The Groove was an Australian R&B, pop group which formed in early 1967 with the lineup of Geoff Bridgford on drums, Jamie Byrne on bass guitar, Tweed Harris on keyboards, Rod Stone on guitar and Peter Williams on lead vocals and guitar. In December 1967 their single, "Simon Says", peaked at No. 17 on the ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' National Top 40 Singles Chart. They followed with "Soothe Me", which peaked at No. 14 in April 1968. Also in April they released their self-titled debut album. In July that year they won the national final of 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 ...

competition with the prize including a trip to London. They relocated there in March 1969, and early the following year they changed their name to Eureka Stockade, they disbanded in 1971. On 13 October 2004 Tweed Harris died of throat cancer, aged 63.

History

The Groove was an R&B pop group formed in Melbourne in early 1967 – all members had some experience in other bands. The original line-up was Geoff Bridgford (ex-Steve & the Board) on drums, Jamie Byrne (Black Pearls, Running Jumping Standing Still) on bass guitar, Tweed Harris ( Levi Smith Clefs) on keyboards, Rod Stone (The Librettos,

Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter of pop music and an actor of theatre and soap opera for which he remains best known as Douglas Fletcher in 1980s serial '' Sons and Daughters''. As a singer he was ...

& The Playboys) on guitar and Peter Williams ( Max Merritt & The Meteors) on lead vocals and guitar. They were gathered together by artist manager and booking agent,

Garry Spry Garry Howard Spry (born 9 May 1939) is a former Australian politician. He was the Liberal member for Bellarine in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1992 to 2002. Spry was born in Gawler, South Australia, to Frank Spry and Joyce Dawkins. He ...

(

The Twilights The Twilights were an Australian rock band that formed in Adelaide in 1964. The band developed from a three-piece acapella group consisting of Glenn Shorrock, Mike Sykes and Clem "Paddy" McCartney, who merged with instrumental group the Hurric ...

). The Groove played Stax Soul and 1960s R&B in the style of

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (born 1935) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", "The ...

Arthur Conley Arthur Lee Conley (January 4, 1946 – November 17, 2003), also known in later years as Lee Roberts, was an American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit " Sweet Soul Music". Early life Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia, U.S., an ...

and

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

. The Groove's repertoire was tailored to the vocal style of Williams, who had gained experience in this genre when with Max Merritt & The Meteors, one of its earliest exponents in

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

. The Groove scored early national chart breakthrough with their second single "Simon Says" – previously recorded by both The Isley Brothers and

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

. The Groove's version was a Top 10 hit in Sydney and Melbourne and peaked at No. 17 on the ''

'' National Top 40 Singles Chart in December 1967. The group undertook a national tour in February 1968 and in April their most successful single and second national Top 20 hit – a cover version of

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

's "Soothe Me" – peaked at No. 14. That same month they issued their debut self-titled album, ''The Groove'', on

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. In July they won the grand final of a national band competition,

– their prize was a trip to London. Their next single, "What Is Soul?", was a cover of

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

's song, it was a No. 13 hit in Melbourne, reached the Top 40 in Brisbane, and peaked at No. 36 on the national Top 40. They released a further single, "You Are the One I Love", which made the lower reaches of the Melbourne and Brisbane charts but did not reach the national Top 40. In March 1969, using their Hoadley's competition prize, the band relocated to the United Kingdom. Later that month their single, "Relax Me", reached the ''Go-Set'' Top 40. In the UK they worked and recorded for two years. In June 1969 they released a last single, "The Wind", as The Groove – it did not chart. In early 1970 the group changed their name to Eureka Stockade and issued another single, "Sing No Love Songs", in February. The group recorded an album for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

which was not released, then, early in 1971, they disbanded.

After disbandment

After the breakup of The Groove, Harris and Stone toured the UK and the rest of Europe backing

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

and playing with The Echoes behind

John Rowles Sir John Edward Rowles (born 26 March 1947) is a New Zealand singer. He was most popular in the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, and he is best known in New Zealand for his song from 1970, "Cheryl Moana Marie", which he wrote about his younge ...

. Stone also toured in the backing band for comedians

Eric Morecambe John Eric Bartholomew, (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's de ...

and

Ernie Wise Ernest Wiseman, (27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially ...

, which he considers one of the enjoyable moments of his career. Bridgford joined the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

(replacing

Colin Petersen Frederick Colin Petersen (born 24 March 1946) is an Australian drummer, record producer and former child actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he wa ...

) while Williams teamed up with female vocal trio, The Cookies (also managed by Spry) to become The Spirit of Progress and toured the UK. Later on he joined

The Mixtures The Mixtures were an Australian rock band that formed in Melbourne in 1965. Biography 1965–1976: The Mixtures Australian musicians Terry Dean and Rod De Clerk met in Tasmania in 1965. They then met Laurie Arthur, a member of the Strangers, ...

and toured Europe and Australia. Harris became an arranger and producer in Australia from the mid-1970s. His credits include Sherbet (he orchestrated their single "Cassandra" and its parent album),

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 ...

, production for Renee Geyer,

Bobby Bright Bobby Neal Bright Sr. (born July 21, 1952) is an American former lawyer, farmer, and former politician who served as a U.S. Representative and was previously the three term Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama. He served from 2009 to 2011 as the Represe ...

, Kush, and folk artist

Lionel Long Lionel Joaquin Paul Long OAM (1939 – 1 January 1998) was an Australian country and folk singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor and artist. Long became one of Australia's most successful and popular country and folk artists in the 1960s, relea ...

. He performed as second keyboardist with the reformed version of

The Groop The Groop were an Australian folk, R&B and rock band formed in 1964 in Melbourne, Victoria and had their greatest chart success with their second line-up of Max Ross on bass, Richard Wright on drums and vocals, Don Mudie on lead guitar, Brian ...

for its 1988–89 reformation tour, and undertook TV soundtrack commissions. In later years he had a career writing music for TV and advertising both in Australia and Singapore. Harris was diagnosed with throat cancer in the late 1990s and underwent surgery, he died on 13 October 2004, aged 63.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

Go-Set Pop Poll

The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper, ''

'' and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. , - , 1968 , themselves , Best Australian Group , style="background:tan;", 3rd , -

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. * Noel McGrath, ''Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop'' (Outback Press, Sydney, 1978) * Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry, ''Who's Who of Australian Rock'' (Moonlight Publishing) * Gavin Ryan's Chart Books ;Specific

External links

The Groove
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groove, The Australian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1971