Harry Brus (born April 1949, in
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, Austria) is an Australian
bass player
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...
and guitarist, best known for his work with
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in mid-1979 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Moffitt (1956–2003) and drummer, composer and producer John Prior (musician), John Prior. The 1981 line-up of Moffitt, Prior, Rich ...
,
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...
,
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 ...
,
Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David R ...
,
Leo Sayer
Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009.
Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...
,
Marcia Hines
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene ...
,
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...
,
Ross Wilson and
Billy Thorpe
William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", " Poison Iv ...
.
Thredbo Blues Festival describes Harry Brus as "a unique stylist" and he is widely recognized as "a powerful and sensitive player" with "tons of credibility".
History
1960s
Harry "The Doctor" Brus arrived in Australia at the age of seven from
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, Austria where his music career started in 1964, inspired by
James Jamerson
James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases u ...
,
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...
and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
.
In 1965, Brus' band The Amazons signed a record deal with
Festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
subsidiary
Leedon Records
Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by American Australian entrepreneur Lee Gordon in early 1958.
Establishment and early releases
In Australian in the 1950s and early 1960s, locally distrib ...
and since then he has continued to work as a professional musician. Another band member of The Amazons also included
John Cave.
In 1967, he played lead guitar with pop idol
Johnny Young
Johnny Young (born Johnny Benjamin de Jong; 12 March 1947) is a Dutch Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, his family settled in Perth in the early ...
and later joined Tony Gaha and The in People, featuring Ron Barry and
Janice Slater Janice may refer to:
* Janice (given name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
* ''Janice & Abbey'', a reality TV series
* Processor codename of the Samsung Galaxy S Advance Android smartphone
* Janice, Łódź Voivodes ...
. During this period he was recruited for the original lineup of
the Dave Miller Set but left the band soon after it formed.
In the late sixties, Brus teamed up with Geoff Oakes playing soul music.
Brus also performed bass guitar in the stage musical
Hair
Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
, before forming the band Birth with jazz pianist
Roger Frampton
Roger Frampton (20 May 1948 – 4 January 2000) was an Australian jazz pianist, saxophonist, composer, and educator. Based in Sydney, he played a major role in shaping the evolution of Australian jazz. He taught at the Jazz Studies course at t ...
and English drummer Tony Hicks from Backdoor.
1970s
In 1970, Brus joined
Jeff St John & Copperwine, who had a top five Australian hit single with ''Teach Me How To Fly''.
Also in 1970, he recorded a live album with Australian blues singer
Wendy Saddington
Wendy June Saddington (26 September 194921 June 2013), also known as Gandharvika Dasi, was an Australian blues, soul and jazz singer, and was in the bands Chain, Copperwine and the Wendy Saddington Band. She wrote for teen pop newspaper ''Go ...
, ''Live at Walacia''.
This was followed by stints with
Blackfeather
Blackfeather are an Australian rock group which formed in April 1970. The band has had numerous line-ups, mostly fronted by founding lead singer, Neale Johns. An early heavy rock version recorded their debut album, ''At the Mountains of Madness ...
, Dave Miller Set,
Ross Wilson, Little Sammy and The in People, Birth, Hunger, Mother Earth, The Bobby Gebert Trio, Fender Benders, Foreday Riders, Duffhead, The Healers, Phil Jones and The Unknown Blues Band.
Brus then began long-term relationships as bass player with
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 ...
and
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...
.
In the late 1970s, Brus joined the Barry Leef Band, featuring guitarist Stevie Housden, and they had a residency at the Musicians Club in Sydney for two years.
1980s
During the Eighties, Brus toured and recorded with
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...
,
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 ...
,
Marcia Hines
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene ...
,
Joe Walsh
Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...
, Phil Emmanuel,
Ross Wilson and
Russell Morris
Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recog ...
.
In 1985, Brus became a member of
Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David R ...
and recorded ''
Between a Rock and a Hard Place''.
Other highlights include jamming with
Leon Russell
Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...
