THE ZORROS

The Zorros were formed in Brunswick in 1979 as a punk rock band by Nic Chancellor on lead vocals, Greg Pedley on drums, Darren Smith on lead guitar and Alex Zammit on bass guitar. They played their first gig at the Champion Hotel, Fitzroy in January 1980. Nic Chancellor was previously a roadie for 1970s punk band, the News, and a doorman at Bernhardt's Nite Club. Darren Smith played in the Proles. Andrea Jones of Rolling Stone felt that the group members were "very cynical about the softening of the new music. They are adamant that it will be rapidly followed by a resurgence in aggression and when that happens, The Zorros will be the front runners." Chancellor told her that "We get more of a kick out of playing. Hopefully we'll be round long enough to make a record. But it's a big thrill to play for an audience. It'd be an even bigger thrill to play and make money"

The Zorros were popular in the Melbourne music scene of the early 1980s, playing at numerous local venues such as the Crystal Ballroom, Bombay Rock, Brunswick and The Esplanade, St Kilda. Alex Zammit quit the band and was replaced by Craig Russell. In October 1981 released a single on Au Go Go Records, "Too Young / Let Me Love You'' written by Chancellor and guitarist Darren Smith. It was produced by Andrew Callander and engineered by Tony Cohen (The Birthday Party), which went to #3 on the Melbourne 3RRR charts. During the 80s there were many lineup changes in the band. In 1988 they released a self-titled, eight-track, EP via Funnel Web Records and Dreamtime Software on a music cassette with Daniel Smith on drums (ex-21 Faces) and Alex Zammit back on bass.

They played at the final live performances at the Crystal Ballroom on 31 October 1987 and played at inner city venues such as Prince of Wales and the Esplanade until 1994. Evolving from Melbourne's indie rock scene, The Zorros played with other bands such as INXS, Rose Tattoo, 21 Faces, Z Cars, Marching Girls and La Femme. They played original independent music for 16 years with over 500 performances and over 500 songs written by Darren and Nic. In 2022 Fantastic Mess released an EP 'Live 1980' comprising four tracks from their live performances at the Seaview Ballroom in 1980.

Members

Nic Chancellor (vocals), Darren Smith (guitar), Alex Zammit (bass), Craig Russell (bass), Greg Pedley (drums), Daniel Smith (drums), Phil Bryant (drums), Scott Ferris (bass), Christine Paris (bass), Tim Dexter (bass), Mark Fleming (drums), Gary Williamson (drums)

SINGLES
''Too Young / Let Me Love You'' 1981 Au-go-go 

ALBUMS
'Zorros' 1988 Funnel Web Records

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zorros