REVEREND BLACK AND THE ROCKIN VICARS

Reverend Black and The Rockin' Vicars formed in Wollongong around 1967. The first lineup of the Vicar's was Dave Rossall (vocals), Tony Kappen (lead guitar), Sid Brassington (rhythm guitar), Laurie Hellyer (bass) and Dieter Glaser (drums). With the joining of Dave and the consequent name change and the clerical garb, they became more stage conscious and started playing new material such as early Small Faces and The Who.

Songs they were doing live were the Small Faces "Itchycoo Park " and a Sue Thompson song, "Paper Tiger", the latter, which may seem an odd selection for a rock group, but it does have a good thumpy beat and one can imagine the Vicars rocking into it, doing vocals sung with harmony. Other songs: that old Chuck Berry classic "I'm Talkin' Bout You" and a version of "Jailhouse Rock", which Dieter would sing whilst dancing like a madman behind his drums.

Reverend Black pulled larger crowds than some of the era's much bigger names, particularly when playing at the Wonderland Ballroom at Corrimal. Their first release was ''Watcha Gonna Do About It / Tears And Kisses'' on the Leedon label in 1967. Their second ''Down To The Last 500'' penned by Vanda and Young was their best-known song. It was recorded under the name R. Black And The Rocking V's as was their third single ''Sorrowful Stoney'' and their last single ''Walking And Talking'' again written by Vanda and Young was released in 1969. David Rossall died from lung cancer on 4 January 2012. He was 65. Tony Kappen died in 2020.

Members

Dave Rossall (vocals), Tony Kappen (guitar), Syd Brassington (guitar), Stuart Bedford (guitar), Neil Williamson (organ), Laurie Hellyer (bass), Dieter Glaser (drums)

SINGLES

''Watcha Gonna Do About It / Tears And Kisses'' 1967 Leedon

''Down To The Last 500 (#90) / Sugar Train'' 1968 Sunshine
''Sorrowful Stoney / Such A Lovely Day'' 1968 Sunshine
''Walking And Talking / How Does It Feel?'' 1969 Sunshine

References

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/