14.2.17

Wham - Bad Boys [Maxi 12" Tom Mix With Fan Message]

Wham - Bad Boys [Maxi 12" Tom Mix With Fan Message]
Special 12" version made by DJ Tom Mix - Newcastle Australia


5.9.16

ELO MEGAMIX


ELO MEGAMIX

Press play:

Alternate video of

ELO MEGAMIX

BY DJ TOM MIX

NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA


30.6.14

DON'T LET THE GOOD LIFE PASS YOU BY (TOM MIX 12") - DES O'CONNOR

DES O'CONNOR - DON'T LET THE GOOD LIFE PASS YOU BY 
(EXTENDED VERSION BY DJ TOM MIX)

11.6.14

WITHOUT YOU (12" TOM MIX REMIX) - NILSSON

HARRY NILSSON'S 
"WITHOUT YOU" 
(TOM MIX 12" REMIX)
Press play for Harry Nilsson's classic hit "Without You" extended by combining different versions (Spanish/English), to make a 6 min version. Visuals are of Charlie Condou, his family and friends.
Remix by Tom Mix Music Newcastle Australia.


11.4.14

CLUB TROPICANA (12" TOM MIX) -WHAM

CLUB TROPICANA 12" - WHAM

Club Tropicana is a LA west-coast sounding hit from the 1980s designed to crack the American market. There was no official extended version of Club Tropicana by Wham so by combining a few different mixes I have created an extended version in the style of a 12" record of the day. The track was made for my blog for actor Charlie Condou and contains visuals from his personal and professional collection.

Tom Mix Music
Australia

10.4.14

HOW COULD THIS GO WRONG (12'' TOM MIX) - EXILE

HOW COULD THIS GO WRONG

(12'' REMIX)

American pop group Exile had a number of massive hits thanks to Aussie producer/songwriter Mike Chapman who co-wrote thousands of pop songs for mostly UK artists. "How Could This Go Wrong" was particularly successful in NSW Australia. It has not been released on CD in Australia so I made my own remix by taking a few bass and drum lines from a Kiss song and reworking some of the single's structure.
Enjoy!

TOM MIX MUSIC AUSTRALIA

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD - DAY COSTELLO

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

AN OLD SONG I'VE REMASTERED:

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD - BY ELVIS COSTELLO'S FATHER [ROSS MCMANUS] A.K.A. DAY COSTELLO.

This was a No.1 hit in November 1970 in Australia and Italy. This track was released in other parts of the world but the Beatles's version got more airplay. Day Costello's version in english has never appeared on CD but Ross (Day) had a version sung in Italian which has been released on CD.

24.9.13

MY COO CA CHOO (12'' TOM MIX) - ALVIN STARDUST

MY COO CA CHOO
(12'' TOM MIX REMIX) 
ALVIN STARDUST
My Coo Ca Choo by Alvin Stardust was a Top 40 hit which charted in Oz at #1 for 7 weeks from December 1973 to February 74. The song was anchored firmly in the Glam Rock genre. It was a catchy tune but criminally short if you wanted to dance to it. Here is an extended version that I made in the 1990s for a Dance Company in Newcastle Oz - for one of their concerts where they needed a longer version. Enjoy!

18.9.13

TOWER OF STRENGTH (12" TOM MIX) - THE ROOTY HILL RSL BAND

TOWER OF STRENGTH 
(12'' TOM MIX REMIX) 
THE ROOTY HILL RSL BAND

While going through my old vinyl collection of Top 40 7" records that have not been released on CD I came across Tower of Strength. It was a regional hit in Sydney and didn't chart in any other parts of Oz. It was performed by the in-house Rooty Hill Club Show Band. This restored and remixed version has a new bass line and has been extended from 2 to 3 minutes. The visuals in the last part of this clip are of Kevin Rudd battling it out with Tony Abbott in the 2013 election debate which was held in the Rooty Hill RSL Club auditorium.

The regular version of this song was uploaded previously. Please use search facility (top left) to locate the post and charting information.

14.9.13

COMING BACK - MAX MERRITT

Coming Back

Press play for visuals of Charlie Condou's family and friends set to a recently restored track performed by Max Merritt which has never been officially released on CD. 


'Coming Back' is ostensibly a break-up song set on a railway platform but it's more melancholy than most and very simply orchestrated. 

Max's biggest hit which preceded this track was another break-up song called 'Slipping Away.' 


