The Easybeats: Album by Album Thread (pt2)

They did Groupie but it was written by the same guy who wrote the hits for The Flying Circus (Hay Ride and La La). I've got a New Dream single somewhere and I swear it's written by someone out of Weather Report.

Edit: I've googled The Dream and The New Dream and nothing seems to be related to jazz fusion so I must be thinking of another Aussie band on the yellow Festival label.

 

As 1977 drew to a close, one final Easybeats cover snuck out onto the Australian market. The song in question was a bit of a surprise, as it was one of the band's lesser-known works, although it had recently been reissued on the Drum version of the "Best of Volume 2" album. "Do You Have a Soul" had originally been issued on the flip of the Australian "Who'll Be the One" single in 1967; a decade on, it was given a power pop treatment by Cheek and issued as the flipside to the band's cover of The Mighty Avengers' 1964 hit "So Much in Love" (Mushroom K 6998). When last we met the band, they were still trading as Punkz (see post # 942) and this release marked their first release under their new name. Not only that, but the band's manager, Glenn A. Baker, convinced Vanda and Young to produce the new version of "Do You Have a Soul" as well, under the pseudonym of The Masked Marvels.



As this makes it as much a post-Easybeats solo years venture as a cover, I'll cover this release in more detail on the Solo Years thread at the appropriate juncture. For now, suffice it to say that Cheek delivered an excellent performance, and that the song was later issued in the US on a Cheek EP on "Bomp"-supremo and Vanda-Young fan Greg Shaw's Voxx label (VEP 3302) in 1980.

 

Steady On (Australia Alberts UAS-6465*)



Released: September 1978
Compilation compiled by: George Crotty.

* This is an unauthorised compilation and was not an official pressing by Albert Productions.

In the history of 20th century popular culture, there was little to rival the global phenomenon of Beatlemania. Even behind the Iron Curtin of the U.S.S.R, the British Invasion had crept through, via the underground bootlegs of tapes and records printed on X-rays (known as “Records On Bones”). In Siberia, a young man named George Crotty was one of the many Soviet teenagers taken by the pop group. At aged 19, his love for beat music was such that he was already fronting his own beat band called The Q. To his friends, he was given the nickname Nesa Bitls (pronounced Nesher Beatles).

In the late 1960’s, Crotty immigrated to Sydney, Australia. Because of his easy going nature and exuberant personality, he found it easy to make friends. His passion for the rock music of the 1960’s continued as he began to collect the rock groups of his newly adopted country. One Australian group in particular was The Easybeats. The high regard in which Crotty held the band was well known thru-out the collector’s circuit. And being based in Sydney, the spiritual home of the group and their label Albert Productions, it was inevitable.

In the mid 1970’s, he summoned the courage to visit the label. With the goal of meeting his idols Harry Vanda and George Young, he was successful beyond his wildest dreams. His open personality and unabashed enthusiasm for the duo’s music made him a friend to everyone at Alberts – including Harry and George. If that wasn’t enough, after sometime, George Young gave Crotty access to the recordings the group had accumulated in the Albert Studio Vaults. With his domestic grade tape recorder,Crotty began to make copies of the band’s acetates, demo reels and studio outtakes for his own private collection. Although the quality of Crotty’s tape recorder wasn't “professional”, it was still an honour to have recordings these unreleased treasures.

By 1978 he had collected quite a substantial amount of music. Crotty decided to compile the songs recorded from the early period of The Easybeats’ career and have them privately pressed to vinyl. At a very small run (said to be “around twenty”), he had no intention of selling the album commercially, they were simply intended as presents to friends and the people at Alberts as a “thank you” for their kindness. He referred to it as his “tribute album.” In keeping with the compilation’s period, he designed a cover and wrote liner notes in the style of a pop album from the early/mid 60’s. The liner notes express his love for the band - "The Easybeats are my favourite group and all their songs are music to my ears. The time is now and 1965 will be remembered as the days of that E.A.S.Y. beat". The album was called “Steady On”, after one of the demo recordings found LP.

