THE MIXTURES

Terry Dean and Rod De Clerk met in Tasmania in 1965 while Terry was on holiday. Shortly after, Rod visited Melbourne, where Terry took him to a dance he was performing at. There, Rod met Laurie Arthur, a former member of The Strangers, who was filling in for the band alongside drummer John Creech. Between sets, the three discovered their shared interests and decided to form a band. After a jam session, they settled on the name The Mixtures, which came from Laurie’s lunchtime gigs at Tenth Avenue with a rotating lineup.

Their first single, ''Koko Joe'', happened by chance when they were in the studio providing backing tracks and decided to record a couple of songs in their spare time. EMI executives were impressed and released it on the HMV label. While it didn’t chart, the band gained popularity on the local dance scene. In 1966, De Clerk left after being drafted into the Defence Force and was replaced by Alan “Edgell” James. Their third single, ''Music, Music, Music'', a cover of Teresa Brewer’s 1950 hit, became their first charting release.

In 1967, the band toured Australia supporting Roy Orbison, The Walker Brothers, and The Yardbirds, adding keyboardist Dennis Garcia along the way. That same year, they also backed Eric Burdon and The Animals. Over the next couple of years, the lineup shifted several times: Mick Flinn (ex-Wild Colonials), Idris Jones (ex-The Gingerbread Men) joined, and guitarist Fred Wieland (ex-The Strangers) stepped in for Laurie Arthur, who became the band’s manager. When Jones departed, Buddy England joined, and in 1969 they signed with CBS Records, releasing the singles "Here Comes Love Again" and "Ten Thousand Children."

In 1970, The Mixtures moved to Fable Records, with Gary Howard on drums and Jones returning as vocalist. They recorded a cover of Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime," which—helped by the 1970 radio ban that limited major label airplay—received far more exposure than expected for a small-label release, topping the Australian charts for six weeks. They followed with "The Pushbike Song" (produced by David Mackay), which hit #1 in Australia for two weeks, reached #2 in the UK, and climbed to #44 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 via Sire Records. That same year, they supported the 1910 Fruitgum Company in Sydney.

Riding high on the success of their singles, The Mixtures headed to England in January 1971. During this time, they enjoyed plenty of press, radio, and TV exposure, even landing on the cover of New Musical Express. They also performed on Top Of The Pops to promote their single ''Henry Ford''.  A lineup change saw Greg Cook (ex-Cam-Pact) replace Idris Jones, while Mike Holden took over from Gary Howard before being succeeded by Don Lebler (ex-Axiom). Returning to Australia, more changes followed as Peter Williams (ex-The Groove, Max Merritt and The Meteors) joined before they recorded ''Captain Zero'', which climbed to #6 in Australia in 1971 and became their last major hit. Their second album, 'The Mixtures', was released in 1974.

The group went through more line-up changes, adding Brenton Fosdike (ex-SSARB), drummer John Petkovich, and finally keyboard player Rob Scott. In 1978, they traveled to Perth to record and create a new show. Sadly, during this time, bassist Chris Spooner died in a fishing accident at Trigg Beach. The band continued for only three more months as a four-piece before breaking up in early 1979. The remaining members—Brenton, John, Rob, and Peter Williams—then formed a new band with Australians Dennis Broad and Paul Reynolds, naming it BRIX. John Petkovich passed away in 2017, Fred Weiland in 2018, and Laurie Arthur in 2021.

Members

Laurie Arthur (guitar, vocals), Greg Cook (drums), John Creech (drums), Rod De Clerk (bass), Buddy England (vocals), Mick Flinn (bass), Dennis Garcia (organ), Mick Holden (drums), Gary Howard (drums), Alan "Edgell" James (bass), Idris Jones (vocals), Don Lebler (drums), Chris Spooner (bass), Fred Weiland (guitar), Peter Williams (vocals, guitar), Brenton Fosdike (guitar/vocals), John Petkovich (drums), Rob Scott (keyboards)

SINGLES 
''I've Been Wrong / Koko Joe'' 1966 HMV
''Come On Out / Lose Your Money'' 1966 HMV
''Music, Music, Music (#57) / (They Call The Wind) Maria'' 1967 HMV
''Here Comes Love Again (#66) / Fancy Meeting You Here'' 1969 CBS
''Ten Thousand Children / Call Me Do'' 1970 CBS 
''In The Summertime (#1) / Where You Are'' 1970 Fable 
''The Pushbike Song (#1) / Who Loves Ya'' 1970 Fable 
''Never Be Untrue / She's Gone Away'' 1971 Fable 
''Henry Ford (#43) / Home Away From Home'' 1971 Fable 
''Captain Zero (#6) / I Wanna Go Home'' 1971 Fable 
''Guitar Song / I've Found Out Where It's At'' 1972 Warner Bros. 
''Dazzle Easy, Diane / Found Out Where It's At'' 1973 United Artists 
''Slow Train / My Home On The Murrumbidgee'' 1974 United Artists 
''Down Under Girls / My Neck Of The Woods'' 1974 Festival 
''Love Is Life / Call Me Do'' 1974 Fable 
''Skateboard Jive / Come Together For The Games'' 1976 RCA
''The Pushbike Song / In The Summertime'' 1976 Fable 

EPs 

'The Mixtures' 1973 Fable

ALBUMS 
'In The Summertime' 1970 Fable 
'The Mixtures' 1974 Festival

References

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