Billy Thorpe
Encyclopedia
William Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM
(29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was a renowned English
-born Australian pop
/ rock
singer-songwriter
and musician. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Ivy", "Over the Rainbow
", "Sick and Tired", and "Mashed Potato"; and in the 1970s with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Featuring in concerts at Sunbury Pop Festivals and Myer Music Bowl in the early 1970s, the Aztecs also developed the pub rock
scene and were one of the loudest groups in Australia.
Thorpe also performed as a solo artist; he relocated to the United States from 1976 to 1996 where he released the space opera
Children of the Sun, which peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Album chart
in 1979. He worked with ex-Aztec Tony Barber
to form a soft toy company in 1987 and co-wrote stories for The Puggle Tales
and Tales from the Lost Forests. Thorpe also worked as a producer
and composed music scores
for TV series including War of the Worlds
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
, Columbo, Eight Is Enough
and Hard Time on Planet Earth
.
Thorpe returned to Australia in 1996 and continued as a performer and producer, additionally he authored two autobiographies
, Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll (1996) and Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy) (1998). According to Australian rock music historian
Ian McFarlane, "Thorpie evolved from child star, beat pop sensation and cuddly pop crooner to finally emerge as the country's wildest and heaviest blues rocker [...] Thorpie was the unassailable monarch of Australian rock music". Thorpe was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
in 1991. He died of a myocardial infarction
in February 2007 and was posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
in June for his contribution to music as a musician, songwriter and producer.
England. His parents and he emigrated to Australia in 1955, arriving in Melbourne
, Victoria
and then settling in Brisbane
, Queensland
. He performed as a ten-year-old under the pseudonym
Little Rock Allen. Six months later, after he was heard singing and playing guitar
by a television producer, Thorpe made regular musical appearances on Queensland television. He toured regional venues with Reg Lindsay
in 1961, and national venues with Johnny O'Keefe
and with Col Joye
. By 1963, as an experienced singer and musician, he decided to relocate to Sydney
.
and auditioned for a regular gig at Surf City, a popular beat music
venue in the city's Kings Cross
area. In 1996, Thorpe wrote his first autobiography, Sex and thugs and rock 'n' roll : a year in Kings Cross 1963–1964, on his early experiences there. His backing band was an accomplished Sydney surf
instrumental group called The Aztecs
, comprising Colin Baigent (drums
), Val Jones (rhythm guitar
), Vince Melouney
(aka Vince Maloney) (lead guitar
, vocals), and John "Bluey" Watson (bass guitar
). Before Thorpe joined, The Aztecs had released "Smoke and Stack", a surf instrumental. UK-born Tony Barber
(rhythm guitar, vocals) soon replaced Jones and they were known as Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs.
In 1964, the band released their second single, "Blue Day", written by guitarist Barber, which contains the first known recording of Thorpe. US songwriter
s Leiber and Stoller wrote "Poison Ivy" for R&B vocal group The Coasters
, but Thorpe preferred the cover version
by The Rolling Stones
. They decided to cover it themselves; it was produced
at Festival Records and released on the independent Linda Lee label. It became their breakthrough hit when it peaked at #1 on the local Sydney charts. The band was signed by Ted Albert
to his newly established Albert Productions
, a local record label devoted exclusively to recording Australian pop artists. Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs had national chart success, their record sales and concert attendances rivalling those of The Beatles
, with hits like "Mashed Potato", "Sick and Tired" and Wizard of Oz
tune "Over the Rainbow
" in the top ten of the record charts in most state capitals.
The original Aztecs lineup split from Thorpe at the beginning of 1965 over a financial dispute, so he created another set, with Johnny Dick (drums), Mike Downes (rhythm guitar, vocals), Colin Risby (lead guitar, vocals), Jimmy Taylor (piano
), Teddy Toi (bass guitar), Tony Buchanan (saxophone
) and Rocky Thomas (brass). This lineup achieved further success with pop
ballads such as "I Told the Brook", "Twilight Time" and "Love Letters". On 27 March 1966, Sydney TV station ATN-7
debuted a music show, It's All Happening!, hosted by Thorpe with the Aztecs as the house band. Each one-hour episode featured both Australian and international musical guests. Despite the TV exposure, later singles did not chart and when the show ended its run in early 1967, the Aztecs broke up. Thorpe undertook a brief solo career, he released "Dream Baby" (Roy Orbison
cover), in October 1967 but it had no chart success. During 1968 he modified his image to display long hair, moustache and a fringed jacket; he formed a new backing band with Dick, Mick Liber (guitar) and Dave McTaggert (bass guitar) who was quickly replaced by Paul Wheeler. By August, Dick and Liber had left, and Thorpe relocated to Melbourne.
