THE CRESCENTS

Mike Downes and Col Loughnan were joined by Dennis O'Keefe (all Marist Brothers alumni), and Kel Palace to form a vocal quartet, The 4 Tops. The 4 Tops were regular performers, in late 1958, at the Leichhardt Police Boys Club dances, run by Johnny O'Keefe (no relation to Dennis O'Keefe). A few months later, Dennis O'Keefe left to join the Air Force, and the remaining trio changed their name to The Crescents. Johnny O'Keefe became their manager. O'Keefe invited The Crescents to appear on his television program Six O'Clock Rock on 7 March 1959. This success later led to further appearances on Six O'Clock Rock, Bandstand, and Teen Time. The Crescents were heavily influenced by American vocal groups of the period, practicing and working on their arrangements at Palace's parents' house, with Loughnan on the piano.

Promoter, Lee Gordon was closely associated with O'Keefe, and signed the group to his Leedon recording label. Gordon also drafted The Crescents into his "Big Shows": The Johnnie Ray Show in August 1959, and Fabian in October the same year. In an interview with Damian Johnstone, Loughnan remembered the aftermath of the Johnnie Ray Show: "we were all working on jobs prior to the tour, but after that tour we gave our jobs up. We made a fortune, or what seemed like a fortune, on that tour. I remember coming home with all this money ... We were all good-looking guys in those days (laughing) ... We all wore the same clothes — with the quarter moon crescent insignia".

These large-scale tours allowed The Crescents to perform on the same bill as many of the top popular music acts in Australia, as well as the visiting American stars. They received good reviews including The Age, which stated that "of the ... supporting artists, The Crescents vocal group were the most popular" apart from Australian pop idol, O'Keefe. In October 1959, Leedon released their first single, "Everlovin'" a cover of the Ricky Nelson hit backed with "You Broke My Heart", the latter being co-written by Loughnan and O'Keefe. The follow up, "Mr. Blue" was a Top 5 hit in Brisbane, and Melbourne. With a hit record, The Crescents became the main competition for the Delltones. Their next record, "When You Wish upon a Star" was released in April 1960.

O'Keefe crashed his expensive imported red Plymouth near Kempsey in June 1960, suffering severe head, and facial injuries, and spending a fortnight in hospital. This had a profound effect on O'Keefe's life. Five months later, Loughnan was, himself, a passenger in a car crash. In November 1960, Loughnan, Alan Heffernan, Barry Stanton, and Ray Hoff were rounding a bend on a Victorian road, when a tyre blew out. Loughnan recounted: "the next thing I remember was the car rolling over and over. The car went down an embankment and landed upside down. None of us were really badly hurt ... It had a bad effect on me. I remember I had nightmares for years after that. I just hated it".

The Crescents were invited to perform at The Ricky Nelson Show in September 1960. These were the first concerts at which O'Keefe performed after his car accident. By June 1961, The Crescents had released another three singles, and two EPs, without any chart success. About July 1961, Downes decided to leave The Crescents, and was replaced by Alan Roberts. The new line-up recorded their final single, "Get a Job / Silhouettes", however, this was a period of low morale for the trio. Even so, they continued working for another year until Noel Widerberg of the Delltones tragically died in a car accident on 7 July 1962. Loughnan explained: "The Crescents were on the way out we had jammed a lot with the Delltones at parties, etc ... I was pretty good mates with Warren Lucas and I'm sure he was one of the main ones who plugged for me to take over as lead singer of the Delltones. Auditions weren't held". The Crescents disbanded.

Members

Col Loughnan (lead tenor vocals), Kel Palace (second tenor vocals), Michael Downes (baritone vocals) Alan Roberts (baritone vocals)

SINGLES

''Everlovin' (#84) / You Broke My Heart'' 1959 Leedon
''Mr. Blue (#7) / How Important Can It Be?'' 1959 Leedon
''Mr. Blue / You Mean Everything To Me'' 1959 Teen
''The Hand Of God / When You Wish Upon A Star'' 1960 Lee Gordon
''One More Kiss (#91) / Picture Of Love'' 1960 Lee Gordon
''The Stars Will Remember (So Will I) / Love, Love, Love'' (#96) 1961 Leedon
'' The Way Of The Cross'' 1961 Leedon

''Get A Job! / Silhouettes'' 1961 Leedon

EPs

'Rock Time' 1960 Lee Gordon
'The Crescents Hit It For Six' 1960 Lee Gordon

References

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