Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Daddy Cool - Daddy Cool Hits EP


Eagle Rock/Come Back Again/Hi Honey Ho/I'll Never Smile Again




Daddy Cool is an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1970 with the original line-up of Wayne Duncan (bass, Vocals), Ross Hannaford (lead guitar, bass, vocals), Ross Wilson (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica) and Gary Young (drums, vocals) . Their debut single "Eagle Rock" was released in May 1971 and stayed at number 1 on the Australian singles chart for ten weeks. Their debut July 1971 LP Daddy Who? Daddy Cool also reached number 1 and became the first Australian album to sell more than 100,000 copies. Their name comes from the 1957 song "Daddy Cool" by US rock group The Rays, Daddy Cool included their version on Daddy Who? Daddy Cool.

Daddy Cool's music featured 1950s Doo-wop style rock cover versions and originals which were mostly written by Wilson. On stage they provided a danceable sound which was accessible and fun. Their second album was Sex, Dope, Rock'n'Roll: Teenage Heaven from January 1972 and reached the Top Ten Breaking up in August 1972, Daddy Cool briefly reformed during 1974-1975 before disbanding again, they reformed with the band's original line-up in 2005. Their iconic status was confirmed when they were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame on 16 August 2006.

The Seekers - A World Of Our Own


A World Of Our Own/Sinner Man/I'll Never Find Another You/Open Up Them Pearly Gates



After the release of their début album in Australia, Introducing The Seekers, in 1963, The Seekers were offered the chance to travel to the UK on the Sitmar cruise liner Fairsky in 1964, in exchange for providing on-board entertainment. They had intended to return to Australia ten weeks later on the same ship, but on arrival in the UK they were offered work by the Grade Organization.

The group decided to remain in the UK and after filling in on a bill headlined by Dusty Springfield, they met her brother, songwriter-producer Tom Springfield, who had experience with folk-pop material with his earlier group The Springfields. He penned a song for them called "I'll Never Find Another You", which they recorded in November 1964. It was released by EMI Records (on the Columbia label) in December 1964 and was championed by the offshore radio station Radio Caroline. Despite the fact that the group had not signed a contract with EMI, the single reached the UK Top 40 and began selling well. In February 1965, it reached #1 in the UK and Australia, and #4 in the U.S. where it was released on EMI's Capitol label.

"I'll Never Find Another You" sold 1.76 million copies worldwide, and made The Seekers the first Australian pop group to have a Top 5 hit in all three countries (Australia, UK, and United States) simultaneously. They were also the first Australian recording artists to sell more than a million copies of a single. The Seekers followed "I'll Never Find Another You" with two more Tom Springfield compositions, "A World of Our Own" (which reached No.3 in May 1965 in the UK) and "The Carnival Is Over", which reached No.1 in November. At its peak, "The Carnival Is Over" was selling 90,000 copies a day in the UK alone.

In 1966, they recorded Paul Simon’s "Someday One Day", which reached No.4 in Australia and No.11 in the UK. During this time, Art Garfunkel had returned to school and Paul Simon was pursuing a solo career in the UK following the flop of the duo's first released LP, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M..

The Seekers' version of "Someday One Day" was Simon's first UK success as a writer, and his first major hit as a composer outside of his work with Art Garfunkel. Bruce Woodley co-wrote several songs with Simon at this time, including "Red Rubber Ball" which became a US No.1 single (on the Cashbox chart) for The Cyrkle and was subsequently covered by The Seekers for their 1966 LP 'Come the Day' (released as 'Georgy Girl' in the US).

This is their “A world of our own” EP from 1965

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Daddy Cool - D.C.E.P.


Flip/Lollipop/Jerry's Jump/Long After Schooldays Are Through/Three O'Clock Thrill


Daddy Cool released their 5-track D.C.E.P. in November1971. Divided into a "Jump" side - "Flip", "Lollipop" and "Jerry's Jump" and a 'School' side "Long After Schooldays Are Through" and "Three O'Clock Thrill" it came in a lavish gatefold cover, with artwork by Ian McCausland, who created the pop-art candy-cane design for the front cover. Each of the group members got to sing a track, and it was another big success for them, reaching #11.