The Affair were a pop music group formed in 1966 as The Gino Affair. Although only moderately successful during their short career, the band is notable for the fact that several members went on to national and international success.

History

They were initially led by lead singer and former child actor, Gino Cunico, and included Tony Bolton and Keith Jackman (UK) on drums, Jim Kelly on guitar and Paul Wheeler on bass. In 1967 the group's name was shortened to The Affair when Cunico left; he was replaced by Derek Fitton as lead vocalist and then by

Kerrie Biddell Kerrie Agnes Biddell (8 February 19475 September 2014) was an Australian jazz and session singer, as well as a pianist and vocal teacher. Life and Career Born in Kings Cross, New South Wales, the only child of Irish-Catholic parents Kathleen, a ...

in 1968. In early 1968

Mike Howlett Michael John Gilmour Howlett (born 27 April 1950) is a record producer and teacher based in the United Kingdom and Australia. Career In the late 1960s, Howlett was the bassist in Sydney pop band the Affair, which included vocalist Kerrie Bidde ...

replaced Wheeler on bass guitar The following month, Rory Thomas on Hammond organ replaced Maddon. In 1969 the group entered the

Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds was an annual national rock/pop band competition held in Australia from 1966 to 1972. The winners of the national finals were the Twilights (1966), the Groop (1967), the Groove (1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (mai ...

national band competition and in August won the Vocal Group grand final. They issued their second single, "Money Can't Buy Me Love", in October. Their prize for winning Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds was a trip to London, so the group relocated there in mid-1970, some months later they disbanded and most of the members returned to Australia. Following the breakup of The Affair,

launched a long and successful career as a solo vocalist and teacher. Jim Kelly became a sought-after session guitarist and in the late 1970s he founded the noted Australian jazz-rock-fusion band

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...

. Paul "Sheepdog" Wheeler went on to play bass for

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 ...

in the very successful heavy-rock incarnation of The Aztecs from 1969 to 1973.

remained in the UK after the Affair broke up; he was a member of progressive rock band

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

from 1973 to 1977, followed by the short-lived group

Strontium 90 Strontium-90 () is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission, with a half-life of 28.8 years. It undergoes β− decay into yttrium-90, with a decay energy of 0.546 MeV. Strontium-90 has applications in medicine and ...

, which included all three future members of

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

. In the 1980s, Howlett became a sought-after record producer, with a string of notable credits for leading new wave music acts including

A Flock of Seagulls A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of their chart success in the early 1980s. The ...

(Grammy winner),

Martha & The Muffins Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian rock band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single "Echo Beach" under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and the c ...

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboar ...

Stephen Tin Tin Duffy Stephen Anthony James Duffy (born 30 May 1960 in Alum Rock, Birmingham, England) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was a founding member, vocalist, bassist and then drummer of Duran Duran. He went on to record as a solo perform ...

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

and

Comsat Angels The Comsat Angels were an English post-punk band from Sheffield, England, initially active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with sparse instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled with some form ...

, and the album ''Secret Secrets'' for

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...

in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Affair, The Australian rock music groups New South Wales musical groups Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups disestablished in 1969