with Paul Wheeler (bass guitar) and Jimmy Thompson (drums), Thorpe took up lead guitar
as well as lead vocals. As a trio they became the next version of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs. By December, former Purple Hearts
and Wild Cherries
guitarist Lobby Loyde
joined. Thorpe had recorded no new material for over two years, but he emerged after a spell of bankruptcy
in 1969, with "Good Mornin' Little School Girl", a Willie Dixon
cover, as a single in March 1970. With the encouragement of Loyde, Thorpe's 'new' Aztecs developed a heavier sound and established themselves as one of Australia's premier hard rock
groups. By July, Warren `Pig' Morgan (piano, vocals) had joined and the band recorded, The Hoax Is Over, which was released in January 1971. Loyde left to reform Wild Cherries (later called Lobby Loyde & the Coloured Balls). After further releases the Aztecs had accrued a considerable reputation in the southern states and became known as one of the loudest acts on the local concert and pub
circuit. Thorpe described the sound:
In 1972, the band played two pivotal gigs, first was the Sunbury Pop Festival in January, which featured the debut of Thorpe's self-penned anthem, "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Thorpe now had a ponytail, T-shirt, full beard, played guitar and encouraged the Sunbury crowd to "Suck more piss". The #2 hit single returned the Aztecs to national prominence. The second major gig was their show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
during the Moomba
Festival in March, which resulted in an estimated 200,000 people filling the park, and forced police to close roads around the venue. Later that year, they released Aztecs Live! At Sunbury, which peaked at #4 in September. Ex-Copperwine blues singer Wendy Saddington
had top 30 chart success with her 1972 solo single, "Looking Through a Window", which was written and produced by Thorpe and Morgan of the Aztecs
. The two Aztecs combined for Downunda which was released in 1973 under the names, Thump'n Pig (Morgan) and Puff'n Billy (Thorpe); with the related single, "Captain Straightman", both album and single peaked into the top 40 of the relevant charts. Saddington had provided vocals and co-wrote a track for the album.
In March 1973, The Who
's rock opera Tommy
was performed as an orchestral version in Australia with Thorpe in the role of the Local Lad performing Pinball Wizard. Other Australian artists were Daryl Braithwaite
(as Tommy), Wendy Saddington, Doug Parkinson
, Broderick Smith
, Jim Keays
, Colleen Hewett
, Linda George
, Ross Wilson, Bobby Bright, and Ian Meldrum
(as Uncle Ernie in Sydney).
After more line-up changes Thorpe dissolved the Aztecs early in 1975, as a solo artist he recorded Million Dollar Bill, which peaked into the top 40, with its top 50 single "Its Almost Summer"; and Pick Me Up & Play Me Loud in 1976. Both albums showed another change in style, they were a mix of Adult-orientated Rock
, funk and country
. In December 1976, he relocated to Los Angeles
in the United States, although he returned to Australia periodically to tour with varied line-ups of the Aztecs.
, Children of the Sun, which peaked into the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Album chart
, and top 50 in Australia. The related single, "Children of the Sun" peaked into the top 50 of the Billboard Singles chart. He released three more studio albums while living in the US, with 21st Century Man (1980) peaking on the Bilboard Pop Album chart top 200. "In My Room" from 21st Century Man had top ten chart success in Canada. Other US-based releases were Stimulation (1981) and East Of Eden's Gate (1982).
In 1984, Thorpe stopped performing live music, he had started an electronics consulting company which did work for The Walt Disney Company
, Mattel
and Universal Studios
. By 1986, he owned a recording and production studio in Los Angeles
, where he worked on musical scoring
for television series, including: War of the Worlds
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
, Columbo, Eight Is Enough
and Hard Time on Planet Earth
. Former Aztec bandmate, Tony Barber
had written a series of children's books, collectively called The Puggle Tales
from 1981. Barber and Thorpe had formed a soft toy company in 1987, Sunshine Friends, and also released children's songs on cassettes and video. In 1989 Barber and Thorpe co-wrote three more stories for The Puggle Tales series: Double trouble, Flying's easy and Marco and the book of wisdom.
