DIGBY RICHARDS

Digby George Richards was born on 12 September 1940 in Dunedoo. This post deals with his solo career after he left The R'Jays in 1962. If you want to see that part of his career, please go here Dig Richards and The R'Jays 

After he left The R'Jays, 1962 Digby Richards became a solo performer and taught himself to play guitar. In August he released an extended play, 'Dig Richards Gets out of the Groove'. Also, that month he formed a commercial venture, All Star Promotions, with fellow pop artists Rob E. G. and Johnny Devlin, which ran teenage dance venues. Richards then undertook two review show tours with Ted Quig to "gain more experience in stage work and comedy sketches". His next single, "Raincoat in the River", reached #45 in October 1962. He had a four-week tour of rural areas working as a comedy singing duo with Clarence "Buster" Noble, where "One of the things he taught me was facial expression". In December Richards took the lead role in the musical theatre production of Melody Fair at the Elizabethan Theatre, Sydney. He followed with singing and dancing lessons.

In May 1963 he issued another single, "The Love Express", which Baker noted had "a perky girl chorus, train sounds, and the come-hither note in Dig's voice make it a train not to be missed, and there's plenty of intimate appeal in the other song "The Whole Wide World" – which Dig wrote himself". It was followed in December with "Comin' Down". In December he had a role, 'Dig the Beatnik, in Once Upon a Surfie' a surf musical farce at the Palace Theatre, Sydney. Also in the musical were Bryan Davies, Rob E. G., Jay Justin, Lucky Starr and Jackie Weaver.

Richards' next four singles for Festival were "Come on and Dance with Me" (May 1964), "Mary from the Dairy" (December), "Puff (The Tragic Wagon)" (June 1965) and "I was Yesterday's Hero, Today I'm a Broken-Hearted Clown". From October 1964 to January 1965 Richards compered a weekly children's TV general knowledge quiz show, Ampol Stamp Quiz, with co-host and fellow pop singer Little Pattie. He then worked on the club circuit and in 1966 he toured Southeast Asia and performed for Australian troops in Vietnam. During 1970 he relocated to the United Kingdom to work the club circuit there.

He returned to Australia in 1971 and known as Digby Richards, continued performing and recording with a mainly country style. That year his next album, 'Harlequin', appeared on RCA. It provided four singles, "A Little Piece of Peace" (June 1971) #28, "Just Loving You" (September), "People Call Me Country" (February 1972) #24, and "Dirty River" (May). In 1973 he traveled to Los Angeles where he recorded his next album, 'Digby Richards' (February 1974). Four singles were issued from the album, "If I Could Write a Love Song", "New York City (Send My Baby Home)", "Do the Spunky Monkey" and "Be My Day" (September).

Richards next album, 'Collection' (1975) provided three singles, "Old Mr Hard Times", "Little Suzuki" and a re-recorded version of "Raincoat in the River" (August). By 1977 Richards had relocated to the UK again. His 1978 album, 'Whiskey Sundown', appeared in December and from late that year into the next year he toured Europe as the support act for Dolly Parton, including shows in London. His next album, 'The Thing is ...?', appeared in January 1981 and was followed by 'If You Could Read My Mind in December' the following year. On 17 February 1983 Digby Richards died of pancreatic cancer, aged 42.

SINGLES

''Dee-Dee Darling  / What'cha Gonna Do'' 1961 Festival
''Do-Re-Mi / Dear Lady Twist'' 1962 Festival
''Raincoat In The River (#45) / A Long Way From Home'' 1962 Festival
''The Love Express (#72) / The Whole Wide World'' 1963 Festival
''Comin' Down (#76) / His And Hers'' 1963 Festival
''Come On And Dance With Me / Livin', Lovin' Wreck'' 1964 Festival
''Mary From The Dairy / No Peace Of Mind'' 1964 Festival
''I Was Yesterday's Hero, Today I'm A Broken Hearted Clown / Miss Blues'' 1965 Festival
''Sally's Leaving In The Morning / Puff (The Tragic Wagon)'' 1965 Festival
''Brother Bill / La Bamba'' 1966 Leedon
''The Aussie Bush Hat (#67) / You Don't Know Me'' 1967 CBS
''Patricia Anthony / A Man's Gotta Be Free'' 1970 Parlophone
''Just Loving You (#84) / One Voice In A Million'' 1971 RCA
''A Little Piece Of Peace (#28) / Show Me The Way'' 1971 RCA
''People Call Me Country (#24) / The Dancer'' 1972 RCA
''Dirty River / Ashton County Park'' 1972 RCA
''Save The World / You Can Lay My Mind (At Rest)'' 1972 RCA
''If I Could Write A Love Song (#55) / Sweetwater Valley'' 1973 RCA
''New York City (Send My Baby Home) (#35) / Dawning Of The Morning'' 1973 RCA
''Do The Spunky Monkey (#21) / My Daddy Was A Song And Dance Man'' 1974 RCA
''Be My Day (#91) / Be My Guitar'' 1974 RCA
''Old Mr. Hard Times / Love Bee'' 1975 RCA
''Little Suzuki (#68) / A Girl Like You'' 1975 RCA
''Raincoat In The River (#75) / Havin' It Straight'' 1975 RCA
''Lady (#87) / You Are The Sun'' 1976 Polydor
''You Can Lay My Mind (At Rest) / Sweetwater Valley'' 1976 RCA
''Don't Jump Off The Boat / Play Momma Play'' 1978 Polydor
''Where There's Smoke / Falling'' 1978 RCA
''Someone Touched Me (On The Heart Last Night) / In His Songs'' 1979 RCA
''Hong Kong Nights / Go For The Doctor'' 1980 RCA
''Beautiful To Me / Written In The Fire'' 1981 RCA
''Back To The Islands / Heart To Heart'' 1981 RCA
''Stereo / Be My Day'' 1984 RCA

EPs

'Out Of The Groove' 1962 Festival
'Raincoat In The River' 1963 Festival
'The Love Express' 1963 Festival

ALBUMS

'Harlequin' 1972 RCA

'Digby Richards' 1974 RCA
'Digby Richards Collection' 1975 RCA
'Whiskey Sundown' 1978 RCA

'The Thing Is...?' 1980 RCA
'If You Could Read My Mind' 1982 Axis

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dig_Richards

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