THE PURPLE HEARTS

Purple Hearts were formed in Brisbane in 1964 with the original line-up of Bob Dames on bass guitar (ex-Impacts), Mick Hadley on lead vocals (ex-Impacts), Barry Lyde [Lobby Loyde] on lead guitar (ex-Stilettos, The Impacts), Fred Pickard on rhythm guitar and Adrian "Red" Redmond on drums. Dames and Hadley had both migrated from London in the previous year or so and formed the Impacts, an R&B group, with Scottish-born Pickard and two locals, Lyde and Redmond. Lyde had joined the Stilletos in 1963 to play the Shadows-styled instrumentals and left near the end of the following year to join the Impacts.

Brisbane, traditionally the most conservative of Australia's state capitals, has fostered some of this country's most anarchistic rock bands from the Purple Hearts to the Saints. The Purple Hearts were tough, arrogant and pioneering and Lyde, as Lobby Loyde, is acknowledged as Australia's first true rock guitar hero – busy blowing up speaker boxes before high volume and feed-back became rock staples. When the Impacts performed in Melbourne, they found another band of the same name, so Dames provided their new name – Purple Hearts – for the illicit amphetamine pills favoured by the mod subculture. The group's debut single, "Long-legged Baby", was a cover version of Graham Bond's track. It was "a rough recording made at a radio station studio" and issued "on the obscure, independent label Soundtrack" in 1965.

They signed with Sunshine Records (home to Normie Rowe and Tony Worsley) and reissued "Long-legged Baby" in October 1965, which reached the top 10 in Brisbane. The group were uncompromising in their attitude toward recording; consequently, their handful of singles are enduring artefacts of their style, which blended blues, R&B and prototype psychedelic rock, a style made even tougher by the regional influences. The group relocated to Sydney, where Redmond was replaced by Tony Cahill on drums.

Early in 1966 they moved base to Melbourne, where they "ruled over the city's discotheque circuit." According to music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, "they were making an impression in their own right, not because their music was the latest thing. The Purple Hearts' Mick Hadley was an amazing frontman, riveting audiences with his wild-eyed performances. The rest of the band were quickly considered the best in their field, especially guitarist Barry Lyde." In February of that year, they issued their second single, "Of Hopes and Dreams and Tombstones". It was a cover version of the United States singer, Jimmy Fraser's 1965 single.

They enjoyed minor chart success with their next single "Early in the Morning" (August 1966) – a cover of a 1947 field recording of a traditional prison song by Alan Lomax, released in 1959 – which peaked at #9 in Melbourne and #13 in Brisbane. Soon after they compiled their earlier singles, "Long-legged Baby" and "Of Hopes and Dreams and Tombstones" on a four-track extended play, 'The Sound of the Purple Hearts', on the Sunshine label. They made several appearances on a pop TV series, The Go!! Show. On 23 January 1967 the group issued a press release stating "they had ceased to progress musically, were becoming stagnant and, therefore, had decided to split." Lyde, under the name Lobby Loyde, had already joined Wild Cherries in that month, alongside Keith Barber on drums, Peter Eddey on bass guitar, Les Gilbert on organ and Danny Robinson on vocals. 

The other four members of Purple Hearts continued for another month and released two more singles, "You Can't Sit Down" (January 1967) and "Chicago" (posthumously in April). After the split Cahill travelled to the United Kingdom where he joined the Easybeats on drums. Mick Hadley and Bob Dames returned to Brisbane and formed The Coloured balls with former Bowery Boy Robbie Van Delft. Lobby Loyde died in 2007. Mick Hadley died in 2012. Tony Cahill died in 2014.

Members

Tony Cahill (drums), Bob Dames (bass), Mick Hadley (vocals), Barry Lyde [Lobby Loyde] (guitar), Fred Pickard (guitar), Adrian "Red" Redmond (drums)

SINGLES

''Long Legged Baby (#89) / Here 'Tis'' 1965 Sunshine
''Of Hopes And Dreams And Tombstones (#99) / I'm Gonna Try'' 1966 Sunshine
''Early In The Morning (#33) / Just A Little Bit'' 1966 Sunshine
''You Can't Sit Down (#74) / Tiger In Your Tank'' 1967 Sunshine
''Chicago / Bring It On Home'' 1967 Sunshine

EPs

'The Sound Of The Purple Hearts' 1966 Sunshine

References

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

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