From 1990, Thorpe collaborated with Mick Fleetwood
(of Fleetwood Mac
) and Bekka Bramlett
in Fleetwood's side project, a band called The Zoo, which resulted in Shakin the Cage (no apostrophe) single featuring Billy Burnette and Kenny Gradney of Little Feat. This was followed by the "Shakin' the Cage" (apostrophe included) album featuring an altered band line-up and a re-recorded version of the title track in March 1991. Thorpe had written all ten of the tracks, including one (the title track track) co-written with Burnette, and another with Bramlett's father Delaney. The Zoo toured Australia during 1991 and while in the country Thorpe was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
on 25 March alongside Glenn Shorrock
, Don Burrows
and Peter Dawson. Fleetwood performed at the ARIA Awards ceremony held at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. Thorpe returned to touring with another set of Aztecs in 1993 and released a boxed set
in 1994, Lock Up Your Mothers, which peaked at #15 on the ARIA Charts
. The Lock Up Your Mothers tour included media appearances on Hey Hey Its Saturday, Denton
and 60 Minutes.
singing, "Most People I Know" and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo", ex-Aztec Lobby Loyde
joined them on-stage on guitar.
Long Way to the Top
was a 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC) six-part documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era. Episode 3: Billy Killed the Fish, broadcast on 29 August, featured interviews with Loyde, Michael Chugg (Thorpe's manager / promoter) and Thorpe. They described their Sunbury festival experiences and the development of pub rock
in Australia. According to Chugg, an Aztec performance at Sydney's Bondi Lifesaver club in 1974 was so loud as to kill a tankful of tropical fish in an upstairs area–hence the episode title. During August 2002, promoters Chugg and Kevin Jacobsen
with Thorpe as co-producer, organised a related concert tour, Long Way to the Top. Concerts included Thorpe performing with the 'original' Aztecs line-up in one set and the 'Sunbury' Aztecs in a second. Performances at two Sydney concerts in September were recorded, broadcast on ABC-TV
and subsequently released on DVD in December.
Thorpe recorded material for a new album, Tangier, with the Symphonique Orchestra du Maroc in Casablanca
, Morocco
during September to November 2006 and was working on the album when he died in Sydney in February 2007. Tangier was produced by Daniel Denholm. In December 2006, Thorpe had recorded an acoustic
live performance which was released posthumously in April 2007 on Liberation Records as Solo: The Last Recordings, which peaked at #19 on the ARIA albums chart. On 27 October 2010, Sony Entertainment announced the release of Tangier at the ARIA Hall of Fame
in Sydney.
He was a republican.
in Sydney around 2:00 am AEDT after having a massive heart attack. He remained in the emergency ward in a serious condition and went into cardiac arrest
around half an hour later, hospital staff unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate him. His family was by his side when he died at 60 years old. Thorpe is survived by his wife Lynn, and daughters Rusty and Lauren. His manager Michael Chugg said the death was a "terrible tragedy", as Thorpe had just finished recording a new album Tangier and was very happy after a recent acoustic tour. He was posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
on 11 June 2007, with the citation, "For service to the entertainment industry as a musician, songwriter, producer, and as a contributor to the preservation and collection of contemporary Australian music".
According to allmusic, Thorpe is credited with: guitars (lead
, bass
, rhythm
), vocals, record producer
, sound engineer
, keyboards
, synthesizer, sound mixing
and harmonica
.
with Lobby Loyde
& the Coloured Balls and Leo De Castro
with Warren Morgan as Thump'n Pig and Puff'n Billy
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was a renowned English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born Australian pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/ rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and musician. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-sixties. The group enjoyed huge success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early seventies to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period...
, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Ivy", "Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow
"Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...
", "Sick and Tired", and "Mashed Potato"; and in the 1970s with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Featuring in concerts at Sunbury Pop Festivals and Myer Music Bowl in the early 1970s, the Aztecs also developed the pub rock
Pub rock (Australia)
Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music today....
scene and were one of the loudest groups in Australia.
