The Badloves - Get on Board

CD 1 Memphis/Green Limousine/Tell Me/ I Remember/High on a Mountain/What's on Your Mind/Lost/Sugar Daddy/Yesterday's Gone/Spirit in the Sky

CD 2  Long Hard Day/Stop/Forgiven/Nowhere To Hide/Spirit In The Sky (Demo)/ I Embarrass Myself/Live/ I Bled

With their take on seventies-style laid back Memphis soul/r&b The Badloves were one of Australia's most popular bands of the early nineties.

The Badloves were formed in January 1990 by singer Michael Spiby when he needed to flesh out a bunch of songs he'd written. He called on his brother John to play keyboards and sax, drummer Chris Tabone, and bassist, Stephen 'Irish' O'prey. 'Irish' had toured with Michael as members of Daryl Braithwaite's backing band. After two months they were joined in the suburban garage Spiby was using as a rehearsal room by another former member of the Braithwaite band, guitarist John 'Jak' Housden. Becoming a band in the process, this line up played its first live gig at The Provincial Hotel in Fitzroy, Melbourne in June 1990 as DC3.

1991 saw Michael's brother John leave to further his musical studies while the band decided to remain a four piece outfit called the Badloves, recruiting various keyboard/Hammond organ players to play when gigs came along. One of these, Tony Featherstone eventually became a permanent fixture. Over the next 18 months the band could be found playing around Melbourne until September 1992 when they supported Hall and Oates at The Melbourne Concert Hall. That performance led Mushroom records boss Michael Gudinski to invite them into the recording studio. After three songs were recorded ('Lost', 'Green Limousine' and 'I Remember') the group were given the go-ahead to record a whole album. They toyed with the idea of recording in Memphis, but wound up in Studio 1, Metropolis in Melbourne with producer Doug Roberts "one of the last real studio-men schooled in traditional recording technique".

In March 1993, an EP was released, sporting 'Lost', 'Green Limousine' 'Stop. In recognition of their own Australian music heroes, in particular the Dingoes, the Badloves asked for the EP to carry the original Mushroom label art. While 'Lost' and the subsequent single 'I Remember' didn't set the sales charts of fire they did receive respectable airplay, and backed up by the band's growing profile as a live act, after two months of release the album 'Get On Board' slowly climbed towards the national top ten. It was given a boost when the Badloves joined Mushroom's top-selling artist Jimmy Barnes on his 'Flesh And Wood' album for the hit version of the Band's 'The Weight', a perfect vehicle for the Badloves' sound. After that commercial breakthrough, a rerecorded 'Green Limousine' (the original had been scrapped) and 'Memphis' fared better than the earlier releases.

Because the Badloves took so long to establish themselves with record buyers, they found themselves out on the road from March 1993 through to September 1994 (adding a tour of New Zealand and Europe with Jimmy Barnes to their ever growing Australian commitments) the second album didn't appear until two years after the first. The days on the road were directly responsible for the band parting company with bassist Steve 'Irish'O'prey, who eventually turned up in Weddings Parties Anything. The Badloves continued with a friend, John Favarro, as a replacement.

To record the second album, 'Holy Roadside'- the title inspired by the band's love of gospel - the Badloves deliberately pulled themselves off the road. The sessions for the album were lengthened by the ambitious decision to document the process with filmaker Clayton Jacobsen over a period of twelve months during the making of the album and touring. The long life of the songs from the first album, the gap between albums, and the group's 'disappearance' for the making of 'Holy Roadside' all contributed to the album not getting the attention commensurate with its content, a more sophisticated and adventurous version of their sound than found on the embryonic 'Get On Board'.

In 1997 the band released a live cd 'Everybody Everywhere' recorded at The Continental Café in Melbourne. The album showcased the Badloves' career up to date alongside a favourite cover - Paul Simon's 'Loves Me Like A Rock'. A capital city tour of Australia to promote the album would be the last foray on the road for The Badloves for some time. In 1998 they participated in the Mushroom 25th Anniversary concert, their first show in over two years. Michael Spiby's solo album 'Ho's Kitchen' was released in July 2000. The other members had all moved to other music projects. Jak Housden joined the Whitlams.

