The Easybeats

The Easybeats were a rock and roll band in the 1960s from Australia. They formed in Sydney in late 1964 and split at the end of 1969. They are widely regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the Sixties and were the first Australian rock act to score an international pop hit with their classic 1966 single "Friday On My Mind" (Note: the folk-pop group The Seekers had international hits in 1965)

London, 1966-69

After arriving in London the band recorded a number of songs with Ted Albert at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, but these were deemed unsuitable by UA and Albert was removed as producer. The band were then teamed with freelance producer Shel Talmy (noted for his work with The Who), and one of the tracks they recorded with him became their first big international hit, "Friday On My Mind", which peaked at #6 in the UK in December 1966, made the Top 20 in the USA, the Top 10 in Germany, Holland, France and Italy, and eventually sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Related Topics:
Abbey Road Studios - Shel Talmy - The Who - 1966

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The song also marked the end of the Wright-Young partnership. "Friday" was co-written by Harry Vanda and George Young. With Harry now having mastered English, and Stevie becoming increasingly erratic, he replaced Stevie as George's songwriting partner from this point on. They toured Europe (with The Rolling Stones) and the United States. After a triumphant homecoming tour in mid-1967, original drummer Snowy Fleet left the band, unhappy at the amount of time he had to spend away from his wife and young children. After extensive auditions in London he was replaced by Tony Cahill, formerly of The Wild Cherries, but in the interim several recordings (including "Good Times") were cut with session drummer Freddie Smith. The group spent the remainder of their career based in London.

Related Topics:
Harry Vanda - George Young - The Rolling Stones - Tony Cahill - The Wild Cherries

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Two of their songs, "Bring a Little Lovin" and "Come In, You'll Get Pneumonia", were covered by Los Bravos and Paul Revere and the Raiders, respectively. "Good Times" and "Falling Off The Edge Of The World" were minor hits in the United States. However their career stalled in the late Sixties due to poor management, problems with radio airplay (one single, "Heaven And Hell", was banned by US radio because of a mild sexual reference) and lack of record company support.

Related Topics:
Los Bravos - Paul Revere and the Raiders - United States

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A 1967 album intended as the follow-up the success of "Friday", produced by Glyn Johns, was recorded and prepared for issue but was never released because of the band's complicated financial and contractual problems. One of the songs recorded for the LP, "Good Times" was released as a single; when broadcast on BBC radio it was heard on his car radio by Paul McCartney, who reportedly rang the station immediately after hearing the song to request a repeat playing. (A cover version of "Good Times" by INXS and Jimmy Barnes became a hit in the US after being featured on the soundtrack of the film The Lost Boys in 1987.)

Related Topics:
Glyn Johns - BBC - Paul McCartney - Cover version - INXS - Jimmy Barnes - The Lost Boys - 1987

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