Birtles Shorrock Goble are an Australian pop/rock group composed of the three original singers and songwriters of
Little River Band
Little River Band (LRB) are a Rock music, rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studi ...
, namely
Beeb Birtles
Beeb Birtles (born Gerard Bertelkamp, 28 November 1948) is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972–74), Little River Band (1975 ...
,
Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo ...
and
Graeham Goble
Graeham George Goble, (born 15 May 1947)Goble, Graeham (2006Graeham Goble: Biography. Retrieved on 14 July 2008. is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Little Ri ...
. The members are known for their extensive writing and performance of
hit song
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
s and distinctive vocal harmonies. They are sometimes referred to by the initials BSG.
History
Background and Little River Band
Birtles, Shorrock and Goble were members of popular Australian bands before forming Little River Band in 1974, which became one of Australia's first
supergroups, achieving
gold and platinum awards and multi-million international record sales and op 10 hits in the US for five consecutive years (1978–1982)
Birtles, Shorrock and Graeham Goble left Little River Band at different times and for different reasons.
Shorrock left in 1982, Birtles in 1983
[Forbes, Clark (1989) ''Whispering Jack'', Hutchinson Australia, ().] and Goble retired with the band in 1989.
[Aue, Frankie (1997]
A web-interview with Mr Goble
22 July 1997.
Following their departures from the band, Birtles, Shorrock and Goble continued to maintain careers in the music industry.
2001-2007: BSG
On 28 May 2001, Shorrock and Goble were seated at the same table at the Australian
APRA Awards. A reunion was first discussed after record producer Paul Rodger approached Graeham Goble and Derek Pellicci with interest from
Warner Music
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...
to produce a video concert like the
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
' ''
Hell Freezes Over
''Hell Freezes Over'' is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. The album is the first to be released after the Eagles had reformed following a fourteen-year-long break up. The band's lineup was that of the ''Long Run'' era: Gle ...
''. Subsequent telephone calls to Birtles and Shorrock confirmed that they, too, were not averse to a reunion.
The initial plans provided for Birtles, Shorrock, Goble, Pellicci,
David Briggs, and George McArdle to re-form under the band name ''The Original Little River Band''. Those plans were quickly thwart when former Little River Band manager
Glenn Wheatley
Glenn Dawson Wheatley (23 January 1948 – 1 February 2022) was an Australian musician, talent manager and tour promoter.
Career
Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s he became known national ...
told Birtles, Shorrock, and Goble that things would be a lot easier if they reformed on their own. It was determined that the name Little River Band and associated logos had been transferred by Wheatley and Goble to a company owned by LRB lead guitarist
Stephen Housden without the permission of the other members of the band.
[Elder, Bruce (2002]
Help is far away for a famous band
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
, 27 November 2002. (See
Legal battles.)
Wheatley decided that the three singer/songwriters would henceforth appear as Birtles Shorrock Goble: The Founding Members of Little River Band. ("Not BSG," said Shorrock, "it sounds like something you get at a Chinese restaurant."
)
The first public performance of the reformed group occurred on 1 March 2002 at the
Australian Grand Prix Ball. The hour-long set of twelve songs reprised many of their international hits.
In March 2003, Birtles Shorrock Goble appointed Paul Rodger as their manager and signed a
recording contract with
Universal Music Australia. The group recorded their live performance at The Forum in Melbourne and released it as the live album, ''Full Circle''. The concert showcased Little River Band tracks, and new songs written by each of the members.
In August–September 2007 Birtles Shorrock Goble toured Australia with the
Countdown Spectacular 2
The ''Countdown Spectacular'' is a series of concerts reviving the nostalgia of the Australian music television series ''Countdown''.
Countdown Spectacular
The first tour was staged from June to August 2006. It featured mainly Australian artists a ...
, which reacquainted Australian fans with many of the outstanding performers who appeared on the iconic television program
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
. Birtles Shorrock Goble were given penultimate billing before
Rick Springfield
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...
, Birtles' former bandmate in
Zoot. BSG performed a LRB medley consisting of eight hits.
In September 2007, Birtles Shorrock Goble performed at the
2007 AFL Grand Final
The 2007 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 2007. It was the 111th annual G ...
.
2008-present: The Future
Since 2007, there have been no further Birtles Shorrock Goble shows. While there has never been an official announcement of Birtles Shorrock Goble disbanding, when asked in 2010 if they would perform again, Shorrock replied "No... The door is locked, but I have the key... I don't feel the need to go back and be married to those guys again. We had a stormy marriage
uta great marriage."
Legal battles
The seeds of future legal conflict were sown in 1987: with a new line-up and new recording company, the members of Little River Band formed a "clean slate" company known as We Two Pty Ltd. The five band members at that time were made equal shareholders.
