Rabbit (originally, The Cherries) were an Australian

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

band from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, which formed in 1973 by Jim Porteus on bass guitar, Phil Screen on drums and Mark Tinson on guitar and vocals. In October 1974 they were joined by Dave Evans (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 ...

) on lead vocals. The group relocated to Sydney and released two albums, ''Rabbit'' (1975) and ''Too Much Rock n Roll'' (1976), before disbanding in late 1977. Porteus, Screen and Tinson returned to Newcastle where they formed a

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, Heroes, with Peter de Jong on guitar and vocals. They issued a self-titled album in October 1980 and disbanded in 1982.

History

The Cherries were formed in 1973 in Newcastle as a glam rock band by Jim Porteus on bass guitar, Phil Screen on drums and Mark Tinson on lead guitar and vocals. They were renamed as Rabbit and played a mixture of originals and cover versions by

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

and

the Sweet The Sweet (often shortened to just Sweet), are a British glam rock band that rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mic ...

. Vocalist Greg Douglas joined early in 1974 and was replaced in October of that year by Dave Evans, the founding singer from hard rockers,

. Evans had seen the group performing "at Chequers nightclub in Sydney and was impressed with their confronting stage presence." According to 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 ...

, Rabbit played "a thumping brand of commercial glam-boogie (somewhere between US groups like Kiss and Brownsville Station) and the members decked themselves out in bare-chested silk blouses, spandex leggings and stack-heeled boots... The climax of the band's shows came with creen'sspectacular fire-breathing displays." The group relocated to Sydney, where they signed with CBS Records Australia. Rabbit's debut single, "Lady La Di Da", was a cover version of a track by a Swedish group, New Quidesty Blaise (a.k.a. NQB), which was written by that band's guitarist-vocalist, Elisabeth Åhlander. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:' A music video was supplied to promote the track. Its B-side, "Marvel Man", was co-written by Evans and Tinson. They followed with their self-titled debut album in 1975. Their second single, "Running Bear", appeared in December of that year. David Hinds (ex-Marshall Brothers) joined the line-up on lead guitar in 1976. The band were described as frenetic and violently hedonistic. Ahead of their second album, ''Too Much Rock n Roll'' (October 1976), they issued two more singles, "Wildfire" (May) and the title track (August) – both appeared on top 100 of 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. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) created their own

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974. The album reached the top 60 on the Kent Music Report albums chart. Tinson and Screen left the band early in 1977; Barry Lytten joined as drummer and Tinson was not replaced. A cover version of

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

' 1969 hit "Let Me" was released by Rabbit as a single in July 1977. Evans left the group in October and soon after Rabbit disbanded. Porteus, Screen and Tinson formed a

group, Heroes, back in Newcastle, which released their self-titled album in October 1980; they broke up in 1982. Hinds had joined a Sydney-based hard rock group,

Finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

in 1977. After Heroes had split, Screen and Tinson both joined Swanee and then were members of the Tex Pistols. Evans was a member of numerous other bands: Dave Evans and the Line-Ups, Hot Cockerel, David Evans and Thunder Downunder, and Surprise Party.

Former members

* Jim Porteus – bass guitar (1973–77) * Phil Screen – drums, percussion (1973–77) * Mark Tinson – lead and rhythm guitar, vocals (1973–77) * Greg Douglas – lead vocals (1973–74) * Dave Evans – lead vocals (1974–77) * David Hinds – lead guitar (1976–77) * Barry Lytten – drums (1977)

History

Former members

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

Further reading