Thorpe also performed as a solo artist; he relocated to the United States from 1976 to 1996 where he released the space opera
Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
Children of the Sun, which peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Album chart
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in 1979. He worked with ex-Aztec Tony Barber
Tony Barber (musician)
Anthony Arthur Barber, known as Tony, was born in England. He arrived in Australia in 1963.He was a member of the band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs in the 1960s. He wrote several children's books in the 1980s under the name A. A. Barber including The Puggle Tales. He also started and operated The Lost...
to form a soft toy company in 1987 and co-wrote stories for The Puggle Tales
The Puggle Tales
The Puggle Tales are a group of seven books written by A. A. Barber.The titles are:*The Puggle Tales - Grandma Puggles Missing Silver Egg Timer *A Puggle Tale - All's Well That Ends Well - illustrated by Steph Campbell*An Uggle Tale - B.O...
and Tales from the Lost Forests. Thorpe also worked as a producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and composed music scores
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for TV series including War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (TV series)
War of the Worlds is a television program that ran for two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. The series is an extension of the original 1953 film The War of the Worlds, using the same War Machine, often incorporating aspects from the film, radio adaptation, and original novel into its mythology.Though...
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, Columbo, Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
and Hard Time on Planet Earth
Hard Time on Planet Earth
Hard Time on Planet Earth is a short-lived American science fiction series that aired on CBS as a midseason replacement in 1989. Airing for 13 episodes, the series starred Martin Kove and was created by Jim and John Thomas....
.
Thorpe returned to Australia in 1996 and continued as a performer and producer, additionally he authored two autobiographies
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll (1996) and Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy) (1998). According to Australian rock music historian
Music history
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...
Ian McFarlane, "Thorpie evolved from child star, beat pop sensation and cuddly pop crooner to finally emerge as the country's wildest and heaviest blues rocker [...] Thorpie was the unassailable monarch of Australian rock music". Thorpe was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
in 1991. He died of a myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in February 2007 and was posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in June for his contribution to music as a musician, songwriter and producer.
Early life
Billy Thorpe was born in 1946 in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
England. His parents and he emigrated to Australia in 1955, arriving in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and then settling in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. He performed as a ten-year-old under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Little Rock Allen. Six months later, after he was heard singing and playing guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
by a television producer, Thorpe made regular musical appearances on Queensland television. He toured regional venues with Reg Lindsay
Reg Lindsay
Reginald John Lindsay OAM was an Australian country music singer who won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than five hundred songs in his fifty-year music career....
in 1961, and national venues with Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...
and with Col Joye
Col Joye
Colin Frederick Jacobsen AM , better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian popular entertainer and entrepreneur...
. By 1963, as an experienced singer and musician, he decided to relocate to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Success in Sydney
In 1963, Thorpe moved to SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and auditioned for a regular gig at Surf City, a popular beat music
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
venue in the city's Kings Cross
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
area. In 1996, Thorpe wrote his first autobiography, Sex and thugs and rock 'n' roll : a year in Kings Cross 1963–1964, on his early experiences there. His backing band was an accomplished Sydney surf
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
instrumental group called The Aztecs
Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-sixties. The group enjoyed huge success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early seventies to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period...
, comprising Colin Baigent (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
), Val Jones (rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
), Vince Melouney
Vince Melouney
Vince Melouney was a founding member of Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, playing with the band as lead guitarist from 1963 to 1965, which was followed by a short-lived duo with fellow Aztec Tony Barber, called Vince & Tony's Two.In 1967, after moving to the UK, he was invited to join the Bee Gees...
(aka Vince Maloney) (lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals), and John "Bluey" Watson (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
). Before Thorpe joined, The Aztecs had released "Smoke and Stack", a surf instrumental. UK-born Tony Barber
Tony Barber (musician)
Anthony Arthur Barber, known as Tony, was born in England. He arrived in Australia in 1963.He was a member of the band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs in the 1960s. He wrote several children's books in the 1980s under the name A. A. Barber including The Puggle Tales. He also started and operated The Lost...
(rhythm guitar, vocals) soon replaced Jones and they were known as Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs.
In 1964, the band released their second single, "Blue Day", written by guitarist Barber, which contains the first known recording of Thorpe. US songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s Leiber and Stoller wrote "Poison Ivy" for R&B vocal group The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
, but Thorpe preferred the cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. They decided to cover it themselves; it was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
at Festival Records and released on the independent Linda Lee label. It became their breakthrough hit when it peaked at #1 on the local Sydney charts. The band was signed by Ted Albert
Ted Albert
Edward 'Ted' Albert was an early pioneer in Australian independent record production and founder of Albert Productions...
to his newly established Albert Productions
Albert Productions
Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent Australian record label to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1964 by Ted Albert, whose family owned and operated the Australian...
