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 Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales. The group enjoyed success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early 1970s to become one of the most popular Australian hard-r ...

, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", " Poison Ivy", " Over the Rainbow", "Sick and Tired", " Baby, Hold Me Close" and "Mashed Potato"; and in the 1970s with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

created their own

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

in mid-1988. Featuring in concerts at

Sunbury Pop Festival Sunbury Pop Festival or Sunbury Rock Festival was an annual Australian rock music festival held on a private farm between Sunbury and Diggers Rest, Victoria, which was staged on the Australia Day (26 January) long weekend from 1972 to 1975. It ...

s and Myer Music Bowl in the early 1970s, the Aztecs also developed the

pub rock Pub rock is a rock music genre that was developed in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock ...

scene and were one of the loudest groups in Australia. NOTE: On-line copy has limited view. Thorpe also performed as a solo artist; he relocated to the United States from 1976 to 1996 where he released the

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soc ...

'' Children of the Sun'', which peaked in the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Pop Album chart in 1979. He worked with ex-Aztec Tony Barber to form a soft toy company in 1987 and co-wrote stories for ''

The Puggle Tales The Puggle Tales are a group of seven books written by A. A. Barber. The titles are: *The Puggle Tales – Grandma Puggles Missing Silver Egg Timer (1981) *A Puggle Tale – All's Well That Ends Well (1982) – illustrated by Steph Campbell ...

'' and ''Tales from the Lost Forests''. Thorpe also worked as a producer and composed music scores for TV series including ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC fr ...

'', ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

'' and ''

Hard Time on Planet Earth ''Hard Time on Planet Earth'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on CBS as a midseason replacement from March 1 to June 21, 1989. Airing for 13 episodes, the series starred Martin Kove and was created by Jim and John ...

''. Thorpe returned to Australia in 1996 and continued as a performer and producer, additionally he wrote two autobiographies, ''Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll'' (1996) and ''Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)'' (1998). According to Australian rock music historian

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 journalis ...

, "Thorpie evolved from child star, beat pop sensation and cuddly pop crooner to finally emerge as the country's wildest and heaviest blues rocker ..Thorpie was the unassailable monarch of Australian rock music". Thorpe was inducted into the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

(ARIA)

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

in 1991. He died of a heart attack in February 2007 and was posthumously appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in June for his contribution to music as a musician, songwriter and producer. In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q ...

celebrations, Billy Thorpe was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years ...

of Queensland for his role as "Influential Artists".

Career

1946–1962: Early life

Billy Thorpe was born in 1946 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, England. His parents, Bill and Mabel Thorpe and he emigrated to Australia in 1955, arriving 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 metro ...

and then settling in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. He performed as a ten-year-old under the pseudonym Little Rock Allen. Six months later, after he was heard singing and playing guitar by a television producer at the back of his parent Brisbane store, Thorpe made regular musical appearances on Queensland television, brandishing his trademark stock whip. He toured regional venues with

Reg Lindsay Reginald John Lindsay OAM (7 July 1929 – 5 August 2008) was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 so ...

in 1961, and national venues with

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 ...

and with Col Joye. By 1963, as an experienced singer and musician, he decided to relocate to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

1963–1967: Success in Sydney

In 1963, Thorpe moved to Sydney and auditioned for a regular gig at Surf City, a popular

beat music Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffl ...

venue in the city's Kings Cross area. In 1996, Thorpe wrote his first autobiography, ''Sex and thugs and rock 'n' roll : a year in Kings Cross 1963–1964'', on his early experiences there. His backing band was an accomplished Sydney surf instrumental group called

The Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl l ...

, comprising Colin Baigent (drums), Val Jones (rhythm guitar), future

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, 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 ...

guitarist Vince Melouney (aka Vince Maloney) (lead guitar, vocals), and John "Bluey" Watson (bass guitar). Before Thorpe joined, The Aztecs had released "Smoke and Stack", a surf instrumental. UK-born Tony Barber (rhythm guitar, vocals) soon replaced Jones and they were known as Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs. In 1964, the band released their second single, "Blue Day", written by guitarist Barber, which contains the first known recording of Thorpe. US songwriters Leiber and Stoller wrote " Poison Ivy" for R&B vocal group

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...

, but Thorpe preferred the

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

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

. They decided to cover it themselves; it was produced at

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

and released on the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Linda Lee label. It became their breakthrough hit when it peaked at No. 1 on the local Sydney charts. The band was signed by

Ted Albert Edward Frank Albert (1937 – 11 November 1990) was an Australian early pioneer independent record production and founder of Albert Productions (part of his great grandfather's company Albert Music). In recognition of his contribution to the mus ...

to his newly established Albert Productions, a local record label devoted exclusively to recording Australian pop artists. Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs had national chart success, their record sales and concert attendances rivalling those of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, with hits like "Mashed Potato", "Sick and Tired" and '' Wizard of Oz'' tune " Over the Rainbow" in the top ten of the record charts in most state capitals. Thorpe once said that "Mashed Potato" was inspired by a chance meeting with a schoolteacher at the Rex Hotel in Kings Cross, who was so drunk he could only mumble the words, "Mashed Potato." The original Aztecs lineup split from Thorpe at the beginning of 1965 over a financial dispute, so he created another set, with Johnny Dick (drums), Mike Downes (rhythm guitar, vocals), Colin Risbey (lead guitar, vocals), Jimmy Taylor (piano), Teddy Toi (bass guitar), Tony Buchanan (saxophone) and Rocky Thomas (

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...

). This lineup achieved further success with pop ballads such as "I Told the Brook", "Twilight Time" and "Love Letters". On 27 March 1966, Sydney TV station ATN-7 debuted a music show, ''It's All Happening!'', hosted by Thorpe with the Aztecs as the house band. Each one-hour episode featured both Australian and international musical guests. Despite the TV exposure, later singles did not chart and when the show ended its run in early 1967, the Aztecs broke up. Thorpe undertook a brief solo career, he released "Dream Baby" (

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 ...

cover), in October 1967 but it had no chart success. during 1968 he modified his image to display long hair, moustache and a fringed jacket; he formed a new backing band with Dick, Mick Lieber (guitar) and Dave McTaggert (bass guitar) who was quickly replaced by Paul Wheeler. By August, Dick and Liber had left, and Thorpe relocated to Melbourne.

1968–1975: Melbourne

In August 1968 Thorpe had moved to

with Paul Wheeler (bass guitar) and Jimmy Thompson (drums), Thorpe took up lead guitar as well as lead vocals. As a trio they became the next version of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs. By December, former Purple Hearts and

Wild Cherries The Wild Cherries were an Australian rock group, which started in late 1964 playing R&B/jazz and became "the most relentlessly experimental psychedelic band on the Melbourne discotheque / dance scene" according to commentator, Glenn A. Baker ...

guitarist

Lobby Loyde Lobby Loyde (born John Baslington Lyde, 18 May 1941 – 21 April 2007), also known as John Barrie Lyde or Barry Lyde, was an Australian rock music guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was a member of two 1960s groups: Purple Hearts, which had ...

joined. Thorpe had recorded no new material for over two years, but he emerged after a spell of bankruptcy in 1969, with "Good Mornin' Little School Girl", a

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

cover, as a single in March 1970. With the encouragement of Loyde, Thorpe's 'new' Aztecs developed a heavier sound and established themselves as one of Australia's premier

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

groups. By July, Warren 'Pig' Morgan (piano, vocals) had joined and the band recorded, ''The Hoax Is Over'', which was released in January 1971. Loyde left to reform Wild Cherries (later called Lobby Loyde & the Coloured Balls). After further releases the Aztecs had accrued a considerable reputation in the southern states and became known as one of the loudest acts on the local concert and pub circuit. Thorpe described the sound: In 1972, the band played two pivotal gigs, first was the

in January, which featured the debut of Thorpe's self-penned anthem, "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Thorpe now had a ponytail, T-shirt, full beard, played guitar and encouraged the Sunbury crowd to "Suck more piss". The No. 2 hit single returned the Aztecs to national prominence. The second major gig was their show at the

Sidney Myer Music Bowl The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinc ...

during the

Moomba Moomba (also known as the Moomba Festival) is held annually in Melbourne, Australia. Run by the City of Melbourne, it is Australia's largest free community festival. The Melburnian tradition is celebrated over four days, incorporating the La ...

