(U.K 1969 - Present) Since the June 1970 release of their debut album Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble, Uriah Heep had been on a treadmill. Less than half a decade later, the UK-based hard rock band already had no less than six studio albums and a million-selling double concert set to their name. ln January 1974, just four months after the release of previous offering Sweet Freedom, they were about to commence their seventh full-length album. The collection of songs that became Wonderworld was once again recorded by the same grouping of vocalist David Byron, guitarist Mick Box, keyboard player/guita ..read more

(U.K 1969–present) . Rick Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for his involvement with the progressive rock band Yes. Wakeman joined the folk group Strawbs in 1969 and played on three of their albums. He first joined Yes in 1971 to replace Tony Kaye, and left the group in 1974 to work on his solo career. Wakeman began his solo career during his first run with Yes. His perhaps most known records being his first three, 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' (1973), 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' (1974) and 'The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights ..read more

  Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny. Ayers Rock was the leading Australian 'jazz-rock' group of the 70s, fusing rock with influences from soul, R&B, jazz and Latin music. The band was built on world-class standards of playing and complex arrangements, and inspired by overseas groups such as Traffic, Santana and Weather Report. The original members were all seasoned players, widely regarde ..read more

(Australian 1972-1989, 1998) When the Ted Mulry Gang formed in 1972, Ted Mulry was already a well-known pop balladeer. After getting tired of being backed by different backing bands, in 1972 he switched from acoustic guitar to bass and formed his own band, “Ted Mulry Gang”, with guitarist Les Hall & drummer Herman Kovacs. The band signed a recording deal with Albert Records in 1974 and released their first album “Here We Are”. Guitarist Gary Dixon joined around this time to complete the foursome. With his own band behind him, Ted adopted a more hard-rockin’ style. (Note: Re-issues of the ..read more

(U.K 1972-1979) . Be Bop Deluxe were sequined glam rock heroes, led by Bill Nelson’s blistering virtuoso guitar work, seemingly beamed down from an impossibly glamorous forgotten future-world. Equal parts Roxy Music, Bowie, and Queen, Be Bop Deluxe were an intoxicating ‘70s phenomena filled with lipstick posturing, surrealistic lyrics and searing, melodic guitar solos that sounded exorcised from Bill Nelson’s semi-acoustic, cherry sunburst Gibson 345. In Be Bop Deluxe, Nelson proved himself one of the most technically accomplished British guitarists of the 70s. Bill Nelson’s started out play ..read more

 (Australian 1972 - Current) Richard Clapton took his name from his two greatest inspirations — Keith Richard and Eric Clapton. In the early '70s he spent time playing avant-garde rock in Berlin and recorded his debut album 'Prussian Blue' but eventually returned to Sydney to record his next album with Festival Records. In 1975, Clapton had the critics on side, but Festival Records insisted on a hit single. However, it was the song they picked as a B-side called “Girls On the Avenue” that reached #1 on the national charts and put Clapton at the top of his class. Like Americans Jackson B ..read more

(Australian 1973-81) . Ayers Rock was a jazz-rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1973. Members included drummer Mark Kennedy, Ray Burton, Russell Dunlop, Chris Brown, James Doyle, Doug Gallagher, Col Loughman, and Duncan McGuire and the band toured the U.S. in 1975-1976. During '75-76, Kennedy began working with Marcia Hines and they later became engaged, which led to him leaving Ayers Rock in 1976. He was replaced for a time by Russell Dunlop, who, like Kennedy, was a seasoned veteran, and a respected session player and producer, but his permanent replacement was hotshot young drum ..read more

 Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny. This WOCK posting comes under the 'Obscure' category and is part 3 to earlier Coke postings, which included Coca Cola jingles by Australian artists (see Part 1 & Part 2). This third collection of Coke Jingles were performed by UK and American artists from the 60's.  Music is a big seller of products and services and is an important part of advertisi ..read more

(Australian 1987-1989) . Here is a lost gem from the late 80's. I first stumbled upon this album at a garage sale, and it was the 'Garth Porter' reference on the back cover that first caught my attention. It was only when I got home and played this album that I realised that I had found a real gem. Because the 80's was not a popular period  of music for me at the time (New Wave and Punk were dominating the music scene), I missed out on some really great music - particular with respect to Aussie bands, and Scary Bill was one such band. Scary Bill was formed in 1987 in St.Kilda, Melbourne ..read more

(Australian 1975 - Present) Air Supply evolved after Graham Russell joined the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar in April 1975 and began singing with fellow cast members Russell Hitchcock and Chrissie Hammond. The trio became a serious project during Superstar's New Zealand tour when they made some appearances at campuses and on radio and TV. Chrissie left to pursue a solo career and went on to play the part of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar before becoming part of the duo, Cheetah. She was replaced by Jeremy Paul, who joined the show in Brisbane after performing in Joseph And The Am ..read more