Zoot (band)
Encyclopedia
Zoot are a pop
/rock band
formed in Adelaide
, South Australia
in 1965 as Down the Line. They changed their name to Zoot in 1967 and by 1968 had relocated to Melbourne
. They had a top five hit on the Go-Set
national singles chart with a heavy rock cover
of The Beatles
' ballad "Eleanor Rigby
" released in 1970; but they disbanded in May 1971.
Mainstay
bass guitarist, Beeb Birtles
, was later a founder of Little River Band
in 1975 and guitarist singer-songwriter, Rick Springfield
, who moved to the United States in 1972, achieved international fame as a solo artist, songwriter and actor.
Zoot will reunite for the Rick Springfield and Friends cruise in November 2011.
High School mates John D'Arcy on guitars and vocals, and Gerard Bertlekamp (later known as Beeb Birtles
) initially on lead guitar and vocals formed Times Unlimited in Adelaide
, South Australia
with drummer Ted Higgins and a bass guitarist in 1964. Birtles moved to bass guitar and they were joined by Darryl Cotton
, lead vocalist from local rivals, The Mermen. The new group of Birtles, Cotton, D'Arcy and Higgins formed in 1965, and were named Down the Line from The Hollies
version of Roy Orbison
's "Go Go Go (Down the Line)
". Soon Gordon Rawson, an ex-school mate of Birtles, briefly joined on rhythm guitar
.
Down the Line performed covers
of English Mod groups: The Hollies, The Move
, The Who
and The Small Faces
in many clubs and discos around Adelaide, gradually gathering a following. They sometimes backed Bev Harrell, a then popular singer, who was managed
by Darryl Sambell. By May 1967, Sambell also managed rising singer, Johnny Farnham
, and used Down the Line as session musicians on demo recordings which secured Farnham a contract with EMI Records
. One of these was "In My Room", written by Farnham, which became the B-side
of his debut single, "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
" released in November. After recording with Farnham, Down the Line were approached by Adelaide-based musician, Doc Neeson
, who was interested in band management and suggested:
They liked the name but did not sign with Neeson, who formed a pub rock
band The Angels
in 1970. Zoot were playing some original material in their set and by early 1968 D'Arcy was replaced on guitar by Steve Stone. D'Arcy was later a member of Allison Gros alongside Graeham Goble
. Other Adelaide bands, The Twilights and The Masters Apprentices
, inspired Zoot to tackle the national market, so in mid-1968, Zoot relocated to Melbourne
. Prior to the move, they had entered the South Australian heats of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds
, finishing second in a tense contest to The Masters Apprentices (eventually second nationally to The Groove
).
or light bubblegum
due primarily to the Think Pink - Think Zoot publicity campaign devised by their management. After relocating to Melbourne in mid-1968, Zoot signed with Columbia Records
/EMI Australia and were managed by Wayne de Gruchy, they recorded their first single, "You'd Better Get Goin' Now", a Jackie Lomax
cover with David Mackay
producing. They invited the music media to Berties discothèque—co-owned by de Gruchy and Tony Knight—to promote its release in August. Think Pink - Think Zoot had band members dressed head to toe in pink satin, they arrived in Cotton's pink painted car, they were photographed with Cotton's pet dog Monty—fur dyed pink—and the venue was pink themed throughout. The publicity gimmick brought attention to the group and attracted significant numbers of teenage girl fans, however it caused problems in establishing their credibility as serious rock musicians. By December, management by de Gruchy was dropped in favour of Sambell and Jeff Joseph, who also managed Farnham and The Masters Apprentices.
Zoot's second single, "1 × 2 × 3 × 4" was released in December and charted on the Go-Set
National Top 40 Singles Chart. By September 1968, Higgins and Stone had returned to Adelaide to be replaced by Rick Brewer (ex-The Mermen with Cotton, Third Party) on drums and Roger Hicks
on guitar. Besides radio airplay, the band appeared regularly on local pop music TV show, Uptight!. Their third single, "Monty and Me" continued the Think Pink - Think Zoot theme and was produced by Go-Set writer, Ian Meldrum
(later hosted Countdown), which also reached the Top 40 in June. Meldrum also produced "The Real Thing
" by Russell Morris
and used Hicks as a session musician—he supplied the song's opening guitar riff. Zoot was voted Top Australian Group in Go-Sets pop poll published in June, just ahead of The Masters Apprentices and Brisbane
group, The Avengers. In July they undertook a tour through the eastern states with Ronnie Burns, The Sect and Jon Blanchfield on the bill.