, a local record label devoted exclusively to recording Australian pop artists. Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs had national chart success, their record sales and concert attendances rivalling those of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, with hits like "Mashed Potato", "Sick and Tired" and Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
tune "Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow
"Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...
" in the top ten of the record charts in most state capitals.
The original Aztecs lineup split from Thorpe at the beginning of 1965 over a financial dispute, so he created another set, with Johnny Dick (drums), Mike Downes (rhythm guitar, vocals), Colin Risby (lead guitar, vocals), Jimmy Taylor (piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
), Teddy Toi (bass guitar), Tony Buchanan (saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
) and Rocky Thomas (brass). This lineup achieved further success with pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
ballads such as "I Told the Brook", "Twilight Time" and "Love Letters". On 27 March 1966, Sydney TV station ATN-7
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
debuted a music show, It's All Happening!, hosted by Thorpe with the Aztecs as the house band. Each one-hour episode featured both Australian and international musical guests. Despite the TV exposure, later singles did not chart and when the show ended its run in early 1967, the Aztecs broke up. Thorpe undertook a brief solo career, he released "Dream Baby" (Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
cover), in October 1967 but it had no chart success. During 1968 he modified his image to display long hair, moustache and a fringed jacket; he formed a new backing band with Dick, Mick Liber (guitar) and Dave McTaggert (bass guitar) who was quickly replaced by Paul Wheeler. By August, Dick and Liber had left, and Thorpe relocated to Melbourne.
Melbourne
In August 1968 Thorpe had moved to MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
with Paul Wheeler (bass guitar) and Jimmy Thompson (drums), Thorpe took up lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
as well as lead vocals. As a trio they became the next version of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs. By December, former Purple Hearts
Purple Hearts (Australian band)
The Purple Hearts were an Australian rock group, formed in Brisbane in 1964. The band consisted of lead vocalist Mick Hadley, lead guitarist Barry Lyde , rhythm guitarist Fred Pickard, bassist Bob Dames, and drummers Adrian 'Red' Redmond and Tony Cahill .It is notable that Brisbane, traditionally...
and Wild Cherries
Wild Cherries
The Wild Cherries was an Australian rock group, which started in late 1964 playing R&B and became "the most relentlessly experimental psychedelic band on the Melbourne discotheque / dance scene" according to commentator, Glenn A...
guitarist Lobby Loyde
Lobby Loyde
Lobby Loyde , also known as John Barrie Lyde or Barry Lyde, was an Australian rock music guitarist, songwriter and producer....
joined. Thorpe had recorded no new material for over two years, but he emerged after a spell of bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in 1969, with "Good Mornin' Little School Girl", a Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
cover, as a single in March 1970. With the encouragement of Loyde, Thorpe's 'new' Aztecs developed a heavier sound and established themselves as one of Australia's premier hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
groups. By July, Warren `Pig' Morgan (piano, vocals) had joined and the band recorded, The Hoax Is Over, which was released in January 1971. Loyde left to reform Wild Cherries (later called Lobby Loyde & the Coloured Balls). After further releases the Aztecs had accrued a considerable reputation in the southern states and became known as one of the loudest acts on the local concert and pub
Pub rock (Australia)
Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music today....
circuit. Thorpe described the sound:
In 1972, the band played two pivotal gigs, first was the Sunbury Pop Festival in January, which featured the debut of Thorpe's self-penned anthem, "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Thorpe now had a ponytail, T-shirt, full beard, played guitar and encouraged the Sunbury crowd to "Suck more piss". The #2 hit single returned the Aztecs to national prominence. The second major gig was their show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Sidney Myer Music Bowl
The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain, close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct...
during the Moomba
Moomba
Moomba is Australia's largest free community festival and one of the longest running festivals in Australia. Held annually in the city of Melbourne, Australia, Moomba is celebrated during the Labour Day long weekend , and has been celebrated since 1955...
