Cheetah were an Australian
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band, active between 1976 and 1984.
The mainstay members and co-lead vocalists were English-born sisters, Chrissie and Lyndsay Hammond. They released their only album, ''Rock & Roll Women'', in April 1982. The band's single, "Walking in the Rain" (1978), peaked at No. 10 on the Australian
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
Singles Chart.
Cheetah toured Australia, the United Kingdom and continental Europe including appearances at
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
in Denmark, the Nuremberg and
Wiesbaden Festivals in Germany and at the 1982 Reading Festival with
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
to an audience of 120,000 people. From 1982, they were based in the UK.
After disbanding in 1984, Chrissie provided vocals for
Rick Wakeman while Lyndsay issued a solo album, ''The Raven'' (1997). Cheetah reformed in 2006 to perform in the ''
Countdown Spectacular
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 ...
'' and a subsequent tour of Europe.
Australian musicologist
Ian McFarlane
Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017.
As a journalist ...
opined that the sisters "were the archetypal 1970s sex bombs with big hair. They had tremendous, booming rock voices and were in constant demand as session vocalists."
History
Cheetah were an Australian pop rock band formed in 1976 in Melbourne, by the English-born sisters, Chrissie (born 25 November 1955) and Lyndsay Hammond (born 14 May 1954).
The Hammond family had emigrated to Australia on the liner
Strathnaver
Strathnaver or Strath Naver ( gd, Srath Nabhair) is the fertile strath of the River Naver, a famous salmon river that flows from Loch Naver to the north coast of Scotland. The term has a broader use as the name of an ancient province also kn ...
departing
Tilbury
Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...
on 10 November 1958.
From 1974 Lyndsay fronted a group, Skintight, for three years
and toured backing
Renée Geyer
Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's Worl ...
before forming Cheetah. The name was chosen as they "wanted a feline image", it was "seen as a bit racy, not right."
They "adopted a sensual approach to singing and modelled their clothes on the title of Lyndsay's old band." (Skintight)
Chrissie was a member of a group, Eli Flash,
prior to undertaking the role of Mary Magdalene, from May 1975, in the second Australian musical theatre production of
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...
.
There she met
Russell Hitchcock
Russell Charles Hitchcock (born 15 June 1949) is an Australian musician and lead vocalist of the soft rock duo Air Supply.
Early life
Born in Melbourne, Hitchcock attended South Brunswick State School, and later studied at Princes Hill High ...
and
Graham Russell
Graham Cyril Russell (born 11 June 1950) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist of the soft rock duo Air Supply.
In 1975, with Russell Hitchcock, he formed Air Supply in Australia. The duo have been singing and p ...
.
With Chrissie and Hitchcock on lead vocals and Russell on guitar, they formed a harmony vocal group,
Air Supply
Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. It consists of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five ...
in Melbourne, while the show was still running.
Chrissie left Air Supply in 1976.
Both sisters were session vocalists for Australia-based artists including
Jo Jo Zep
Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons are an Australian blues and rock band that features the singer, songwriter and saxophonist Joe Camilleri (aka "Jo Jo Zep"). The band was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had several Australian chart hits ...
,
Jon English
Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for ...
,
Marc Hunter
Marc Alexander Hunter (7 September 195317 July 1998) was a New Zealand rock and pop singer, songwriter and record producer. He was the lead vocalist of Dragon (1973–11/1979, 8/1982–1989, 1995–11/1997), a band formed by his older brother ...
and
Flash and the Pan
Flash and the Pan were an Australian new wave musical group (essentially an ongoing studio project) formed in 1976 by Harry Vanda and George Young, both former members of the Easybeats; they were a production and songwriting team known as Van ...
.
They also worked as a vocal duo backing
Stevie Wright
Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015) was an Australian musician and songwriter who has been called Australia's first international pop star. During 1964–69, he was lead singer of Sydney-based rock and roll band the E ...
,
Norman Gunston
Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s. He ...
and
Daryl Braithwaite
Daryl Braithwaite (born 11 January 1949) is an Australian singer. He was the lead vocalist of Sherbet (1970–1984 and many subsequent reunions). Braithwaite also has a solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including t ...
.
Cheetah were managed by Brian de Courcy and initially signed with Philips Records, which issued their debut single, "Love Ain't Easy to Come By" in 1977 – without the group's permission.
They switched to
Albert Music
Albert Music, formerly J Albert and Son, is an Australian company with an estimated worth in 2009 of more than A$209 million. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it earns significant royalties through its su ...
and recorded a cover version of "
Walking in the Rain" – originally by
The Ronettes
The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. ...
– which peaked at No. 10 on the
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
Singles Chart in October 1978
and was the 100th best selling single of 1978 in Australia.
