Graeham George Goble (born 15 May 1947 in Adelaide, Australia) is a musician, singer/songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Little River Band (LRB). As a performer, Goble was responsible for the vocal arrangements and high harmonies on eleven studio albums and numerous Top 10 singles with LRB. As a songwriter he penned songs like "Reminiscing", "Lady", "Take It Easy on Me" and "The Other Guy" each played millions of times on radio. As a producer, Goble's credits include John Farnham's 'Uncovered' album in 1980 and his own catalog of recordings.
Goble is a keen student of concepts such as spirituality; he changed his first name from Graham to Graeham as a consequence of his interest in numerology and feng shui. Goble was drawn to music, in particular its harmonies, at an early age. "My early influences were bands like The Beatles, The Hollies, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Bread and I always wanted to be in a band with harmonies. ... From my very first band we had 3-part harmonies" Starting out as a drummer, Goble quickly progressed to the banjo. "As soon as I had a stringed instrument in my hands, I suddenly had all these melodies." Thereafter came the transition to guitar. A number of bands followed in quick succession: The Silence (1966–67), Travis Wellington Hedge (1968), Allison Gros (1969–71) and Drummond (1971). Each of these bands was recorded, and Goble fans are always keen to hunt down the vinyl. His next band was Mississippi.
The first single released by Mississippi would provide Goble with his first chart success as a songwriter, the song "Kings of the World" climbing to the Top 5. The album 'Mississippi' would attract further success, receiving the ARIA Award for Best Group Album of 1972, with "Kings of the World" awarded Best Group Single. Little River Band performed in public for the first time in March 1975, still known as Mississippi. The new name Little River Band followed soon after, taken from a road sign to the town of Little River as the band travelled to a performance in Geelong.
By 1976 Goble was in the American Top 30 with his "It's A Long Way There", the first international hit for Little River Band. Two years later, he was in the Billboard chart at #3 with the memorable "Reminiscing". Freed of his commitment to LRB (and touring in particular), Goble was able to indulge his passion for carefully crafted and meticulous studio recordings. His first offering was the 1990 album 'Broken Voices' for which he was composer, producer, vocal arranger, harmony vocalist and acoustic guitarist. Goble recruited Susie Ahern to provide lead vocals. On his next two offerings Goble again eschewed the role of lead vocalist, offering that responsibility to Steve Wade on the albums 'Nautilus' (1993) and 'Stop' (1995).
A chance meeting between Goble and Glenn Shorrock in 2001 (and a subsequent telephone call to Beeb Birtles) would lead to these three original members of LRB reforming as a group and released a live album 'Full Circle', which was certified gold in Australia. In 2006, Goble released 'The Days Ahead', in 2008, 'Let It Rain', which musicologist Ed Nimmervoll said "Ultimately Graeham Goble's album 'Let It Rain' is the journey of a lifetime. Listening to it takes us on an exceptional journey of our own." Of the eleven tracks on 'Let It Rain', two have been heard previously (albeit in different contexts). "Heart & Soul" appeared on the Birtles Shorrock Goble live DVD Full Circle while "Let It Rain" had been performed at the Farmhand Concert for Drought Relief in 2002. Goble has achieved more than 50 awards across four decades for songwriting, recording and performing,
ALBUMS ''Broken Voices'' 1990 ''Nautilus'' 1993 Castle Communications 'Stop' 1995 Words & Music 'The New Nautilus' 1999 'The Days Ahead' 2006 ORIGiN 'Let It Rain' 2008 ORIGiN 'Life Love Song' 2015
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, satirist, artist, and author. Humphries is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer and an accomplished landscape painter. For his delivery of dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, biographer Anne Pender described Humphries in 2010 as not only "the most significant theatrical figure of our time but the most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin".Humphries' characters have brought him international renown, and he has appeared in numerous films, stage productions and television shows.
Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, Edna has evolved over four decades to become a satire of stardom, the gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally feted Housewife Gigastar, Dame Edna Everage. Humphries' other major satirical character creation was the archetypal Australian bloke Barry McKenzie, who originated as the hero of a comic strip about Australians in London (with drawings by Nicholas Garland) which was first published in Private Eye magazine.
