedly commercial pop and more. If you listen carefully enough you can discern a thread running through it all - a thread that inevitably led up to Men At Work, Split Enz, Cold Chisel and INXS. After this period though, Oz Rock was a little more calculated, a little less starry-eyed.

Now, for those interested in details.....

Max Merritt & The Meteors

Beloved soul/r&b masters Max Merritt & the Meteors had been in Australia (from NZ) for five years before scoring their first national hit, with a storming version of The Impressions' U.S. charter, "Western Union Man", from their self-titled top ten album. By this stage, Max was the only Kiwi still on board, the other slots being filled by rotund drummer Stewie Spears, bassist Yuk Harrison and saxophonist Bob Bertles. By the mid 70s, Max was recording in England for Arista and had scored a number one hit in Australia with "Slipping Away".

Jeff St. John & Copperwine

The soaring, soulful voice of Jeff St John had first been heard in 1967 when The Id made top ten with "Big Time Operator". By the end of that year he was recording with the unsuccessful Yama and, in 1969, returned to the airwaves as leader of Copperwine, a sturdy outfit comprising of Harry Brus, Barry Kelly, Peter Figures, Ross East and fellow vocalist Wendy Saddington. This cover of the Rotary

Connection's "Teach Me How To Fly" reached top twenty in Sydney in January 1971, by which time Saddington had split. A year later, Jeff did the same thing and Copperwine recorded under their own steam.

Axiom

With Glenn Shorrock from the Twilights, Brian Cadd and Don Mudie from the Groop, Chris Stockleigh from Cam-pact and Don Lebler from the Avengers, Axiom was fairly hailed as Australia's first 'Supergroup'. After cracking the top ten first out in late 1969 with "Arkansas Grass", the unit made top five in April 1970 with Cadd's hymn to his newborn daughter, "A Litte Ray Of Sunshine". 

Although they turned out a superlative album with 'Fools Gold' and then left to work in Britain, the momentum (to say nothing of the artistry) evaporated and disbandment occurred in March 1971. A few years later, Shorrock was leading the Little River Band.

Daddy Cool

Like Shorrock, Ross Wilson is an incredible survivor, his chart career beginning in 1965 with the Pink Finks and continuing to this day with Mondo Rock and solo ventures. Daddy Cool, the merging of the Party Machine and the Rondells, took shape in the first half of 1970 as a rollicking, good- time band amid a sea of hairy heavyweights. Mixing covers of obscure, vintage r&r and r&b with clever appealing originals, Daddy Cool offered a joyous celebration of rock'n'roll which took them to number one for eight weeks with their debut single, "Eagle Rock".

Carson

Carson, formed in 1970 as Carson County, deftly cashed in on the Canned Heat boogie climate to become rock festival staples. By 1972, when "Boogie" became a top thirty hit, the lineup included vocalist Broderick Smith, guitarist Greg Lawrie, Healing Force pianist Mal Logan and Chain bassist Barry Sullivan. After a chart album with 'Blown', Carson dissolved, early in 1973.

Spectrum

Some months before Ross Wilson got his new band to number one, his Party Machine partner Mike Rudd had already done just that with the bluesy, shuffling, "l'll Be Gone". Spectrum did not enjoy any further singles success but did make a series of albums which are amongst the most adventurous 'art rock' works to come out of Australia, Rudd later led Ariel and the Heaters.

Healing Force

The airy, seductive "Golden Miles" was the only hit for the band which formed in Adelaide late in 1970 (at the hands of Twilights drummer Laurie Pryor) and always seemed a shadowy, semi- permanent entity. Signed to the same label as Daddy Cool (Sparmac), Healing Force recorded no albums and had a sole hit. Vocalist Charlie Tumahai turned up in England in 1975 as a member of Be Bop Deluxe.

Blackfeather

Like Golden Miles, "Seasons of Change" was an intriguing, compelling piece, though in this case the inspiration seemed to be the gothic/medieval oveltones favoured by the British progressive/heavy metal bands of the day. Written by Blackfeathers's resident guitar wizard, John Robinson, for Bon Scott's Adelaide band Fraternity, it proved to be a far bigger hit for its originators.

The highlight cut from the 1971 album 'Mountains of Madness', it was sung with great power and distinction by Neale Johns.

Masters' Apprentices

"Because I Love You" was the peak of the writing and conceptual prowess of Masters' Apprentices guitarist Doug Ford and vocalist Jim Keays, who, with bassist Glenn Wheatley and drummer Colin Burgess, had given yet another dimension to one of the most venerable names in Oz Rock history. Recorded at Abbey Road Studio 2 in London (at the same time John Lennon was recording Working Class Hero in Studio 1), this splendid, shifting piece, with predominating acoustic guitar, became a hit all over again at the end of the 80s when it was rerecorded and reissued after being used in a television commercial.

The Zoot

Like many bubblegum bands trapped by a profitable image, Thc Zoot had a heavyweight heart just begging to be exposed. Their crashing, thunderous treatment of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" was as impressive as it was unexpected and gave them their only top five hit, at the beginning of 1971 .

This unit proved to be a useful stepping stone - guitarist Rick Springfield was in the U.S. charts as a sole heartthrob a year later, bassist Beeb Birtles followed him there in 1976 as a member of Little River Band, vocalist Daryl Cotton recorded Stateside with Cotton, Lloyd & Christian, and drummer Rick Brewer was at number one on the Austalian charts in 1977 as a member of the Ferrets.

Chain

A tad heavier and immeasurably more credible was the grunting, grinding Chain and their 1971 Melbourne number one, "Black And Blue". Formed in 1967 and originally featuring the mighty Wendy Saddington, Chain hit its commercial stride in 1970 with the compact lineup of vocalist Matt Taylor, guitarist Phil Manning, drummer Barry Harvey and bassist Barry Sullivan. There seems to have been, on and off, in some format or another, a version of Chain in operation ever since, rendering the name synonymous with quality rock blues.

