TYMEPIECE

Tymepiece evolved out of the '60s Australian band the Black Diamonds, who did one of the great-'60s punk singles from Australia (or indeed any country), "I Want, Need, Love You." By 1968 the band changed its name to Tymepiece and they moved permanently to Sydney. According to Vernon Joynson, they were a frequent attraction at the Hawaiian Eye and the Coli Drum Disco, which they shared a residency with The Affair. It was at this time that Pat Aulton approached them 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. For the purposes of the single the group worked under the name The Love Machine. The song was a hit, but the band members then returned to their own music, although Pat continued releasing material under the Love Machine moniker, using different musicians, until 1970.

As Tymepiece they issued three singles on the Festival label, beginning with "Bird in the Tree / I Gotta Know What You're Like" in August 1968, followed by a cover of The Small Faces' "Become Like You / Give a Little More" in November 1969 and "Won't You Try? / Down and Out" in October 1970. Tymepiece then moved to Festival's progressive subsidiary label Infinity for the release of their ultra-rare debut album, 'Sweet Release' (February 1971). Ian McFarlane describes it as "a diverse range of moods and styles, from psychedelic pop ("Why?"), folk ("Reflections") and country ("Sweet Release") to R&B ("I Love, You Love") and the pulsating, eight-minute heavy progressive blues ("Shake Off")."After such an astonishing debut album Tymepiece should have progressed to the next level, but inexplicably broke up before the year was out. Fortunately, this highly regarded album, long out of print, was reissued on CD by Vicious Sloth Collectibles. Alan Oloman died in 2008 of cancer aged 61.

Members

Glenn Bland (vocals, harmonica), Colin McAuley (drums), Alan Oloman (vocals, guitar), Darcy Rosser (bass), Felix Wilkinson (keyboards, accordion)

SINGLES
''The Bird In The Tree / I Gotta Know What You're Like'' 1968 Festival
''Become Like You / Give A Little More'' 1969 Festival
''Won't You Try / Down And Out'' 1970 Festival

ALBUMS

'Sweet Release' 1971 Infinity