Restoration and remastering by Tom Mix Studios Newcastle Oz. 



Coming back, coming back, that old familiar feeling
Once more I'm believing, in miracles & dreams.
Coming back, coming back,
Ah that sweet familiar love song.
That somehow now seems all wrong,
There's too much in between.

It's the melancholy mood I'm in
And the husky whispering summer wind
It's taking me back, keeps taking me back,
To where I've been, but it can never be that way again

Do do do, do do do do do do, do do do do do do do,
Do do do do do do do, do do do do do do.

It's the melancholy mood I'm in
And the husky whispering summer wind
It's taking me back, keeps taking me back,
To where I've been, but it can never be that way again

Do do do, do do do do do do,
With no need for explanation.
Just two people on a station,
You turn to go & I know,
You won't be coming back.

Do do do, do do do do do do, do do do do do do do,
Do do do do do do do, do do do do do do.

Do do do, do do do do do do, do do do do do do do,
Do do do do do do do, do do do do do do.

Do do do, do do do do do do, do do do do do do do,
Do do do do do do do, do do do do do do.

Do do do, do do do do do do, do do do do do do do,
Do do do do do do do, do do do do do do.

Do do do, do do do do do do, do do do do do do do,

Do do do do do do do.

25.6.13

SKIRT (TOM MIX REMIX) - KYLIE

KYLIE SINGS 
WHILE MARCUS AND MARIA HEAD TOWARDS TROUBLE
I run a couple of blogs on various topics, one being a blog for Coronation Street actor Charlie Condou. The vision is a compilation of Marcus and and his "bit of skirt" Maria. The soundtrack used is one of my own studio remixes of Kylie's single "Skirt."
Press play:

23.6.13

WAKE UP AUSTRALIA - BOOTLEG FAMILY BAND

WAKE UP AUSTRALIA 1973
A minor hit from late 1973 WAKE UP AUSTRALIA has not been released on CD but this version is close enough to CD quality as you'll get. Brian Cadd and the Bootleg Family Band released this single as a follow-up the their big #5 hit of early 1973 Your Mama Don't Dance. Their next big single was The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) in 1974 which reached #10. Green Door reached #98 in 1975 and their last hit was #60 How Do I Try in late 1975. By this stage Brian Cadd departed for the USA where he continued to write music for other artists. WAKE UP AUSTRALIA featured on the K-Tel album Super Bad. It is fondly remembered by those who lived through the political turmoil leading up to Gough Whitlam's election and sacking.

16.5.13

BONNIE, PLEASE DON'T GO - KEVIN JOHNSON (STEREO)

BONNIE, PLEASE DON'T GO
(STEREO REMASTER)

Kevin Johnson is an Oz music balladeer from the 1970s. His big international hit was "Rock and Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life" which charted in Europe, UK and North America. His second biggest hit was "Bonnie, Please Don't Go." Sadly for fans, every CD and vinyl album to date has carried the mono mix of "Bonnie." After recently working on the track and taking it apart digitally, using my home studio, I sent Kevin a stereo remaster. He repaid my kindness with CDs and DVDs. This is the first time a true stereo mix of the song has been allowed to be heard by the general public. The familiar opening and closing number incorporated into the track is "Auld Lang Syne."
Tom Mix Music - Newcastle Oz

28.4.13

THE SWEET MEGAMIX

THE SWEET MEGAMIX
This is an alternate version of the Sweet Megamix track which should play in most parts of the world unlike the YouTube clip which was blocked in Germany and other European countries due to copyright issues.
NB. This video may not work on some Apple products.
Play loud:

THE SWEET MEGAMIX

And what do you do in the middle of the night in Oz? You make and upload a pop of the 1970's megamix obviously!



15 MINUTE MEGAMIX CONTAINING:

FUNNY FUNNY

LITTLE WILLY

WIG-WAM BAM

BLOCKBUSTER

THE SIXTEENS

BALLROOM BLITZ

CO-CO

LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN

FOX ON THE RUN

LIES IN YOUR EYES

ACTION

HELL RAISER

REBEL ROUSER

PEPPERMINT TWIST

1.4.13

LET'S GO DISCO (12" TOM MIX) - THE REAL THING

LET'S GO DISCO (12" TOM MIX)
THE REAL THING
Another of those songs that should have been an extended dance 12" mix but was not issuied in that format. "Let's Go Disco" by The Real Thing featured in the movie "The Stud" starring Joan Collins. This song has rarely been on CD and has almost disappeared from people's memories. Enjoy my new remix 12" 
- DJ Tom Mix, Newcastle Oz