La De Das

The La De Das had as many musical lives as the Masters Apprentices. Beginning life in New Zealand as a down-down-under Blues Magoos in the mid 60s, they ended up as a high-powered Sydney-based hard rock quartet (then trio) in the early 70s, led by guitar hero Kevin Borich. A major concert and festival drawcard, they enjoyed only occasional radio support; the strongest being for the elastic, athletic "Gonna See My Baby Tonight", which made top ten in November 1971.

Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs

By 1972, rock chameleon Billy Thorpe probably thought that his popchart topping days were over. By then he was a wild rock warrior - pony tail flying, vocal chords quavering, decibels mounting. There was a new Aztecs and a new attitude but Thorpie could never suppress his inherent commerciality. Even a humorous piece of self-deprecation like "Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)" was able to strike a responsive chord with the crowds.

Country Radio

Greg Quill was a writer for Go-Set magazine who happened to possess as much talent as most of the people he wrote about. A quality folk/country singer-songwriter, he recorded an album for EMI ('Fleetwood Plain') before signing up with Festival as Country Radio. 

Although members came and went with peak hour railway frequency, the band managed to score a substantial hit in August 1972with its second single, "Gypsy Queen", written by Greg and guitarist KerrynTolhurst. A 'live' studio album fared reasonably well but by the end of 1973 it was all over. Greg cut an impressive solo album, 'The Outlaw's Reply', before moving to Toronto, Canada, where a full circle turned and he became a leading rock journalist.

The Dingoes

Canada also proved to be a receptive market for the band Broderick Smith formed after Carson. The Dingoes, featuring Chris Stockleigh from Axiom and Kerryn Tolhurst from Country Radio, played a meaty version of country-rock overlaid with a blues sensibility. After a top thirty 1974 hit with the evocative "Way Out West", they headed way up north and spent most of the next five years flogging themselves across North America seeking a big break that sadly never came.

Matt Taylor

Uncompromising white bluesman MattTaylor recorded three solo albums for Mushroom Records between 1973 and 1975, one of which ('Straight As A Die'), sold almost as well as his Chain album. Originally not on his LP (but later added to CD reissues as a bonus track) the sprightly and disarmingly honest "I Remember When I Was Young", gave him a top thirty Melbourne hit.

Stevie Wright

When Vanda & Young returned from Britain in 1973, their first project was to restore the chart prominence of their Easybeats comrade Stevie Wright, a vocalist who had been asked to front Mott The Hoople. In 1974, they appeared live with him at the Sydney Opera House and wrote/produced the extraordinary epic "Evie", the only 11 minute plus single to go to number one anywhere in the world.

This renewed association lasted for three hits and two fine albums.

Skyhooks

Australian rock has given us few finer experiences than Skyhooks, an underground-cult politico Carlton rabble which tore the country apart with a glam rock parody built upon pithy, smart-arse lyrics that provided a long overdue observation of the contemporary Australian experience. No kangaroos or elderly emus but dreary Melbourne suburbs and unrestrained adolescent lust. "Living ln The Seventies", the title track to the band's debut album (which instantly became the biggest domestic selling Australian album in history) is as close to an anthem as we had in that era.

ACDC

And talking about anthems.....Like the resuscitation of Stevie Wright, the rise of hard rock powerhouse AC/DC was the work of Vanda & Young, who shaped the raw energy of the young band to fill an international vacuum they were convinced existed. The double-punch of Bon Scott's leering, lascivious and decidedly tongue-in-cheek vocal assault and Angus Young's brash, exuberantand bluesy guitar work proved irresistible in a country where no-frills working-class rock'n'roll had ahrvays been warmly embraced. "It's A Long Way To The Top" was AC/DCs third hit, reaching the top five at the end of 1975.

This post consists of FLACs ripped from CD and includes full album artwork.  In my opinion, this is one of the best Aussie Rock compilations from the Seventies.  It should also be noted that Raven's follow up release was titled "Do Y'self A Favour! The Countdown Years 1975-79 (Seventies Downunder Vol. 2) which was released in 1993.  

Track Listing:

1. WESTERN UNION MAN – Max Merritt & the Meteors

2. TEACH ME HOW TO FLY – Jeff St John & Copperwine

3. A LITTLE RAY OF SUNSHINE – Axiom

4. EAGLE ROCK – Daddy Cool

5. BOOGIE PART I – Carson

6. I’LL BE GONE – Spectrum

7. GOLDEN MILES – Healing Force

8. SEASONS OF CHANGE – Blackfeather

9. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU – The Master’s Apprentices

10. ELEANOR RIGBY – The Zoot

11. BLACK AND BLUE – Chain

12. GONNA SEE MY BABY TONIGHT – La De Das

13. MOST PEOPLE I KNOW, THINK THAT I'M CRAZY - Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs

14. GYPSY QUEEN – Country Radio

15. WAY OUT WEST – The Dingoes

16. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS YOUNG – Matt Taylor

17. EVIE PART 2 – Stevie Wright

18. LIVING IN THE 70’s – Skyhooks

19. IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP – AC/DC

Seventies Downunder Vol 1 Link (466Mb) New LInk 17/05/2026

Healing Force: Golden Miles - The Healing Force Collection

(Australian 1970 - 1973)
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The legendary Healing Force was something of a 'supergroup', and its history intersects with several other important bands of the period, notably King Harvest and Friends. They made only one single, but it is still widely regarded as one of the flagship Australian progressive rock releases of the early '70s. All the members had a wealth of experience - Pryor had been the drummer in the The Twilights; Charlie was from Nova Express; Logan was from The Rebels and Wells had been a member of Perth's prog-rock pioneers Bakery.

