Friday, October 29, 2010

Normie Rowe - It Ain't Necessarily So, But It Is


Let Me Tell You/That's Why I Cry/Everything's Alright/I Just Don't Understand/Shakin' All Over/Lindy Lou/She Used To Be Mine/I Confess/I (Who Have Nothing)/It Ain't Neccessarily So/Gonna Leave This Town


The very first Normie Rowe album released in 1965 went gold at the time couldn't put a foot wrong.

Normie Rowe - Everything's All Right


I Want You Back Again/You Thrill Me/Bald Headed Lena/Let Me Tell You/She Used To Be Mine/Everythings Alright/Lindy Lou/Gonna Leave This Town/That's Why I Cry/Too Bad You Don't Want Me/I Keep Forgetting/Poor Fool




Normie Rowe AM (born Norman John Rowe on 1 February 1947 in Melbourne, Australia) was the preeminent male solo star of Australian pop music in the 1960s. Known for his bright, edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence, many of Rowe's most successful recordings were produced by Pat Aulton, house producer for the Sunshine Records, Spin Records and Festival Records labels. Backed by his band The Playboys, Rowe released a string of Australian pop hits on the Sunshine Records label that kept him at the top of Australian charts and made him the most popular solo performer of the mid-1960s. Rowe's double-sided hit "Que Sera Sera" / "Shakin' All Over" was one of the most successful Australian singles of the 1960s.

Between 1965 and 1967 Normie was Australia's most popular male star but his career was cut short when he was drafted for compulsory military service in late 1967. Rowe's subsequent tour of duty in Vietnam effectively ended his pop career, and he was never able to recapture the success he enjoyed at his peak.

This Universal Record Club release from 1968 is a pastiche of Normie's first two albums "It Ain't Necessarily So....But It Is" and "a Go Go".

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Jon English - Hot Town


Hot Town/ Show No Weakness


1979 was a good year for Jon English he won the TV Week Logie Award for 'Best New Talent in Australia' for his acting performance in Against the Wind, the program won two other Logie Awards.He also won the 'Most Popular Male Performer' award at the 1979 TV Week / Countdown Music Awards. He released his first compilation album English History in August, which peaked at #4 on the National albums charts and he had singles success with "Get Your Love Right", which peaked at #27 and "Hot Town", which peaked at #11.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

John St. Peters & Jane Scali - I Got You Babe


Always Something There To Remind Me/Lost In Love/Never Gonna Let You Go/You To Me Are Everything/Ti Amo/Just The Two Of Us/I Got You Babe/Can't Take My Eyes Off You/Feel Like Makin' Love/Guilty/Stuck On You/Steal Away/I Don't Want To Talk About It/Stumblin' In/Deja Vu/My Eyes Adored You


John St. Peeters is a singer, songwriter, musician, and one of the most dynamic performers in Australia today.John made his Las Vegas debut in a showcase at the Stardust Hotel supporting Wayne Newton and recently John has been touring with John Baressi in a comedy/music show The Italian Way.

John first came to our attention as Johnny Lo Piccolo the kid with the accordion. His first singles were accordion tracks and he was known as the “Squeezebox Kid”. John has had a number of chart-placed singles, including “Deep Inside of Me”, “High Class Woman”, “So Many Ways”, and “Wonderworld”.



Jane Scali was only 11 years of age when she leapt to National stardom as one of the original members of the popular long-running television show "Young Talent Time". In the ensuing years she has become a mature singer, dancer and actress with an excellent working knowledge of television and stage production.

In the early eighties, Jane was featured as a regular on the ABC's The Saturday Show for 5 years. Her numerous appearances on the Don Lane, Bert Newton, Mike Walsh and the Midday Show with Ray Martin has made her one of the most popular and successful female performers in Australia today. In 1995 Jane made 26 appearances on the ABC's Roy & HG Show and was re-signed for the 1996 season but Jane had to give up her contract to enable her to appear in the Broadway Musical Smokey Joe's Cafe in Melbourne. Jane has been voted Best Female Variety Performer on three separate occasions at the Australian Variety Artists "Mo" Awards.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Saints - The Music Goes Round My Head


The Music Goes Round My Head/Tomorrow


Released by the Saints in 1988 The Music Goes Round My Head is an Easybeats cover. The single was taken from their Prodigal Son album and included on the Young Einstein soundtrack. The track made it to #39 on the Australian charts and it also made it to #19 on the US Modern Rock charts.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Grinspoon - Pushing Buttons


Black Friday/More Than You Are/Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck/Busy/Explain/Black Friday - Live



Pushing Buttons was Grinspoon's third EP. It had a heavier sound than their earlier work with a metal inspired rerecording of "More Than You Are" (previously recorded for the Green Album), and the songs "Black Friday" and "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck". The other songs are a lot lighter and easier to listen to. "Black Friday" was relatively popular and made it to number Thirteen on the charts and 22 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1998. The CD also came with a screensaver designed for Windows 95/98 which was on my PC for ages.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Craig McLachlan and Check 1,2 - Amanda 12 Inch
























Craig McLachlan first appeared on television in a guest role on the soap Sons and Daughters in late 1986. He then became very well known in 1987 when he landed the role of Henry Ramsay, brother of Kylie Minogue's character Charlene, in Neighbours. Two years later, he defected to rival show Home and Away, playing schoolteacher Grant Mitchell.
McLachlan has also had success as a singer, capitalising on his popularity in Neighbours to score Australian and UK hit singles with pop tunes such as his remake of the Bo Diddley song "Mona" (AUS#3 / UK#2, 1990), "Amanda" (AUS#23 / UK#19, 1990), and "On My Own" (AUS#23, 1991).
In 1993 he starred as Danny Zuko in the popular West End revival of the musical Grease alongside Deborah Gibson. Also in that year he married Australian actress Rachel Friend whom he met on the set of Neighbours. They divorced in 1994. Their characters Bronwyn and Henry had also earlier married in Neighbours.
In 1995 McLachlan appeared in the popular British television series Bugs. He played the role of a free-lance agent and electronics expert, who along with his colleagues worked covertly to combat terrorist threats. McLachlan left the show at the end of the third series due to a disagreement with the show's producers and director.
In 1995 he appeared in Catherine the Great alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeanne Moreau and Omar Sharif.
In 2001, Craig had a breakthrough with the American movie Superfire, where he played a fireman who died at the end of the movie. In 2004, Craig got a recurring role as Kane Morgan in the popular show McLeod's Daughters, but left the show at the fourth season.
In 2005 he starred as Jeff Kennard in the Australian film Hating Alison Ashley, with fellow Neighbours star Delta Goodrem and McLeod's Daughters co-star Rachael Carpani. In 2006, he appeared in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as a stand-up comedian.

Hoodoo Gurus - You Open My Eyes


You Open My Eyes/Something I Forgot To Say/Television Addict


"You Open My Eyes" is a single by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus (probably my favourite 80's band) which reached #43 on the ARIA Singles Charts. It was released on BMG in February, 1994, and was written by Brad Shepherd. This was the first Hoodoo Gurus single that was not written or co-written by Dave Faulkner. The B side, an unreleased demo "Something I Forgot to Say", was written by Faulkner. The second B side a live track was a cover of The Victims' "Television Addict" written by James Baker and Faulkner (both were members of The Victims and of Hoodoo Gurus). The music video for "You Open My Eyes" was directed by former Guru, Kimble Rendall and was their most expensive to date.