All Australian Music Stories

We have a new podcast series - Awesome Aussie Songs - please check it out, it's available at iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher or where ever you get your podcasts.
There are episodes on Skyhooks, AC/DC, Swanee, Short Stack, TMG and plenty more!
https://awesomeaussiesongs.podbean.com/

At a time when The Fonz was king, The Mighty Guys and their brand of authentic Rock 'n' Roll proved to be a winner.

In 1981, they released their debut album, Rockin' All Thru The Night and it went Gold on the ARIA Album charts. The Mighty Guys also had a mighty reputation as a live band.

The line up of The Mighty Guys were Mick Hamilton (formerly of The Moods & The Vibrants) vocals and guitar, Phil Eizenberg (formerly of The Ferrets) vocals and bass, with Leon Isackson (formerly Dig Richards & the R'Jays and The Rajahs) vocals and drums.

In this episode of All Australian Music Stories, I continue my chat with Leon Isackson, the three previous episodes (Dig Richards & the R'Jays, Digby Richards, and The Rajahs) all feature Leon and his amazing Rock 'n' Roll journey, however, this episode focuses on the career of The Mighty Guys.

Thank you for Listening, interview suggestions are more than welcomed - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock 'n' Roll.

Long before social media, The Rajahs fame blew up literally overnight. If there was a Twitter in the 1960's #THERAJAHS would have been sure to be trending in the 'twitter-verse'.

The Rajahs had already achieved plenty of success as Dig Richards and the R'Jays, however, when Dig went solo, they changed their name from to The Rajahs and it was the start of an amazing musical journey.

Via a 'throw-away' recording session, The Rajahs became known as the "Australian Beatles" and "filled in" for the Fab Four, giving Aussie teenagers their fix of Beatlemania before the real thing arrived on our shores.

As the resident recording band with the famed Festival Records, The Rajahs have probably appeared on more singles and albums than just about any other Australian band, such was their recording output. They also had the prestigious job as Johnny O'Keefes backing band for several years.

The Rajahs were the first Australian band to headed to the Vietnam War and perform for the troops. For New Years Eve in 1966, The Rajahs even replaced Bob Hope to perform for 5000 troops aboard the American battleship, the US Kittyhawk.

I speak with The Rajahs drummer Leon Isaacson about his 60 year career in the world of Rock 'n' Roll.  

This is the 3rd of 4 episodes featuring Leon, each episode stands alone but are linked via it's musical timeline. The previous two episodes focus on Dig Richards and the R'Jays and the solo career of Digby Richards.

The 4th episode featuring Leon is about his band in the 1980's, The Mighty Guys, a band at the forefront of the Rock 'n' Roll revival, alongside groups such as Ol' 55. 

These four episodes of All Australian Music Stories feature some fantastic yarns and is a good-time history lesson of music in Australia.

Thank you for Listening, interview suggestions are more than welcomed - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock 'n' Roll.

As Australia's very first teenage idol, Dig Richards was the pretty boy of Rock n Roll, often compared in looks to actor James Dean, he was a serious musician who realised there wasn't much of a future in being a 'teenager pop star pin up'.

Going by his full name Digby Richards he went on to carve out his own place in Australian music  history. As a singer / songwriter he released 30 singles and 7 full length albums. His music was released in America, UK, Germany. 

Digby had chart success that spanned three decades and he is as diverse a musician as you'll find and I hope this episode does his music justice.

I speak with R'Jays drummer Leon Isaacson about Digby and I also spoke with Digby's brother, Doug and gained some insight into Digby's solo career.

Sadly, Digby died aged just 42-years-old in 1983 , however, his musical legacy lives on. 

This is the 2nd of 4 episodes featuring Leon Isaacson, each episode stands alone but is linked via it's musical timeline. The previous episode focuses on Dig Richards and the R'Jays 

The 3rd episode with Leon takes a look at what happened to the R'Jays when Dig went solo and they changed names from the R'Jays to the Rajahs. They became known as the "Aussie Beatles", they were Festival Records resident recording band and also had the prestigious job as Johnny O'Keefes backing band for several years.

The 4th episode featuring Leon is about his band in the 1980's, The Mighty Guys, a band at the forefront of the Rock 'n' Roll revival, alongside groups such as Ol' 55. 

These four episodes of All Australian Music Stories feature some fantastic yarns and is a good-time history lesson of music in Australia.

Thank you for Listening, interview suggestions are more than welcomed - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock 'n' Roll.

  

In the early days of Rock 'n' Roll in Australia, Dig Richards & the R'Jays were one of the biggest bands in the land.

With movie-star good looks, Dig was Australia's very first teenage idol, and with his band the R'Jays, they were at the forefront of the Rock 'n' Roll revolution.

They were the first Aussie band to release a full length album through Festival Records and as a live act, they were as popular as any local band. They also appeared on many Lee Gordon Big Shows and more than held their own playing alongside the visiting American superstars.

At a time when the "establishment" was doing it best to stop this new form of music from taking hold, Dig Richards & the R'Jays led the way in spreading the gospel of Rock 'n' Roll. They even had their own TV show on Channel 7 called Teen Time.