Hicks left by September for The Avengers, and was replaced by Rick Springfield
(ex-Icy Blues, Moppa Blues Band, Wickety Wak). Meldrum had produced Wickety Wak's single, "Billie's Bikie Boys" with Birtles as a backing vocalist. From September, Zoot joined other Australian bands on the national Operation Starlift tour, which was generally a publicity success but a financial disaster. For Zoot, it brought about increased media ridicule, peer envy and scorn from detractors, much of the criticism was homophobic
such as "pretty pink pansies" taunts. October saw the release of "It's About Time" by EMI, Zoot read about it in Go-Set and had expected to re-record its demo quality. In December, in Brisbane
, they made headlines when they were assaulted by street toughs, resulting in injury to Cotton.
(The Masters Apprentices) as 'Best Guitarist' and fifth as 'Best Composer', while Brewer was third as 'Best Drummer' to Colin Burgess (The Masters Apprentices).
They finished second in the Victorian heats of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds to little known band, Nova Express (with vocalist Linda George
). In August, both bands went to the national finals, where Zoot finished second to The Flying Circus
.
In December they released a hard rock
cover of The Beatles
' song, "Eleanor Rigby
" which became their most popular single when it peaked at No. 4 in March 1971. It remained in the Top 40 for twenty weeks and reached No. 12 on the Top Records for the Year of 1971. Their next single, "The Freak" / "Evil Child", another hard rock song, was released in April and peaked into the top 30.
With the chart success of "Eleanor Rigby", RCA
expressed interest in bringing them to the United States to record, but they encountered problems with visa work permits, meanwhile Springfield was being scouted for a solo career. Along with other disappointments and frustrations, this led to the band breaking up in May 1971. Go-Set published their 1971 pop poll results in July with Zoot in third place behind Daddy Cool
for 'Best Group', Springfield was 'Best Guitarist' and fourth as 'Best Composer', Brewer was second as 'Best Drummer' to Burgess, Birtles was second as 'Best Bass Guitarist' to Glenn Wheatley
(The Masters Apprentices) and "Eleanor Rigby" was 'Best Single' ahead of Daddy Cool's "Eagle Rock
". EMI/Columbia released a compilation
, Zoot Out in 1971 and another, Best of the Zoot Locker 1969–1971 in 1980.
After Zoot, Birtles and Cotton almost immediately formed a duo Darryl and Beeb which became Frieze, when they were sponsored by Frieze Brothers (a clothing company). The band released a single, "Feelings" in September 1971 on Sparmac Records and an album BC 1972 on Warner Brothers in June 1972, using session musicians. Frieze disbanded in May and Cotton travelled to America while Birtles joined Mississippi
(previously known as Allison Gros and then as Drummond). Mississippi evolved into Little River Band
in 1975.
Springfield also signed with Sparmac and released "Speak to the Sky" in October 1971, which peaked at No. 5 on Go-Set National Top 40. Sparmac label owner, Robie Porter
, was also producer and manager for Springfield. After recording his debut album, Beginnings in London, Springfield moved to the United States in mid-1972, where he achieved international fame as a solo artist, songwriter and actor.
Brewer drummed for a succession of bands including, Cashbox, Bootleg, Whole Man and I'Tambu before joining The Ferrets
in 1976, which had a No. 2 hit with "Don't Fall in Love" on the Australian Kent Music Report
Singles Chart. He has also drummed for Jim Keays
(ex-The Masters Apprentices) in his band Southern Cross and subsequently for The Motivators and Greg Baker's Blues Party.
out of Miami. The band will consist of Springfield, Birtles, Cotton and Brewer.