,
Billy Preston
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...
and
Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...
.
1990s
During the nineties, Brus toured and recorded with
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...
,
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 ...
,
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...
,
Billy Thorpe
William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", " Poison Iv ...
,
Brian Cadd
Brian George Cadd AM (born 29 November 1946) is an Australian singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer and record label founder, a staple of Australian entertainment for over 50 years. As well as working internationally throughout Europe and the ...
and was bass guitarist in the house band on the highly successful
Long Way to the Top
''Long Way to the Top'' was a six-part weekly Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) documentary film series on the history of Australian rock and roll, from 1956 to the modern era, it was initially broadcast from 8 August to 12 September 2 ...
tour and album.
2000s
Brus continues to tour and record with
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...
and
Leo Sayer
Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009.
Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...
. He is a regular performer at the annual Thredbo Blues Festival and has recorded and toured with
James Southwell and Gail Page.
In 2007, he joined
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in mid-1979 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Moffitt (1956–2003) and drummer, composer and producer John Prior (musician), John Prior. The 1981 line-up of Moffitt, Prior, Rich ...
with
John Prior and recorded bass guitar and vocals on their ''1978 – 2008'' album and ''New Frontier'' EP.
Equipment
*Fender precision bass guitar
*Spector bass guitar
*Fender Rhodes electric piano
Discography
*1966 The Amazons / ''Ain’t That Lovin' You Baby'' b/w ''You’d Better Mind''
*1967 Dave Miller Set / ''Why? Why? Why?'' b/w ''Hard Hard Year''
*1968 Dave Miller Set / ''Hope'' b/w ''Having A Party'' and ''Let's Get Together" b/w ''A Bread and Butter Day''
*1968 Dave Miller Set / ''Dave Miller Set'' EP
*1970 Jeff St John and the Copperwine / ''Teach Me How To Fly''
*1971
Wendy Saddington
Wendy June Saddington (26 September 194921 June 2013), also known as Gandharvika Dasi, was an Australian blues, soul and jazz singer, and was in the bands Chain, Copperwine and the Wendy Saddington Band. She wrote for teen pop newspaper ''Go ...
and Copperwine / ''Live at Wallacia''
*1973
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 ...
with Mother Earth /
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 ...
*1979
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...
/ ''Australian Guitar Compilation''
*1985
Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David R ...
/ ''
Between a Rock and a Hard Place''
*1986
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 ...
/ ''Live at the Basement''
*1993
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 ...
/ ''Seven Deadly Sins'' (ABC TV mini-series soundtrack)
*1998
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...
/ ''Heart Starter''
*2001
Russell Morris
Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recog ...
/ ''Gimme Ted'' live DVD
*2001
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 ...
/ ''Women at the Well – Songs of Paul Kelly''
*2002 Various Artists /
Long Way to the Top
''Long Way to the Top'' was a six-part weekly Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) documentary film series on the history of Australian rock and roll, from 1956 to the modern era, it was initially broadcast from 8 August to 12 September 2 ...
Australian tour CD and DVD
*2004
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...
/ ''Nomad''
*2005
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...
/
Double Happiness
*2006
James Southwell Band / ''Dark Angel''
*2006
Leo Sayer
Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009.
Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...
/ ''Live in Melbourne''
*2008
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in mid-1979 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Moffitt (1956–2003) and drummer, composer and producer John Prior (musician), John Prior. The 1981 line-up of Moffitt, Prior, Rich ...
/ ''1978 – 2008''
*2009
Matt Finish
Matt Finish are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in mid-1979 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Moffitt (1956–2003) and drummer, composer and producer John Prior (musician), John Prior. The 1981 line-up of Moffitt, Prior, Rich ...
/ ''New Frontier''
References
External links
Harry Brus on MySpace*
* at
John Prior's Unity Gain Studios in Sydney
*
Australian Crawl Australian Music History database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brus, Harry
1949 births
Living people
Australian rock bass guitarists
Male bass guitarists
Australian male composers
Australian composers
Australian male guitarists