The Strangers was an Australian rock band based in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, that lasted from 1961 to 1975. The band started out playing instrumental songs in a style similar to
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
, with influences from
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 ...
. The original line-up included Peter Robinson (bass), Graeme ('Garth') Thompson (drums), Laurie Arthur (lead guitar) and Fred Wieland (rhythm guitar). Robinson had previously played with
The Thunderbirds, and went on to replace
Athol Guy
Athol George Guy (born 5 January 1940) is a member of the Australian pop music group the Seekers, for whom he plays double bass and sings. He is easily recognisable by his black-framed "Buddy Holly" style glasses, and, during live performance ...
in
The Seekers
The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...
from the late 1970s.
Founding and history
At the end of 1962 they signed with
W&G Records
W&G Records was an Australian recording company that operated from the early 1950s to the 1970s. It was a subsidiary of the Melbourne precision engineering company White & Gillespie.
W&G released many significant recordings by Australian popular a ...
, headed by
Ron Tudor
Ronald Stewart Tudor MBE (18 May 1924 – 21 August 2020) was an Australian music producer, engineer, label owner and record industry executive. He started his career with W&G Records in 1956 as a sales representative; he became their in-house ...
after working as the studio band for artists including
The Seekers
The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...
,
Frankie Davidson
Francis Joseph Davidson (12 January 1934 − 22 July 2022) was an Australian entertainer who had several hit records in the 1960s, appeared on many TV variety shows, and acted in several Australian television police dramas, including ''Matlock ...
(born 12 January 1934, Melbourne Australia)
Johnny Chester
John Howard Chester (born 26 December 1941) is an Australian singer-songwriter, who started his career in October 1959 with group The Jaywoods singing rock music and in 1969 changed to country music. He toured nationally with the Beatles, Roy ...
,
Merv Benton
Merv Benton (born Mervyn Bonson, 12 August 1942) was an Australian pop singer from the mid-1960s. His most popular singles were "Baby Let's Play House" (1964), "I Got Burned", "Yield Not to Temptation", "Don't Destroy Me" (all in 1965) and "Y ...
(born Mervyn Bonson, 12 August 1942)
Little Gulliver and the Children,
Pat Farrar
Pat Carroll (born 1946) is an Australian singer in the 1960s and early 1970s, she is probably best known for her television appearances and her collaboration with Olivia Newton-John.
Biography and career
Carroll was born in Melbourne, Victor ...
and Joy Lemmon. Arthur left the band in early 1964, and was replaced on lead guitar by
John Farrar
John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1946) is an Australian music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–64), The Stra ...
.
In 1964 they supported
Colin Cook and released an
LP called ''Colin Cook and the Strangers''. The first charting record in The Strangers' own name was "Cry of the Wild Goose" (an instrumental by
Terry Gilkyson
Terry Gilkyson (June 17, 1916 — October 15, 1999) was an American folk singer and songwriter.
Biography
Gilkyson was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and graduated from St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island in 1935. By his early ...
) / "Leavin' Town", which was released in January 1963 and reached number 12 on the Melbourne charts. This was followed by three original instrumentals, "Torlido", "The Outcast" and "Undertow", which were released in 1963, two of which reached the Top 40. Other singles included "Happy Without You" (
Kenny Laguna
Kenneth Benjamin Laguna is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Joan Jett.
Biography
Laguna was born in Greenwich Village, New York City, United States, and started playing piano at high school dances from th ...
, Shelley Pinz, 1968), "
Melanie Makes Me Smile
"Melanie Makes Me Smile" is a 1970 song written by Barry Mason and Tony Macaulay. It became a top 10 hit in Australia in early 1970 by the Strangers.
Cover versions
* The song became a minor hit in the U.S. (#87) and Canada when covered by To ...
" (
Tony Macaulay
Tony Macaulay (born Anthony Gordon Instone; 21 April 1944) is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Award twice as 'Songwriter of the Year' (1970 an ...
,
Barry Mason
John Barry Mason (12 July 1935 – 16 April 2021) was an English singer and songwriter. A leading songwriter of the 1960s, he wrote the bulk of his most successful songs in partnership with Les Reed. Mason gained many gold and platinum awar ...
, 1970), "Looking Through the Eyes of a Beautiful Girl" (1970), "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" (Rudy Clark, 1965) and a cover of
Five Americans
Five Americans was a 1960s American rock band, most famous for their song, "Western Union", which reached number five in the U.S. ''Billboard'' chart and was their only single to chart in the Top 20. In Canada, they had three in the Top 20.
Care ...
, "
Western Union
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...
" (
Mike Rabon
Michael Lee Rabon (April 16, 1943 – February 11, 2022) was an American musician. He was the lead guitarist and lead singer of the 1960s hit group The Five Americans, and was co-writer of the group's hits including "Western Union" and "I See ...
, Norman Ezell, John Durrill, 1967).