Festival in March, which resulted in an estimated 200,000 people filling the park, and forced police to close roads around the venue. Later that year, they released Aztecs Live! At Sunbury, which peaked at #4 in September. Ex-Copperwine blues singer Wendy Saddington
Wendy Saddington
Wendy June Saddington is an Australian blues / soul / jazz singer and was in the bands Chain, Copperwine and the Wendy Saddington Band. She wrote for teen pop newspaper Go-Set from September 1969 – September 1970 as an agony aunt in her weekly "Takes Care of Business" column and as a...
had top 30 chart success with her 1972 solo single, "Looking Through a Window", which was written and produced by Thorpe and Morgan of the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-sixties. The group enjoyed huge success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early seventies to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period...
. The two Aztecs combined for Downunda which was released in 1973 under the names, Thump'n Pig (Morgan) and Puff'n Billy (Thorpe); with the related single, "Captain Straightman", both album and single peaked into the top 40 of the relevant charts. Saddington had provided vocals and co-wrote a track for the album.
In March 1973, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's rock opera Tommy
Tommy (rock opera)
Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
was performed as an orchestral version in Australia with Thorpe in the role of the Local Lad performing Pinball Wizard. Other Australian artists were Daryl Braithwaite
Daryl Braithwaite
Daryl Braithwaite is an Australian pop singer. Best known as the lead vocalist of Sherbet, Braithwaite has also sustained a successful solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including the No...
(as Tommy), Wendy Saddington, Doug Parkinson
Doug Parkinson
Douglas "Doug" Parkinson is an Australian singer who first came to fame with his band, Doug Parkinson In Focus, in 1969. He has had numerous hits on the Australian Top 40 charts.-Career:...
, Broderick Smith
Broderick Smith
Broderick Smith aka Brod Smith is an Australian singer-songwriter, harmonica, guitar and banjo player. He was a member of 1970s bands Carson and The Dingoes, 1980s Broderick Smith's Big Combo and performed solo...
, Jim Keays
Jim Keays
James "Jim" Keays is an Australian musician who fronted rock band The Masters Apprentices as singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica-player during 1965–1972, and subsequently had a solo career including leading Jim Keays' Southern Cross...
, Colleen Hewett
Colleen Hewett
Colleen Hewett is an Australian actress and popular singer. She is perhaps best known to international audiences for her 1984 guest role in the television series Prisoner as Sheila Brady.-Pop singer:...
, Linda George
Linda George (Australian singer)
Linda George is an English-born Australian pop, jazz fusion and soul singer from the 1970s. In 1973, George performed the role of Acid Queen for the Australian stage performance of The Who's rock opera, Tommy. She won the TV Week King of Pop award for "Best New Female Artist"...
, Ross Wilson, Bobby Bright, and Ian Meldrum
Ian Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, record producer , and musical entrepreneur...
(as Uncle Ernie in Sydney).
After more line-up changes Thorpe dissolved the Aztecs early in 1975, as a solo artist he recorded Million Dollar Bill, which peaked into the top 40, with its top 50 single "Its Almost Summer"; and Pick Me Up & Play Me Loud in 1976. Both albums showed another change in style, they were a mix of Adult-orientated Rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
, funk and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. In December 1976, he relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in the United States, although he returned to Australia periodically to tour with varied line-ups of the Aztecs.
United States
From December 1976, Thorpe continued his musical career in the US, by 1979 he released his solo space operaSpace opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
, Children of the Sun, which peaked into the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Album chart
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, and top 50 in Australia. The related single, "Children of the Sun" peaked into the top 50 of the Billboard Singles chart. He released three more studio albums while living in the US, with 21st Century Man (1980) peaking on the Bilboard Pop Album chart top 200. "In My Room" from 21st Century Man had top ten chart success in Canada. Other US-based releases were Stimulation (1981) and East Of Eden's Gate (1982).
In 1984, Thorpe stopped performing live music, he had started an electronics consulting company which did work for The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
, Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
and Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. By 1986, he owned a recording and production studio in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where he worked on musical scoring
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for television series, including: War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (TV series)
War of the Worlds is a television program that ran for two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. The series is an extension of the original 1953 film The War of the Worlds, using the same War Machine, often incorporating aspects from the film, radio adaptation, and original novel into its mythology.Though...
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, Columbo, Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
and Hard Time on Planet Earth
Hard Time on Planet Earth
Hard Time on Planet Earth is a short-lived American science fiction series that aired on CBS as a midseason replacement in 1989. Airing for 13 episodes, the series starred Martin Kove and was created by Jim and John Thomas....