28.3.13

HEEBEEGEEBEES (PARODY OF THE BEE GEES)

IF YOU LIKE WELL-CRAFTED PARODY SONGS, HAVE I GOT THE CD FOR YOU...
I'M POSTING A BIT OF TWITTER CORRESPONDENCE HERE BECAUSE MY BUDDY MICHAEL FENTON-STEVENS HAS HIS HIT RECORD RELEASED ON AN AUSTRALIAN OWNED COMPANY:
Tom In Oz
SirThomasWynne: @fentonstevens Just purchased HeeBeeGeeBees parody songs CD from an Oz company. CLICK LINK: http://www.possumrecords.com.au/heebeegeebees
fentonstevens: @SirThomasWynne happy days x
Tom In Oz
SirThomasWynne: @fentonstevens well it's got all your early hits Mike so you shud be pleased.... Tom

24.3.13

Gimme Dat Ding - The Maple Lace / Neanderthal Man - The Love Story

I've been restoring very old songs from 1970 using vinyl laser extraction - Oz artists you've never heard of obv
Gimme Dat Ding - The Maple Lace
Neanderthal Man - The Love Story
TWO AUSTRALIAN HITS FROM 1970 THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN RELEASED ON C.D. 
BOTH SONG TRANSFERS USE LASER EXTRACTION FROM VINYL AND ARE ALMOST AS GOOD AS USING THE MASTER TAPES. 
BOTH SONGS WERE RESTORED BY DJ TOM MIX, NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA.

18.3.13

SOME OF MY 12" MIXES TO SHARE

GIMME SOME (12") - BRENDON

Brendon (born Brendon Dunning) was a UK glam rocker. He had a few releases on EMI Magnet in the mid 1970s. One of his singles, "Gimme Some", hit the UK singles charts in 1977, peaking at #14 in March of that year. "Gimme Some" also hit the Oz charts but it was too short in my opinion to make a big impact in the burgeoning club scene for which it was designed....So here is my own extended Tom Mix version that was mastered from a European CD mix of the original single. It has overdubs and a new rhythm track taken from a popular hit from the 1980s called "The Best Part Of Breakin' Up" by disco artist Roni Griffiths. Currently Brendon and Dave Levy (former band member) have released new material under the name of Simple Country Folk. The album is titled "Long Time Coming"- DJ Tom Mix in Oz.

Review by The Saucer People Mag: 
Wow! Gimmie Some is one of the perfect Glam stompers but I have always thought like many seventies songs that pre-date the rise of the 12 inch, it was criminally short...the extended version is stunning and it was not till I re-read your post that I realised it was a "Tom" re-edit! I thought you had unearthed some rare 12 inch glam promo of the track in the manner of The Glitter Bamd's 'Makes You Blind' rare extended mix. It is a shame they did not have you around in the studio back in '78, this would have been a dance floor 'smash' as they said back then! Huge thanks for all your hard work tweaking this, and more importantly, thanks for sharing!


TOTALLY COOL MEGAMIX (12") - DADDY COOL

MY MIXES ARE APPEARING ON YOUTUBE.

MY MIXES ARE APPEARING ON YOUTUBE.
SADLY, MOST OF THEM HAVE NO CREDIT MENTIONING WHO MADE THEM - THAT WOULD BE MOI!

OOH JA JA (12")- PUSSYFOOT
I've just discovered one of my earliest extended remixes has been put on YouTube by an admirer who made a film clip using stills of the artist, Pussyfoot. Donna Jones (Pussyfoot), first had a hit with 'The Way You Do It' back in 1976 which was banned by the BBC for its suggestive lyrics but was a massive seller in Oz. She had an equally big hit in Oz with the follow-up 'Ooh Ja Ja.' Her co-writing husband Mick Flinn, was part of the Oz group The Mixtures who had a hit in the UK with the charming 'Pushbike Song.' After Pussyfoot folded Donna became a member of The New Seekers.
Nice to know that rare and obscure Ozzie hits are getting a bit of a revival.
The dance craze songs of the era included The Bump, The Hustle, The Bus-Stop and this one, Ooh Ja Ja.

GETTING SO EXCITING (7") - LEE KOSMIN
Also just found somebody has lifted this remixed single and made a clip for it as well! Lee Kosmin was from London's pub scene in the early 1980s. It was a hit in Oz.

