The Missing Links
Encyclopedia
The Missing Links were an Australian R&B group from Sydney which existed from 1964 to 1966 and were renowned for long hair, an adventurous musical style and smashing their equipment on-stage. There were two main versions of the band: the first had Peter Anson on guitar, Dave Boyne on guitar, Bob Brady on vocals, Danny Cox on drums and Ronnie Peel on bass guitar and released their debut single, "We 2 Should Live" in March 1965. The second version had Andy Anderson
on vocals (and initially on drums), Chris Clay on keyboards and harmonica, Doug Ford
on vocals and guitar, Baden Hutchens on bass guitar and Ian Thomas on drums, and released their debut album, The Missing Links in December. According to Allmusic's, Richie Unterberger
, "This aggregation cut the rawest Australian garage/punk of the era, and indeed some of the best from anywhere, sounding at their best like a fusion of the Troggs and the early Who, letting loose at times with wild feedback that was quite ahead of its time".
). In November, the group played a benefit concert to support Oz
founders, Richard Neville
, Richard Walsh and Martin Sharp
. The trio had been charged with obscenity and were awaiting trial.
The first version of the band recorded a single, "We 2 Should Live" which was released in March 1965 on the Parlophone
label. By that time, Boyne was replaced on guitar by John Jones (Mystics) and Cox left soon after with New Zealand-born Andy Anderson
(as Andy James aka Neville Anderson) joining, initially on drums. The band briefly broke up in July. Anson formed a band, The Syndicate; Brady joined Python Lee Jackson
; and Peel joined Brisbane-based group, The Pleazers
.
The Missing Links reformed before the end of July with Anderson and Jones joined temporarily by Dave Longmore on vocals and guitar, Frank Kennington on vocals and Col Risby on guitar. Longmore was soon replaced by Doug Ford
with Chris Clay joining on keyboards and harmonica. Baden Hutchens on bass guitar and Ian Thomas on drums (both ex-Showmen) completed the line-up of the second version, which was "even more fierce version than the first". During live performances, Anderson would climb walls to hang from rafters, then drive his head into the drums, other band members smashed guitars into speakers and all wore the latest Carnaby Street
clothes.
The group signed with Philips Records
and released "You're Drivin' Me Insane" in August 1965 followed in September by "Wild About You". Veteran rock 'n' roller, Johnny O'Keefe
was not a fan – he banned them from appearing on his television show, Sing Sing Sing
. They issued another single, "H'tuom Tuhs", in October which was followed by their debut album, The Missing Links, in December. According to Allmusic's, Richie Unterberger
, "This aggregation cut the rawest Australian garage/punk of the era, and indeed some of the best from anywhere, sounding at their best like a fusion of the Troggs and the early Who, letting loose at times with wild feedback that was quite ahead of its time".
Hutchens and Thomas returned to Showmen, while the remaining members – Anderson, Clay, Ford and Jones – continued with an extended play, The Links Unchained in April 1966. The group disbanded in August.
Their self titled 1965 LP
was re-issued by Raven Records
on vinyl in 1986 and (with a number of bonus tracks) by the Half A Cow
label on CD in 2001. Original copies of the LP are now prized collectors' items and a copy was sold in August 2004 on an online auction site for more than A$
2000.
from 1968.
The Missing Links have influenced many later Australian groups, including The Saints which covered "Wild About You" on their debut album, (I'm) Stranded
(1977). In October 2010, The Missing Links' debut album, The Missing Links was listed in the top 50 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
.
Andy Anderson (actor)
Andy Anderson is an actor best known for his roles on both Australian and New Zealand television.-Career:...
on vocals (and initially on drums), Chris Clay on keyboards and harmonica, Doug Ford
Doug Ford (musician)
Doug Ford is an Australian rock guitarist and songwriter since the 1960s. During 1968–1972, Ford was the lead guitarist in the Australian pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices and established a successful writing partnership with the group's lead singer Jim Keays.-Biography:Ford was born in Casino,...
on vocals and guitar, Baden Hutchens on bass guitar and Ian Thomas on drums, and released their debut album, The Missing Links in December. According to Allmusic's, Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
, "This aggregation cut the rawest Australian garage/punk of the era, and indeed some of the best from anywhere, sounding at their best like a fusion of the Troggs and the early Who, letting loose at times with wild feedback that was quite ahead of its time".
History
The Missing Links were an Australian R&B group formed in early 1964 in Sydney with the line-up of Peter Anson on guitar, Dave Boyne on guitar, Bob Brady on vocals, Danny Cox on drums and Ronnie Peel on bass guitar (ex-Mystics). With their long hair, according to one venue owner, "they looked like a cross between man and ape" and so were named, The Missing Links (see transitional fossilTransitional fossil
A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a lifeform that exhibits characteristics of two distinct taxonomic groups. A transitional fossil is the fossil of an organism near the branching point where major individual lineages diverge...
). In November, the group played a benefit concert to support Oz
Oz (magazine)
Oz was first published as a satirical humour magazine between 1963 and 1969 in Sydney, Australia and, in its second and better known incarnation, became a "psychedelic hippy" magazine from 1967 to 1973 in London...
founders, Richard Neville
Richard Neville (writer)
Richard Neville is an Australian author and self-described "futurist", who came to fame as a co-editor of the counterculture magazine Oz in Australia and the United Kingdom in the 1960s and early 1970s...