The stories about "Bazza" (Humphries' nickname, an Australian term of endearment for the name Barry) gave wide circulation to Australian slang, particularly jokes about drinking and its consequences (much of which was invented by Humphries), and the character went on to feature in two Australian films, in which he was portrayed by Barry Crocker. Humphries' other satirical characters include the "priapic and inebriated cultural attaché" Sir Les Patterson, who has "continued to bring worldwide discredit upon Australian arts and culture, while contributing as much to the Australian vernacular as he has borrowed from it", gentle, grandfatherly "returned gentleman" Sandy Stone, iconoclastic 1960s underground film-maker Martin Agrippa, Paddington socialist academic Neil Singleton, sleazy trade union official Lance Boyle, high-pressure art salesman Morrie O'Connor and failed tycoon Owen Steele. Humphries has released many albums and singles in his recording career. Barry Humphries died in 20213.
SINGLES
''The Migrant Hostess / Sandy Stone'' 1958 Score ''Highett Fidelity / Dear Beryl'' 1959 Score ''Snow Complications / The Old Pacific Sea'' [as Chunder Downunder] 1965 Bulletin ''Is'e An Aussie, Is'e Lizzie [with Dick Bentley] / True British Spunk'' [as Mrs Edna Everidge] 1970 Philips ''Every Mother Wants A Boy Like Elton'' [as Dame Edna Everage] / S & M Lady [as Edna Evil And The RatBags] 1978 Charisma ''Disco Matilda'' [as Dame Edna Everage] / Disco Matilda (Inst.) [as The Everage White Band With Abbo] 1979 Big Time ''G'Day / G'Day (Club Version)'' [as Sir Les Patterson] 1987 Powderworks ''Neighbours / Spooky Christmas'' [as Dame Edna Everage'' 1988 Epic
ALBUMS
'Sandy Agonistes' 1960 Score 'A Nice Night's Entertainment' 1962 Parlophone 'Barry Humphries' 1970 Parlophone 'Savoury Dip' 1971 Parlophone 'Barry Humphries At Carnegie Hall' 1972 Philips 'The Barry Humphries Record Of Innocent Austral Verse' 1972 Philips 'Housewife Superstar' 1976 Charisma 'Barry Humphries Presents The Sound Of Edna' 1978 Charisma
Robert "Bobby" Limb AO OBE (10 November 1924 - 11 September 1999) was born in Adelaide, South Australia and entered a show business career beginning in 1941, at the age of 17, when he became a saxophone player with various dance bands around his home city of Adelaide. His bright personality soon made him a bandleader and comedian. By 1952, Bobby was already one of Australia's leading entertainers, with a fan-club on radio station 2UW, which boasted 35,000 teenage members.
He appeared in the satirical radio program The Idiot Weekly in 1958 and 1959, alongside such players as Spike Milligan, Ray Barrett and John Bluthal, but was better known for his own radio, and later TV shows. His most successful television shows were The Mobil Limb Show, Australia's first national television show, and Bobby Limb's The Sound of Music, which ran for nine years 1963–1972, being the country's top-rated show for most of that time. Limb switched with his program from TCN Channel 9 to TEN10 in exactly the same timeslot on Friday nights. Channel 9 then picked up the younger Barry Crocker from TEN10 where he'd been hosting a similar program called Say it with Music and placed this into almost exactly the same timeslot with the same Sound of Music name on Friday nights.
Crocker's initial success waned, but both versions were axed within a few years as the format had had its run. Bobby Limb married fellow entertainer Dawn Lake in 1953, and often appeared with her. As a couple, they became iconic within the Australian entertainment industry. So popular was their appeal in their native land that Bert Newton even called them "Australia's Lucille and Desi". He promoted and supported young musicians, such as the group Human Nature. He supported Diabetes Australia and founded the Bobby Limb Foundation to help sufferers of diabetes.