The first lineup formed late in 1970 and began playing in Adelaide over the '70/'71 Christmas period. They played at several early rock festivals including Launching Place. In April 1971, they signed with Robie Porter's new Sparmac label. Midway through 1971, they expanded to a five piece with the addition of John Pugh (ex-18th Century Quartet) on guitar.

In July, they released their brilliant single. The 'A' side, "Golden Miles", by Lindsay Wells, is one of the most admired Australian progressive rock recordings of the period, and indeed rock historian Ian McFarlane named his magazine after it and rates as the best Australian progressive recording of the era. It was deservedly successful and spent nineteen weeks in the Melbourne charts, barely missing out on entering the Top 30. It features rippling Hammond organ by Logan with a beautiful melody line and a dramatic chorus, highlighted by the soaring vocals of the late, great Charlie Tumahai. The flip-side, another Lindsay Wells composition, was heavier but almost as good. It has never been commercially released but it has been included on the first CD in the trade-only CD-R compilation series Obscured But Unscarred. Just before the single hit the charts, Charlie quit to join Chain and the group returned to a four piece. Pryor left soon after and was replaced by Joe Tattersall (ex-Barrelhouse), but then Lindsay also left and the band fizzled out.

In November 1972, Healing Force reformed with Logan, Pryor and Pugh, plus newcomers Gus Feniwck (bass) and Mal Capewell (ex-Company Caine) on reeds. This version performed at the Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1973, with Charlie rejoining especially for the show. One track from their set, "Erection", was included on the Mushroom Records Sunbury '73 album. They disbanded shortly afterwards, during preparations for a planned LP, leaving their considerable promise sadly unfulfilled.

After Healing Force:

- Mal Logan had a short stint in The Dingoes, filling in for Chris Stockley during his enforced absence from the band (he had been shot and wounded at a party in late 1973), after which he joined The Renee Geyer Band.

Joe Tattersal spent some time with Ayers Rock and later joined Stylus;

Gus Fenwick played with the Bootleg Family Band

Mal Capewell joined Chain and also played with a later lineup of Company Caine

Tumahai and Logan both joined the short lived Alta Mira in 1973, then Tumahai briefly played with Friends before joining Mississippi. He travelled to the U.K. with them and stayed there after the group returned to Australia. For most of the later 1970's he was the bassist and co-vocalist in Bill Nelson's 'Be Bop Deluxe'. He returned to New Zealand in the eighties and joined The Herbs, and also did much work on behalf of his local Maori community until his sudden and unexpected death from a heart attack in December 1995.

Lindsay Wells headed back to Perth and played with popular local band Fatty Lumpkin, then returned to Melbourne and joined Ray Brown's One Ton Gypsy and a later lineup of Blackfeather. He eventually returned to Perth, where he remained active on the local blues scene for many years.

Discography

"Golden Miles" is the opening title track on Raven Records' 1994 2-CD compilation of Australian progressive rock; and is also featured on the EMI  LP Sizzling 70's, Vol. 2.

"Erection" was included on Mushroom's Sunbury 1973 live album. This was recently compiled into a 2CD set with highlights from Sunbury '74, released on Michael Gudinski's Liberation Blue label. These recordings are of enormous historical importance, but the recent CD must be strongly criticised for its shamefully poor quality. The second CD of Sunbury '74 recordings has clearly been transferred directly from LP, without any attempt at noise reduction, and many of the tracks are marred by very obvious surface noise. In an age when high-quality, low-cost digital recording systems are available to even domestic users, it is deplorable that that Liberation has chosen to released such an obviously sub-standard product to the public.

Single: 1971  "Golden Miles" / "The Gully" (Sparmac SPR 009) #31 (Melbourne Charts)
[EXTRACT from Milesago]

Go Set 1971 (May, July, November)

Go Set Articles 
(The following feature articles, which provide a deeper insight into the band and their eventual demise, were published in the iconic Aussie Rock Magazine 'Go Set" which was published from 1966-1974, thanks to Woodynet for the scans)

Aztecs and Healing Force Ready To Go
(Go Set Mag May 1, 1971 p5)

Healing Force have built up quite a following - this week they put down their first single and this should greatly strengthen their grip as Melbourne's most promising group.

Laurie Pryor (Drums) and Lindsay Wells (Guitar)

Pictured above are drummer Laurie Pryor and guitarist Lindsay Wells during a recording break.
Lindsay write their forthcoming single (which is not yet titled)  when he was with Perth's Bakery and although it was not recorded at that time, it  became very popular when a tape of it was played on Perth radio several times. In fact,  the station voted it the most popular song of the year.
Healing Force are recording the single for Melbourne's Sparmac label, which is half-owned by singer Robbie Porter.
Sparmac are also due to release "Eagle Rock" this week, the debut single (by) Daddy Cool. An album by that group should follow quite swiftly.

Healing Force In Stereo
(Go Set Mag July 24, 1971 p23)

Australia's third stereo single became available last week when Healing Force released their first record, Golden Miles.
Since they began in Melbourne several months back, Healing Force has been accepted as the best new group to emerge from that city - and they're hoping that the new single will be an extension of the attention they've attracted through live appearances.
During the next two weeks, Healing Force will also record their first album for the Sparmac label - one of the directors, singer Robie Porter, is in Australia this week from Los Angeles, and he'll produce the LP from the group's original material.