JUST SO LONELY (12') - GET WET
Also just found somebody has lifted this extended remix I did ages ago and put a clip to it!


CRYING IN THE RAIN (7") - TREVOR
This is becoming embarrassing - I've found more songs I have remastered!


WAIT FOR SUMMER (7") - ALLONDEE
This is becoming very embarrassing - I've found even more songs I have remastered!


M'AM THIBAULT (7") - TRANQUILLE
This is becoming very embarrassing - I've found even more songs I have remastered!


IF YOU CAN PUT THAT IN A BOTTLE (12") - JOHN DAVIDSON
This is becoming very embarrassing - I've found even more songs I have remastered!

DON'T LET THE GOOD LIFE PASS YOU BY (7") - DES O'CONNOR
This is becoming very embarrassing - I've found even more songs I have remastered!


ROOFTOP SINGING (12") - NEW WORLD
This is becoming very embarrassing - I've found another one of my extended remixes!


MEGAMIX (12") - BOOM CRASH OPERA
Another of my specialities - making megamixes for Oz bands. I've found another one of my extended remixes!


ONGO BONGO MAN (12") - GERRY AND THE JOY BAND
This is becoming very embarrassing - I've found another one of my extended remixes!


MOST PEOPLE I KNOW / BELIEVE IT JUST LIKE ME (12") - BILLY THORPE AND THE AZTECS
This is becoming very embarrassing - I've found another one of my extended medley remixes!


IN YOUR CAR (12") - DUGITES
This is becoming very embarrassing - I've found another one of my extended medley remixes!


24.4.10

DOWNLOAD NO.374 - WARREN CARR

Warren Carr has other posts on this blog. Please use the search facility at top left to locate them.

Wazza was born in Newcastle NSW (according to one of my sources) and spent most of his life at the piano.
Warren played with John Konrad's Kaydets (1960) and in Johnny O'Keefe's backing band. Warren made many recordings for the Leedon label from 1961 to 1964, they are mostly in what has been described as "honky tonk" style. He went from backing and session work, to early appearances on Bandstand and Six O'Clock Rock, then to a long running gig on ABC TV Playschool as "Mr Music". His sons Darren and Mark have careers in country music nowadays. Warren's wife was also a performer.

Albums include:


"Li'l' Ole Me & My Piano"
"Party Time Piano"

"50 Years of Evergreens"
"36 Hollywood Hits"
"Warren Carr Plays Twin Honky Tonk Pianos"
"40 All Time Honky Tonk Hits"

E.P.s include:


"Li'l' Ole Mr Sunshine" 1961
"Warren Carr Plays Johnny O'Keefe" 1961
"Warren Carr Plays Rondo" 1962
"Toy Piano" 1963
"12 All Time Favourites" 1965


Singles include:

"You Are My Sunshine" / "Middle 8" 1961
"Li'l Old Me" / "Intro" 1961
"Rondo" / "Chopsticks" 1962
"Harry Lime Theme" / "My Colouring Book" 1963
"The Mexican Bug" / "Tokyo" circa 1965
"Life Is What You Make Of It" / "Ramblin'" 1972

Some of his singles have previously appeared on CD but are long deleted.

For download is the album "Party Time Piano With Warren Carr". Both of Warren's 1961 hits "You Are My Sunshine" and "Li'l' Ole Me" appear on this album but are in mono although the album is supposedly "stereo".

Side 1:

Corinne, Corina
In The Good Old Summer Time
Middle 8
Hot Toddy
That Happy Feeling
Li'L' Ole Me

Side 2:

Tipperary
The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise
South
She's My baby
Right Now
You Are Mys Sunshine

Both sides of this album are in a zip file which has the regular password found elsewhere on this blog:

http://rapidshare.com/files/379808290/wazza.zip

18.4.10

DOWNLOAD NO.373 - LES WELCH

Les Welch was a band leader in the WW2 period and racked up many number ones back in the days before top 40 charts came into existence. His repertoire included novelty, pop and jazz hits all played with his infectious swing style.

His early singles include: "And They Call It Dixieland", "Saturday Night Fish Fry", "Mule Train", "Pacific Boogie-Woogie", "I Didn't Know The Gun Was Loaded", "Get Up Offa That Floor Hannah", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Hucklebuck", "Caravan" "Lover's Gold", "On The Sunny Side Of The Street", "Music, Music, Music", "If I Knew You Were Coming", "Candy And Cake", "Grose Grobe Mama", "Rosetta", "Mona Lisa's Daughter" which was the flip of "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine", "Les' Yancey Beat", "Count Every Star", "Hand Out Song" "Chug A Lug", "Here You Are", "The Thing", "Hold On"...This list is is just some of the more than 100 singles he released!

