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Howard Eynon grew up in Deloraine, Tasmania. His family had relocated to Australia from the United Kingdom after his father retired from the RAF. Like many contemporary performers, Eynon got his break from a national talent competition. In 1971, he won the New Faces contest, with a performance of 'The Son Of Hickory Holler’s Tramp'. The win enabled Eynon to secure a one-year contract with the television program The Sound Of Music. After his contract ended, Eynon applied to join the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the cast of the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and a school's tour with the Queensland Theatre Company (QTC).
''It was one of those miraculous moments where I was accepted by all three and that gave me a wonderful problem'' he says. Ultimately, he decided to tour with the QTC, which he says was a life changing decision. ''It was an absolutely turning point for me; it was just an extraordinary year''. At the time, Gough Whitlam had just been elected prime minister and Eynon moved to Brisbane, into a share house with three fellow actors—Bill Brown, Trevor Smith and Geoffrey Rush. ''I really felt like I belonged'', he says of the house the trio shared, ''It was a time of great hope.'' He continued to be inspired by the creative community that he found himself surrounded by, even after he left Queensland to join the Tasmanian Theatre Company (TTC).
''It was quite a community. It was a little bit counter-cultural ... it was really Tolkienesque,'' he says.''It was like we were living in this fantasy world, only the fantasy world was more real than anything else.'' Eynon was approached to record some guitar music for a TTC production and was introduced to Nick Armstrong by one of the company’s directors. At the time Armstrong ran a studio called Spectangle. ''We recorded the music for the play ... and then Nick asked if I would like to make an album. You don’t get asked that every day, and so I thought, “Well, yeah that sounds great!''
The pair set aside a three-month period for Howard to write material for the album before they headed into the recording studio. ''That helped the whole process I think,’' says Eynon. ‘'It was a good relationship [between a performer and an engineer] and still is.’' Eynon was based in a small cottage in Richmond, Tasmania, at the time and Eynon credits the local landscape with inspiring many of the record's songs. Other tracks carried political themes, and several were inspired by life in the cottage that Eynon shared with friends.
The finished album, 'So What If I’m Standing In Apricot Jam' was released by Basket in 1974, a subsidiary of Nick Armstrong’s other music label, Candle Records. ‘'We sort of put it out there and sat back and waited for the phone to ring,'' Eynon says. However, the album was not a big seller, and the collaborators soon moved on to new projects. 'So What If I’m Standing In Apricot Jam' is still finding new fans, some 50 years after its release. It’s now a highly sought after collector’s item, but its value is not solely a result of its scarcity. It’s an LP brimming with idiosyncratic sounds and distinctive lyrics and sounds as fresh today as they did upon release.
''It was one of those miraculous moments where I was accepted by all three and that gave me a wonderful problem'' he says. Ultimately, he decided to tour with the QTC, which he says was a life changing decision. ''It was an absolutely turning point for me; it was just an extraordinary year''. At the time, Gough Whitlam had just been elected prime minister and Eynon moved to Brisbane, into a share house with three fellow actors—Bill Brown, Trevor Smith and Geoffrey Rush. ''I really felt like I belonged'', he says of the house the trio shared, ''It was a time of great hope.'' He continued to be inspired by the creative community that he found himself surrounded by, even after he left Queensland to join the Tasmanian Theatre Company (TTC).
''It was quite a community. It was a little bit counter-cultural ... it was really Tolkienesque,'' he says.''It was like we were living in this fantasy world, only the fantasy world was more real than anything else.'' Eynon was approached to record some guitar music for a TTC production and was introduced to Nick Armstrong by one of the company’s directors. At the time Armstrong ran a studio called Spectangle. ''We recorded the music for the play ... and then Nick asked if I would like to make an album. You don’t get asked that every day, and so I thought, “Well, yeah that sounds great!''
The pair set aside a three-month period for Howard to write material for the album before they headed into the recording studio. ''That helped the whole process I think,’' says Eynon. ‘'It was a good relationship [between a performer and an engineer] and still is.’' Eynon was based in a small cottage in Richmond, Tasmania, at the time and Eynon credits the local landscape with inspiring many of the record's songs. Other tracks carried political themes, and several were inspired by life in the cottage that Eynon shared with friends.
The finished album, 'So What If I’m Standing In Apricot Jam' was released by Basket in 1974, a subsidiary of Nick Armstrong’s other music label, Candle Records. ‘'We sort of put it out there and sat back and waited for the phone to ring,'' Eynon says. However, the album was not a big seller, and the collaborators soon moved on to new projects. 'So What If I’m Standing In Apricot Jam' is still finding new fans, some 50 years after its release. It’s now a highly sought after collector’s item, but its value is not solely a result of its scarcity. It’s an LP brimming with idiosyncratic sounds and distinctive lyrics and sounds as fresh today as they did upon release.
Eynon moved to Victoria to continue acting, and appeared on television shows like Division 4, Matlock Police, Homicide and The Sullivans, and had small roles in two iconic Australian films—The Man from Snowy River and Mad Max.
He also continued to perform as a musician and supported the Australian tour of writer Hunter S. Thompson in the late 1970s. He remembers the Melbourne show being the trickier of the two after he was thrown by a celebrity in the crowd. ‘'I walked on stage and there were lights shining back down on the audience. In the front row, right in front of me was Barry Jones [from the game show] Pick a Box ... and it just threw the sod out of me.'' Eynon is now settled in New South Wales and admits that it’s been a while since he has performed. His rare debut record has recently been reissued, though, which could mean a return to the stage. ’'I'm open to just seeing what flows from here,’ he says.‘There’s only one moment really, and so long as you’re in it, it’s magic.’ In 2014 the Buttercup label released ''Drury Lane'' a previously unreleased track from 1980. This Flexi-Disc came with the Australian 2014 40th. Anniversary reissue of his1974 album "So What If I'm Standing In Apricot Jam".
He also continued to perform as a musician and supported the Australian tour of writer Hunter S. Thompson in the late 1970s. He remembers the Melbourne show being the trickier of the two after he was thrown by a celebrity in the crowd. ‘'I walked on stage and there were lights shining back down on the audience. In the front row, right in front of me was Barry Jones [from the game show] Pick a Box ... and it just threw the sod out of me.'' Eynon is now settled in New South Wales and admits that it’s been a while since he has performed. His rare debut record has recently been reissued, though, which could mean a return to the stage. ’'I'm open to just seeing what flows from here,’ he says.‘There’s only one moment really, and so long as you’re in it, it’s magic.’ In 2014 the Buttercup label released ''Drury Lane'' a previously unreleased track from 1980. This Flexi-Disc came with the Australian 2014 40th. Anniversary reissue of his1974 album "So What If I'm Standing In Apricot Jam".
SINGLES
''Drury Lane'' [with Maurie Jones] 2014 Buttercup
'So What If Im Standing In Apricot Jam' 1974 Basket
References
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rarecollections/howard-eynon:-psychedelic-folk-music,-theatre-and-mad-max/5885108
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