Record Review / Singles
(Go Set Mag July 24, 1971 p15 by Ed Nimmervoll)

It's sad that this record looks to be an epitaph for Healing Force instead of the beginning it was to be. Healing Force were emerging as the next major force in Melbourne Music. They impressed at each performance with clean complex, highly evolved music, a little like Spectrum but with separate, individual emphasise.
On "Golden Miles" you can hear that crisp, rhythmic, organ-based sound around the bluesy vocals. You can hear the interesting, original style they've evolved.
The song has a lot to hold your attention, including a memorable melody. Same holds for the other side, "The Gully". The fact that their style is fairly subdued, low-keyed and flowing, instead of being ear-catchingly dramatic, will hinder the air-play of the record. A fine local record you should not miss.

Gig Review 
(Go Set Mag November 20, 1971 p21 by Ed Nimmervoll)

There's a new Healing Force, resurrected from the "Golden Miles" group. They had problems with their equipment so it's possibly unfair to judge them but this group hasn't the same impact as before, not the same interesting organised flow.
They've retained the characteristic rhythmic style but that's really all there was to the performance.
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This post consists of MP3's (256/320kps) sourced from their Sparmac 45, GTK film clips and the LP Garrison: The Final Blow - Unit 2.  Full artwork and Go Set Articles have also been included (thanks to Micko for live rips & artwork).
One can only wonder what Healing Force would have produced if Robbie Porter had followed through with his plans to record their debut album. Whether it was unrest amongst the Healing Force camp at the time or lack of funds on the part of Sparmac, one can only speculate why the LP never eventuated. However, the following compilation of their studio and live material is now the closest thing that is available.

My copy of their single "Golden Miles" is probably one of the most treasured singles I have in my record collection, and I still remember when I stumbled upon it by accident at an Op-shop in Colac back in the early 70's.  I think I paid 20c for it!  (ebay copies now sell for nearly $75).  In as much as "Golden Miles" was the A-Side single, the flip side "The Gully" could have easily been an A-Side track in MHO.
I have also provided a separate WAV Rip of this single for all those Aussie collectors.
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Track Listing
01 - Golden Miles (A-Side Single)
02 - The Gully (B-Side Single)
03 - My Boogie (Live GTK 30/3/1971)
04 - Poem Of Joy (Live GTK 14/4/1971)
05 - Feelings From The Gully (Live GTK 19/5/1971)
06 - Hay Fever Fill (Live Hit Scene 30/10/1971)
07 - Erection (Live Sunbury 27/1/1973)
08 - My Soul's On Fire [as Alta Mira] (Live At The Garrison June 1973)
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Original line-up:

Laurie Pryor (drums)
Charlie Tumahai (vocals, bass)
Mal Logan (organ)
Lindsay Wells (guitar)

Other members:
Lindsay Wells (bass, guitar)
Ray Findlay (bass)
John Pugh (guitar)
Joe Tattersal (drums)
Mal Capewell (sax, flute)
Gus Fenwick (bass)
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Healing Force Collection (93Mb) New Link 16/01/2025

Single - Golden Miles/The Gully WAV (56Mb)

Various Artists - The GTK Tapes Vol 3 & 4

(Various Australian Artists 1969-75)
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The series title was an abbreviation of the phrase "Get To Know". GTK is one of several significant popular music programs produced by the ABC, and like the later establishment of Double Jay, GTK was created to address the perception that the Australian youth audience was being poorly served by commercial radio and TV and that much important international music and especially Australian popular music was being ignored by commercial TV and radio at that time.

GTK premiered on 4 August 1969 and ran until 1974, after which it was superseded by the even more successful weekly show Countdown. The first series of GTK was directed by noted TV and event director Ric Birch, who was at the time the youngest director in Australian television. Because colour television was not introduced in Australia until early 1975, most of GTK was shot on black-and-white film or videotape, although segments of programs ca. 1974 are known to have been shot in colour.

GTK ran for ten minutes and was broadcast daily from Monday to Thursday, at 6.30 pm just before the ABC's popular rural soap opera Bellbird. GTK's magazine-style format—which gave strong emphasis to local Australian rock and pop music—included interviews, reports, music film-clips (music videos) and occasional footage of local and visiting international acts in concert.   

GTK (1969-74) aimed to introduce 'new teens and twenties … to the world of trendsetting fashions, records, movies and events’. The first program included a profile of Sydney rock band The Cleves and most episodes featured a live performance filmed for GTK at the ABC’s Gore Hill studio in Sydney.

A feature of every episode—and one that makes GTK a unique document of that period of Australian music—was the daily live-in-the-studio performance segment, especially recorded by GTK. These segments featured hundreds of notable and lesser-known Australian acts of the period. The band chosen as featured group for the week would often record their own 'cover' version of the GTK theme (composed by Hans Poulsen), which was played at the start of each of the programs.

Certainly the nightly viewers -always devoted and dismayed in equal parts - were served up the readily familiar likes of Zoot, Axiom, Doug Parkinson In Focus, Autumn, Jeff St John, Sherbet, Country Radio, the La De Das, Blackfeather, Billy Thorpe, Chain, Hush, Max Merritt & The Meteors, Russell Morris, Daddy Cool, Spectrum, and Flake, but they were also exposed to new, challenging contemporary acts such as Company Caine, Captain Matchbox, Pirana, Tamam Shud, Bakery, Sun, Third Union Band, Syrius, Glenn Cardier, Kahvas Jute. Band of Talabene No Sweat, Gungan Dim; Mother Earth, Human Instinct, Langford Lever, Duck, Jeannie Lewis, Friends, Wendy Saddington, Wild Cherries, Band of Light, Gary Young's Hot Dog, Moonstone, Mighty Kong, Home, Buffalo, King Harvest, Headband and Carson.

