''Good Friday'' is the fourth studio album by

The Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...

, released in May 1967. It was the first album released after the band signed an international recording deal with United Artists Records. The original UK album was released in May 1967. Although "

Friday on My Mind "Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group the Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching no. 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. ...

" was a big single in the UK, the album failed to make the top 40.

History

In August 1966, the band relocated from Australia to London after being signed to United Artists Records. Their first recordings in England was to deliver a single to United Artists, using their long-time producer and head of their production company, Ted Albert. The band recorded a number of songs with Ted Albert at EMI's Abbey Road Studios which included "Baby, I'm Coming" and "Mandy". However these were rejected by United Artists and Albert was removed as producer and replaced with freelance producer Shel Talmy, who had achieved great success with his production for the Who and the Kinks (both "Baby, I'm Coming" and "Mandy" would be later released in Australia on '' The Shame Just Drained'' and ''Son of Easyfever'' successively). United Artists also felt that the band's song writing was too "unsophisticated" for the competitive UK market. The label had already released the Wright/Young composition "Come And See Her" as a single in the UK on 15 July that same year and it had not sold well. Dutch-born Vanda, now having a stronger grasp of English, replaced Wright as Young's song writing partner at this point. After auditioning several titles for Talmy, "Friday on My Mind" caught the producer's ear as the next single. The band recorded the song with Talmy at IBC Studios, London in September. "Friday on My Mind" was released in the UK on 14 October 1966. It reached #6 on the UK Charts making it the group's first big international hit. The song charted in multiple countries: No. 1 in Australia, No. 13 in Canada, No. 16 in the US, and the Top 10 in Germany, the Netherlands and France, and sold over one million copies worldwide. It was awarded a gold disc. After the success of "Friday", recording began with Talmy on the follow-up single. "Happy Is The Man", "All Gone Boy", "You Me We Love" were early contenders, but it was "Who'll Be The One" that was ultimately chosen. Recording on the album would continue throughout March 1967. The single for "Who'll Be The One" was released as a single in April while the band was tour with The Rolling Stones in Europe. It was not as successful in the UK charts as "Friday On Mind" but reached #14 on the Australian charts.

Release

United Artists Records released ''Good Friday'' in May 1967, with its US counterpart ''Friday On My Mind'' being released the same month. Due to contractual issues, there was no official release of ''Good Friday'' in the band's home country of Australia at the time of its release. The songs "Friday on My Mind", "Made My Bed, Gonna Lie in It" and "Pretty Girl" were released on the greatest hits package ''

The Best of The Easybeats + Pretty Girl ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (released to cash-in on the band's 1967 homecoming tour), while other left over songs would appear on various EP's. The US ''Friday On My Mind'' album would eventually be released on the budget World Record Club label in 1969. The UK version was later reissued by Repertoire Records (but re-titled ''Friday on My Mind'' like the US release) and featured twelve bonus tracks. On April 16, 2016, the mono version of the album was re-released on vinyl by Varèse Sarabande as an exclusive for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

Track listing

All songs written by

Harry Vanda Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Ea ...

and George Young except as noted.

The North American release – Friday on My Mind

''see: main article'' The North American version was re-titled ''Friday On My Mind'' and also issued in the same month with a different album cover and running order from the UK release. This version omitted "Hound Dog" and replaced it with "Women" (re-titled "Make You Feel Alright (Women)") from the '' It's 2 Easy'' album. The US version has never appeared on CD.

Personnel

;The Easybeats *Stevie Wright – vocals *Harry Vanda – vocals, lead guitar *George Young – vocals, rhythm guitar *

Dick Diamonde Dingeman Adriaan Henry van der Sluijs (born 28 December 1947), better known by his stage name Dick Diamonde, is a retired Dutch Australian bass guitarist. He was a founding mainstay member of 1960s rock group The Easybeats. Diamonde, with the gr ...

– bass guitar *Snowy Fleet – drums ;Production Team *Shel Talmy – producer *

Glyn Johns Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer. Biography Early history Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...

– engineer

References

External links

* allmusic – Friday on My Mindbr>– Friday on My Mind CD
{{Authority control The Easybeats albums 1967 albums Albums produced by Shel Talmy United Artists Records albums Albums recorded at IBC Studios Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios