The Mixtures were an Australian

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...

that formed 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 ...

in 1965.

Biography

1965–1976: The Mixtures

Australian

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

s Terry Dean and Rod De Clerk met in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 1965. They then met Laurie Arthur, a member of the Strangers, and the three formed a band after a

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...

. They signed to EMI that same year and released three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. They went through several line-up changes over the following few years, then signed to CBS Records in 1969. A few further singles followed before transferring to

Fable Records Fable Records was an Australian independent record company which operated from 1970 to 1984. It was one of the most successful and productive Australian 'indie' labels of the period, issuing over 300 singles and dozens of EPs and LPs. Fable made ...

in 1970. The Mixtures recorded a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry are a British rock band, formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing lineup always fronted by Ray Dorset, the group's biggest hit was " In the Summer ...

's "

In the Summertime "In the Summertime", released in 1970, is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry. It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number ...

" and—as a result of the

1970 radio ban The Australian 1970 Radio Ban or 1970 Record Ban was a "pay for play" dispute in the local music industry that lasted from May until October. During this period, a simmering disagreement between commercial radio stations – represented by the Fed ...

, during which many Australian

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

s refused to play Australian and British music released by

major label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

s—received much more

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

than had initially been expected for a group on a small

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

. The single went to #1 in Australia for six weeks. They followed up with " The Pushbike Song" (produced by David Mackay), which went to #1 in Australia for two weeks, hit #2 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and went to #44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the U.S. after being released on

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...

. The next single, "Henry Ford", peaked at #43 in Australia. Further line-up changes ensued before "Captain Zero" went to #6 in Australia in 1971, their last big

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. The group underwent some more line-up changes including Brenton Fosdike (guitar, vocals), John Petcovich (drums, vocals) and the last member to join was keyboard player Rob Scott. The 1976 single, "Skateboard Jive" / "Come Together for the Games" was to be their last and the group folded sometime in 1976.

1977–present: Post The Mixtures

In 1978 the band travelled to Perth to do some recording and put together a new show. During this time bass player Chris Spooner died in a fishing accident at Trigg Beach. The band only carried on for a further three months as a four-piece before breaking up in early 1979. The remaining four members, Brenton, John, Rob and Peter Williams, then formed a new band with two other Australians, (Dennis Broad and Paul Reynolds) and the band was named BRIX. Fred Wieland, whose tenure with the Mixtures led to an appearance in the United Kingdom TV programme '' Never Mind the Buzzcocks'', died of lung cancer in December 2018 at the age of 75.

Members

*Terry Dean (vocals) 1965–? *Laurie Arthur (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

) 1965–67 *Greg Cook (

, vocals) 1970 – March 1971 *John Creech (drums, vocals) 1965–70 *Rod De Clerk (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, vocals) 1965–67 *

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", " ...

(vocals) June 1969 – March 1970 *Mick Flinn (bass) 1967 – May 1972 *Dennis Garcia (

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

) 1967 *Mick Holden (drums) early 1971 *Gary Howard (drums) 1970–71 *Alan "Edgell" James (bass) late 1966 *Idris Jones (vocals) late 1967 – June 1969; 1970; 1971 *Don Lebler (drums) April 1971 - 1976 *Chris Spooner (bass) May 1972 - 1978 *Fred Wieland (guitar) 1967 *Peter Williams (vocals, guitar) 1971–79 *Brenton Fosdike (vocals, guitar) *John Petcovich (vocals, drums) *Rob Scott (keyboards, vocals)

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations albums

Singles

References

External links

The Mixtures
at milesago.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mixtures, The Victoria (Australia) musical groups Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1976 Australian pop music groups