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 band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
formed in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in 1965 as Down the Line. They changed their name to Zoot in 1967 and by 1968 had relocated to 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...
. They had a top five hit on the Go-Set
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
national singles chart with a heavy rock cover
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...
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...
' ballad "Eleanor Rigby
Eleanor Rigby
"Eleanor Rigby" is a song by The Beatles, simultaneously released on the 1966 album Revolver and on a 45 rpm single. The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney...
" released in 1970; but they disbanded in May 1971.
Mainstay
Mainstay
Mainstay is a Christian rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band was formed in 2003 and is signed to BEC Recordings. While a lot of the band's music has decidedly Christian lyrics and messages, their music appeals to a large secular fanbase as well. Their music style has been compared to...
bass guitarist, Beeb Birtles
Beeb Birtles
Beeb Birtles , is a Dutch / Australian musician, one of the founding members of the Little River Band....
, was later a founder of Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
in 1975 and guitarist singer-songwriter, Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States...
, who moved to the United States in 1972, achieved international fame as a solo artist, songwriter and actor.
Zoot will reunite for the Rick Springfield and Friends cruise in November 2011.
Early years
PlymptonPlympton, South Australia
Plympton is a suburb of the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The name is believed to have been given by Henry Mooringe Boswarva to a private subdivision in the area, naming after his home town in Devon, England...
High School mates John D'Arcy on guitars and vocals, and Gerard Bertlekamp (later known as Beeb Birtles
Beeb Birtles
Beeb Birtles , is a Dutch / Australian musician, one of the founding members of the Little River Band....
) initially on lead guitar and vocals formed Times Unlimited in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
with drummer Ted Higgins and a bass guitarist in 1964. Birtles moved to bass guitar and they were joined by Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton is an Australian pop singer, television presenter and actor. Cotton is best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1968, along with Beeb Birtles, Rick Brewer and, later, Rick Springfield....
, lead vocalist from local rivals, The Mermen. The new group of Birtles, Cotton, D'Arcy and Higgins formed in 1965, and were named Down the Line from The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
version of 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...
's "Go Go Go (Down the Line)
Go Go Go (Down the Line)
"Go Go Go " is a song by Roy Orbison, released in 1956.It has been covered by Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Hollies and Cliff Richard among others...
". Soon Gordon Rawson, an ex-school mate of Birtles, briefly joined on 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...
.
Down the Line performed covers
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...
of English Mod groups: The Hollies, The Move
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
, 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...
and The Small Faces
The Small Faces
The Small Faces were an English rock and roll band from East London, heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues. The group was founded in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band's...
in many clubs and discos around Adelaide, gradually gathering a following. They sometimes backed Bev Harrell, a then popular singer, who was managed
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
by Darryl Sambell. By May 1967, Sambell also managed rising singer, Johnny Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
, and used Down the Line as session musicians on demo recordings which secured Farnham a contract with EMI Records
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
. One of these was "In My Room", written by Farnham, which became the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of his debut single, "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
"Sadie " was Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham's first solo single. The novelty song was released in November 1967 and was #1 on the Go-Set National Singles Charts for five weeks in early 1968 . It was the largest selling single in Australia by an Australian artist in the 1960s...
" released in November. After recording with Farnham, Down the Line were approached by Adelaide-based musician, Doc Neeson
Doc Neeson
Bernard "Doc" Neeson is an Australian rock singer. Neeson is known as the lead singer and frontman for Australian hard rock band The Angels.-Early life:...
, who was interested in band management and suggested:
They liked the name but did not sign with Neeson, who formed a 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....
band The Angels
The Angels (Australian band)
The Angels are a hard rock band that formed in Adelaide, Australia in 1970. The band later relocated from Adelaide to Sydney and enjoyed huge local success until well into the 1990s. For the purposes of international release, their records were released under the names Angel City and later The...
in 1970. Zoot were playing some original material in their set and by early 1968 D'Arcy was replaced on guitar by Steve Stone. D'Arcy was later a member of Allison Gros alongside Graeham Goble
Graeham Goble
Graeham George Goble is a musician, singer/songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of rock performers Little River Band ....