He was still working in the 1960s and often backed other artists. One of his 1960s hits was "A Man Called Peter" with singer Daryl Stewart. In fact, there were many artists that had top 40 hits using Mr Welch's arrangements or his band in an uncredited role.

The vinyl album here for download has never been transferred to CD. It contains a few stereo remakes that were coupled with mono original hits from the 1940s and 50s.

Tracks:

I've Got A Luverly Bunch of Coconuts (stereo remake).
Birth Of The Blues.
Elevator Boogie Blues.
In The Book.
Pacific Boogie-Woogie (mono hit mix)
Cigarettes, Whiskey And Wild, Wild Women.
Bucket's Got A Hole In It.
And They Called It Dixieland (original hit mix).
Round The Clock Momma.
Outskirts Of Town.
Saturday Night Fish Fry (stereo remake).
Blues For Yancey.
Basin Street Blues.
You're Driving Me Crazy.
I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate.

The files are in a zip with the usual password: http://tommixmusic.blogspot.com/

Please enjoy!


http://rapidshare.com/files/377238029/welch.zip

17.4.10

DOWNLOAD NO.372 - JASON DARNELL

Jason Darnell aka Duggie Dean, was born Douglas Owen White 29th May 1935 in Hampstead London He was raised in the village of Parkend in the Forest Of Dean Gloucestershire. He had numerous low paid and menial jobs before joining the Royal Air Force after WW2. He formed a couple of troop entertainment groups before departing after 3 years service. Doug (Jason) and his then comedy and musical partner set up shop on Barry Island where he learned the ropes of theatre entertainment and slowly began performing across South Wales. He had numerous name changes as his status improved in cabaret, performing up and down the seaside circuit in England.

After touring the UK circuit Doug was asked to top the bill on the P & O Empress Cruiser, with the Eric Winstone orchestra, and it was on one of his cruises to Canada that he changed his stage name to Jason Darnell.

Cruises to Australia were Jason’s favourite – he met his future manager and producer Ian McCallum on one of these trips, and he was invited to appear on the TV show New Faces, which he won first place representing Sydney. Later on another visit to Australia he represented Melbourne, and once again won first place.

He was then engaged to perform throughout the Federal Hotel Circuit which was a major chain in Australia at the time. He gained a lot of fans and good friends on this tour, and Jason was then signed by Festival Records and released his first record for them. The song was the ballad “Love Is All” in 1973 - his recording was requested and played regularly on all the popular radio shows. The “B” side of the record was “Sail Along Silv'ry Moon” it went into some Oz charts, and was particularly popular with listening audiences in Tasmania. So popular was Jason in Tasmania, and he was so taken with the people and scenery, he left Melbourne and moved to his new home in Hobart.

After a few enjoyable years in Hobart, which included hosting his own weekly TV and Radio shows, he returned to Sydney where he appeared on all the big Saturday night Television shows. Next, Jason went onto star in various touring musical theatre groups and played the role of “Prince Charming” for more than 3 years with a travelling company that swept across Australia and New Zealand. Doug is still going strong as of 2009 and still doing cabaret.

For download are both sides of his 1973 single. My personal favourites is "Sail Along Silv'ry Moon". Enjoy!

http://rapidshare.com/files/377172681/jason_darnell_-_love_is_all__vinyl_tom_mix_.mp3

http://rapidshare.com/files/377178152/jason_darnell_-_sail_along_silvery_moon__vinyl_tom_mix_.mp3

16.4.10

DOWNLOAD N0.371 - MOONSHINE JUG AND STRING BAND (The Angels)

Before Doc Neeson and the Angels were charting with their high-powered Oz rock the band had much more humble beginnings. They started in Adelaide as The Moonshine Jug and String Band which played "washboard rock".

In November 1970, brothers Rick and John Brewster formed The Moonshine Jug and String Band. In 1971 the band was joined by Doc Neeson, an arts student and former Army sergeant and already a prominent figure on the Adelaide music scene. The band performed at university campuses and in 1973 released their debut E.P. "Keep You on the Move", which made the top 5 in Adelaide. This was followed in 1974 by the single "That's All Right With Me". Both these releases were on John Woodruff's Sphere label. Woodruff went on to become the band's manager for most of its career.