After completion, he mailed copies of the record to his record trading friends across the world. Next was to present the LP to his friends at Albert Productions. But it was to his dismay to learn that his project had not gone over as well as he had hoped. Although Crotty’s intentions were good (if naïve), Albert Productions were understandably shocked at the thought of these recordings being leaked to the public (and more importantly - bootleggers). It was probably made worse by Crotty crediting the LP to Albert Productions, especially with the poor quality of the album’s audio. When word of this got back to Crotty, he air-mailed his collector friends, begging them not to sell their copies or reveal they owned a copy.

In 1979 - Raven Records would secure the licence to officially release some of the songs on an E.P. titled Mean Old Lovin'. This would include 4 of the songs from Crotty's disc. But to date - no other songs featured on the original L.P. have been officially released by Albert Productions or any other label with an approved licence to the material.

The album became something of an enigma to Easybeats fans. It was even described and pictured in an issue of Record Collector magazine. Eventually, 12 years after it was pressed, seven of the tracks surfaced on a bootleg CD bearing the “Steady On” name [Tendolar TDR-061] along with other Vanda & Young related rarities. Some of the songs from the original LP were retitled.

Crotty reputation as one of Australia most renowned collectors of Garage Rock, Psychedelic and Australian artists from the 1960’s continued to grow throughout the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. He would go on to organize two fondly remembered “60’s Reunion Parties” early in the new millennium. These reunited many fans and artists from the past, buthehad to retire from this as his health began to fail. In George Crotty passed away from a fatal heart attack in 2010.

Since Crotty’s passing in 2010, the LP has appeared in various online auctions sites. Demanding prices into the thousands, but often being mistaken as an “official” lost album.

Original 1978 track listing

Side A

1. Steady On ^
2. I Believe In You ^
3. Mama ^
4. I'm In Love With You ^
5. No One Knows *
6. I Know Something ^ #
7. Keep Your Hands Off My Baby * #

Side B

1. I Know It ^ #
2. The Bell ^
3. How You Doin' Now ^ #
4. Every Night ^
5. I Don't Agree *
6. I Can Still See The Sun ^
7. Hey! Babe *
8. Woe Is Me ^

* Officially released on Mean Old Lovin' E.P.
^ Still officially unreleased
# Only found on the original vinyl L.P.



1990 CD edition track listing

1. Steady On
2. I Believe In You
3. Mama
4. I Need Your Lovin' ("I'm In Love With You" retitled)
5. The Bells
6. Nothing Happens ("Every Night" retitled).
7. I Can Still See The Sun
8. Shot In The Head (Haffy's Whiskey Sour single)
9. Bye, Bye Bluebird (Haffy's Whiskey Sour single)
10. Natural Man (Marcus Hook Roll Band)
11. Come On Round (Paintbox)
12. Take It From Here (Paintbox)
13. Easy As Can Be (live performance from Bill Henderson's Bandstand)
14. Wedding Ring (live performance from Bill Henderson's Bandstand)
15. Women (live performance from Bill Henderson's Bandstand)
16. In My Book (live performance from Bill Henderson's Bandstand)
17. I'll Make You Happy (live performance from Bill Henderson's Bandstand)
18. Come And See Her (live performance from Bill Henderson's Bandstand)
19. She's So Fine (live performance from Bill Henderson's Bandstand)
20. I'll Make You Happy (Stereo version)*
21. I'm Gonna Tell Everybody (Stereo version)*
22. Girl On My Mind (Stereo version)*
23. It's So Easy (Stereo version)*
24. You Are The Light (Stereo version)*
25. Someway, Somehow (Stereo version)*
26. What About Our Love (Stereo version)*
27. Say You Want Me (Stereo version)*
28. My, My, My (Stereo version)*
29. Yesterday's Her0 (John Paul Young single - fades out early)

* Fake stereo mixes.



The rear cover to the vinyl LP.

 

The LP was originally mastered at Ranger Custom Recordings, a prolific (and I hasten to add completely legitimate) custom recording operation led at the time by prominent recording engineer and producer Ross Sheard.