. Other Adelaide bands, The Twilights and The Masters Apprentices
The 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...
, inspired Zoot to tackle the national market, so in mid-1968, Zoot relocated to 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...
. Prior to the move, they had entered the South Australian heats of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds
Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds
Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds was an annual national rock/pop band competition held in Australia from 1966 to 1972.-History:Australia's Battle of the Sounds was originally established by Australian tabloid magazine Everybody’s in 1965 as a talent quest for new unsigned bands in Sydney, Melbourne...
, finishing second in a tense contest to The Masters Apprentices (eventually second nationally to The Groove
The Groove (band)
Formed in mid 1967, The Groove are considered to be Australia's first "supergroup" in that all members had considerable experience behind them in a number of successful bands...
).
Think pink - think Zoot
Although Zoot were a popular band during the late 1960s, critics labelled them as teenybopperTeenybopper
The term teenybopper was invented by marketing professionals and psychologists, later becoming a subculture of its own. The term describes a young teenager, particularly a girl, who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion and culture. The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers...
or light bubblegum
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
due primarily to the Think Pink - Think Zoot publicity campaign devised by their management. After relocating to Melbourne in mid-1968, Zoot signed with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
/EMI Australia and were managed by Wayne de Gruchy, they recorded their first single, "You'd Better Get Goin' Now", a Jackie Lomax
Jackie Lomax
John Richard 'Jackie' Lomax is a British guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with George Harrison and Eric Clapton...
cover with David Mackay
David Mackay (producer)
David Mackay is an Australian record producer/arranger and musical director. He was born in Sydney, Australia and began his music career at the age of 15 in a production of Bye Bye Birdie for J.C. Williamson Theatre Company...
producing. They invited the music media to Berties discothèque—co-owned by de Gruchy and Tony Knight—to promote its release in August. Think Pink - Think Zoot had band members dressed head to toe in pink satin, they arrived in Cotton's pink painted car, they were photographed with Cotton's pet dog Monty—fur dyed pink—and the venue was pink themed throughout. The publicity gimmick brought attention to the group and attracted significant numbers of teenage girl fans, however it caused problems in establishing their credibility as serious rock musicians. By December, management by de Gruchy was dropped in favour of Sambell and Jeff Joseph, who also managed Farnham and The Masters Apprentices.
Zoot's second single, "1 × 2 × 3 × 4" was released in December and charted on the Go-Set
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
National Top 40 Singles Chart. By September 1968, Higgins and Stone had returned to Adelaide to be replaced by Rick Brewer (ex-The Mermen with Cotton, Third Party) on drums and Roger Hicks
Roger Hicks (rock musician)
Roger Hicks is an Australian rock musician active for a few years in the late 1960s. Early in life, he also trained as a classical guitarist.He performed in the groups Zoot throughout 1968 and early 1969 and "The Brisbane Avengers", and also composed and performed the acoustic guitar introduction...
on guitar. Besides radio airplay, the band appeared regularly on local pop music TV show, Uptight!. Their third single, "Monty and Me" continued the Think Pink - Think Zoot theme and was produced by Go-Set writer, Ian Meldrum
Ian Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, record producer , and musical entrepreneur...
(later hosted Countdown), which also reached the Top 40 in June. Meldrum also produced "The Real Thing
The Real Thing (Russell Morris song)
"The Real Thing" is a song originally recorded by Australian singer Russell Morris in 1969. His version, which was produced by Ian "Molly" Meldrum and written by Johnny Young, was a huge hit in Australia and has become an Australian rock classic...
" by Russell Morris
Russell Morris
Russell Norman Morris is an Australian singer-songwriter who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
and used Hicks as a session musician—he supplied the song's opening guitar riff. Zoot was voted Top Australian Group in Go-Sets pop poll published in June, just ahead of The Masters Apprentices and 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...
group, The Avengers. In July they undertook a tour through the eastern states with Ronnie Burns, The Sect and Jon Blanchfield on the bill.
Hicks left by September for The Avengers, and was replaced by Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States...