Bobby Limb's enduring popularity was based on a solid 'middle-of-the-road' musical format, knock-about (never 'way-out') comedy, and a 'something for the whole family' style wholesomeness. In the late 1950s, Limb took up the torch of supplying middle-Australia's tastes in entertainment from that of radio personality of Jack Davey, but Limb's star began to fade in the 1970s when the TV audience shifted its tastes away from family 'variety' shows towards wall-to-wall 80's style pop-music, home-grown soap-opera like A Country Practice and Neighbours and most especially harder-edged, satirical comedy like The Aunty Jack Show. Bobby Limb remained a hit with older Australian audiences, but his later appearances were almost entirely off-screen, held at various live venues around the nation, like clubs and theatres, often in connection with charity fund-raising. Limb and his band supported The Dave Brubeck Quartet in Sydney (1960), Winifred Atwell (1961), Sammy Davis Jr (1963) and Helen Reddy (1973).
He won a total of 11 Logie Awards, including the 1964 Gold Logie, awarded to the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television. He won a Mr Show Business award in the USA. In 1983, he won the Australian Father of the Year award. In 1967 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his efforts in entertaining Australian troops in the Vietnam War. On 11 September 1999, Bobby Limb died of cancer, a condition he had previously suffered and apparently beaten. At Limb's funeral, the former Whitlam government minister Doug McClelland said that Bobby Limb was to the Australian entertainment industry what Sir Donald Bradman was to cricket, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was to aviation, Dame Joan Sutherland was to opera, and Dr Victor Chang was to surgery. In 2000, nine months after his death, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia "For service to the Australian entertainment industry, to tourism, and to the community, particularly through support for charitable organisations". Although announced posthumously, the award was made with effect from 2 September 1999.
SINGLES
''Till We Two Are One / I Remember You, Love'' [with Dawn Lake and Tony Gutterus] 1954 Fidelity ''Spaghetti Rag / Goodnight, Irene'' 1955 Artransa ''Norman, Is That You? / Grand Unspeakable Passion'' 1974 EMI
EPs
'Bobby Limb's Mother Goose - Songs And Stories' 1965 Festival
ALBUMS
'Mister Bobby Limb and his Jubilee Minstrels' 1950 Fidelity 'Bobby Limb's TV Sound Of Music Soundtrack' 1965 Festival 'Bobby Limb's Centenary TV Show 1968 Festival 'Sound of Music' 1972 Festival
Ricky May was born 22 November 1943 in New Zealand in Onehunga, Auckland of Māori descent. His father, Keith May, was a jazz band leader and played alto saxophone. May grew up with siblings and from the age of 15 he performed at Picasso, a café, night club in Auckland. Apart from vocals, May played drums and piano but generally worked as a variety entertainer. He would introduce unconventional vocalisations, improvisation and the spoken word into performance.
In 1961 jazz pianist, Ronnie Smith, set up a group to play at the Sorrento Club, Wellington. Smith's group had Tommy Tamati on bass guitar and May joined on drums and backing vocals. May become a regular with the group and sometimes provided lead vocals. Bruno Lawrence, an English-born jazz musician, who was regularly in the audience, often got up to play the drums when May sang lead. The group worked for about a year and toured southern North Island.
At the end of 1961 May returned to Auckland and signed with Harry M. Miller's La Gloria label, which released his debut single in 1961, a cover version of "Let's Twist Again". He followed with "I Could Have Danced All Night" in 1962. During that year he relocated to Sydney and primarily worked in cabaret. He recorded compositions of Nat King Cole and appeared on Australian TV shows The Don Lane Show, Farnham and Byrne (co-hosted by John Farnham and Debra Byrne), and regular appearances on The Midday Show.
In 1966 May released another single, "This Little Boy's Gone Rockin'", via RCA (Bluebird Records). From March of that year he hosted the Sydney teen pop music TV series, Ten on the Town, on TEN-10. It ran in direct competition with Bandstand on TCN-9 and Col Joye on ATN-7. Walter Learning of The Canberra Times compared the three shows, which "vie for the younger audience" and found that "Bandstand must win hands down" as Col Joye "has no life" and May's show, "suffers from over effort on the part of all concerned."