 

I saw Punkz support AC/DC at Ginnenderra High School at the end of 1976. The only song I remember them doing was Smoking In The Boys Room! And pretty sure there was a few suit~vest and wide tie action going on. I didn't know they became Cheek. What's the worst name? Punkz or Cheek?

 

It's a draw! Mind you, when you look at their photos, it was just never going to go far... There's no identity there - I feel bad for enthusiastic old Glenn A. Baker, he really managed the wrong band there...

 

GAB had a 50s revival band (Ol' 55) so the next step was a 60s revival band. It was all part of a cunning plan.

 

If only he could have taken it to it's next logical conclusion.

 

Even though the "Steady On" LP (in all its lo-fi glory) was not an official release, taken together with the legitimate release of "The Shame Just Drained", this means that in a twelve-month period around thirty previously unheard Easybeats songs escaped the Alberts vaults within a twelve-month period. Neither set was flawless - the sound quality of "Steady On" left a lot to be desired, and parts of "The Shame Just Drained" also appeared to be needle-drops from acetates (whether Baker made the neededrops or whether Alberts had already dubbed the acetates onto tape is uncertain, but it makes little difference), and the running order of both could have been improved, but nevertheless, both were full of delights for fans, most of whom only ever had access to the Alberts-sanctioned "Shame" LP.

As regards the song selections, it is not clear why Baker chose to include the rough run through Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie", recorded early in the band's career in Sydney, on an album otherwise dedicated to the band's London period. If the idea was to represent all of the band's career - in essence to do an "alternate history" à la The Who's "Odds and Sods" LP three years earlier - then he ought to have had a better balance between their Australian years and their London period. If not, then "Little Queenie" should have stayed in the vaults in favour of another London recording. The selection of the London recordings was also open to question: "Lisa" was not actually an unreleased song, although it was, from an Australian perspective, pretty rare (as acknowledged in Baker's liner notes, it had been released in France in 1967) and as serious collectors might already have sought that out, it probably ought to have been replaced with something else. Then there was "I'm on Fire"; one-half of a two-song suite originally gifted to Mike Furber. Why include one but not the other? And were there really no better songs in the vaults than Kelly? And, more importantly, given that Baker's liner notes make much of the "scrapped" album, why not feature more tracks from that album, in place of songs that were obviously recorded as demos?

When it comes to "Steady On", Crotty's song selections make more sense, although the running order could have been improved. Again though, there is one track out of place - "I Know It", the only track on the album to date from the London years; all other tracks date from the band's Australian period. (In fact, just swapping "Little Queenie" and "I Know It" from one album to the other would improve the homegenity of both sets). I think though that Crotty can be forgiven for this - as we know, there is (or was) an acetate featuring "The Bells" on one side and "I Know It" on the other, so it was an understandable mistake to make.

But these are minor criticisms. Baker (and for those few who received a copy, Crotty) did the world a favour by bringing these unreleased tracks into the light and offering a fresh perspective on the band's career, particularly as (especially so in Baker's case) the albums contained some of the band's best music ("The Shame Just Drained"; "Station on Third Avenue"; "Amanda Storey"; "I Know It"). These thirty or so tracks allowed fans to reappraise the band's development, and whetted appetites for more. Another ten or so tracks would surface over the next decade or so, bringing the total amount of archive releases to around 45, but that still leaves 30 or so tracks still languishing (one hopes!) in the Alberts vaults. It would be nice to think that one day, the "Steady On" album might see official release in rather better sound quality; it would be even nicer to imagine that somebody else will be given the same access as Baker and Crotty and will pull together another archive release rounding out the final thirty tracks. Now that would be an archive release worth buying!

 

Those are typos certainly? It's of course BRIAN Henderson's Bandstand.

 

Yes they are.

 

The sound quality on The Shame Just Drained could most certainly be improved if it was remade today. The acetates were "cleaned up" the best they could with 1977 technology (i.e. a low pass filter to take out hiss and crackle). I've always been a little suspect of the origins of "Little Queenie". Compared to the other "40 songs" recorded at 2UW (i.e. "Mean Old Lovin'", "Hey! Baby") the audio quality is too good. There were plenty of Australian era songs that could have been released in its place: "Find My Way Home", "Mama", "I Believe In You", "I'm In Love With You", "No One Knows" etc.