. Former Aztec bandmate, Tony Barber
Tony Barber (musician)
Anthony Arthur Barber, known as Tony, was born in England. He arrived in Australia in 1963.He was a member of the band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs in the 1960s. He wrote several children's books in the 1980s under the name A. A. Barber including The Puggle Tales. He also started and operated The Lost...
had written a series of children's books, collectively called The Puggle Tales
The Puggle Tales
The Puggle Tales are a group of seven books written by A. A. Barber.The titles are:*The Puggle Tales - Grandma Puggles Missing Silver Egg Timer *A Puggle Tale - All's Well That Ends Well - illustrated by Steph Campbell*An Uggle Tale - B.O...
from 1981. Barber and Thorpe had formed a soft toy company in 1987, Sunshine Friends, and also released children's songs on cassettes and video. In 1989 Barber and Thorpe co-wrote three more stories for The Puggle Tales series: Double trouble, Flying's easy and Marco and the book of wisdom.
From 1990, Thorpe collaborated with Mick Fleetwood
Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac...
(of Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
) and Bekka Bramlett
Bekka Bramlett
Rebekka Ruth Lazone "Bekka" Bramlett is a singer from the United States. She is the daughter of popular music duo Delaney and Bonnie....
in Fleetwood's side project, a band called The Zoo, which resulted in Shakin the Cage (no apostrophe) single featuring Billy Burnette and Kenny Gradney of Little Feat. This was followed by the "Shakin' the Cage" (apostrophe included) album featuring an altered band line-up and a re-recorded version of the title track in March 1991. Thorpe had written all ten of the tracks, including one (the title track track) co-written with Burnette, and another with Bramlett's father Delaney. The Zoo toured Australia during 1991 and while in the country Thorpe was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
on 25 March alongside Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of pop groups The Twilights, Axiom and Little River Band as well as being a solo performer....
, Don Burrows
Don Burrows
Donald Vernon Burrows, AO, MBE is an Australian jazz and swing musician, playing the clarinet, saxophone, and flute....
and Peter Dawson. Fleetwood performed at the ARIA Awards ceremony held at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. Thorpe returned to touring with another set of Aztecs in 1993 and released a boxed set
Boxed set
A box set is a compilation of various musical recordings, films, television programs, or other collection of related items that are contained in a box.-Music box sets:...
in 1994, Lock Up Your Mothers, which peaked at #15 on the ARIA Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. The Lock Up Your Mothers tour included media appearances on Hey Hey Its Saturday, Denton
Andrew Denton
Andrew Christopher Denton is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program Enough Rope. He is known for his comedy and interviewing technique...
and 60 Minutes.
Return to Australia
In 1996 Thorpe formed the Billy Thorpe Band with: Andy Cichon (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals), Steve Edmonds (guitar, vocals), Paul DeMarco (drums) and Randall Waller (guitar, vocals, keyboards), and toured Australia in July. He had returned to live in Sydney and authored his first autobiography, Sex and Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll, on his early experiences in King's Cross and the formation of the Aztecs, which was released in November. He followed with an Australian TV appearance on This Is Your Life. In October 1998, he released his second autobiography, Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy). On 14 November 1998, with the Aztecs, Thorpe appeared at the Mushroom 25 ConcertMushroom 25 Live
Mushroom 25 Live is a live album, video and DVD by various Australian musicians and was recorded at the Mushroom 25 Concert held on Saturday 14 November 1998, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground...
singing, "Most People I Know" and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo", ex-Aztec Lobby Loyde
Lobby Loyde
Lobby Loyde , also known as John Barrie Lyde or Barry Lyde, was an Australian rock music guitarist, songwriter and producer....
joined them on-stage on guitar.