It was produced by
Molly Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...
(
Supernaut,
The Ferrets).
A music video, by Chris Löfvén (Spectrum, Daddy Cool, Birtles & Goble), was also provided.
Their other charting singles include "Deeper Than Love" (June 1979), "Spend the Night" (September 1980) and "Bang Bang" (August 1981).
In mid-1980 Chrissie collapsed in a Melbourne recording studio, due to a "kidney infection", which had cleared up by August.
When not recording or performing, Chrissie lived in Melbourne and Lyndsay in Sydney.
Cheetah gained popularity in Europe, especially "Germany where the girls had a big hit with 'Deeper Than Love'",
which sold 96,000 copies.
During 1981, for live performances, in Cheetah the Hammond sisters were backed by
Mark Evans on bass guitar (ex-
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
), Michael Evans on guitar, Martin Fisher on keyboards and saxophone (
Swanee,
Little Heroes), and John Lalor on drums (
Stevie Wright Band, Swanee).
Cheetah toured across Australia, the UK and Europe including appearances at Roskilde in Denmark, the Nuremberg and
Wiesbaden Festivals in Germany and a show at the 1982
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
,
which was headlined by
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
, to an audience of 120,000 people.
In April 1982 they issued their debut album, ''Rock & Roll Women'', which was produced by
Vanda & Young
Vanda & Young were an Australian songwriting and producing duo composed of Harry Vanda and George Young. They performed as members of 1960s Australian rock group the Easybeats where Vanda was their lead guitarist and backing singer and Young wa ...
(AC/DC,
John Paul Young
John Inglis Young, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with " Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a perform ...
, Flash and the Pan).
Chrissie recalled working with Vanda & Young: "They were tough rockers but decent guys. They saw us as strong women, rather than being the tits, the teeth and the glam, they produced us as rockers, which was very innate. Our lyrics, our stage performance was very much in the male vernacular."
For the album they used session musicians:
Ray Arnott
Ray Arnott is an Australian rock drummer, singer-songwriter, he was a member of Spectrum (1970–1973), which had a number one hit with " I'll Be Gone" .Spencer et al, (2007Arnott, Rayentry. Retrieved 31 January 2010. NOTE: Used for Australian Sin ...
on drums (ex-
Cam-Pact
Cam-Pact was an Australian soul and psychedelic pop band which formed in April 1967. Originally they performed as The Camp Act but soon changed to Cam-Pact (or CamPact). Although little known outside Melbourne at the time, the various lineups of ...
,
Spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
,
the Dingoes
The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band. They were initially active from 1973 to 1979, and reformed in 2009. Initially based in Melbourne, the band relocated to the United States from 1976. The most stable line-up comprised John Bois on ...
), Leszek Karski on bass guitar (
Supercharge), Ian Miller on lead guitar (Chetarca, John Paul Young and the All Stars),
Ronnie Peel on rhythm guitar (
the Missing Links
The Missing Links were an Australian garage rock, R&B, and protopunk group from Sydney who were active from 1964 to 1966. The group was known for wearing their hair long and smashing their equipment on-stage. Throughout the course of 1965, the ...
, Rockwell T. James and the Rhythm Aces,
the La De Das
The La De Da's were a New Zealand rock band of the 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in New Zealand in 1963 as the Mergers, they had considerable success in both New Zealand and Australia until their split in 1975.
In Australia the band is proba ...
, John Paul Young) and Mike Peters on keyboards.
Australian musicologist,
Ian McFarlane
Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017.
As a journalist ...
, felt Cheetah had "turned their attentions to AC/DC-styled hard rock with some success."
In mid-1982 Cheetah relocated to the UK. They used various local musicians: Dave Dowell, Martin Dzal, Tom Evans, Ant Glyn, Rod Roche, Eddie Sparrow and Chris West.
The group broke up in 1984.
McFarlane opined that the sisters "were the archetypal 1970s sex bombs with big hair. They had tremendous, booming rock voices and were in constant demand as session vocalists."
After disbanding Chrissie provided vocals for
Rick Wakeman (from 1990 to 1998),
while Lyndsay issued a solo album, ''The Raven'' (1997).
Cheetah reformed in 2006 to perform in the ''
Countdown Spectacular
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 ...
'' and a subsequent tour of Europe.
In 2007 Lyndsay co-wrote "Higher Than Heaven" with
James Blundell, which the latter issued as his country music single. At the
APRA Music Awards of 2008
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2008 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred o ...
, Lyndsay and Blundell were nominated for Country Work of the Year.
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
;General
* Note: Archived
n-linecopy has limited functionality.
;Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheetah
Australian hard rock musical groups
Sibling musical duos