These live performance segments were filmed in Studio 21 at the ABC's Gore Hill complex, which had originally been used for drama during the early days of live-to-air production. Groups were called in early on Monday mornings, and four songs/pieces were recorded, with one segment broadcast each day. Another aspect that makes this GTK footage important is that many of the bands were asked to play material from their live repertoire—including cover versions—rather than their current or recent hit song/s, since it was felt that the groups would perform these better and because it would show off other facets of their music. It is believed that because these live performances were filmed (and later transferred to videotape for broadcast) most of this footage was preserved, despite the fact that many of the broadcast master tapes were later erased.

It was thought for many years that most of the videotapes of the program had been erased during an ABC economy drive in the late 1970s, but recent discoveries at the ABC, notably during and after the closure of the old Gore Hill studio complex in Sydney, have revealed that much of the series (including location pieces and in-the-studio performances) was shot on film and then transferred to video. Recent estimates from the ABC indicate that as much as 90 percent of the series has survived, although regrettably most of the first year of the show was only videotape, which has since been erased.

Recent discoveries have included Mick Jagger discussing his role in Ned Kelly (1970), an exclusive GTK interviews with Pete Townshend and Marc Bolan and unique colour footage of Lou Reed's 1974 Sydney concert (including one of the earliest known films of Reed performing "Walk on the Wild Side") and his legendary Sydney press conference, which features noted Australian television journalist Ian Leslie.

GTK's final show was broadcast in late 1974 and was superseded by the highly successful ABC pop music show Countdown (1974-87).  [extracts from Wikipedia and Australian Screen website]
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This post consists of MP3's (320kps) most likely ripped from YouTube snippets of GTK episodes (and sourced with thanks from Deutros) along with full CD artwork.  Vols 1 & 2 are also available on my blog. The GTK tapes are a wonderful chronology of the diverse and highly talented Aussie musos that dominated our music charts in the early 70's.
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Vol 3. Track Listing
01 - Who Said What (Carson)
02 - Blow In D (Chain)
03 - The Devil's Disciple (Coloured Balls)
04 - Mango's Theme (Blackfeather)
05 - Winter Song (Country Radio)
06 - If Only (Ted Mulry)
07 - Only You And I Know (Doug Parkinson)
08 - Woman With Reason (Company Caine)
09 - Poem Of Joy (Healing Force)
10 - Lucille (John Farnham)
11 - 64,000 Dollar Question (Daddy Cool)

12 - Launching Place Part II (Spectrum)
13 - Way Out West (The Dingoes)
14 - Gee (Daddy Cool)
15 - Private Eye (Skyhooks)

GTK Tapes Vol 3 Link (83Mb)
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Vol 4. Track Listing
01 - Don't You Know That I Do (Sherbet)
02 - Ginger Bread Man (Brian Cadd)
03 - Munge (Chain)
04 - Boogie (Friends)
05 - Down At The Station (Daddy Cool)
06 - Nile Song (Human Instinct)
07 - Johnny B. Goode (Johnny Farnham)
08 - Message (Renee Geyer & Sun)
09 - Wishing Well (Sherbet)
10 - Sunset Song (Mighty Mouse)
11 - I've Grown Tired Already (Syrius)
12 - Speak To The Sky (Rick Springfield)
13 - Come Back Again (Daddy Cool)
14 - Make Your Stash (Spectrum)
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GTK Tapes Vol 4 Link (121Mb)
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Various Australian Artists - The GTK Tapes Vol 1 & 2 (1994)