In 1974 they changed their name to The Keystone Angels, switched to electric instruments and began playing 1950s rock and roll on the pub circuit. On 3 August 1974, just before Go-Set magazine, a number of small ads started appearing weekly announcing "The KEYSTONE ANGELS are coming", possibly the first mention of the band in an Australian national rock music publication.

In 1975 the band supported AC/DC during a tour, and later performed as the backing band for Chuck Berry. They dropped "Keystone" from their name and became simply "The Angels". At this point the band was a four-piece with Neeson on bass guitar, Charlie King (Peter Christopolous) on drums, Rick Brewster on lead guitars and John Brewster on lead vocals and rhythm guitar.

The Angels' first single, "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again", was released in April 1976. From this point there was no stopping the band who have been in and out of the charts since.

This download is the vinyl E.P. which has four songs: "Keep You On The Move", "On The Road Again", "Tell My Friends" and "Mad Mandy" plus as a bonus the track
"Keep You On The Move" taken from CD.

Thanks again to Jimmy Barnes for these vinyl oldies.


http://rapidshare.com/files/376736321/moon_jug.zip

DOWNLOAD NO.370 - AUNTY JACK

The TV show Aunty Jack was a creation of Grahame Bond who has always claimed that many of his ideas and skits were similar but ahead of the Monty Python team who were the UK comedy team who sang "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life".

Aunty was ably assisted by Thin Arthur aka Rory O'Donoghue who always acted as the voice of reason and prevented many a person from having their arms ripped off by Aunty.

Garry McDonald also made appearances in the show and played two memorable characters, roving reporter Norman Gunston and Kid Eager. Gunston was there at Parliament House when Gough Whitlam was sacked...one of the most memorable moments of the whole incident!

The TV show was at the forefront of comedy around the mid-1970s and is fondly remembered.

Most of their lunacy is on DVD and there is a double CD of their music called "Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong".

"
Teenage Butcher" and "Doin' The Kev" came out in 1975 on the Polydor label. Both tracks are in a zip file - no password - courtesy of regular contributor Jimmy Barnes, who as you can see, has a rare signed copy of the single!

http://rapidshare.com/files/376728068/aunty.zip

15.4.10

DOWNLOAD NO.369 - JOHNNY O'KEEFE

There are few times when I can post a whole album knowing it has never been released on CD and this is one of them.

The Delltones make an appearance on this 1975 album as well as some very fine studio musos.

The track list is on the front cover so please click and enlarge the picture if you can't read them.

The 320kb mp3 files are stored in a zip file with the usual password as indicated on other posts on this blog.

Cheers,

9.4.10

DOWNLOAD NO.368 - LAUREL LEA

Laurel Lea, born Lorraine Lianos, was a regular Australia TV singer on shows such as Brian Henderson's "Bandstand" and Johnny O'Keefe's "Six O'clock Rock" in the late 1950s early 1960s, mostly singing cover versions of US hits. She started out with Lee Gordon on his Leedon label in 1958 (same year I was born) with a backing group called The Crescents. Laurel married fellow "Bandstand" singer Kevin Todd, and had a son Mark.

Laurel's parents owned a travelling rock 'n' roll tent show. In the 60s, she travelled with them around Australia doing rock shows in local halls, and in the mid-1970s, she joined back up with Johnny O'Keefe and a few others from the earlier rock years, appearing in clubs together in the "Good Old Days of Rock 'n' Roll" show. L
aurel made several records, but had little chart success. Her biggest hit was "Treasure Of Your Love". She also had a band in the 80s called "Chockarock," which toured the pub/club circuit and played old time rock and roll. Laurel died on January 31 sadly two weeks before her son's wedding , 1992 of Leukaemia.

The reason I have placed this set of 7 songs here for download is because there is very little of Laurel's work commercially available. The songs in this zip file come from video, CD and vinyl sources...two tracks are from contributors on Midoztouch and some of the information used here is also from Midoz...three tracks are from my own CD collection...and one is from Youtube. I have processed the original sound files with "click repair" and got them all to similar volume levels etc. They are 320KB mp3 mono files.

The Canetoad CD company in Sydney NSW has more Laurel tracks for sale, if you are a fan!