(ex-Icy Blues, Moppa Blues Band, Wickety Wak). Meldrum had produced Wickety Wak's single, "Billie's Bikie Boys" with Birtles as a backing vocalist. From September, Zoot joined other Australian bands on the national Operation Starlift tour, which was generally a publicity success but a financial disaster. For Zoot, it brought about increased media ridicule, peer envy and scorn from detractors, much of the criticism was homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
such as "pretty pink pansies" taunts. October saw the release of "It's About Time" by EMI, Zoot read about it in Go-Set and had expected to re-record its demo quality. In December, 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...
, they made headlines when they were assaulted by street toughs, resulting in injury to Cotton.
New image
By early 1970, band members had tired of the garish pink outfits and associated harassment and physical abuse, hence, to rid themselves of the bubblegum/teen idol image, they burnt their outfits on TV music show, Happening '70. Zoot then promoted their fifth single "Hey Pinky", released in April, with an advertisement in Go-Set which featured a nude picture of their bums. "Hey Pinky" was a hard charging guitar oriented song but it failed to chart. The song, written by Springfield, was rebellious in nature and openly mocked the pink outfits as well as their previous management and their detractors. Their debut album, Just Zoot followed in July and reached No. 8 on Go-Set Top 20 National Albums Chart. Go-Set also released their 1970 pop poll results in July with Zoot in fifth place behind The Masters Apprentices for 'Best Group', Springfield was second to 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,...
(The Masters Apprentices) as 'Best Guitarist' and fifth as 'Best Composer', while Brewer was third as 'Best Drummer' to Colin Burgess (The Masters Apprentices).
They finished second in the Victorian heats of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds to little known band, Nova Express (with vocalist 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"...
). In August, both bands went to the national finals, where Zoot finished second to The Flying Circus
The Flying Circus (band)
The Flying Circus was a pioneering Australian country rock band who had a number of pop hits in Australia from 1968 to 1971 and then re-located to Canada from 1971 to 1974 where they also achieved a degree of success.-Beginnings:...
.
In December they released a 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...
cover 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...
' song, "Eleanor Rigby
Eleanor Rigby
"Eleanor Rigby" is a song by The Beatles, simultaneously released on the 1966 album Revolver and on a 45 rpm single. The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney...
" which became their most popular single when it peaked at No. 4 in March 1971. It remained in the Top 40 for twenty weeks and reached No. 12 on the Top Records for the Year of 1971. Their next single, "The Freak" / "Evil Child", another hard rock song, was released in April and peaked into the top 30.
With the chart success of "Eleanor Rigby", RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
expressed interest in bringing them to the United States to record, but they encountered problems with visa work permits, meanwhile Springfield was being scouted for a solo career. Along with other disappointments and frustrations, this led to the band breaking up in May 1971. Go-Set published their 1971 pop poll results in July with Zoot in third place behind Daddy Cool
Daddy Cool (band)
Daddy Cool is an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1970 with the original line-up of Wayne Duncan , Ross Hannaford , Ross Wilson and Gary Young . Their debut single "Eagle Rock" was released in May 1971 and stayed at number 1 on the Australian singles chart for ten weeks...
for 'Best Group', Springfield was 'Best Guitarist' and fourth as 'Best Composer', Brewer was second as 'Best Drummer' to Burgess, Birtles was second as 'Best Bass Guitarist' to Glenn Wheatley
Glenn Wheatley
Glenn Dawson Wheatley is an Australian artist manager and entertainment industry executive.Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s and in the late 1960s became nationally famous as a member of leading pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices...
(The Masters Apprentices) and "Eleanor Rigby" was 'Best Single' ahead of Daddy Cool's "Eagle Rock
Eagle Rock (song)
"Eagle Rock" is a classic Australian song, released by Daddy Cool in May 1971 on the Sparmac Record Label. It went on to become the best selling Australian single of the year, achieving gold status in eleven weeks, and remaining at #1 on the national charts for a record ten weeks. "Eagle Rock"...
". EMI/Columbia released a compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Zoot Out in 1971 and another, Best of the Zoot Locker 1969–1971 in 1980.
