THE MOODS

The Moods were formed in Melbourne in 1965. Their original membership consisted of Kevin Fraser (b. 1947) on lead vocals, John Livi (b. 1951) on lead guitar, Mick Hamilton (b. 1948) on rhythm guitar, Peter Noss on bass, and Carl Savona (b. 1949) on drums. John Livi had begun playing guitar at the age of twelve. He was initially influenced by the instrumentals of groups such as the Shadows, and he became adept on the instrument. But, when he heard "I Want to Hold Your Hand", by the Beatles, his musical tastes began to shift in favour of the new sounds coming from England. His brother Bernie Livi introduced him to several musician-friends, who wanted to start a Beatles-influenced group, which they named the Moods. Peter Raphael became their manager and made it possible for them to get regular gigs at local venues, such as at mod clubs, which were all the rage at the time. Like the British groups, the Moods wore long hair (for the times), which caused difficulties at school for John Livi, who was only fourteen, and was instructed by the principal to, either cut his hair, or be expelled. Livi chose to quit school and took business classes in the day and played with the Moods at night.

By 1966, restrictive laws in Australia, such as the rule requiring bars to close at 6:00 pm, were relaxed, and the old British monetary system was converted from pence, shillings, and pounds to a modern decimal system. In February a new music paper, Melbourne, was premiered to great fanfare, and the Moods' manager, Peter Raphael, was the head of its advertising department. Raphael used his position to provide publicity for the group. In addition to ample advertisement space, the band received regular write-ups in columns. Raphael arranged for a record deal with HMV Records, where the group released its debut single, "Cos of You / Say Hello to Me". "Cos of You" was an upbeat rocker, with a moody folk-inflected flip side "Say Hello to Me".

Though the single failed to break the national charts, it garnished accolades. DJ Stan Rolfe touted the song in Melbourne and predicted that the Moods would become the most popular group in Australia after the ensuing departure of The Easybeats to England. The Moods were playing shows almost every night in Melbourne. They toured Adelaide and appeared on TV shows, Kommotion, The Go!!, Show and Sunday Date and opened for the Rolling Stones on their 1966 tour of Australia. They played regularly at Myers in-Gear, a popular mod haberdashery, that provided outfitting the group. 

Bassist Peter Noss departed and was replaced by Ian Ferguson, who had played with Melbourne's Tony and the Shantels. Their next single featured on is the song for which they have become best-known, "Rum Drunk", whose lyrics depict the hopeless life of a drunken roustabout. The B-side was "I Love You So". They recorded the single at Armstrong Studios. Like their first record, it failed to chart. The group was dropped from HMV Records. In 1967, John Livi quit, and the band broke up shortly thereafter. Bassist Ian Ferguson joined Running, Jumping, Standing Still. Drummer Carl Savona joined the group Brigade, who released two singles on the Astor label. Paul Anderson became involved with the cabaret act, the City Stompers, who also recorded for Astor. John Livi, despite his talent as a guitarist, left the music business. Mick Hamilton joined successful pop/rock group The Vibrants. Kevin Fraser died in 2018.

Members

Mick Hamilton (guitar), John Livi (guitar), Peter Noss (bass), Kevin Fraser (vocals), Carl Savona (drums) Ian Ferguson (bass)

SINGLES

''Cos Of You / Say Hello To Me'' 1966 HMV
''Rum Drunk / I Love You So'' 1966 HMV

References

Marks, Ian; McIntyre, Iain (2010). Wild About You: The Sixties Beat Explosion in Australia and New Zealand.