"I Know It" was only released on the Crotty album because it was found on the B-side of an acetate copy of "The Bell" (as Gareth mentioned above). Speaking of the "The Bell" - there's a track that should have been released on The Shame Just Drained, as it's often totted as the bands first proper studio recording. But back to "I Know It". Another song that could have been included on The Shame Just Drained or one of the Raven E.P.'s. It's a up tempo song that sounds like an outtake from Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. Heck, they could have even added "Bad News", it's a jokey song but still OK or at least a stronger choice than "Kelly".

"Lisa" was probably included because up until that date, there was no way of hearing it in Australia. Nowadays it's place on the album is completely redundant. In fact the whole compilation is a bit redundant now, Albert Productions should be working on a new anthology of unreleased Easybeats tracks. There's certainly enough stuff out there (even if Alberts no longer have the masters - it's out there among collectors). This is a rough draft of one:

The Easybeats Anthology (or something else given that everyone has over used the word "Anthology" for their compilations )

1. The Lonely Surfer (the first recording with Stevie, Harry and Dick - recorded at a recording booth) #
2. Steady On (2UW recording) ^
3. Mama (2UW recording) ^
4. I Believe In You (2UW recording) ^
5. Every Night (2UW recording) ^
6. I Can Still See The Sun (2UW recording) ^
7. Keep Your Hands Of My Babe (2UW recording) ^
8. Woe Is Me (2UW recording) ^
9. You Talk To Much (2UW recording) ^
10. Little Queenie (early recording session)
11. The Bells (first studio recording) ^
12. She's So Fine (take 2)
13. No One Knows
14. Find My Way Back Home (recorded for Sing Sing Sing - May 1965)
15. I Who Have Nothing (recorded for Sing Sing Sing - May 1965) #
16. Anything from the 4BC Sound Spectacular (recorded 26th November 1965 - it was broadcasted later show there has to be a recording somewhere!!!) #
17. How You Doin' Now (studio outtake)
18. I'm In Love With You (studio outtake) ^
19. What Do Want Babe (demo recording - 2UW recording)
20. Make Life Swing With Coke
21. Baby I'm Coming (the rejected single - recorded Abbey Road Studios August 1966)
22. Mandy (the rejected single - recorded Abbey Road Studios August 1966)
23. Friday On My Mind (outakes - the multitrack tapes survived) ^
24. Made My Bed, Gonna Lie In It (BBC performance)
25. Sorry (BBC performance) ^
26. Pretty Girl (BBC performance) ^
27. Lovin' Machine/Batman/Lovin Machine' (reprise) (live performance) ^
28. Outtakes from the Good Friday sessions ^
29. Maybe It's Because I'm an Easybeat (from Easy Come, Easy Go) ^
30. Loch Lomond (from Easy Come, Easy Go) ^
31. Sorry (live at Festival Hall, Melbourne)
32. In My Book (live at Festival Hall, Melbourne)
33. I'll Make You Happy (live at Festival Hall, Melbourne)
34. Heaven And Hell (session outakes) ^
35. I Know It (from the abandoned 2nd United Artists album) ^
36. Bad News (from the abandoned 2nd United Artists album) ^
37. Good Times (alternate mix) *
38. Land of Make Believe (Italian single mix) ^
39. Falling off The Edge of World (US/Australian single mix) ^
40. Amanda Story (early version) ^
    