His next single released in 1970 on CBS was ''Summer In Sydney / Just Too Late''. Both sides were composed May. In 1980 J&B released an album titled 'Ricky May' which contained jazz standards, disco and pop. In 1983 a double album, with the Julian Lee Orchestra, 'Fats Enough', was released on ABC records. In the same year he issued a duet single with Jonathan Coleman, "Built for Comfort (I Ain't Built for Speed)", as the Big Boys. In 1984 ABC decided to release a second double album, 'Just Foolin' Around – A Tribute to Louis Armstrong'. In 1986 RCA released a Christmas album, 'It's the Christmas Man'. Beyond this he concentrated on live cabaret performances and television work. He later appeared regularly on Hey Hey It's Saturday.
In 1988 May received the Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, the highest honour available to a New Zealand variety entertainer. May was the composer of the team song for the Newtown Jets Rugby League football club. He wrote a tribute song for Hey Hey It's Saturday and performed it with the show's band: it was often played over the final credits. On 1 June 1988 Ricky May had a fatal heart attack at the Regent Hotel, Sydney, after getting a standing ovation on the opening night of a new cabaret show. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital. He was 44 years of age.
''Summer In Sydney / Just Too Late'' 1970 CBS ''Built For Comfort (I Ain't Built For Speed)'' [with Jonothan Coleman] 1983 WEA ''A World Without Music'' 1985 Festival
ALBUMS 'Ricky May' 1980 J & B 'Fats Enough' 1983 ABC 'Oh What A Feeling' 1986 Festival 'It's The Christmas Man' 1986 Festival ' Just Fooling Around - A Tribute to Louis Armstrong' [with Bob Barnard] 1987 ABC 'The Joint Is Jumpin' 1992 ABC 'A Tribute To The Greats' 1995 ABC
The Chevelles' founding members are Guy Douglas on drums, Jeff Halley on bass guitar, Richard Lane on guitar, keyboards and vocals and Duane Smith on guitar. The band took their name from the United States mid-sized car, Chevrolet Chevelle. They played their first headline show at the Coronado Hotel on 15 December 1989. The Chevelles signed with Sydney-based independent label, Zero Hour Records, (named after the Plimsouls' tune), operated by former the Stems roadie, George Matzkov. In April 1990 they recorded six tracks at Poons Head Studios in Perth. Matzkow chose Lane's punk pop rocker "Be My Friend" and Smith's "She Don't Come Around" for the band's first single. Although he thought there were better songs, he felt those two captured the energy he was looking for from the band.
The single, "Be My Friend", was released in August 1990. It was praised in pop zines such as Bucketfull of Brains, whose writer felt, "'Be My Friend' is a nonstop rocker in prime Hoodoo Gurus/Screaming Tribesman heyday fashion with hooks a plenty and loads of blazing guitars." Steve Gardener of Noise for Heroes opined, "it is harder and nastier than any Stems song." Outside Australia it was promoted in Spain, Germany and France. The band's connection to the Stems was an attention-getter.
Requests for tribute compilations followed and they recorded 'Zero Hour' for a Plimsouls tribute album and "Back of My Car" for an Alex Chilton tribute on Spanish label Munster Records. In late 1990 they recorded five tracks for an EP at Planet Studios: 'The Kids Ain't Hip', it was released in November. A trip to the east coast and high radio rotation for the track, "Show Me Your Love", confirmed the band's prospects. Upon return to Perth, they embarked on an intensive gigging schedule. They supported local gigs by eastern states bands, Ratcat, Falling Joys and the Plunderers.
In the later half of 1991, friction in the band mounted and delays in recording the band's first album followed. In September 1991 during rehearsal Smith presented a track, "Valentine", to the other band members. Lane said that the Chevelles were strictly a vehicle for his music. Halley and Smith then dismissed Lane from the band. The Chevelles performed a final show with Lane on Christmas Eve 1991. He was replaced on guitar by Adrian Allen (ex-the Diehards). The Diehards had supported the Chevelles, and Allen had previously filled in at gigs for Smith or Lane on occasion. A New Year's Eve concert at Wildwood Winery, alongside Boom Crash Opera, the Neptunes, the Kryptonics and the Dweebs, was the new line-up's first show.
