Vinyl Vibes

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes Jack is joined by founder of Ariel, Mike Rudd.

In 1973, Mike’s band Spectrum came to an end shortly after the recording of their 4th studio album, Testimonial. Soon after this, Mike and Spectrum’s bass player Bill Putt were joined by Tamam Shud band members Tim Gaze and Nigel McAra, forming Ariel in the same year. Over the course of three months, Mike would write the band’s firs...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack talks for a second time with Gil Mathews, drummer of Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs. Gil joined the Aztecs in August 1970 and remained with them until their farewell performance in 1973. In Jack's last interview with Gil, he delved into hit records by the Aztecs, such as Most People I Know Think I’m Crazy and also their famous 1972 Sunbury performance. In this episode Jack dives deeper i...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack talks with Clelia Adams, author of One Of A Kind: The Adventures of Cleo from Go-Set Magazine. Clelia grew up in Orange, surrounded by the music of the early '60s. In 1966, Go-Set Magazine—the first magazine to cover the Australian pop music sc...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack closes his 8-part Newcastle Vinyl Vibes series by talking with Greg Bryce, Founder of DV8. Over the course of this series, Jack has spoken with a range of local rockers important to the Newcastle music story. 

Greg bought his first album when he was a teenager, a copy of Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out by the Rolling Stones. The album sparked Greg's love for raw live rock and roll and began his interes...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack talks with Peter De Jong, founding member of Heroes. This is the seventh episode in an eight-part Newcastle Vinyl Vibes series. Over the course of this series, Jack has spoken with a range of local rockers important to the Newcastle music story. 

Pete started playing in bands during the late ‘60s, but his first professional band was Armageddon, which took shape in 1970. Armageddon ini...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack talks with Rick Pointon, founder of Benny and The Jets. Last time Rick was on the show, in episode 2 of this Newcastle Vinyl Vibes special, he talked about his music work in the ‘60s. In this episode, he discusses his music work in the ‘70s with Benny and The Jets. 

Prior to forming Benny and The Jets in 1973, Rick was in a local group called Keg. While in Keg, Rick had the idea...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack talks with Mark Tinson in the fifth instalment of the Vinyl Vibes Newcastle series. This 8-part series talks with a range of local rockers important to the Newcastle music story. 

Mark grew up in Maitland amidst the music of the ‘60s listening to the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. While still in High School, Mark would form his first professional band, Bluegrass, in 1968...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack talks with Les Gully in the fourth instalment of an 8-part Vinyl Vibes Newcastle series. This series talks with a range of local rockers important to the Newcastle music story. 

Les grew up in Toronto, joining his first band Yesterday's Orphans in the mid ‘60s. The band would play a few gigs throughout Les’ time in high school but would come to an end in 1968 after Les graduated...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack talks with Les Hall in the third instalment of an 8-part Vinyl Vibes Newcastle series. This series will talk with a range of local rockers important to the Newcastle music story. 

Les grew up in Maitland, joining his first band, The Cavemen, when he was still in high school. After playing in his second Maitland band, The Influence of Cessal Roads, in 1968 Les would join Newcastle band The V...

Rick is best known for his time in the local 1970s band Benny and The Jets; however, in this episode, Rick and Jack discuss his musical work throughout the ‘60s. Rick joined his first band, The Mystics, in late 1963 during the instrumental music craze of the early ‘60s. By the time The Beatles stepped onto Aussie shores in 1964, Rick had joined another local group, The Mystery Men. Possibly Rick’s greatest success...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack kicks off his 8-part Newcastle Vinyl Vibes series talking with Dannie Davidson, drummer of Tamam Shud. This series will talk with a range of local rockers important to the Newcastle music story. 

Dannie’s first group was a local Newcastle band called The Strangers, which he helped form in Cooks Hill in 1962. With Dannie on drums, The Strangers would go on to be Newcastle’s top g...

On this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by Geoff Bridgford, drummer of The Groove and The Bee Gees. Geoff got into music at an early age, surrounded by the sounds of rock and roll. He used to frequent Alan’s Music in Melbourne. One day at the store, one of the girls working there mentioned that a group called Steve and The Board were looking for a drummer. The band had a hit on the charts called "Th...

On this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by Elliot Lurie, co-lead vocalist and guitarist of Looking Glass. 

Looking Glass formed in the late '60s while its members were attending Rutgers University in New Jersey. The band became popular on campus, and after graduating, they decided to take a year off to do music full-time. They rented a farmhouse and got to work writing songs and recording demos. The band was signed to C...

On this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by David Rowlands, drummer of Phil Jones and The Unknown Blues. Dave formed a band called the Firebirds with fellow high school friends during the first half of the ‘60s. The Pretty Things released their debut album in 1965, and on its track listing was a song called "Unknown Blues". One day, while browsing in a record store, Dave came across this album and saw the song name...

On this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by Dannie Davidson, drummer of Kahvas Jute. Since 1967, Dannie had been playing with the iconic Oz rock band Tamam Shud. In 1970, Dannie left Tamam Shud after the recording of their second album, The Goolutionites and the Real People. Dannie was soon approached by promoter Peter Cunningham to form a new group with Bob Daisley and Dennis Wilson of the Creme cover band Mecca. T...

On this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by David Rivkin, Grammy Award-winning recording engineer. The music of artists such as The Kingston Trio first sparked Dave’s interest in music, but it was when he heard the electric guitar for the first time that his life was forever changed. In 1963, Dave joined a local Minneapolis band called The Chancellors, and after recording the group’s local hit Little Latin Lupe Lu...

On this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by J.P. Pennington, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of Exile. J.P. joined a group called The Exiles in 1964. The following year, in 1965, the band recorded their first single, an original song called The Answer to Her Prayers. The single did not chart, but in 1966, the band had its first big break when they had the opportunity to be a support act on Dick Clark’s Caravan of St...

On this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by Gary Moberly, keyboardist of The Ramrods and Sweet. Gary first found his love for music growing up amidst the rock and roll of Jerry Lee Lewis and Col Joye. During the instrumental craze of the early ‘60s, along with workmates from the Sydney Morning Herald, Gary formed The Ramrods in 1961. By the mid-‘60s, The Ramrods were popular around the Sydney area, playing gigs in...

On this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by Paul Speare, former saxophonist of Dexys Midnight Runners. Paul started playing music at the age of 15 and never stopped. While working as a music teacher in Birmingham, Paul frequently did session work at a local recording studio called Outlaw Studios. Dexys Midnight Runners also frequented the studio, and at one point, they were looking for a saxophonist. Paul was put in contact w...