THE AULTON MOB / PAT AULTON

Pat Aulton who was born in Ireland in around 1938 and began his career as a vocalist with the Adelaide-based group The Clefs. Around 1963, Aulton began working for rising Adelaide entrepreneur Ivan Dayman and his Sunshine group, which grew to include a management and booking agency, record labels and a string of pop music venues from Adelaide to the north coast of Queensland. Aulton established the Sunshine Records label for Dayman and produced records for most of the performers on its roster, notably the string of Australian hit singles, EPs and albums by vocalist Normie Rowe, who was Australia's most popular solo artist in the mid-1960s.

Following the collapse in early 1967 of Sunshine and its short-lived sister label Kommotion Records, Aulton was hired as a house producer and A&R manager by Festival Records. He oversaw the installation of the 4-track recording equipment at Festival's new Pyrmont studio, and from 1967 to 1973 he produced and engineered most of Festival's pop output, as well as performing uncredited backing vocals and instrumental contributions on many of these recordings, one example being his distinctive falsetto on the 1968 Christopher James (real name Francis Edwards) recordings "Goodbye Mama" and "Going Home for the Last Time". In 1967 he produced ''March of the Mods'' for the TV music show Kommotion and ''This Day Tonight'' was produced for the ABC current affairs program. Aulton used the moniker The Aulton Mob and hired musicians from his label to cut both records.

The Love Machine was a studio band put together by Aulton who would step up as lead vocalist on all their recorded tracks. In 1968 he approached Tymepiece to record a version of The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to promote the opening of Stafford Bullen's African Lion Safari at Warragamba, NSW. The song was a hit (peaked at #18), but the band members then returned to their own music. Pat then continued releasing material under the Love Machine moniker, using different musicians which included drummer Tony Buettel, guitarist Mick Jurd, bassist Bruce Howe and keyboard player Rory Thomas. His version of Del Shannon's ''Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)'' got to #70.

Aulton also produced Neil Sedaka's 1969 comeback album 'Workin' on a Groovy Thing' and the Australian hit single lifted from it, "Wheeling West Virginia", which were recorded at Festival Studios with Australian backing musicians. Aulton regarded his work with Sedaka as one of his career highlights.

After leaving Festival in 1973 he established a successful career as a writer-producer of advertising jingles; his well-known creations (some of which are still in use today) include jingles for Coca-Cola, Weetbix, Singapore Airlines and TAA. His best-known and most influential composition is probably "It's Time", the theme song for the Australian Labor Party's successful 1972 federal election campaign. Aulton spent several years in New York City as a jingle writer in the late 1970s.

After retiring to the Queensland coastal town of Noosa, Aulton worked as a vocal coach. In a short biography published on the website of former Clefs lead singer Barrie McAskill, Aulton reported in the mid-2000s that he was working on a novel. Pat Aulton died of cancer in Noosa, Queensland with his family, wife Jenny and some of his children by his side, on 13 February 2009, aged 70. 

SINGLES

''March Of The Mods (Finnjenka Dance) (#75) / What Did The Seagull Say'' 1966 Kommotion
''Theme From This Day Tonight (#71) / Groovy Gravel March'' 1967 Festival

EPs

'March Of The Mods' 1966 Sunshine * Split EP with The Blue Jays
'Theme From This Day Tonight' 1967 Festival

References

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