An invitation for a one-off performance in Queenscliffe Music Festival 2000 felt so good the Badloves put their individual careers aside temporarily to perform shows in Melbourne and Sydney spasmodically throughout 2000/2001. In August 2001, they decided to record five new tracks, casting the musical spotlight wider than in the past, with songs written and sung by Michael, John and Jak. With Doug Roberts again producing the EP was made available available through the band's website and at live performances. The EP was entitled "14" CD (it was their fourteenth release) and promised a more permanent Badloves presence, alongside members' other projects and commitments. (Howlspace)

Daniel Merriweather - She's Got Me

She's Got Me/She's Got Me (P-Money remix feat. scribe)/She's Got Me (the calculator's remix)/City Rules (feat. saigon)/City Rules (feat. saigon) accapella/She's Got Me (Accapella)


Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B recording artist who has worked as a featured vocalist for other artists and has a solo career. His guest vocals are included on album tracks by Disco Montego, Mark Ronson and Phrase. His collaborations with Ronson led to working in the United Kingdom including lead vocals on Ronson's cover version of The Smiths' song "Stop Me" in 2007. Merriweather's debut solo album, Love & War, was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two singles, "Change" and "Red", which both made the top 10 on the related singles chart. Merriweather has won two ARIA Music Awards, Best Urban Release in 2005 for "She's Got Me" and Best Male Artist in 2009 for Love & War. "She's Got Me" was a non-album track and made it to #69 on the Australian charts.

Tommy Tycho - A Night With Gershwin

The Good Music Orchestra - Overture/Mary-Jane Boyd - The Man I Love/The Good Music Orchestra - Prelude #2/Peter Brandon & Mary-Jane Boyd - Duet Medley/Tommy Tycho - I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise/The Good Music Orchestra - Strike Up The Band/Claire Poole - Summertime/Claire Poole Singers - Hit Song Medley/Tommy Tycho - Liza/Alan Light - It Ain't Necessarily So/Tommy Tycho - Piano Concerto In F

Recorded Live in 1974 at the Sydney Opera House Tommy Tycho hosts a Night with Gershwin celebrating the music of early 20th century composer George Gershwin. Helping Tommy on the night are Mary-Jane Boyd, Peter Brandon, Claire Poole and the Claire Pool Singers, Alan Light and The Good Music Orchestra.

Tommy Tycho was born in Budapest in 1928. His father was a senior government official and his mother was an opera singer who had retired to raise a family. His musical life started as a child prodigy pianist. He played George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra at age 10. He had been introduced to the work by his teacher, Egon Petri. He commenced studying at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where his teachers included Leo Weiner and Zoltán Kodály. He and his parents had adopted Lutheranism in an attempt to disguise their Jewishness, but to no avail - he was interned in a German forced labour camp in 1943 at age 15, and was lucky to survive. He resumed his studies after the war, but fled his country ahead of the Communist takeover while still only in his third year of study. From 1948 to 1951 he lived in Iran, where he was the personal pianist for the Shah of Iran. There he met a woman named Eve, another Hungarian, who became his wife. They emigrated to Australia in 1951.

He was Musical Director at the Seven Network for 15 years, 1956–1971, was involved in nine Royal Command Performances, and has conducted all the ABC symphony orchestras. His work was an important element of many official openings (Sydney Opera House, Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney Football Stadium, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo 88, Darling Harbour, major sporting grand finals, etc.). In 2008 he performed at the piano for Crown Princess Mary of Denmark at the opening of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. (In 1980, after a heart attack, he had been treated personally by Dr Victor Chang.)

The Australian artists with whom he has worked include Peter Allen, Ricky May, Olivia Newton-John, Julie Anthony, John Farnham, Anthony Warlow, Jill Perryman, Barry Crocker, Kamahl, James Morrison, David Campbell, Judy Connelli, Violinist Ian Cooper, Suzanne Johnstone, Jackie Love, James Blundell, Don Burrows, Andy Firth, Marina Prior, Rob Guest, Jimmy Little, Tommy Emmanuel, Normie Rowe, Rhonda Burchmore and many others. He also worked with overseas performers such as Sammy Davis, Jr., Nat King Cole, Shirley Bassey, Louis Armstrong, Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Tommy Tycho suffered a serious stroke in 2008. He now lives in a nursing home, where he receives regular therapy; his left side is paralysed but he still composes and plays with his right hand.

Venetians - Chinese I's (Here Come The Minute Men) 12 Inch

 Chinese I's (Here Come The Minute Men)/Chinese I's (Here Come The Minute Men) Single Mix/Sound On Sound


The Venetians were an Australian synthpop act that had several hit records in Australia during the middle 1980's. Released in 1983, 'Chines I's' was their first release.
The Venetians owe their roots to Rik Swinn. A talented, English songwriter and singer who arrived in Australia in 1982 to find fortune and fame. He probably didn't guess it would come at first in the form of this vaguely anti-Asian synthpop/ new wave showstopper.
David Skeet covered the guitar work whilst Matthew Hughes provided melodic keyboard notes. Peter Watson took up bass duties and Tim Powles handled drums. Together they were The Venetians and they were ready to conquer the world. Unfortunately they only managed to achieve a few B-list hits and an Australian top 10 with 'So Much For Love'. They could have been so much more if they had had some good backing from a producer. It is undeniable that this is a very intelligent release both 'Chinese I's' and its B-side 'Sound On Sound' were released with music videos and charted at #63 and #85 respectively on the Australian charts despite the fact that both deserved to do better.