The band had found new focus at a live level, but their recording plans were in a mess. Almost a full album's worth of material had been recorded with Lane. They salvaged some of Smith's tracks from those sessions, including the next single, "Girl for Me". Lane released his tracks under the name of his new band, the Rosebuds, without crediting the Chevelles' members for their performances. Meanwhile, the relationship between the Chevelles and Zero Hour had become strained. Royalties from the single and EP had not been seen by the band and the label had begun to license overseas releases and printing T-shirts, without their knowledge. Although they owed Zero Hour five tracks, they signed with Survival Records, whose acts included the Hitmen and the Screaming Tribesmen.
Survival had connections in Europe, with an office in Brussels and distribution through Play It Again Sam. The label compiled a ten-song retrospective CD of the band's Zero Hour material, 'The Kids Ain't Hip' (1992) for release in Europe. At the same time Zero Hour negotiated a similar release, 'In the Zero Hour' (1993), through Spanish label Munster Records. In mid-1992 the Chevelles recorded and then released a new single, "Girl for Me" (October), with two B-sides: "Valentine" and Allen's first contribution, "On My Mind". For the remainder of that year, they performed regular gigs in Perth, supporting Falling Joys, the Clouds and overseas acts the Smithereens. They issued another single, "Murder on Her Mind" (January 1993).
'Gigantic', their debut album, had been planned for the end of 1991, but was delayed until June 1993. It received positive reviews in Australian Rolling Stone and in street press. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, observed, "Rather than concentrating on traditional 1960s jangly guitar pop, it showcased the band's heavier and more textured, but still tuneful, approach." Radio picked up tracks, "Murder on her Mind" and "Memories", the latter was the third single from the album, delivered late in 1993 with three bonus tracks, including a tougher version of "Show Me Your Love" and a cover version of the Backdoor Men's "Out of My Mind".
The band followed with three tours of the eastern states. The first was supporting Matthew Sweet on his Altered Beast tour. Then they supported United Kingdom visitors, the Sweet, on a national tour. Subsequently Guy Douglas left due to musical and personal differences. A Bunbury-based band, the Calhoons, had been supporting the Chevelles. They enlisted the support group's drummer, Mario Frisino, to fill-in. The band played gigs in Perth and Bunbury with Frisino and then made another trip to the eastern states in mid-1993.
Back in Perth they recruited Martin Moon on drums as a permanent replacement. He had played with Perth bands the Marigolds, the Neptunes and Dom Mariani's Orange. The new line-up made another rip to the eastern states in late 1993 and then travelled to Europe. Survival Records booked the Chevelles to play around 40 shows over six weeks across December 1993 and January 1994. The tour covered Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland. They played alongside label mates, the Screaming Tribesmen and Screamfeeder. In Spain the band met promoters and labels eager to release their records and organise more tours. Running Circle Records, whose manager, Michael Statesmann, had connections in Australia, organised six extra Spanish shows before the band headed home in January, and placed the Chevelles on a large support bill for a Summer Festival in the island of Majorca in July 1994. Between the European and the Mallorca Festival Martin Moon left due to personal reasons and was replaced by Julian Buckland on drums.
After their Majorca festival appearance in mid-1994 Buckland and Smith stayed in Spain to play four promotional shows. When they arrived back in Australia the Chevelles began work on their next album, 'Rollerball Candy'. Friction was developed between them and Survival. Recording sessions were under way but the label could not confirm a release date or promotion plans. It was withholding the band's royalties for 'Gigantic' and had fragmented the band's interests by sub-licensing that album to a number of different labels and distributors, including Shock Records in Australia and Play It Again Sam in Europe. The band confronted Survival on these issues and a decision was made to dissolve their contract.