Festival in March, which resulted in an estimated 200,000 people filling the park, and forced police to close roads around the venue. Later that year, they released ''Aztecs Live! At Sunbury'', which peaked at No. 4 in September. Ex-Copperwine

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

singer

Wendy Saddington Wendy June Saddington (26 September 194921 June 2013), also known as Gandharvika Dasi, was an Australian blues, soul and jazz singer, and was in the bands Chain, Copperwine and the Wendy Saddington Band. She wrote for teen pop newspaper ''Go-S ...

had top 30 chart success with her 1972 solo single, "Looking Through a Window", which was written and produced by Thorpe and Morgan of the

Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

. The two Aztecs combined for ''Downunda'' which was released in 1973 under the names, Thump'n Pig (Morgan) and Puff'n Billy (Thorpe); with the related single, "Captain Straightman", both album and single peaked into the top 40 of the relevant charts. Saddington had provided vocals and co-wrote a track for the album. In March 1973,

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's rock opera '' Tommy'' was performed as an orchestral version in Australia with Thorpe in the role of the Local Lad performing Pinball Wizard. Other Australian artists were

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 ...

(as Tommy), Wendy Saddington, Doug Parkinson,

Broderick Smith Broderick Smith (born 17 February 1948) is an English-born Australian multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and sometime actor. He was a member of 1970s bands Sundown, Carson and the Dingoes, 1980s Broderick Smith's Big Combo and he has re ...

Jim Keays James Keays (9 September 194613 June 2014) was a Scottish-born Australian musician who fronted the rock band The Masters Apprentices as singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica-player from 1965 to 1972 and subsequently had a solo career. He ...

Colleen Hewett Colleen Hewett (born 16 April 1950) is an Australian singer and actress. Hewett's top 40 singles on the Kent Music Report include " Super Star", " Day by Day" (both 1971), " Carry That Weight" (1972), "Dreaming My Dreams with You" (1980) ...

, Linda George, Ross Wilson,

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 Repre ...

, and

Ian Meldrum Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...

(as Uncle Ernie in Sydney). After more line-up changes Thorpe dissolved the Aztecs early in 1975, as a solo artist he recorded ''Million Dollar Bill'', which reached the top 40, with its top 50 single "It's Almost Summer"; and ''Pick Me Up & Play Me Loud'' in 1976. Both albums showed another change in style, being a mix of Adult-orientated Rock,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

. In December 1976, he relocated to Los Angeles in the United States, although he returned to Australia periodically to tour with varied line-ups of the Aztecs.

1976–1995: United States

From December 1976, Thorpe continued his musical career in the US. By 1979, he released his solo

, ''Children of the Sun'', which reached the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Pop Album chart, and top 50 in Australia. The related single, "Children of the Sun" reached #41 on the ''Billboard'' Singles chart. He released three more studio albums while living in the US, with ''21st Century Man'' (1980) peaking on the ''Billboard'' Pop Album chart top 200. "In My Room" from ''21st Century Man'' had top ten chart success in Canada. Other US-based releases were ''Stimulation'' (1981) and ''East of Eden's Gate'' (1982). In 1984, Thorpe stopped performing live music. He had started an electronics consulting company which did work for

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in mor ...

and

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. By 1986, he owned a recording and production studio in Los Angeles, where he worked on musical scoring for television series, including: ''

'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''

'', ''

'' and ''

''. Former Aztec bandmate, Tony Barber had written a series of children's books, collectively called ''

'' from 1981. Barber and Thorpe had formed a soft toy company in 1987, Sunshine Friends, and also released children's songs on cassettes and video. In 1989 Barber and Thorpe co-wrote three more stories for ''The Puggle Tales'' series: ''Double trouble'', ''Flying's easy'' and ''Marco and the book of wisdom''. From 1990, Thorpe collaborated with

