The Vibrants were an Australian

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

group that started as Bobby James and the Vibrants in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1962. James, their lead vocalist, left in 1965 to form the Bobby James Syndicate. As the Vibrants, two of their singles peaked in ''Go-Set'' Australian National Charts top 20: their cover versions of " Something About You Baby" (January 1967) and "

My Prayer "My Prayer" is a 1939 popular song with music by salon violinist Georges Boulanger and lyrics by Carlos Gomez Barrera and Jimmy Kennedy. It was originally written by Boulanger with the title ''Avant de mourir'' (Before dying) 1926. The lyrics for ...

" (September). At the end of 1973the Vibrants disbanded.

History

The Vibrants formed in 1962 in Adelaide as the backing group for pop singer, Bobby James, with the line-up of Jeff Gurr on bass guitar, Brenton Hay on saxophone, Rick Kent on drums, Terry Osmond on guitar, Terry Radford on guitar and Geoff Skewes on organ. That group released a single, "Jezebel", in 1965 via

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 conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

's Columbia imprint. They had recorded another track, "I've Learned", which 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 ...

described as, "an R&B rave-up in the Missing Link mould." Aside from James they also backed visiting rock 'n' roll singer,

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, or local pop vocalist,

Bev Harrell Beverley Anne Harrell, (born 24 October 1946) is an Australian pop singer and musical theatre actress, most famous for her 1966 Australian hit "What Am I Doing Here with You?". Biography Harrell was born on 24 October 1946 in North Adelaide t ...

, at suburban dances. In May 1965, without James, they released an instrumental single, "Furry Legs", which McFarlane felt was, " parody of Beethoven's famous classical piece ''Für Elise''." James left the group and, after moving to Melbourne in early 1966, formed the Bobby James Syndicate. Kent and Skewes continued with the Vibrants and, in April 1966, they were joined by John Hossen on saxophone, John Perry on lead vocals, Billy Pfeifer on bass guitar and Mike Wade on guitar. They took up a weekly residency at Adelaide's KT club backing May Scott. The group relocated to Melbourne in July of that year, where Wade was replaced on guitar by Mick Hamilton (ex-the Moods). They were signed to

's Columbia imprint. Their first single for that label, "I've Got to Go" (September 1966), did not chart. The next single was a

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the Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

' " Something About You, Baby" (January 1967), which reached No. 17 on the ''Go-Set'' Australian National Charts top 40. It is one of their best known tracks, and has been anthologised on compilation albums of Australian 1960s pop music. It was followed by their cover of

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

' "The Letter Song" (June 1967), which did not chart nationally. In September they issued a double-sided single, "

" / "Don't Let Your Left Hand Know", which peaked at No. 5. They appeared on several overseas show, including supporting

Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

in Melbourne in 1967. Perry was replaced by Marc Leon (ex-Impulse) on vocals in February 1968, and Barry Rogers took over bass guitar from Pfeiffer. The group's next single, a cover of the Bee Gees' "Terrible Way to Treat Your Baby", appeared in March. It sold only moderately in Adelaide and Melbourne. In 2005 chart researcher, David Kent, determined that it reached the equivalent of No. 51 on 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 ...

. In October 1968 a major split occurred when Leon, Hossen and Rogers left to form a new group, the Graduate. Hamilton, Kent and Skewes formed a new version of the Vibrants with Edgell James, (ex Changing Times, Mixtures). They reformed once more with Bob Flinn on bass guitar, Peter Mackay, (ex Harts) on drums,and Penny Parsons on vocals. They released two singles on the Air label, "I Can't Let Go of Your Love" (July 1970), which peaked at No. 41 on the ''Go-Set'' Top 60, and "Give Me Just a Little More Time" (1971). Barry Rogers returned, followed by Peter Day, (ex Brisbane Avengers), Ken Leroy (ex-John Rupert Group, Kinetics),John Vallins (ex Kinetics) and Phil Parli, all on bass, and Trevor Courtney (ex-Chants R&B,

Cam-Pact Cam-Pact was an Australian soul and psychedelic pop band which formed in April 1967. Originally they performed as The Camp Act but soon changed to Cam-Pact (or CamPact). Although little known outside Melbourne at the time, the various lineups of ...

) replaced Mackay on drums. Another reformation occurred when Buddy England and Julie Oliver joined, replacing Skewes, leaving Hamilton the only member from the group’s hit making line-up. He left in March 1973, to be replaced by Steve Groves, (ex Kinetics). At the end of 1973 the group disbanded. In 1972 Courtney and Skewes founded Skylight with Mike Clarke on bass guitar and guitar, Greg Cook (ex-Cam-Pact) on guitar, Sunil de Silva on percussion and Bonnie Lever on vocals. Courtney briefly joined

Stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...

. Skewes was later a talent manager and represented country rockers,

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

Discography

Singles

Awards

South Australian Music Awards

The

South Australian Music Awards The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary mu ...

are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They commenced in 2012. The South Australian Music Hall of Fame celebrates the careers of successful music industry personalities. ! , - , 2017 , The Vibrants , Hall of Fame , , , -

References

External links

"The Vibrants"
podcast on Southern FM {{DEFAULTSORT:Vibrants, The Australian pop music groups Australian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1962 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Musical groups from Adelaide Musical groups from Melbourne 1962 establishments in Australia