The poster above has a great list of Oz performers including Billy Thorpe, Aztecs, Digger Revell, Kevin Todd, Barry Stanton, Dave Bridge Trio, Kelly Green and Laurel Lea (click to enlarge). NB. Kelly Green was married to Barry Stanton and they had 2 children before divorcing.

The Laurel Lea zip file has a password: http://tommixmusic.blogspot.com/

http://rapidshare.com/files/373787265/laurel.zip

26.3.10

DOWNLOAD NO.367 - THE COCKROACHES

Most Australians would know that The Cockroaches group are responsible for creating The Wiggles TV show and associated merchandise. The Field brothers (Paul, John and Anthony) started The Cockroaches in 1979 while still at boarding school. The Cockroaches began writing their own music and issued a string of singles on a variety of independent labels. In 1986 the band signed a deal with Regular Records and through promotion had better commercial success...

The band's first singles were:

  • "I Want a Leather Jacket"
  • "Through With Her"
  • "Bingo Bango" (June 1981)
  • "Used To Be"
  • "She Goes On And On" (August)
  • "Empty Heart"
  • "Apartment #9" (October)
  • "Shake Jump And Shout"
  • "Last Night"
  • "Empty Heart" (November 1982)
  • "See You In Spain"
  • "I've Been Thinking About You" (June 1984)
  • "My Whole World's Fallin' Down" (1985)
  • "Groovin’ In The Graveyard" (June 1985)
  • "Another Night Alone My Type Of Girl" (December 1985)

The band's first single on Regular, "Wait Up" (September 1986), became a national Top 40 hit and #13 in Sydney.

The band's debut album, The Cockroaches (March 1987) produced three further singles, "She's The One" (January), "Some Kind of Girl" (May) and "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" (August). The Cockroaches reached #9 on the national chart, on its way to selling over 100,000 copies and "She's the One" became the band's biggest hit when it peaked at #7 during April 1987. "Some Kind of Girl" and "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" also made the Top 30.

Peter Mackie replaced Phil Robinson before the band recorded its second album, Fingertips. In early 1989, The Cockroaches undertook a national tour. The band's third album, Positive (June 1991), included a cover of Brenda Lee's "Here Comes The Feeling" (August), which also appeared on the soundtrack to the feature film The Crossing, however, The Cockroaches as a band concept had run its course.

In the early 90s Anthony Field studied early childhood education. He eventually started The Wiggles with Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook (guitar) and Greg Page (vocals), which became extraordinarily successful in Australia, the USA and parts of Asia in children's entertainment and early learning.

John Field [alongside Sean Sennett] joined The Honeymen. The pair released two singles "Felt Like A Kiss" and "Motorbike Of Love". John Field went on to write the musical "Evie And The Birdman" and fronts The John Field Band.

Here for download courtesy of Jimmy Barnes is one of The Cockroache's early singles "My Whole World's Fallin' Down":

http://rapidshare.com/files/368601180/the_cockroaches_-_my_whole_world_s_fallin__down.mp3

28.2.10

DOWNLOAD NO.366 - AUSTRALIA'S COUNTRY GREATS

The blurb on the back of this 1970s album says...

...The Australian Country Music scene has never been so strong with many great artists touring continually and attracting full houses with their great songs, many being their own compositions, and great voices. Here on this album we have collected but a few, but each and every artists is a true Australian Country Great...

Tracks:

Reg Lindsay - King Of The Road
Mike McLellan - Some Other Sunrise
Webb Bros - The Reuben James
John Ashe - Come In Spinner
Judy Stone - Gentle On My Mind
Johnny Mac - Right Or Left At Oak Street
Jimmy Weston Band - The Year That Clayton Delaney Died
Col Joye - There Goes My Everything
Tex Morton - Hallelujah I'm A Bum
Country Radio - Bound For South Australia
Tex Williams - China Doll
Heather McKean - I Fall To Pieces
Lionel Rose - Ballad Of Forty Dollars

The majority of these songs have not made it to CD. Here for download are all 13 songs in one long 35 minute mp3 file.

The songs are in a zip file with the usual password: http://tommixmusic.blogspot.com/


http://rapidshare.com/files/357020155/Oz.zip

27.2.10

DOWNLOAD NO.365 - BRIAN MAY / BUSHWACKERS

The Image music company took four T.V. themes and released them on an E.P. called "Original T.V. Themes".

The songs include two by Brian May and The A.B.C. Showband, the "Theme from Rush" and the "Theme from Seven Little Australians"....and two songs by The Bushwackers, the "Theme from Cash & Co" and the "Theme from Ben Hall".