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

(of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

) and

Bekka Bramlett Rebekka Ruth Lazone Bramlett (born April 19, 1968) is an American singer and session background singer. She is the daughter of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, of the music duo Delaney & Bonnie. She has been a member of Mick Fleetwood's band the Z ...

in Fleetwood's side project, a band called The Zoo, which resulted in "Shakin the Cage" (no apostrophe), a single featuring Billy Burnette and Kenny Gradney of Little Feat. This was followed by the '' Shakin' the Cage'' (apostrophe included) album featuring an altered band line-up and a re-recorded version of the title track in March 1991. Thorpe had written all ten of the tracks, including one (the title track) co-written with Burnette, and another with Bramlett's father Delaney. The Zoo toured Australia during 1991 and while in the country Thorpe was inducted into the

ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompani ...

on 25 March alongside Glenn Shorrock, Don Burrows and Peter Dawson. Fleetwood performed at the

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

ceremony held at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. Thorpe returned to touring with another set of Aztecs in 1993 and released a

boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

in 1994, ''Lock Up Your Mothers'', which peaked at No. 15 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. The Lock Up Your Mothers tour included media appearances on ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

'', '' Denton'' and ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...

''.

1996–2006: Return to Australia

In 1996 Thorpe formed the Billy Thorpe Band with Andy Cichon (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals), Steve Edmonds (guitar, vocals), Paul DeMarco/Mick O'Shea (drums) and Randall Waller (guitar, vocals, keyboards), and toured Australia in July. He had returned to live in Sydney and authored his first autobiography, ''Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll'', on his early experiences in Kings Cross and the formation of the Aztecs, which was released in November. He followed with an Australian TV appearance on ''This Is Your Life''. In October 1998, he released his second autobiography, ''Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)''. On 14 November 1998, with the Aztecs, Thorpe appeared at the Mushroom 25 Concert, singing "Most People I Know" and "

Ooh Poo Pah Doo "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" is a song written and performed by Jessie Hill. It was arranged and produced by Allen Toussaint. The single reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and No. 28 on the Hot 100 in 1960. Ike & Tina Turner versions Ike & Tina T ...

"; ex-Aztec

joined them on-stage on guitar. At the '' Gimme Ted'' benefit concert on 9 March 2001 Thorpe performed five songs including a duet with

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss ...

. ''

Long Way to the Top ''Long Way to the Top'' was a six-part weekly Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) documentary film series on the history of Australian rock and roll, from 1956 to the modern era, it was initially broadcast from 8 August to 12 September ...

'' was a 2001

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

(ABC) six-part documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era. ''Episode 3: Billy Killed the Fish'', broadcast on 29 August, featured interviews with Loyde,

Michael Chugg Michael Glenn Chugg (born 15 June 1947) is an Australian entrepreneur, businessman and concert tour promoter. As a promoter and manager he was a founder of Frontier Touring Company (1979–99) and Michael Chugg Entertainment (2000–present). ...

(Thorpe's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

/ promoter) and Thorpe. They described their Sunbury festival experiences and the development of

in Australia. According to Chugg, an Aztec performance at Sydney's Bondi Lifesaver club in 1974 was so loud as to kill a tankful of tropical fish in an upstairs area – hence the episode title. During August 2002, promoters Chugg and

Kevin Jacobsen Kevin George Jacobsen OAM (born 29 July 1939 in Sydney) is an Australian entertainment entrepreneur and former musician, who is the head of the ''Jacobson Entertainment Group'' Along with his brothers, singer Col Joye and Keith, he was a mem ...

with Thorpe as co-producer, organised a related concert tour, Long Way to the Top. Concerts included Thorpe performing with the 'original' Aztecs line-up in one set and the 'Sunbury' Aztecs in a second. Performances at two Sydney concerts in September were recorded, broadcast on ABC-TV and subsequently released on DVD in December. Thorpe recorded material for a new album, ''

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

'', with the Symphonique Orchestra du Maroc in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

during September to November 2006 and was working on the album when he died in Sydney in February 2007. ''Tangier'' was produced by Daniel Denholm. In December 2006, Thorpe had recorded an acoustic live performance which was released posthumously in April 2007 on Liberation Records as ''Solo: The Last Recordings'', which peaked at No. 19 on the ARIA albums chart. On 27 October 2010, Sony Entertainment announced the release of ''Tangier'' at the

in Sydney. Tangier was awarded the 1st ever posthumous ARIA for best Contemporary Adult album in 2011.

