The Spektors were an Australian

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

, pop and

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

band active in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

from 1964 to mid-1966. Their co-drummer and part-time lead singer,

Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. Born in Forfar in Angus, Scotlan ...

, was later lead vocalist with hard rock band AC/DC, from 1974 until his death in 1980.

History

The Spektors were formed in 1964 by co-vocalists and co-drummers John Collins and Bon Scott, along with Brian Gannon on bass guitar, Murray Gracie on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Wyn Milsom on guitar. Collins and Scott would each play half a set as drummer and the other half as lead vocalist. They performed

, pop and

music. The Spektors enjoyed local acclaim by winning the Perth heat of the national

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 (m ...

competition. Their repertoire included popular songs, often originally by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. As the band developed, Scott would step up and sing occasionally while Collins played drums, on songs such as a cover of

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

's " Gloria". According to Gracie their influences were "more blues than pop – groups like the

Pretty Things The Pretty Things were an English band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent. They took their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song "Pretty Thing". A pure rhythm and blues band in their early years, with several singles charting in the Unit ...

Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Welsh ...

, and

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

". In October 1965 the group recorded four tracks for local TV show, ''Club 17'', including cover versions of "Gloria", Mike Berry's "On My Mind", The Beatles' " Yesterday" and

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's "

It Ain't Necessarily So "It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by his brother Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera ''Porgy and Bess'' ( 1935) where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, ...

". In late 1966, Milsom and Scott joined with members of local rivals The Winstons, and formed a new group, The Valentines, with Scott sharing vocal duties with Winstons'

Vince Lovegrove Vincent James Lovegrove (19 March 194724 March 2012) was an Australian musician, journalist, music manager, television producer and AIDS awareness pioneer. He was a member of 1960s rock 'n' roll band The Valentines, sharing vocals with Bon ...

Personnel

– vocals, drums *John Collins - vocals, drums *Wyn Milsom – guitar *Murray Gracie – guitar *Brian Gannon - bass

Discography

*''Bon Scott with the Spektors'' (CD, 1992, See for Miles records) *''Bon Scott with the Spektors and the Valentines'' (CD, 1999, See for Miles records) These songs and interviews were pirated from the TVW channel 7 show "Club 17" by Martin Clark, who was the recording engineer at the time (october 1965).

References

;General * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Spektors, The Australian rock music groups Western Australian musical groups Musical groups established in 1964 Musical groups disestablished in 1966 1964 establishments in Australia 1966 disestablishments in Australia