Long Way to the Top
Long Way To The Top
Long Way To The Top was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era.-Production:...
was a 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC) six-part documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era. Episode 3: Billy Killed the Fish, broadcast on 29 August, featured interviews with Loyde, Michael Chugg (Thorpe's manager / promoter) and Thorpe. They described their Sunbury festival experiences and the development of pub rock
Pub rock (Australia)
Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music today....
in Australia. According to Chugg, an Aztec performance at Sydney's Bondi Lifesaver club in 1974 was so loud as to kill a tankful of tropical fish in an upstairs area–hence the episode title. During August 2002, promoters Chugg and Kevin Jacobsen
Kevin Jacobsen
Kevin George Jacobsen OAM is a well-known Australian entertainment entrepreneur.Along with his brothers Colin and Keith, he was a member of prominent Australian 1960s band, The Joy Boys....
with Thorpe as co-producer, organised a related concert tour, Long Way to the Top. Concerts included Thorpe performing with the 'original' Aztecs line-up in one set and the 'Sunbury' Aztecs in a second. Performances at two Sydney concerts in September were recorded, broadcast on ABC-TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
and subsequently released on DVD in December.
Thorpe recorded material for a new album, Tangier, with the Symphonique Orchestra du Maroc in Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
during September to November 2006 and was working on the album when he died in Sydney in February 2007. Tangier was produced by Daniel Denholm. In December 2006, Thorpe had recorded an acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
live performance which was released posthumously in April 2007 on Liberation Records as Solo: The Last Recordings, which peaked at #19 on the ARIA albums chart. On 27 October 2010, Sony Entertainment announced the release of Tangier at the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
in Sydney.
He was a republican.
Death
Thorpe suffered from chest pains at his home on 28 February 2007 and was taken by an ambulance to St. Vincent's HospitalSt Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Sisters of Charity.-History:...
in Sydney around 2:00 am AEDT after having a massive heart attack. He remained in the emergency ward in a serious condition and went into cardiac arrest
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
around half an hour later, hospital staff unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate him. His family was by his side when he died at 60 years old. Thorpe is survived by his wife Lynn, and daughters Rusty and Lauren. His manager Michael Chugg said the death was a "terrible tragedy", as Thorpe had just finished recording a new album Tangier and was very happy after a recent acoustic tour. He was posthumously appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
on 11 June 2007, with the citation, "For service to the entertainment industry as a musician, songwriter, producer, and as a contributor to the preservation and collection of contemporary Australian music".
Discography
For his work as leader of the Aztecs see Billy Thorpe & the AztecsAccording to allmusic, Thorpe is credited with: guitars (lead
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, rhythm
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
), vocals, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, sound engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, synthesizer, sound mixing
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
.
Albums
solo- Million Dollar Bill – 1975, Festival Records, 35707 #37 AUS
- Pick Me Up and Play Me Loud –; 1976, Festival Records,
- Children of the Sun – 1979, Capricorn Records, Polydor RecordsPolydor RecordsPolydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
#44 AUS - 21st Century Man – 1980, Mushroom RecordsMushroom RecordsMushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
, Elektra RecordsElektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009.... - Time Traveller – 1980, Blue Goose Records #42 AUS
- Stimulation – 1981, Mushroom Records, Pasha Records/CBS RecordsCBS RecordsCBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
- East Of Eden's Gate – 1982, Pasha Records/CBS Records
- Solo - The Last Recordings – 2007
- Tangier – 27 October 2010, Sony Entertainment
with Lobby Loyde
Lobby Loyde
Lobby Loyde , also known as John Barrie Lyde or Barry Lyde, was an Australian rock music guitarist, songwriter and producer....
& the Coloured Balls and Leo De Castro
- Summer JamSummer JamSummer Jam is the annual hip-hop fest held in East Rutherford, New Jersey and sponsored by New York based radio station Hot 97FM. Normally held in June, the concert features the most popular acts that hip-hop and R&B have to offer in a particular year....
–; 1973
with Warren Morgan as Thump'n Pig and Puff'n Billy
- Downunda – 1973, Atlantic RecordsAtlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
#40 AUS
Singles
- "Dream Baby" –1967
- "Do the Best You Can" – 1975
- "It's Almost Summer" – 1976
- "Children of the Sun" – 1979 (#41 US)
- "In My Room" – 1980
- "Just the Way I Like It" – 1981
- "You Touched Me" – 1981
External links
- Billy Thorpe discography at BillboardBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
- Billy Thorpe discography at MusicBrainzMusicBrainzMusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an open content music database. Similar to the freedb project, it was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB...
- Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs - Stories and Highlights at Long Way to the TopLong Way To The TopLong Way To The Top was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era.-Production:...
website by Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. - Listen to a clip from 'Most People I Know (Think that I'm Crazy)' and read more about it on australianscreen online
- 'Most People I Know (Think that I'm Crazy)' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2008