(Various Australian Artists 1969-75)
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"GTK is a pleasant little island in an ocean of A B.C" declared former This Day Tonight production assistant Ric Birch when he became, in August 1969 the youngest producer of a national television program in Australia. It was more than pleasant - it was truly revolutionary. In a country where 'pop music1 was dismissed by the mass media as a sort of teen disease useful only for scandal headlines, this perfectly positioned ten minute stab - at 6 30pm, just before Bellbird, four nights a week -abruptly introduced middle Australia to an emerging rock counter-culture, without a screaming girl in sight.
GTK did not dispense the hits of the day, nor. with any great frequency, the hit acts. Certainly the nightly viewers -always devoted and dismayed in equal parts - were served up the readily familiar likes of Zoot, Axiom, Doug Parkinson In Focus, Autumn, Jeff St John, Sherbet, Country Radio, the La De Das, Blackfeather, Billy Thorpe, Chain, Hush, Max Merritt & The Meteors, Russell Morris, Daddy Cool, Spectrum, and Flake, but they were also exposed to new, challenging contemporary acts such as Company Caine, Captain Matchbox, Pirana, Tamam Shud, Bakery, Sun, Third Union Band, Syrius, Glenn Cardier, Kahvas Jute. Band of Talabene No Sweat, Gungan Dim; Mother Earth, Human Instinct, Langford Lever, Duck, Jeannie Lewis, Friends, Wendy Saddington (RIP 21-06-2013), Wild Cherries, Band of Light, Gary Young's Hot Dog, Moonstone, Mighty Kong, Home, Buffalo, King Harvest, Headband and Carson
And the music was just part of it. In between the exploratory sounds were interviews, reports and, sometimes, just meandering snatches which brought long haired freaky people into the nations lounge rooms - dancers, poets, film makers, photographers, fashion designers, painters, actors and suffers.
It has to be said that there was a deathly seriousness about much of it. A rock-is-art stance which set itself in opposition to the bubblegum, teen idol face of the 'pop scene1 The counter-culture was too young and too self-conscious to trust itself with levity, so a certain ponderous tone was inevitable
If you make allowance for that, the GTK years - to late 1970 under Birch and from January 1971 to November 1975 under producer Bernie Cannon, with odd episodes produced by Bruce Wilson, Albie Thorns and Bernard Eddy -constitute the most precious and astonishing repository of rare (often pncelessly so) Australian rock recordings by the most important OZ Rock acts of an era when a once totally derivative music scene took a bold leap into the unknown.
"I lived the whole thing" recalls Cannon "It wasn't a job it was a way of life and I think that the people who watched it every night understood that it had the strongest impact upon country kids because it was really their only contact with what was going on. Under Cannon, GTK continued to offer the unexpected and the imaginative and the store of rare performances grew. There wasn't a rule that you couldn't come on and plug your new hit but my policy I suppose like Ric's, was if you couldn't cut it live you couldn't appear. We tended to get more serious bands and they often played things from their sets that they didn't have to hassle with at eight o'clock on Monday morning when most musicians can't talk let alone play. I think that most of the bands we used really appreciated the freedom to let loose a bit and do things they certainly couldn't do on happening '71. I suppose they were also aware that television at that time didn't have the technical capacity to reproduce them to record standard and maybe some of them didn't want to risk playing their swish new single live for us!"
Tony Romeril, leader of often-used GTK band Autumn concurs "Bernie always wanted to be one step ahead to be original and give the bands and the song some space. But, no it wasn't always easy when you were in your van going off to the Gore Hill studios at 7AM after finishing your last set at Whisky Au Go Go at 3 AM'"
The first two volumes of The GTK Tapes contain a wonderfully diverse array of repertoire - experimental blows, convenient covers, works in embryo, fave raves and songs that would have been recorded if the band had managed to stay together. The common factor is that none of the tracks (save Doug Parkinson In Focus' Do Not Go Gentle, which turned up on the Stone film soundtrack performed quite differently by Doug) are songs officially recorded by those acts. They all would have been welcome recordings at the time had they eventuated but almost a quarter of a century down the line they are still valid and fascinating representations of Oz Rock in between the screams and international recognition
[Linear notes by Glen. A Baker]
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Review From Rolling Stone magazine - December, 1994
by Bruce Elder 
ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING questions about rock releases is: "Does history have any inherent interest or merit, or should all music be evaluated on the quality of songs and musical performances
There is, for example, no doubt that these two releases are important historical documents, GTK (which stood for "Getting to Know") pre-dated Countdown and was a brief, nationwide, 10-minute spot at 630pm, four nights a week. It was positioned just before the ABC soapie Bellbird and lasted from 1969 to 1975. Because it tended to feature alternative acts, and because it often recorded performances, the GTK Tapes have become a fascinating social document of the outer reaches of pop and rock in those years.
The question in 1994 is — does anybody really care? Glenn A. Baker can write sleeve notes declaring that the GTK Tapes "constitute the most precious and astonishing repository of rate (often pricelessly so) Australian rock recordings ever uncovered , but this begs the questions: Priceless to whom? and precious to whom? Mr Baker may feel that the Zoot performing Lennon and McCartney's I'm Only Sleeping is beyond his financial resources, but it is hard to imagine many others in Australia who would bid such an item into some imaginary financial stratosphere
It is true that, if you are interested in rock musk in Australia between 1969 and 1975, these two CDs are valuable documents. That, however, presupposes that in 1994, you think lots of basic blues and R&B, cover versions of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones (there are six on the two CDs) and believe extended guitar and drum solos are relevant and interesting.
This was not a great period for music It was too self-consciously arty, the clothes were immeasurably silly (bell bottoms et al), the uniform was long hair and beards, and, disturbingly, few of the musicians from the era have any kind of career left in 1994.
It is hard to find genuinely exciting and extraordinary performances on these two CDs. Most of the covers sound like very mediocre versions of the originals. The La De Das version of Chuck Berry's "Around and Around" is pedestrian and a shadow of the Rolling Stones' incomparable version, which they are clearly trying to imitate. Blackfeather's version of "Gimme Shelter" is more impressive. Autumn's version of Neil Young's "The Loner" is surprisingly good.
Some of the originals are obviously derivative of overseas styles. The Tamam Shud track, "America", sounds so much like early Jethro Tull it is almost uncanny. It's just missing the flute. Similarly, the end of Wind Cherries' "God (Guitar Overdose)" sounds like something Pink Floyd rejected around the Saucerful of Secrets period.
Of the others, who but a philistine locked in a terminal timewarp would really want to hear Doug Parkinson crucifying Dylan Thomas' beautiful "Do Not Go Gentle", with a raucous rock/R&B version of the poem, which culminates in a truly awful drum solo. And does anyone really need six versions of the GTK theme?
For many people, rock musk is the soundtrack to their adolescence. This music was the soundtrack for an awful lot of rather hip, plugged-in baby-boomers. To those outside the demographic, these recordings will only have them scratching their heads in disbelief and saying, "That's what those old hippies meant when they said you had to be there.
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When I came across this review in Rolling Stone, I was outraged. Mr. Elder may write for Rolling Stone, but his review clearly shows an immature lack of appreciation of earlier periods of music and fashion. I would guess that he was probably a young journalist who couldn't see past his nose let alone two decades.
I would suggest that you have a listen to these historical recordings and I like Glenn A Baker think that they are priceless gems which truly document the roots of our wonderful Aussie Rock.
The post itself was sourced from the Midoztouch website (with thanks to the original uploader) and are MP3 rips (320kps) taken from CD.  Full album artwork and booklets are included.along with scans of the offending magazine article. If you enjoy these recordings and want more, then you can grab the next two volumes (Vol.3&Vol.4) on my blog also.