I speak with R'Jays drummer Leon Isaacson about his amazing musical journey hanging out with the like of The Bee Gees and Louis Armstrong and I also spoke with Dig's brother, Doug and gained some insight into Digs career. Sadly, Dig died aged just 42-years-old in 1983 , however, his musical legacy lives on. 

This is the first of 4 episodes featuring Leon Isaacson, each episode stands alone but is linked via it's musical timeline. The next episode focuses on Dig's solo career as Digby Richards.

The 3rd episode with Leon takes a look at what happened to the R'Jays when Dig went solo and they changed names from the R'Jays to the Rajahs. They became known as the "Aussie Beatles", they were Festival Records resident recording band and also had the prestigious job as Johnny O'Keefes backing band for several years.

The 4th episode featuring Leon is about his band in the 1980's, The Mighty Guys, a band at the forefront of the Rock 'n' Roll revival, alongside groups such as Ol' 55. 

These four episodes of All Australian Music Stories feature some fantastic yarns and is a good-time history lesson of music in Australia.

Thank you for Listening, interview suggestions are more than welcomed - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock 'n' Roll.

 

The Ted Mulry Gang were one of Australia's most popular bands throughout the 1970's.

Best known for their classic song Jump in my Car, the Ted Mulry Gang had 10 hit singles, as well as 4 albums making the charts. In terms of popularity as a band, TMG stood alongside contemporaries such as Sherbert, Skyhooks and they often had a young AC/DC along for the ride as their support band. 

I sat down with Ted's younger brother Steve and we had a great chat about Ted and his days as the leader of the Ted Mulry Gang.

Sadly Ted passed away in 2001, aged just 53, however, the music of TMG still lives on!

Thanks for Listening - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Guest Suggestions are more than welcomed.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock n Roll.

Ted Mulry's solo career is often overshadowed by the enormous success of his time as leader of the the Ted Mulry Gang.

The singer / songwriter first found fame working with Harry Vanda and George Young at the famed Albert Studios in 1970. A creative pop balladeer, Ted found chart success with 5 singles prior to meeting up with the Gang.

I sat down with Ted's younger brother Steve and we had a great chat about about Ted and his music.

Sadly Ted passed away in 2001, aged just 53, however, his music still lives on!

Thanks for Listening - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Guest Suggestions are more than welcomed.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock n Roll.

Along with mass hysteria, Short Stack achieved great success, their Rock n Roll legacy was assured with a No.1 Album and they also featuring on the cover of the Australian Rolling Stone magazine. Despite the haters, these guys have musical credibility and a huge fan base to prove it.

Short Stack never took themselves too seriously, tagged as a “Boy Band”, the three-piece actually formed in a backyard shed, a place where all good Rock n Roll bands are born. Formed in 2005, by the time Short Stack hit the charts in 2009, they were masters of self-promoting the band and interacting online with their ever-growing legion of fans.

It seems such a long time ago now, however, in the newly created era of the internet, You Tube, MP3’s, Podcasts and the once all-conquering Myspace, no Aussie band had the success with social media like Short Stack did, this often overshadowed the fact that these guys wrote and made their own catchy music that gets you singing and grooving along – and sometimes that’s all you want your Rock n Roll to do.

Thanks for Listening - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Guest Suggestions are more than welcomed.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock n Roll.

Ayers Rock were the first Mushrooms Records band to sign an international recording contract. And not just with any old 'Mickey Mouse' American record label either - no less than A&M Records run by the legendary Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss.

The extraordinary musical journey of former lead vocalist of The Delltones and also The Crescents, Col Loughnan, is an amazing tale.

A bona fide singing pop star, with a swag of hit records - Col gave it all away to play the saxophone - in a short space of time he would go on to become a member of the famed Daly-Wilson Big Band, before joining Ayers Rock, a band that would go onto make some incredible rock soundscapes.

Ayers Rock were the first Australian band to tour the American stadium circuit, playing before massive crowds in the years prior to the Aussie onslaught by the likes of LRB, AC/DC, INXS etc. - We sure do love to abbrev. down under.

The Col Loughnan story includes playing and touring with the very best in the business, Frank Sinatra, Peter Allen, Shirely Bassey, Georgie Fame and Sammy Davis Jr. 

Thanks for Listening - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Guest Suggestions are more than welcomed.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock n Roll.

Col Loughnan - Part 1 - From Hanging Five to hanging out in the same recording studio as Stevie Wonder, with David Bowie dropping by for a listen, twice!

The extraordinary musical journey of former lead vocalist of The Delltones and also The Crescents, Col Loughnan, is an amazing tale.

A bona fide singing pop star, with a swag of hit records - Col gave it all away to play the saxophone - in a short space of time he would go on to become a member of the famed Daly-Wilson Big Band, before joining Ayres Rock, a band that would go onto make some incredible rock soundscapes.

Ayres Rock were the first Australian band to tour the American stadium circuit, playing before massive crowds in the years prior to the Aussie onslaught by the likes of LRB, AC/DC, INXS etc. - We sure do love to abbrev. down under.

The Col Loughnan story includes playing and touring with the very best in the business, Frank Sinatra, Peter Allen, Shirely Bassey, Georgie Fame and Sammy Davis Jr. 

Thanks for Listening - please like our Facebook page - All Australian Music Stories.

Guest Suggestions are more than welcomed.

Hail, Hail, Australian Rock n Roll.