After Zoot
Despite Zoot adopting a new visual image in 1970 and their use of more daring, harder-edged lyrics and heavier, louder music, including the hard rock rendition of The Beatles' ballad "Eleanor Rigby", the Think Pink - Think Zoot image persisted.After Zoot, Birtles and Cotton almost immediately formed a duo Darryl and Beeb which became Frieze, when they were sponsored by Frieze Brothers (a clothing company). The band released a single, "Feelings" in September 1971 on Sparmac Records and an album BC 1972 on Warner Brothers in June 1972, using session musicians. Frieze disbanded in May and Cotton travelled to America while Birtles joined Mississippi
Mississippi (band)
Mississippi was an Australian band , which featured some big names in Australian rock music, Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles and Kerryn Tolhurst...
(previously known as Allison Gros and then as Drummond). Mississippi evolved into Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
in 1975.
Springfield also signed with Sparmac and released "Speak to the Sky" in October 1971, which peaked at No. 5 on Go-Set National Top 40. Sparmac label owner, Robie Porter
Robie Porter
Robie Porter is an Australian country, pop/rock musician, producer and record label owner.Beginning in 1959 he performed under the stage name Rob E.G. and recorded lap steel guitar instrumentals or covers of country-style vocals. He provided four top ten hits including two #1 hits in Sydney with...
, was also producer and manager for Springfield. After recording his debut album, Beginnings in London, Springfield moved to the United States in mid-1972, where he achieved international fame as a solo artist, songwriter and actor.
Brewer drummed for a succession of bands including, Cashbox, Bootleg, Whole Man and I'Tambu before joining The Ferrets
The Ferrets (band)
The Ferrets were an Australian pop / rock band from Melbourne and Sydney, which formed in 1975 and disbanded in 1979. Their second single, "Don’t Fall in Love", was released in 1977 and peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart...
in 1976, which had a No. 2 hit with "Don't Fall in Love" on the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Singles Chart. He has also drummed for 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...
(ex-The Masters Apprentices) in his band Southern Cross and subsequently for The Motivators and Greg Baker's Blues Party.
Reunion
Zoot have reformed for the Rick Springfield and Friends cruise in November 2011. The cruise will take place on 5–10 November 2011 on the Carnival DestinyCarnival Destiny
Carnival Destiny is a cruise ship that is owned and operated by Carnival Cruise Lines. Destiny spends her time plying the waters of the Caribbean. Upon entering service in 1996, she was the largest passenger ship ever built as measured by gross tonnage, and the first passenger ship larger than the...
out of Miami. The band will consist of Springfield, Birtles, Cotton and Brewer.
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart position |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 4 Shades of Pink (EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... ) |
— |
| 1970 | Just Zoot | 12 |
| 1971 | Zoot Out | — |
| 1980 | Best of the Zoot Locker 1969–1971 | — |
Singles
Personnel
- Beeb BirtlesBeeb BirtlesBeeb Birtles , is a Dutch / Australian musician, one of the founding members of the Little River Band....
– bass guitar, vocals (1965–1971; 2011) - Darryl CottonDarryl CottonDarryl Cotton is an Australian pop singer, television presenter and actor. Cotton is best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1968, along with Beeb Birtles, Rick Brewer and, later, Rick Springfield....
– lead vocals, guitar (1965–1971; 2011) - John D'Arcy – guitar, vocals (1965–1968)
- Teddy Higgins – drums (1967–1968)
- Steve Stone – guitar (1968)
- Rick Brewer – drums (1968–1971; 2011)
- Roger HicksRoger Hicks (rock musician)Roger Hicks is an Australian rock musician active for a few years in the late 1960s. Early in life, he also trained as a classical guitarist.He performed in the groups Zoot throughout 1968 and early 1969 and "The Brisbane Avengers", and also composed and performed the acoustic guitar introduction...
– guitar (1968–1969) - Rick SpringfieldRick SpringfieldRick Springfield is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States...
– lead vocals, guitar (1969–1971; 2011)
External links
- Zoot entry at Milesago.
- Zoot by Beeb BirtlesBeeb BirtlesBeeb Birtles , is a Dutch / Australian musician, one of the founding members of the Little River Band....
.