41. Come In You'll Get Pneumonia (Bill Shepard version)
42. Hello How Are You (Bill Shepard version)
43. We All Live Happily Together (Italian single mix) *
44. Come In You'll Get Pneumonia (single mix)
45. Music Goes 'Round My Head (Italian single mix)
46. Monkey See, Monkey So (Central Sound Demo) ^
47. I Keep Forgetting (BBC performance)
48. Old MacDonald Had A Farm (BBC performance) ^
49. Something from the 1968 Record Star Show (I'm betting there is a recording) #
50. Down To The Last 500 (BBC performance)
51. What In The World (BBC performance)
52. Lay Me Down And Die (single version)
53. Little Red Jug (Central Sound Demo remixed) ^
54. Fly With Me (Central Sound Demo) ^
55. Got Till The Morning (Central Sound Demo) ^
56. Mother, Mother (Central Sound Demo) ^
57. Lori (Central Sound Demo) ^
58. You Don't Know (Central Sound Demo) ^
59. Moonshine and Whiskey Galore (Central Sound Demo) ^
60. Walking and Talking (Central Sound Demo) ^
61. Sweet Jelly Brown Is Swingin' (Central Sound Demo) ^
62. You Don't Care No More (Central Sound Demo) ^
63. St. Louis (complete version)
64. Can't Wait Till September (Moscow Road Demo) #
65. Party's Over (Moscow Road Demo) #
66. The Music Goes 'Round My Head (live Germany 1969)
67. Something from the The Easybeats special (1969) (I'm betting there is a recording) #
    
68. Something from the 1969 Australian tour. A few shows were sponsored by radio and TV stations there may be broadcasts. #
    
69. For My Woman (live 1986 reunion tour)
70. St. Louis (live 1986 reunion tour)
71. Friday On My Mind (live 1986 reunion tour)

# not confirmed to exist.
^ exists but not officially released.
* not released on CD.

Pepper that with some popular songs and you've got yourself a decent box set.

 

http://www.albertsgoodtimes.com/

Maybe worth mentioning the promotional site for the Good Times box set. It has some cool photos of the group.

 

Better still, perhaps Alberts might release the "deluxe editions" of the albums posted earlier on this thread!

 

I'd be happy with a nice single CD just of the (confirmed) unreleased demos...

1965-66
01 - The Bell [2UW]
02 - I Know Something [2UW]
03 - Lindy [2UW]
04 - Away With The Wind [2UW]
05 - You Talk Too Much [2UW]
06 - Insight [2UW]
07 - Crowded City [2UW]
08 - Need A Little Bit Of Love [2UW]
09 - Anytime [2UW]
10 - Shout Your House Down [2UW]
11 - Her [2UW]
12 - So Many Things [2UW]
13 - Steady On [Early 1965 Studio Session [2UW]
14 - Mama [Early 1965 Studio Session [2UW]
15 - I’m In Love With You [Studio outtake]
16 - Every Night [Studio outtake]
17 - I Believe In You [Studio outtake]
18 - Woe Is Me [Studio outtake]
19 - Nothing For You [Studio outtake]
20 - Step Back [Demo - stereo]
21 - I Can Still See The Sun [Studio outtake]
22 - What Do You Want Babe [Demo]

1967-68
23 - I Know It [Good Times Session]
24 - Bad News [Good Times Session]
25 - Monkey See Monkey Do [Central Sound Demo]
26 - Got Till The Morning [Central Sound Demo]
27 - Walking And Talking [Central Sound Demo]
28 - I’m Gonna Be Somebody [Central Sound Demo]
29 - Fly With Me [Central Sound Demo]
30 - Sweet Jelly Brown Is Swinging [Central Sound Demo]
31 - Lori [Central Sound Demo]
32 - You Don’t Know [Central Sound Demo]
33 - Moonshine And Whiskey Galore [Central Sound Demo]
34 - Mother Mother [Central Sound Demo]

Would make a nice companion for:
- a complete BBC disc (which we've seen is possible)
- a live disc (better than the disc Raven has released)

The worldwide variations could be covered nicely through 'deluxe' album reissues. Kinda like what Repertoire tried to do, but better executed. So this would include the (unreleased) acetate mixes and released variations.

 

Amazing idea for a box set! That would (officially) fill in so many gaps.

"The Lonely Surfer" is a surprise -- to think that they tackled Jack Nitzsche's classic so early in their career. The 1963 original is IMO one of the greatest instrumentals ever. It apparently got some airplay in Australia?