The band signed with Running Circle for a distribution deal for the second studio album, in Spain and the rest of Europe. Plans for worldwide distribution were delayed while trying to sign with Australian and other labels. 'Rollerball Candy' was released by Running Circle in early 1995. It was more varied than 'Gigantic', displaying a punk sound in "Delirium" and including a melodic ballad called "Fall". Its 15 tracks made it a long album for a pop group but in essence it was tailor-made for Spanish rock and roll fans.
Initial sales of the record in Spain and Portugal were encouraging. Response from Spanish press and radio was excellent. The record received strong reviews in established Spanish rock zines like Ruta 66, Beaten Generation and La Musica, in which the band were compared to Mariani's DM3 and to the Dubrovniks. Sales and promotion of 'Rollerball Candy' were lower in Australia. With no distribution deal they relied on sales at shows and through a small number of Perth and eastern states record stores. Fans in Sydney and Melbourne were unaware of the new album. At that time Running Circle's European distribution campaign was floundering. There was no evidence that the disc had was being distributed or promoted outside Spain.
In mid-1996 Running Circle were bankrupt, this annulled the Chevelles' contract. 'Rollerball Candy' had been released almost 18 months earlier and had not succeeded, through poor distribution and promotion. The band resolved to take the record back to the market. Smith contacted Paradoxx Music, a Brazilian dance music label, and negotiated for its release. An agreement was formed but the deal fell apart when Paradoxx restructured and restaffed.
The band continued to have a following in Spain. Allen and Smith played three acoustic shows in Madrid in January 1997. Later that year, after six months of sporadic playing in Perth, the band sought a new deal in Australia. David Hughes-Owen, the manager of Perth power pop label, Spinning Top, had known the band for years. Smith had offered 'Rollerball Candy' to Hughes-Owen for Australian release back in January 1995, but at the time the label felt it did not have the money or network to support it. Spinning Top put together an Australian power pop compilation, 'Pop on Top', for US label Bomp! Records, using the Chevelles' "She's Not Around" as its lead track. The compilation was released in 1996 and was well received in the US, where Spinning Top discovered the Chevelles had a fan base.
In 1997 the Chevelles and Spinning Top formed an agreement to see if the label could market 'Rollerball Candy'. Spinning Top had an association with US label Not Lame, whose manager Bruce Brodeen was a fan of the group and accepted an offer to release some of their material. They had obtained the rights to its back catalogue so Not Lame had the choice of all tracks back to 1992. Brodeen put together a compilation, 'At Second Glance', concentrating on the band's melodic pop sound rather than its rock aspect. 'At Second Glance' was released in March 1998. The thirteen-track CD was released by Not Lame in the US and Spinning Top Records in Australia. It was the band's first release in Australia since 'Gigantic' in 1993. Drummer Julian Buckland resigned, Dave Shaw joined the group, and the album was launched in July 1998.
It received supportive reviews in the US: Pop freelance writer Claudio Sossi wrote "The Chevelles excel at making incredibly catchy guitar-based pure pop songs without compromise." National distribution plus strong hometown reviews in Perth and radio airplay on Triple J, Triple R and community stations ensured they regained a profile in Australia. Not Lame was pleased with US sales, with the limited pressing of 'At Second Glance' selling well in two months. It was given some airplay on college radio.
Spinning Top's European connections ensured the album reached its markets. French label Hellfire Club Records released a four-track vinyl EP, 'Mezmerised', which used the tougher-edged tracks from 'Rollerball Candy'. The band was included on two compilations: 'Beat Party' CD on Japan's One and Two Records and 'Pop Under the Surface' on Swedish label Yesterday Girl Records. The band organised a tour of Spain in January 1999, adding a French leg to support, 'Mezmerized'. Most of the ten Spanish shows were sold out before the band arrived. The seven dates in France were also successful. The tour proved to the band that they were still had many fans in Europe, even though it was their first full-band tour since 1994.