Vol 1. Track Listing
01 - GTK Theme (Sherbet)
02 - I'm Only Sleeping (The Zoot)
03 - Do Not Go Gentle (Doug Parkinson In Focus)
04 - Sweet Little Angel (Carson)
05 - 1967 (Company Caine)
06 - GTK Theme / America (Tamam Shud)
07 - GOD / Guitar Overdose (Wild Cherries)
08 - GTK Theme / Country Lady (Freshwater)
09 - Gimme Shelter (Blackfeather)
10 - Around And Around (La De Das)
11 - My Boogie (Healing Force)
12 - Over The Ocean (Ticket)
13 - Gassin'/ GTK Theme (Pirana)

GTK Tapes Vol 1 Link (143Mb)

Vol 2. Track Listing
01 - GTK Theme (Sherbet)
02 - The Loner (Autumn)
03 - Midnight Train (Flake)
04 - Celest Atlantis (Flying Circus)
05 - Same Old Country Song (Axiom)
06 - Honky Tonk Women (The Cleves)
07 - GTK-Theme-Strawberry Fields (Syrius)
08 - Tomorrow Never Knows (Blackfeather)
09 - Bye Bye Blackbird (MsAskills Marauders)
10 - Flip Flop and Fly (Company Caine)
11 - Caroline-GTK Theme (Doug parkinson and Focus)

GTK Tapes Vol 2 Link (150Mb)

Various Artists - Sunbury 73

(Various Australian Artists 1973)
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The word 'Sunbury' has etched itself into Australian rock music folklore. Forty years ago it was a farming town just 40 'miles' (70s speak) north of Melbourne, an hour's drive from suburbia into a gently rolling rural landscape. In 1972 and for the three subsequent years, during the late January Australia Day weekend the word 'Sunbury' became associated with a rock music festival on a farm out of the Sunbury township. Today suburbia lurks so close to the Sunbury Pop Festival site if you turned up Billy Thorpe's amp to its obligatory '11' you'd get complaints from the neighbours on the hill. But the site is still there, identified only by the rusted wire fence surrounding the area where the stage stood, and the foundations of the toilet block nearby, in front of Jackson's Creek. Behind the creek a steep incline, in front a gently rising hill, a natural amphitheatre. 

 There had been rock festivals before and there have been rock festivals since. But Sunbury looms large as 'Australia's Woodstock' - erroneously. It could just as easily be called the first 'Big Day Out' -- held during the same weekend. Or a prototype of Meredith. Australia's real 'Woodstock' was held at Ourimbah in NSW on the Australia Day weekend in 1970. During the intervening two years 'the Woodstock nation' had been replaced by another generation of teenagers, another generation of music, another set of values The Beatles had been replaced by Led Zeppelin. But for the media those Woodstock images lingered. That's what they went to Sunbury looking for. That's what they came away with. That's what sticks in people's minds as 'Sunbury'. Those who were there remember the 'bonged out' sitting next to the underage drinkers and bikers collapsed in their own vomit after a night of shouting 'suck more piss' from the hill. The similarity between Sunbury and all festivals is the freedom to be young and free, to the soundtrack of the day's music.

Australian music had shifted dramatically during those two years between 1970 and 1972, between Ourimbah and the year of the first Sunbury in 1972. In 1970 Australian music had struggled to be 'progressive' like the rest of the world. Our record companies weren't interested. Then during the last half of that year a record ban forced the Australian music released by the major record companies off radio airwaves, retiring many of the pop stars of the day. Music fans had to go 'out' to get their music fix. In Melbourne they found Daddy Cool and Spectrum north of the river. Chain and Billy Thorpe's 'new' Aztecs south of the river. In Sydney the music retreated to the Kings Cross nightclubs entertaining servicemen on 'r and r'. The first Sunbury festival tapped into that still very alive thirst for live music. Somehow Australian music had forgotten to look over its shoulders at overseas trends and musicians and their audience were happily following their own path. In January 1972 it led to Sunbury.
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The festival had been organized by an unlikely 'hero', John Fowler, a middle-aged Channel Nine employee. While their children were smoking dope and drinking and dipping nude in Jackson's Creek elder Australians were watching John Fowler lighting the soundstage for their own addiction, 'In Melbourne Tonight'. Fowler and his advisers thought that the popular acts of the day weren't quite enough and for that first Sunbury Festival organised for the return of Max Merritt and the Meteors after just over a year in England. Ever competitive, Billy Thorpe would have made conquering the Sunbury hill his goal anyway. Having old rival Max top of the bill was an added incentive. Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs turned up the volume and made Sunbury 72 theirs'. Within weeks Billy released 'Most People I Know' and later that year a live album of the Aztecs at Sunbury became a national top ten. The only other Australian-made top ten album that year had been Daddy Cool's 'difficult' second album 'Sex Dope And Rock'N'Roll'

Sunbury 73 was set up as the most important event on the Australian music calendar. Clearly. whoever won the hill at Sunbury 73 was set up for the rest of the year. You had to be there.
A lot of people get the four Sunbury's confused. In their minds they've become one. But 1973 was THE one. In bygone years there had been a thing called the Hoadley's Battle Of The Sounds, where the bands of the day allowed themselves to be judged. The winners were kings for the year. Often the losers broke up to think of a way of winning the following year. That was the mood with which Australian music entered Sunbury 73. You had to be there. It was important to make an impression. It was the year the Sydney acts - Sherbet, Country Radio - descended on the festival, and Mississippi performed with a 35-piece orchestra. It was so important to be there, even pre-70s rock legend Johnny O'Keefe came, determined to stay in the game. And Michael Gudinski was there to record it for his just-formed Mushroom Records.
Of course Billy Thorpe was also there, returning just in time to top the bill after trying his luck in the UK. This was our chance to celebrate his return. There was no clear winning at Sunbury '73 but the points decision probably went to Thorpe. There were a lot of winners, a lot of sets went back to the traditional venues and found keen audiences for the rest of the year. [written by Ed Nimmervoli]

While Sunbury '72 was widely touted as the beginning of a new era, Sunbury '73 was the one that consolidated the festival's success. However it also marked a changing of the guard, with a number of notable bands -- Carson, Country Radio, Friends, Healing Force -- all splitting for good in the months following their Sunbury appearances. It was also the final Australian performance by Flying Circus, who had already been in Canada for some time. They returned specially for the festival, but were coolly received, and returned to Canada immediately after Sunbury, where they remained until they split some years later.
The Aztecs headlined again, reprising their huge success of the previous year and Max Merritt & The Meteors again returned from the UK to perform. One of the surprise hits of the festival was rock'n'roll legend Johnny O'Keefe; he was cheekily introduced as a "newcomer" by MC Paul Hogan, but despite an initially derisory reception, he won the crowd over and by the end of his set, as Ian McFarlane notes, he "had the audience of hippies eating out of the palm of his hand".