, Richard Walsh and Martin Sharp
Martin Sharp
Martin Sharp is an Australian artist, underground cartoonist, songwriter and film-maker. Sharp has made contributions to Australian and international culture since the early 60s, and is hailed as Australia's foremost pop artist...
. The trio had been charged with obscenity and were awaiting trial.
The first version of the band recorded a single, "We 2 Should Live" which was released in March 1965 on the Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
label. By that time, Boyne was replaced on guitar by John Jones (Mystics) and Cox left soon after with New Zealand-born Andy Anderson
Andy Anderson (actor)
Andy Anderson is an actor best known for his roles on both Australian and New Zealand television.-Career:...
(as Andy James aka Neville Anderson) joining, initially on drums. The band briefly broke up in July. Anson formed a band, The Syndicate; Brady joined Python Lee Jackson
Python Lee Jackson
Python Lee Jackson was an Australian rock band active from 1965 to 1968, before a brief sojourn in the United Kingdom. The group's most famous hit was "In a Broken Dream", featuring Rod Stewart as guest vocalist.-Members in Australia:...
; and Peel joined Brisbane-based group, The Pleazers
The Pleazers
The Pleazers were an originally Australian-based rhythm and blues musical group that was popular in New Zealand in the mid-1960s.The band began in Brisbane as the G-Men, before moving to Sydney, changing their name and going professional...
.
The Missing Links reformed before the end of July with Anderson and Jones joined temporarily by Dave Longmore on vocals and guitar, Frank Kennington on vocals and Col Risby on guitar. Longmore was soon replaced by Doug Ford
Doug Ford (musician)
Doug Ford is an Australian rock guitarist and songwriter since the 1960s. During 1968–1972, Ford was the lead guitarist in the Australian pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices and established a successful writing partnership with the group's lead singer Jim Keays.-Biography:Ford was born in Casino,...
with Chris Clay joining on keyboards and harmonica. Baden Hutchens on bass guitar and Ian Thomas on drums (both ex-Showmen) completed the line-up of the second version, which was "even more fierce version than the first". During live performances, Anderson would climb walls to hang from rafters, then drive his head into the drums, other band members smashed guitars into speakers and all wore the latest Carnaby Street
Carnaby Street
Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in London, United Kingdom, located in the Soho district, near Oxford Street and Regent Street. It is home to numerous fashion and lifestyle retailers, including a large number of independent fashion boutiques...
clothes.
The group signed with Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
and released "You're Drivin' Me Insane" in August 1965 followed in September by "Wild About You". Veteran rock 'n' roller, 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"...
was not a fan – he banned them from appearing on his television show, Sing Sing Sing
Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll television show which showed on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings....
. They issued another single, "H'tuom Tuhs", in October which was followed by their debut album, The Missing Links, in December. According to Allmusic's, Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
, "This aggregation cut the rawest Australian garage/punk of the era, and indeed some of the best from anywhere, sounding at their best like a fusion of the Troggs and the early Who, letting loose at times with wild feedback that was quite ahead of its time".
Hutchens and Thomas returned to Showmen, while the remaining members – Anderson, Clay, Ford and Jones – continued with an extended play, The Links Unchained in April 1966. The group disbanded in August.
Their self titled 1965 LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
was re-issued by Raven Records
Raven Records
Raven Records is an Australian record label that specializes in retrospectives and reissues or recordings by American, British and Australian artists.Raven Records was established in 1979 by Glenn A. Baker, Kevin Mueller and Peter Shillito....
on vinyl in 1986 and (with a number of bonus tracks) by the Half A Cow
Half A Cow
Half a Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton.- History :In 1987 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Glebe called Dalton's Books...
label on CD in 2001. Original copies of the LP are now prized collectors' items and a copy was sold in August 2004 on an online auction site for more than A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
2000.
Legacy
After The Missing Links had disbanded, Anderson and Ford formed Running Jumping Standing Still in Melbourne in August 1966. Anderson later became an actor on Australian and New Zealand television. Ford was lead guitarist in The Masters ApprenticesThe Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972...
from 1968.
The Missing Links have influenced many later Australian groups, including The Saints which covered "Wild About You" on their debut album, (I'm) Stranded
(I'm) Stranded
Stranded is the debut album by Australian punk rock group The Saints which was released by EMI on 21 February 1977. Their debut single, " Stranded", was issued ahead of the album in September 1976, which Sounds magazine's reviewer, Jonh Ingham, declared was the "Single of this and every week"...
(1977). In October 2010, The Missing Links' debut album, The Missing Links was listed in the top 50 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...
.
Members
- Peter Anson – guitar, vocals
- Dave Boyne – guitar
- Bob Brady – vocals, percussion
- Danny Cox – drums
- Ronnie Peel – bass guitar, harmonica
- John Jones – guitar
- Andy AndersonAndy Anderson (actor)Andy Anderson is an actor best known for his roles on both Australian and New Zealand television.-Career:...
(as Andy James aka Neville Anderson) – vocals, drums - Dave Longmore – vocals, guitar
- Frank Kennington – vocals
- Col Risby – guitar
- Doug FordDoug Ford (musician)Doug Ford is an Australian rock guitarist and songwriter since the 1960s. During 1968–1972, Ford was the lead guitarist in the Australian pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices and established a successful writing partnership with the group's lead singer Jim Keays.-Biography:Ford was born in Casino,...
– vocals, guitar - Chris Clay – keyboards, harmonica
- Baden Hutchens – bass guitar
- Ian Thomas – drums