 

Actually, I don't think they did. This little known track features Stevie, so is unlikely to be an instrumental; more likely it is an original song with the same name, probably a Wright or a Vanda-Wright composition, which may date back to Stevie's pre-Easybeat days with Chris Langdon and the Langdells.

But yes, Nitzsche's single got good airplay in Sydney in 1963.

 

Regarding this release, I know it says "stereo" on the LP but I'm pretty sure it's all mono - can the sound engineers amongst you confirm this?

Also - one thing I noticed is that the 1992 CD omits the first second or so of the start of "Johnny No-One" and "Station on Third Avenue" in comparison with how they open on the LP. The weird one second vocal that opens Johnny almost sounds like a tape mistake so I wonder whether it was omitted in the reissue with that in mind?

However, knowing how quirky this band can be, it was probably there to serve a purpose...

 

“The Shame Just Drained” is most definitely mono, both LP and CD. All of it. Moreover, several of these tracks are sourced from mono acetate discs, as is obvious upon listening. Apparently at the time the LP was assembled, Alberts did not have tape copies for a number of these tracks (or, more likely, their “master tapes” on file had been dubbed from demonstration discs). We know that the studio bill for the ‘Good Times’ sessions at Olympic went unpaid at the time, so it seems likely that these tracks were sent down on disc in 1967 intended for copyright purposes, later dubbed to tape as the discs began to show wear, then utilized a decade later for mastering the LP. The Central Sound demos from 1968 seem to have arrived in either format as some betray surface noise but others do not.

As for the trimmed intro’s for ‘Johnny No-One’ and ‘Station on Third Avenue,’ one guess might be that whoever dubbed Alberts’ original tapes to create the digital sources used for CD, may have thought that Harry’s little vocal cue on the former, and the stuttering guitar chinks on the latter, may have been false starts. This same guy may have thought Alex’s little horn bleep at the start of ‘St. Louis’ was likewise another misfire. That’s one explanation but it’s just a guess.

 

Funny, it had never occurred to me that it was Alex Young (aka George Alexander) playing the horn part on "St Louis". It makes perfect sense, of course, but how do we know it's him?

 

My usual source for such tidbits. (May he rest in peace.) And besides, really, who else would it be?

 

Yes, a live album would be nice. We know of a number of possible sources:

1. The awards show in early 1966 from which the live "She's So Fine" is taken. We don't know how many songs they performed, but there may be other recordings from this show.
2. Whichever concert is the source for the two live Bobby and Laurie tracks (unless it's the one above). These are rumoured to feature The Easybeats backing the duo - if so, then The Easybeats' set may have been recorded too, and may be out there somewhere.
3. "Brian Henderson's Bandstand" Easybeats special. These are not the studio tracks, as is obvious from the guitar breaks - "Wedding Ring" is also much longer. Whether they are truly live is open to question though - they may be pre-recorded and then mimed (à la "Top of the Pops" in the seventies) - but they are close enough.
4. The German TV show "Beat Beat Beat" - four songs, all live.
5. French TV 1967 - some at least of their French performances were live.
6. The 1967 tour with The Rolling Stones. The Stones' Paris gig was recorded and broadcast on radio as part of the show "Musicorama", which generally broadcast the whole bill. Most "Musicorama" tapes still exist. The Stones' set has been bootlegged. If The Easys were on the bill for this show - not sure - then their set would also have been recorded.
7. The Melbourne show on the 1967 tour. This was definitely recorded, but only three tracks have been issued. The whole show must be ought there somewhere. The Twilights' set has been issued, why not the Easys' set?
8. The 1968 European song festivals in Split and Bratislava. Both of these were filmed for television and may still exist.
9. The 1969 German tour. We know some of this was filmed but only a brief recording has emerged from a TV show - the rest may be out there.
10. The final Australian tour. Surely some of this must have been recorded?

If all - or even most - of the above could be found, a nice live album (a double?) could be compiled.

There is also the reunion tour, for which the Sydney show was taped (five tracks, I think, have been released). It's not good - or rather, the band are good but Stevie, sadly, is not. I would leave this out, or include it on a separate disc so as not to mix it with the vintage material.