"Sunbury 1972 was the first, but the 1973 festival is often remembered as the best. It has a place in our music history, just like the vintage clips of the Easybeats performing 'Friday On My Mind' and AC/DC travelling down Melbourne city streets on the back of a tray truck while belting out 'It's A Long Way To The Top'."  - Steve Waldon, The Age

Like Sunbury '72, the performances were taped using a mobile multi-track facility; it is presumed that some film or video footage was made but it is not known how much of that (if any) still exists. The sound recordings were edited to become the inaugural release for the newly established Mushroom Records label, founded by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans. With commendable hubris, it was the first Australian triple-album set ever released.
The fine performance by Carson (which would prove to be their last major concert appearance) was also released by EMI as the On The AirLP; this has long been out of print but it is scheduled for re-release on CD by Aztec Music. The other major recording culled from the festival was the extended early-morning jam session between The Aztecs, Lobby Loyde's Coloured Balls and Leo De Castro, which was released on the Havoc LP Summer Jam. This has recently been reissued on CD by Aztec Music. [extract from milesago.com]

SUNBURY - THE VENUE
Owned by George Duncan, he generously offered the use of his property at no cost to the organisers, even going so far as allowing toilet facilities and rubbish bins to be installed on the property in later years of the festival. Which really makes sense, considering he’d have had as many as 40,000 people in his “backyard”. You don’t have to be a mathematician to know a crowd like that plus three days of food and booze equals a mess that would make even Keith Moon blush.

With the Duncans’ farmland providing a natural amphitheatre, the scene of the Sunbury festivals has since become an isolated area, far from the bustling hub it was during one of music history’s most famed events. Residential subdivision in the area has since limited public access to the site and redeveloped the landscape.

According to a document on the website of Hume City Council, little remains there now but there are still the remnants of the toilet facilities and bins, along with echoes of the event that linger to this day with “small artifacts such as items of footwear and drink can pull-rings” scattered over the area.
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For more information on the Sunbury 73 concert, refer to the following websites:

hume.vic.gov.au
nla.gov.au
onlymelbourne.com.au
wikipedia.org
theage.com.au
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It was the Sunbury 73 that got me first hooked on 'Aussie Rock'. My brother owned the triple album set originally (having being lucky enough to attend the festival) but I soon managed to talk him into selling it for a bargain basement price.  Being a young teenager at the time, I was listening to overseas artists like Robin Trower, Alice Cooper and Grand Funk Railroad. However, the bands and the infectious aussie rock that they played at this famous festival was the turning point in my life. I suddenly realised that there was 'real talent' in my own back yard.  And I've never looked back.
Bands like Madderlake, Chain, Carson, Blackfeather and the Aztecs have been a huge part of my passion for music and I owe it all to this wonderful recording, released on the legendary Mushroom label (thanks Gudinski)

My only regret is that I was too young to attend the 73 Festival although I did manage to fulfill my long life dream to a point, by attending the 2010 Sunbury Backroad Festival, featuring Madderlake, Spectrum and Chain. See my review
If you haven't heard this Sunbury 73 recording, then you have really missed out on a vital chunk of Aussie Rock. Need I say more?
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The post consists of an MP3 rip (320kps) taken from my cherrished vinyl copy, which is in relatively good condition considering the number of plays it has had. The artwork included (with CD2 and as a separate link) was taken from a CD release that was circulating on the web at one stage (possibiliy C/- of the Midoztouch Forum).
Some choice photos of the venue and crowd are also included.
As a bonus, I have included a recording of Mississippi's "Kings Of The World" which was also recorded at the Sunbury 73 festival but never made it onto the triple set (sourced through YouTube)

Note: There was also a promotional E.P released featuring 6 tracks taken from the triple Sunbury album set and is one of the items on my Holy Grail List of wants. I have yet to see it turn up on ebay, and can only dream of the day when I might find it! (see pictures below bottom)
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Tracklist
CD1
01 Johnny O'Keefe – High Rollin' Man 2:57
02 Friends – Bird On A Wire / La La Song 6:58
03 69ers – Harry Rag 6:58
04 Coloured Balls – Johnny B. Goode 4:51
05 Madder Lake – Down The River / 12lb. Toothbrush 14:40
06 Band Of Light – Messin' With The Kid
07 Aztecs – Going Back Home 13:31
08 Blackfeather – I'm Gonna Love You 9:53
CD2
01 Carson – Friday Night Groove 4:53
02 Mighty Mouse – Sunset Song 10:05
03 Healing Force – Erection 6:47
04 Country Radio – Silver Spurs 4:51
05 Matt Taylor – From Brisbane To Beachworth 8:50
06 Sid Rumpo – Sailing 8:38
07 Mackenzie Theory – New Song And 8:47
08 Glenn Cardier – Australia 2:28
09 Bakery – Living With A Memory 12:12 
10 Mississippi - Kings Of The World BONUS 2:38
 
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Sunbury 1 mp3  Link (155Mb) New Link 17/09/2025

Sunbury 2 mp3 Link (183Mb)

Sunbury Artwork & Photos (20Mb)

Sunbury 1&2 in FLAC (897Mb) New Link 06/09/2024