Also in 1964, the band supported
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...
and
Paul and Paula
Paul & Paula (Ray Hildebrand, born December 21, 1940, and Jill Jackson, born May 20, 1942) are a former American pop singing duo, best known for their 1963 million-selling, number-one hit record, " Hey Paula".
Biography
Hildebrand was born in Jo ...
on an Australian tour which featured
The Surfaris
The Surfaris are an American surf rock band formed in Glendora, California, United States, in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" and " Wipe Out", which ...
and
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
. These support gigs influenced some early vocal recordings in "Poppa Oom Mow Mow", "Sunday Kind of Love," "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" and later "
In My Room
"In My Room" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1963 album '' Surfer Girl''. It was also released as the B-side of the " Be True to Your School" single. The single ...
", a Beach Boys ballad.
Television band
In August 1964, The Strangers were selected as the resident backing band on the Melbourne based teenage television pop program ''
The Go!! Show
''The Go!! Show'' (also known simply as ''Go!!'') was an Australian popular music television series which aired on ATV (Australia), ATV-0, Melbourne, Australia, Melbourne, from August 1964 to August 1967. It was produced by DYT Productions at th ...
'', in which they appeared each week from 1964 to 1967. Farrar married Pat Carroll. Carroll and
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
appeared on The Go!! Show as singers. After "The Go!! Show" ended, The Strangers became the resident group on
HSV-7
HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melb ...
's ''
Sunnyside Up
''Sunnyside-Up'' was a black and white weekly variety program produced at HSV-7 Melbourne, during the late 1950s until the mid 1960s. Surviving Kinescope episodes sometimes presented the title in three words as “Sunny Side Up“ and with a 3 ...
'' program. In all, the band appeared on television at least once a week for nine years straight.
During the mid-1960s, the band changed labels from W&G Records to
Go Records
Go Records (usually badged as Go!! Records) was a small independent Melbourne-based recording label which ran from 1964 to 1968. Its releases were manufactured and distributed by the Melbourne-based recording and electronics company Astor.
The ...
. After the demise of the Go!! Show and its associated record label, they moved to
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...
, and finally to Fable Records in 1970.
Replacements and collaborations
In February 1967, Terry Walker (ex Glen Ingram & The Hi-Five) replaced Fred Wieland, who left to join
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, ...
. During 1969, The Strangers' cover of "
Melanie Makes Me Smile
"Melanie Makes Me Smile" is a 1970 song written by Barry Mason and Tony Macaulay. It became a top 10 hit in Australia in early 1970 by the Strangers.
Cover versions
* The song became a minor hit in the U.S. (#87) and Canada when covered by To ...
" made No. 16 in Sydney, No. 9 in Melbourne and No. 7 in Brisbane. Later singles included "Mr. President" (Trevor 'Dozy' Davies, John 'Beaky' Dymond, Ian 'Tich' Amey) in 1970, and "Sweet Water" (Fletcher/Flett), a cover of a song by obscure British band
Brass Monkey, in 1971.
The group effectively broke up in mid 1970, with Farrar moving to the UK and joining
Shadows
A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...
members
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
Bruce Welch
Bruce Welch (born 2 November 1941 as Bruce Cripps) is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, singer and businessman best known as a founding member of the Shadows.
Biography
Welch's parents (Stan Cripps and Grace Welch) moved him to 15 B ...
in
Marvin, Welch & Farrar
Marvin, Welch & Farrar ( MWF) were a 1970s British and Australian popular music group formed by Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, both members of The Shadows – as a change of direction manoeuvre during 1970 to 1973 – and John Farrar (ex- The Stra ...
, and then the re-formed Shadows. Later that year Robinson and Thompson reformed The Strangers (sometimes billed as The New Strangers), with guitarists John Cosgrove (ex Fendermen) and Bill Pyman. Cosgrove left in early 1973 and was replaced by Jim Sifonious (ex Dove), before the band finally broke up in 1975.
Throughout the group's 14 years, The Strangers provided backing for many local and overseas acts. These included:
Johnny Farnham
John Peter Farnham AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...
,
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe rel ...
,
The Seekers
The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...
,
Merv Benton
Merv Benton (born Mervyn Bonson, 12 August 1942) was an Australian pop singer from the mid-1960s. His most popular singles were "Baby Let's Play House" (1964), "I Got Burned", "Yield Not to Temptation", "Don't Destroy Me" (all in 1965) and "Y ...
,
Ted Mulry
Martin Albert Mulry (2 September 19471 September 2001) professionally known as Ted Mulry, was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, bass player and guitarist. As a solo artist, his second single, "Falling in Love Again" (February 1971 ...
,
Lynne Randell
Lynne Randell (born Lynne Randall, 14 December 1949 – 8 June 2007) was an English Australian pop singer. For three years in the mid-1960s, she was Australia's most popular female performer and had hits with "Heart" and "Goin' Out of My Head" in ...
