STARS

Adelaide band Astra Kahn formed in 1972, including Glyn Dowding on drums, Andrew Durant on guitar, and Malcolm Eastick on guitar and vocals. They disbanded by 1973 with Dowding and Eastick forming Flash in 1974 with Mick Pealing on vocals. In May 1975, Dowding, Eastick and Pealing formed Stars with Graham Thompson on bass. As a country rock band, they were touted as Australian rock'n'roll cowboys and played the local pub and club circuit. They were noticed by Little River Band's guitarist Beeb Birtles. They signed to Mushroom Records, and they relocated to Melbourne. Birtles produced their debut single, "Quick on the Draw" which charted in July 1976. Andy Durant joined later in the year on guitar and became their principal songwriter.

Their second single, "With a Winning Hand" charted in October. Founding bass guitarist Thompson left and was replaced first by Michael Hegerty (who left to join Richard Clapton's band) and then by Roger McLachlan (ex-Little River Band). The band supported Joe Cocker on his Australian tour in mid-1977. They released their third single, "Mighty Rock" which reached #47 in August. By November, Ian MacDonald replaced McLachlan and they released, "Look After Yourself" which became their highest charting single at #30. It was issued ahead of their debut album, 'Paradise' (January 1978) which peaked at #14 on the Kent Music Report albums chart. The album spawned two more singles, "Back Again" in April and "West Is the Way" in June.

In September, founding drummer Dowding was replaced by John James Hackett (ex-Phil Manning Band). Stars continued touring including supporting the Beach Boys and Linda Ronstadt on their Australian tours in 1978–1979. A second album, 'Land of Fortune' appeared in June 1979, it was produced by Ern Rose and Mal Eastick. By that time Andy Durant had been diagnosed with cancer and Stars performed a last concert on 5 November. A live album, '1157'—titled for the number of career gigs—appeared in July 1980, which was produced by Eastick. Durant had died on 6 May at age 25. A tribute performance by Stars members and other Australian acts followed in August and a double-LP, 'Andrew Durant Memorial Concert' was released. It peaked at #8 on the albums chart with proceeds donated to Andrew Durant Cancer Research Foundation. Stars disbanded shortly after. Stars re-formed in 2019, announcing a tour in November and December of that year. Drummer JJ Hackett died in 2019.

Members

Malcolm Eastick (guitar, vocals), Mick Pealing (vocals), Glyn Dowding (drums), Graham Thompson (bass), Andrew Durant (guitar), Michael Hegerty (bass), Roger McLachlan (bass), Ian McDonald (bass), John James Hackett (drums), Nick Charles (guitar), Erik Chess (drums)

SINGLES 
''Quick On The Draw (#46) / Straight Life'' 1976 Mushroom 
''With A Winning Hand (#65) / Drift Away'' 1976 Mushroom 
''Mighty Rock (#47) / Jupiter Creek'' 1977 Mushroom 
''Look After Yourself (#30) / Red Neck Boogie'' 1977 Mushroom 
''Back Again (#52) / Let's Get Moving'' 1978 Mushroom 
''West Is The Way (Edited Version) / No Time For Crying'' 1978 Mushroom 
''In And Out Of Love (#62) / Song For The Road'' 1979 Mushroom 
''Land Of Fortune (Edited Version) (#93) / Innocent Bystanders'' 1979 Mushroom 
''Wasted Words (Edited Version) / Never Coming Back'' 1979 Mushroom 
''Last Of The River Boats / Gold Fever'' 1979 Mushroom 

ALBUMS 
'Paradise' (#14) 1977 Mushroom 
'Land of Fortune' (#35) 1979 Mushroom 
'1157' (#46) 1980 Mushroom

'Boundary Rider' 2018
'One More Circle Round The Sun' 2020

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_%28Australian_band%29

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