RAY HOFF & THE OFF BEATS

Ray Hoff was born Raymond Hough in 1942 in Sydney. In 1958, as a vocalist, he teamed with Leon Isackson on drums and Jimmy Taylor on piano to perform at the Leichhardt Police Citizens Boys Club. He formed the first line-up of Ray Hoff & the Off Beats in 1959 with Isackson and Taylor joined by John Ryan on bass and Darby Wilson on guitar. The Off Beats had a variable line-up including John Ryan's brother Vince who provided saxophone in the early years. Hoff appeared on Six O'Clock Rock and he and his Offbeats were setting Sydney alight with rock'n'roll as part of a pioneering elite headed by Johnny O'Keefe, Col Joye & the Joy Boys, Johnny Rebb & the Rebels and Alan Dale & the Houserockers.

It was a heady environment for a time but without a record deal (Teen Records promised but withdrew) and with fairly formidable competition from what mostly became multiple-hit acts, Hoff moved to Adelaide, then Perth, where he was warmly embraced. His guitarist Terry Walker left the band in 1963 to form The Times with Tony Tyler and Jim Sheridan. Walker would eventually join Melbourne band The Strangers in 1967 enjoying much success. In 1965 Hoff and his band recorded a single ''Love, Love, Love / I've Got To Get You'' on the Action label (co-owned by independent producer Martin Clarke and 6PR presenter Keith MacGowan).

 Hoff returned to Sydney in 1965 and put together a new line-up of the Offbeats when things began to fall into some sort of place. Signed to RCA Records, the group recorded four tracks for the label, one of which, a thumping version of Chuck Berry's ''Little Queenie'', which became as close to a hit as he would have.  It reached the top 40 on the local Sydney pop charts. Unfortunately for Ray, Mike Downes on rhythm guitar and Col Risby on lead guitar left to join Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs in the same year.

Hoff relocated back to Perth. There he formed a new line-up of the Off Beats and signed with Clarion Records, which issued two singles, "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go / Bama Lama, Bama Loo" and "Tossin' and Turnin' / Lookin' For My Pigs" and an EP 'It's Ray Hoff and The Offbeats' all in 1966. The group's debut self-titled studio album also appeared in that year via Clarion and was distributed by Festival Records. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described how, "it featured one side of live cuts and one side of studio material. Among obligatory covers of 'Got My Mojo Working', 'In the Midnight Hour' and 'Mercy Mercy' was the wild instrumental 'My Good Friend Mary Jane'."  McFarlane felt "The band's style of rock'n'roll was raw with a strong R&B; base. The band made little headway, despite several years of slogging around the dance/discotheque circuit."

Ray took the band the Perth lineup to Melbourne for a series of gigs during this time. The lineup was Ray Hoff, keyboardist Basil V'delli (ex-Nomads), guitarist Graeme Bartlett, bassist John Gray (ex-Kompany), drummer Warwick Findlay, sax players Ken McBarron and Robert Baxter (ex-Nomads) plus Dave Birkbeck on trumpet. 

The group disbanded in 1967 and Hoff formed a briefly existing blues duo with Andre De Moller (ex-Blue Dogs). Malcolm J Turnbull of the Australian Folklore Unit observed, "both veterans of the rock scene, teamed up to cater for hard-core blues fans, and played to packed Thursday night houses at the Quitapena before trying their luck in the east." By 1971 Hoff had joined the Likefun, "an ambitious rock'n'roll revue band", in Perth. Other members were Morri Pierson on vocals, Shirley Reid on vocals (ex-Same Day Twins), John Tucak on bass guitar, Alan Wilkes on organ plus vocalist Stevie Wright (ex-Easybeats).

Hoff became one of the most active Australian performers in Vietnam during the war, where he met his future wife, Kay Kirby, who was a go-go dancer. He returned to Sydney where he left full-time performance and became successful in automotive detailing. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and subsequently had two strokes; Ray Hoff died on 19 March 2010, aged 67. 

Members

Ray Hoff (vocals), Leon Isackson (drums), Jimmy Taylor (piano), John Ryan (bass), Darby Wilson (guitar), Vince Ryan (sax), Mike Downes (guitar), Col Risby (guitar), John Eddy (guitar), Terry Walker (guitar), Graham Bartlett (guitar), Robert Baxter (sax), David Birkbeck (trumpet), Roger Bloom (sax), Warwick Findlay (drums), John Gray (bass), Basil V'Delli (keyboards), Graham Nicol (guitar), Ken Kramer (bass), Cliff Toll (drums), Kenny Grimmet (guitar), John Hendrix (bass), John Blake (bass), Ken McBarron (sax)

SINGLES

''Love, Love, Love / I've Got To Get You'' 1965 Action
''Little Queenie (#60) / What You Want Me To Do'' 1965 RCA
''Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go (#74) / Bama Lama, Bama Loo'' 1966 Clarion
''Tossin' And Turnin' (#87) / Lookin' For My Pigs'' 1966 Clarion

EPs

'It's Ray Hoff And The Off Beats' 1966 Clarion

ALBUMS

'Ray Hoff And The Off Beats' 1966 Clarion

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Hoff

Glen A Baker

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