2007: Death

Thorpe suffered from chest pains at his home on 28 February 2007 and was taken by an ambulance to St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney around 2:00 am

AEDT Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30), and Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00). Time is regulated by the individual state ...

after having a massive heart attack. He remained in the emergency ward in a serious condition and went into cardiac arrest around half an hour later; hospital staff unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate him. His family was by his side when he died at 60 years of age. Thorpe is survived by his wife Lynn, and daughters Rusty and Lauren. His manager Michael Chugg said the death was a "terrible tragedy", as Thorpe had just finished recording a new album ''Tangier'' and was very happy after a recent acoustic tour. He was posthumously appointed a

on 11 June 2007, with the citation, "For service to the entertainment industry as a musician, songwriter, producer, and as a contributor to the preservation and collection of contemporary Australian music". In December 2020, Thorpe was listed at number 31 in ''Rolling Stone Australia''s "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

* According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, Thorpe is credited with: guitars (lead, bass, rhythm), vocals, record producer,

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

, keyboards,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, sound mixing and harmonica.

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions ...

. They commenced in 1987. Thorpe was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991. , - , ARIA Music Awards of 1991 , himself ,

, , - , rowspan="4",

ARIA Music Awards of 2011 The 25th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) were a series of award ceremonies which included the 2011 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fin ...

, ''Tangier'' ,

ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recor ...

, , - , David Homer, Aaron Hayward, Debaser for ''Tangier'' ,

ARIA Award for Best Cover Art The ARIA Music Award for Best Cover Art, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Aus ...

, , - , Daniel Denholm for ''Tangier'' , ARIA Award for Producer of the Year , , - , Greg Clarke for ''Tangier'' , ARIA Award for Engineer of the Year , , -

Go-Set Pop Poll

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

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 ...

'' and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. , - , 1966 , himself , Australian Acts: Male Vocal , 5th , - , 1971 , ''The Hoax Is Over'' (as Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) , Best Album , 4th , - , rowspan="4", 1972 , ''Aztecs Live at Sunbury'' (as Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) , Best Album , style="background:gold;", 1st , - , "Most People I Know" (as Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) , Best Single , style="background:tan;", 3rd , - , Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs , Best Group , style="background:silver;", 2nd , - , himself , Best Male Singer , style="background:silver;", 5th , -

King of Pop Awards

The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978. , - , rowspan="2", 1972 , himself , Best Songwriter , , - , Billy Thorp & The Aztecs , Best Group , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Billy Thorpe won one award in that time. (wins only) , - , 2006 , Billy Thorpe , Rock Performer (Posthumous Award) , , -

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * ** 2002 edition was a combined re-release of both autobiographies. 2007 edition is also known as ''Billy Thorpe Commemorative Edition''

References

External links

* * Billy Thorpe discographyat ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

''
Billy Thorpe discography
at

MusicBrainz MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for so ...

Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs – Stories and Highlights
at ''

'' website by

. * 'Most People I Know (Think that I'm Crazy)' was added to the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...

registry in 2008 * One of his other hits was in the mid seventies with "It's Almost Summer", still given radio play in 2013. Produced in 1975. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Billy 1946 births 2007 deaths 20th-century guitarists ARIA Award winners ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Australian expatriates in the United States Australian republicans Australian rock guitarists Australian rock singers English emigrants to Australia Lead guitarists Logie Award winners Members of the Order of Australia Musicians from Melbourne Musicians from Sydney Australian male writers Beat musicians 20th-century Australian male singers Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs members Australian male guitarists