There is also Stevie Wright's 1974 Opera House show, which was recorded - one track has been released, so why not the rest? It features both George and Harry, as well as Malcolm Young. Not an Easybeats album, by any means, but but it would make a nice release and a nice tribute to Malcolm.

 

I believe both of these are from 'The First Australian National Record Awards' (14th March 1966 see Part 1 Post #65 Page 3)

The Go! Show did a special on the show and I would be surprised if they didn't broadcast sections of it (The introduction also says the event is being broadcast "right across Australia".) The audio from "She's So Fine" may come from the TV broadcast or a radio one.

I think so too! I also wonder if The Easybeats special from 1969 is still in the Channel 7 vaults? There's a good chance it is and has been misplaced with the 1966 special of the same name.

Wasn't there video footage of this tour as well? Maybe it's time for a definitive Easybeats DVD?

 

Another in an intermittent series of tangents, this one is about
A Starfighters Reunion

On the evening of Friday, May 11, 2012 a small crowd gathered at the Museum RockArt, 42 Zekkenstraat, Hoek, Holland. They had come to witness the 50th reunion of a local band from Rijswijk called The Starfighters, so named for the American Lockheed fighter planes which had been housed at nearby Ypenburg Airport. Some in the crowd were old enough to remember the group playing around The Hague in 1962 and ’63. Others were curious to meet the lead guitarist, one of the best known musicians and songwriters to have come from the area.

Johannes Hendricus van den Berg, then 16 and known as Hans, played lead guitar in The Starfighters for over a year, beginning in 1962. He had helped to form the group and at that time their favorite song was “Apache” by the Shadows which featured Hans’ idol Hank Marvin on guitar. Other group members included Jos van Vliet (vocals), Dick Schultz (bass), Willy Mullens (rhythm guitar) and Boy Brostowski (drums). All fans of The Shadows, their set list consisted of many Shadows covers but also songs by Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard. They practiced in the van den Berg home on Clipper Street in Rijswijk and played local clubs around the Hague like The New Targets and The Square. They played at the military airbase at Ypenburg and at local performances of The Tony Boltini Circus at Malievald. In Rijswijk the club Pax Intrantibus renamed itself The Starfighters Teenager Club in their honor.

In late 1963 Hans was forced to leave the group when his parents emigrated to Australia. He was briefly replaced but the band eventually collapsed without him. Three years later he was Harry Vanda, a recognized international star, the first local boy from the area to make such a mark.

The original Starfighters gathered for the reunion, chatted with the audience, posed for photos and talked with the local press who termed the event “Starfighters Weekend.” Two days later, on Sunday afternoon, they performed a short set at a club called The Black Rider in The Hague. Among the songs they played were ‘Apache’ and ‘Man of Mystery’ by the Shadows, ‘A Girl Like You’ by Cliff Richard, and a song Hans had written, ‘Friday On My Mind.’ In the audience was John “West” Jordaan, the guitarist who had replaced Hans when he left for Australia. Also present was Johan van den Berg, Hans’ eldest son who had been flown to Holland as an infant, had grown up and still lives in The Netherlands, and was seeing his father perform on stage for the first time.

Below, Harry Vanda and The Starfighters







Sources (Google translations from the Dutch):
Knipschild, Harry, “Harry Vanda, Pop Artist from the Clipper Street in Rijswijk” 16 May 2012 http://www.harryknipschild.nl/harry...n-popartiest-uit-de-klipperstraat-in-rijswijk

Museum RockArt, “The Starfighters Reunion with Harry Vanda” 14 May 2012
http://www.rockart.nl/rockart/nieuws/reunie-the-starfighters-met-harry-vanda.html

van Vliet, Jos, “Harry Vanda Netherlands Reunion for The Starfighters” 9 Apr 2012
http://josvanvliet.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/harry-vanda-naar-nederland-voor-reunie-the-starfighters/

van Vliet, Jos, “Starfighters Weekend to End” 20 May 2012
http://josvanvliet.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/starfighters-weekend-ter-afsluiting/

 

You can see a bit of the Starfighters' reunion on youtube