Band assets, including the name and logo, were transferred into this company. Goble acknowledges that mistakes were made:
"The LRB name was never 'for sale'. It was lost to Stephen Housden because of a legal document that transferred the name to We Two Pty. Ltd. The name should have been licensed, not transferred. We were ill-advised and totally unaware of what we were leaving behind." Graeham Goble (2005)[Miller, Chuck (2005]
"Born in the Sign of Water"
Goldmine, 4 February 2005.
As the other members left over time, by 1997 Housden was the sole remaining member and ownership of We Two Pty Ltd (including rights to the name Little River Band) passed to him. He formed a new band which, with various personnel changes, is called the Little River Band and continues to tour North America.
When Birtles, Shorrock and Goble initially proposed to re-form as The Original Little River Band, Housden asserted his rights to the name and took the matter to the
Federal Court of Australia (see ''
We Two Pty Ltd v Shorrock (2002)
''We Two Pty Ltd v Shorrock (2002)'' was presided by Justice Raymond Finkelstein of the Federal Court of Australia, Melbourne to determine the ownership of the name, Little River Band, its trademarks, logos and associated assets. We Two Pty Lt ...
''). In an out-of-court settlement, it was agreed that Birtles, Shorrock and Goble would not use the trade mark (name) or logo as the name of their band, or in the name of their band, but "shall be entitled to refer prominently but always only in a descriptive way in promotional and advertising material, to the fact that they were members of the original line up of the Little River Band".
Loss of access to the LRB name for Birtles, Shorrock and Goble came as a shock to many fans and received considerable attention in the Australian media.
The settlement would be tested repeatedly, including the blocking of a Little River Band retrospective DVD put together by Birtles, Shorrock and Goble. Housden also challenged the manner in which BSG described their link to LRB in promotional material and recordings. Further legal action ensued in Australia and in the United States.
Discography
Albums
*° Australian Music DVD Chart.
Compilation albums
As featured On
* "Little River Band medley" ''Countdown Spectacular Live 2'' (2007)
* "O Holy Night" on ''
The Spirit of Christmas 2002
''The Spirit of Christmas 2002'' is the eighth compilation album of Christmas-associated tracks in the annual The Spirit of Christmas (compilation album), Spirit of Christmas series. It was released in Australia in November 2002 with proceeds g ...
'' (2002)
See also
*
Little River Band
Little River Band (LRB) are a Rock music, rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studi ...
*
Mississippi (band)
Mississippi were an Australian soft rock band (1972–1975), which included Graham Goble on lead vocals and guitar, Beeb Birtles on lead vocals and guitar, and Derek Pellicci on drums. The band had started as Allison Gros in Adelaide in 197 ...
Awards
ARIA Hall of Fame
The
ARIA Hall of Fame is to honour the growing number of legendary performers, producers, songwriters and others who have influenced music culture in Australia.
, -
,
2004
, (As members of) Little River Band
,
ARIA Hall of Fame
,
Australian Club Entertainment
, -
, 2005
, Birtles Shorrock Goble
, Best Original Music Group
,
Mo Awards
The
Mo Awards
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...
, (technically The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards), are annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia.
[Goble, Graeham (2006]
Graeham Goble Reminiscing: Awards
. Retrieved on 14 July 2008.
, -
, 2004
, Birtles Shorrock Goble
, Classical Rock Performers of the Year
,
Musicians
Since forming in 2002, Birtles Shorrock Goble have used a small nucleus of support musicians who have mastered the original LRB sound.
[Grafton, Julius (2002]
Not the Little River Band – Live in SydneyCX magazine
, 29 November 2002.
*Lead guitar
**Simon Hosford 2002–2006
**
Brett Garsed
Brett Edward Garsed (born 20 April 1963) is an Australian musician and songwriter, best known for his work as a guitarist with John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich, as well as being a former member of the American band Nelson. Garsed was featu ...
2007
*Bass guitar
**
Jason Vorherr 2002–2007
*Guitar
**Joshua Goble 2003, 2007
**Nathan Goble 2007
*Drums
**John Watson 2002
**Angus Burchall 2002, 2006–2007
**
Dave Beck
David Daniel Beck (June 16, 1894December 26, 1993) was an American labor leader, and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1952 to 1957. He helped found the "Conference" system of organization in the Teamsters union, and s ...
2002–2005
*Keyboard
**Stewart Wilkinson 2002
**Dorian West 2002–2005, 2007
**Scott Griffiths 2006
*Percussion
**James Richardson 2002
**Alejandro Vega 2002–2007
External links
Birtles Shorrock Goble websiteOnline Museum
Further reading
*
*
*Kruger, Debbie (2003
Melbourne Weekly Magazine, 6 July 2003
*
References
{{Authority control
Australian pop music groups
Australian soft rock music groups
Australian supergroups
Little River Band members
Musical groups established in 2001
2001 establishments in Australia
Rock music supergroups