,
Ross D. Wyllie
Ross D. Wyllie (born 21 November 1944) is an Australian pop music singer, television presenter and producer from the 1960s and 1970s. Wyllie had a top 20 hit with his cover of Ray Stevens' song "Funny Man" and an Australian No. 1 with ...
,
Yvonne Barrett
Yvonne Frances Barrett (19462 September 1985) was an Australian pop singer. She reached the top 60 Kent Music Report singles chart with her cover versions of Petula Clark single " You're the One"/"Little People", in October 1965. She releas ...
,
Grantley Dee,
Pat Carroll
Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's ''Laverne & Shirley'', and NBC' ...
,
Little Gulliver,
Barry Crocker
Barry Hugh Crocker (born 4 November 1935
Official Barry Crocker website) is an Australian character actor, televisio ...
,
Buddy England
Buddy England is a British-born Australian singer and songwriter
Career
As a solo artist from 1963 to 1969, England released several singles on HMV Records, including "If You'll Stay", "Doll House", "There Goes My Baby", "Movin' Man", "Sunny", "I ...
,
Ronnie Burns,
Town Criers
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
,
Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices (or The Masters to fans) were an Australian rock band fronted by Jim Keays on lead vocals, which originally formed as The Mustangs in 1964 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne, Victoria in February 1967 a ...
,
Axiom
An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...
,
Hans Poulsen
Hans Sven Poulsen (born Bruce Gordon Poulsen, 7 March 1945 – 17 February 2023) was an Australian singer-songwriter and musician of Danish descent who was popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and known for his eccentric hippie style.McFa ...
and
Lionel Rose
Lionel Edmund Rose MBE (21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 1964 to 1976. He held the undisputed WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' bantamweight titles from 1968 to 1969, becoming the first Ind ...
.
The Strangers set an exceptional standard for live sound, using the best and "cleanest" equipment they could procure: German
Dynacord
Telex Communications, originally Telex Corporation, was a Burnsville, Minnesota-based manufacturer of hearing aids and audio equipment. Founded in 1936 as a maker of hearing aids, it entered the computer peripherals businesses in the 1960s. Telex ...
microphones and public address systems, multiple guitar effects units, an
exponential horn for the bass guitar, and carefully selected and matching guitars (e.g.
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...
6- and 12-string, and
Maton
Maton is an Australian musical instruments manufacturing company based in Box Hill, Melbourne. It was founded in 1946 by Bill May and his brother Reg. The name "Maton" came from the words "May Tone" and is pronounced ''May Tonne''.
Products ...
El Toro) and amplifiers.
Farrar later moved to the USA, and wrote and produced a number of hits for
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
, including "
Hopelessly Devoted to You", "
Have You Never Been Mellow
''Have You Never Been Mellow'' is the fifth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 12 February 1975 by MCA Records.
Reception
Both the title single and the album rose to the top of their respective US charts ...
" and "
Magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
".
Fred Wieland, who was also a member of
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, ...
, died of lung cancer at the age of 75 on 10 December 2018.
Discography
Charting singles
;The Strangers CDs
*''Best of the Strangers''
*''Bobby & Laurie''
*''Colin Cook & the Strangers''
;The Strangers LP/EPs on vinyl
*''The Strangers''
*''Best of the (Original) Strangers''
*''Let's Go With the Strangers''
*''Colin Cook and the Strangers''
;The Strangers cuts on vinyl (with John Farrar)
*''Poppa Oom Mow Mow''
*''Sunday Kind of Love''
*''If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody''
*''Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go''
*''In My Room''
*''Never on a Sunday''
*''Put Yourself in My Place''
*''Fever''
*''Western Union''
*''Cool Jerk''
*''Happy Without You''
*''Take the Time''
*''Lady Scorpio''
*''California Soul''
*''Sweet September''
*''Paper Cup''
*''Melanie Makes Me Smile''
*''If You Think You're Groovy''
*''Walkin
*''Fun Fun Fun''
*''Stagecoach''
*''Matchbox''
*''I Call Your Name''
*''Blues by Five''
*''Bend Me Shape Me''
*''Elenore''
*''I Say a Little Prayer''
*''Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow''
*''I Can Hear Music''
*''Paperback Writer''
*''Little Deuce Coupe''
*''Little St. Nick''
*''Standing in the Shadows of Love''
*''I've Got You Under My Skin''
*''Proud Mary''
*''Sandy''
*''Do It Again''
*''Good Vibrations''
*''Windows in Your Eyes''
References
The Strangersa 2000 biography of The Strangers by Geoff Jermy with Peter Robinsonarchived at PopArchives.com.au
* (Discography)
External links
''Happy Without You'' (1968) video at YouTube (the song reached No. 8 nationally)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangers, The
Australian pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1961
1961 establishments in Australia