The Chevelles recorded seven new tracks in May 1999 — their first full studio session since 'Rollerball Candy' some four years earlier. Three of the seven songs (including a version of Air Supply's "Lost in Love") were completed to demo level and then shopped by Spinning Top to various labels throughout Australia, Europe and the US. San Francisco label Zip Records started negotiations for a US EP and album release and advanced funds for more recordings.
'Sun Bleached', a five-track EP, was released on Zip in October 2000. Zip Records' strong promotional network pushed the EP to over 300 college radio stations. Spinning Top also negotiated a deal with Zip which saw the Chevelles, and other Spinning Top bands be released under the Zip Records banner in Australia through MGM Distribution. Offers for the band to tour continued to come in and in early 2001 the band embarked on a 12-date tour of Brazil with GANGgajang and Yothu Yindi. A 20-track best-of CD titled 'Delirium' was released in Brazil to coincide with the tour. The highlight of the successful tour was playing to a crowd of over 20,000 on the beach in Rio de Janeiro.
In mid-2001 the Chevelles were recording another new album. A deal was set up with Spanish label Bittersweet for the release of 'Sunseekers' (a compilation of the 'Sunbleached' EP and six new tracks, which re-appear on Girl God). Its release in late 2001 was followed by another tour of Spain in March 2002. The tour coincided with the UK release of the all-new album Girl God. Three UK dates were added to the Spanish tour, and, at the request of a Brazilian radio station, two shows were booked in Brazil. The band launched 'Girl God' in Australia in May 2002. The song "Get It On" from 'Girl God' is featured as a downloadable track in Rock Band 2.
In 2008 the Chevelles signed with Little Steven's Wicked Cool Records. This deal enabled the release of an anthology album titled 'Barbarella Girl God - Introducing the Chevelles', which featured four new songs, and a new studio album, Accelerator. The album was recorded at Forensic Sound Studios and Lounge Studios in Perth, with Ian Tubbs on drums.
'Accelerator' was released in 2010. It was recorded over two recording sessions, where drum tracks were laid down by Mario Frisini at Forensic Sound Studios, and then with Paul Di Renzo at Lounge Studios, Perth. The rest of the recording was done in the Chevelles studio - ATOMiC Studios, with production and mixing performed at Northbridge Sound Studios by the now late John Vilani (RIP). The album was mastered at 301 Studios by Don Bartley. In 2010 the Chevelles undertook a World Tour commencing at the Big Day Out in Perth and followed by a tour through the USA (including appearances at SXSW) and by performances in the UK, Spain and Brazil.
In 2011 and again in 2014 The Chevelles undertook a 21st Anniversary Tour commencing at Southbound musical festival, and then proceeding to the U.S.(including appearances at SXSW) and other shows in the trans atlantic region of the USA and then over to Spain playing sold out shows across the country. The Chevelles continued to demo new material in their Fremantle garage studio for an upcoming release on Wicked Cool Records in 2018. New material sees them returning to their roots and writing material full of power pop riffing and 60's inspired harmonies. Richard Lane died in 2020.
Members
Duane Smith (vocals, guitar), Jeff Halley (bass), Guy Douglas (drums), Richard Lane (guitar), Gary Chambers (drums), Adrian Allen (vocals, guitar), Martin Moon (drums), Mario Frisino (drums), Julian Buckland (drums), Mario Calhoon (drums), David Shaw (drums), Paul Di Renzo (drums)
SINGLES
''Be My Friend / She Don't Come Around'' 1990 Zero Hour "Girl For Me / Valentine"/"On My Mind" 1992 Survival "Murder on Her Mind / Can't Pretend" 1992 Survival "Understand / Over" - Survival Records 1992 "C'mon Everybody / Angelina Jolie / Sleeper" 2001 Zip "Get Back to New York City'' 2008 Wicked Cool "Bettie Page'' 2012 Wicked Cool
EPs 'The Kids Ain't Hip' 1991 Zero Hour 'Memories' 1993 Survival 'Mesmerized' 1998 Hellfire Club 'Sun Bleached' 2000 Zip
ALBUMS 'Gigantic' 1993 Survival 'Girl God' 2003 Zip 'Accelerator' 2008 Wicked Cool