The "Theme from Rush" by Brian May got to #7 in 1974 and the follow-up single "Theme from Upstairs Downstairs" got to #35 in 1975.

For download I have placed all four songs on one non-stop stereo mp3....

DOWNLOAD NO.364 - D.V.8

Newcastle NSW used to have a great live music scene in the previous century but nowadays you'd be hard pressed to find many local bands working live. D.V.8 is an exception. They are still going strong today while others have come and gone.

In the late 1970s when D.V.8 front man, guitarist Greg Bryce was barely out of school he formed a power trio called Meccalissa with friends Mark Middleton (bass) and Darrell Mepham (drums) which went on to play to packed audiences at the legendary Star Hotel. (Darrell is another of my distant cousins from the Hunter Valley). This was the essential line up of DV8 - an original band of hard-driving, no frills blues-rockers who released 4 charting albums and many singles during the eighties when they ruled the local live rock scene.

The D.V.8 were very popular locally but didn't make it on a national level. Their song "She Goes" was released in 1980 and is a rare collector's item.

Singles:

Derby Street Blues / Kill the Warden (Angelwood ) - 1979.
She Goes (Down to the Sea) / Jenny (Confidential) - 1980.
Dry Your Eyes / Without You (EMI Custom ) - 1982.
Dead Giveaway - 1985.
Hitch Hiker (Confidential ) - 1987.
Down to the Sea - circa 1988.

Here is "She Goes":

16.2.10

DOWNLOAD NO.363 - MODELS

Models are a pop/rock/dance group from Melbourne, Australia, which formed in August 1978 and went into hiatus circa 1988 and have reformed a couple of times when they feel moved to do so.

James Freud started as their vocalist in 1982, after a couple of non-charting singles with their original line-up. In time, the band crafted a slick sound and had massive hits here and in the USA. James also had a solo career in-between group success.

Singles:

Early Morning Brain 1979 (non-album shared single)
Owe You Nothing 1980 (non-album single)
Cut Lunch (EP) 1981 #14 AUS
Local &/or General 1981
Unhappy 1982 (non-album single)
On 1982
I Hear Motion 1983 #12 AUS
No Shoulders No Head 1983
God Bless America 1984 #60 (charted NSW only)
Tropic of Cancer 1984 (non-album single)
Big on Love 1984 #21 AUS
Barbados 1985 #8 AUS
Out of Mind Out of Sight 1985 #1 AUS #22 USA
Cold Fever 1985 #28 AUS #29 USA
King of Kings 1986 #55 AUS (charted NSW only)
Evolution 1986 #22 AUS
Let's Kiss 1986 #26 AUS
Hold On 1987 #17 AUS
Oh Darling 1987 #34 AUS

One of the Model’s lesser known singles “King of Kings” came out for Christmas 1985. All proceeds were donated to the Salvation Army but it only charted in NSW so it probably didn’t make too much cash. The song contains portions of the famous speech spoken by Martin Luther King, “I have a dream”.


As you can see from the pictures above the A-side had a picture of a playing card and all the recording information was on the B-side. The B-side played at 33 1/3 RPM while the A-side was at 45 RPM - a very novel feature. There are not that many 7” releases that can boast different speeds on both sides.

The original single mix was not a dance track but by adding a new rhythm section and some phasing I have created a new Tom Mix extended dance mix of "King of Kings". Enjoy!


http://rapidshare.com/files/351533189/The_Models_-_King_Of_Kings__Ext_Tom_Mix_.mp3

13.2.10

DOWNLOAD NO.362 - GILLIES REPORT

The ABC TV network has always fostered off-the-wall Oz shows and "The Gillies Report" was one from the 1984 to 1985 period. Comedian Max Gillies did great impersonations and in this track he tackles Bob Hawke and some of the world leaders of the time. Max hails from Melbourne and still performs at times. In his later years he has given comedy away to take on many straight roles.

Max is ably assisted on "Shout" by Phil Scott. The words to "Shout" were adapted by comedian John Clark and entertainer Phil Scott. Phil often works with another partner nowadays, Jonathan Biggins, who hails from Newcastle NSW - my wife went through school with his sister Felicity Biggins who amongst others, plays piano for the touring edition of "Playschool", another ABC show.

Many thanks Jimmy Barnes for this item.

http://rapidshare.com/files/350322763/the_gillies_report_-_shout__vinyl_tom_mix_.mp3