MOTHER GOOSE

In late 1975, six Dunedin (New Zealand) musicians wanted to play rock music but came up with a name they considered low-brow, Mother Goose, and one of their trademarks was dressing in ludicrous attire. After a successful concert in Albert Park, Auckland, Mother Goose decided to move to Australia and started playing at Cloudland in Brisbane and at the Playroom on the Gold Coast, Queensland in late 1976. Their promoter, Ivan Dayman, contacted top Australian manager, Garry Spry, who flew up from Melbourne to see them and agreed to become their manager. He showcased the band at his Babes nightclub, and Mushroom Records offered them a recording contract, and their debut album, 'Stuffed', was released in 1977. Bands such as Cold Chisel, Men at Work, The Angels, Midnight Oil, all started by opening for Mother Goose. In 1977, Mother Goose embarked on their first national tour with Supercharge. Their first single ''Baked Beans'' did well across the country.

By June 1978, Mother Goose had moved to the United States and were living in Hollywood, California, with their own recording studio and signed to Scotti Brothers Records. However, after five months of songwriting and recording demos, they left the Scotti Brothers and moved to New York. There they signed with the entertainment agents, Mecca Artists, and with help of Sid Bernstein they started playing residencies at The Other End, Trax and The Great Gildersleeves.

Contractual battles with the Scotti Brothers, coupled with Mother Goose’s refusal to conform prevented the band securing another major recording contract. Lead guitarist Peter Dickson left the band in February 1979, and returned to Australia and was replaced by the New York–based guitarist, Justin McCarthy. He remained with the band until they broke up in 1984. The band returned to Australia in 1979 after almost twelve months in the United States and undertook their Catch Me If You Can Tour. They recorded two more albums, 'Don't Believe In Fairytales' (1979) and 'This is the Life' (1982).

Mother Goose continued touring Australia and Canada until they broke up in 1984. Johnston and Rodeka joined The Incredible Penguins in 1985, which recorded a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", a charity project with numerous guest musicians for research on little penguins, which peaked at #10 on the Australian Kent Music Report in December. Mother Goose reformed on 23 March 2007 as part of a 30-year celebration of the Dunedin Sound. The concert was called Re:Sound. The other main acts were The Chills,Sneaky Feelings, and The Clean.

Members

Craig Johnston (vocals), Marcel Rodeka (drums), Pete Dickson (guitar), Justin McCarthy (guitar), Kevin Collings (guitar), Steve Young (keyboards), Neil Shilkin (keyboards), Denis Gibbons (bass)

SINGLES 
''Baked Beans (#29) / You Love Me'' 1977 Mushroom 
''Moonshine Lady / Somebody Broke My Heart'' 1977 Mushroom 
''I Think It's You / Ol' Blue'' 1978 Mushroom 
''Living In A Silent Movie / Alice (It's Up To You)'' 1979 Mushroom 
''Saving For A Rainy Day / All The King's Horses'' 1980 Mushroom 
''I Can't Sing Very Well / You Take It Too Seriously'' 1981 Parole 
''Margueritta And Me / Fly By Night'' 1982 Parole 
''Lonely Girls (#98) / Living In A Small Town'' 1982 Parole 
''Tonight / Welcome To Radio'' 1982 Parole 
''Find A Way Out / The Girl Across The Street'' 1983 Parole 

ALBUMS 
'Stuffed' (#23) 1977 Mushroom
'Don't Believe in Fairytales' (#62) 1979 Mushroom 
'This Is the Life' 1982 Parole 

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Goose_%28band%29

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