THE TOLMEN

The Tolmen were a folk trio from Sydney. They formed in the early 60s and appeared on Bandstand, Saturday Date and Sing Sing Sing. The Tolmen released their first EP, 'Namatjira', in 1964 on RCA. Their second EP released in 1965 'Pieces of Folk', contained both Australian and traditional folk songs which followed an Arts Council-sponsored statewide schools tour of New South Wales by the group. The choice of The Tolmen for this tour was surrounded by some controversy. They are mentioned in Charles Higham's article The Folk People (Bulletin, 14th November 1964). Higham notes that The Tolmen, like Lionel Long, had "enjoyed considerable success outside the coffee shops" and as a consequence had been generally attacked by purists as "commercial”. Higham said that the group was asked not to sing its song ''Eureka Stockade'' (about a famous Victorian gold miners’ rebellion in December 1854) on the school's tour because of the supposed association of the name 'Eureka' with the communist youth movement.

Geoff Turner, spokesman for The Tolmen, stated: "We're not political, whatever they say about the Eureka song, and we're not bearers of culture, we're entertainers. It's no good expecting folksingers to be philosophers. It's like asking Elvis to conduct a chamber orchestra". Critics claimed that The Tolmen had apparently been chosen by the Arts Council because of their resemblance to The Kingston Trio. In fact, its sound was more akin to that of the early satirical style of the Chad Mitchell Trio. Their only single release ''Don’t Book Me, Officer'' was a satirical song about the introduction of parking meters in Sydney and problems encountered by a man who gets a ticket for illegal parking.

Members

Geoff Turner, Gordon Tolman, Lew Jones

SINGLES

''Don't Book Me, Officer / Moonie'' 1963 RCA

EPs

'Namatjira' 1964 RCA
'Pieces Of Folk' 1965 RCA