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Simon Owens, Andrew McLaren and Kevin Trask pay tribute to the late Philip Brady after his passing on Feb 11. Guest appearances from Denise Drysdale, Glenn Robbins, Brian Mannix, Tony Martin, Peter Hitchener, Steve Vizard , Jane Kennedy, Greg Evans, Mick Molloy, Daryl Somers, Dee Dee Dunleavy, Shane Healy, Grubby Stubbs, Wilbur Wilde, Brian Nankervis, Rex Hunt, Stephen Beers, Amanda Muggleton, Darren James, Barry Crocker, Derryn Hinch, Rosie Walton, Daryl Braithwaite, Diana Trask, Steve Price, Sam Pang, Ross Stevenson, Silvie Paladino, Pete Smith, David Mann, Jeff Kennett, Sam Newman, Neil Mitchell, Patti Newton, Graham Mott, Normie Rowe, Susan Gaye Anderson, Tony Tardio, Eddie McGuire, Athol Guy, Colette Mann, Gavin Wood, Steve Vizard. Thanks to Ben Davidson and Alex Riddell. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In Pt1 of Doug Walters' "How's That? - The Podcast" episode, the cricket legend talks to the boys about : Growing up in Dungog NSW and his first cricket memories, debuting for NSW at 17 & Australia at 19 years of age, Richie Benaud, Sir Donald Bradman, Geoff Boycott, the baggy green cap, being conscripted for Vietnam along with Normie Rowe, touring England & the West Indies, Sir Garfield Sobers, Ian Chappell, Kerry O'Keefe & much, much more!!!
In this podcast; the Top Ten Australian artist releases for 1966, we reflect on how the popularity of Australian Music has grown, tracking from the first Top Ten - 1959. The 1966 Top Ten is dominated by The Easybeats with four entries, Normie Rowe chimes in with two entries, while the other four places are taken by Judy Stone, The Twilights, Johnny Young & Kompany, and Bobby and Laurie. This Top Ten feature five tracks that reached #1. Enjoy the classic Australian Music from 1966!
December of 1966 saw some great Australian Music released, including big hits for Normie Rowe and Ronnie Burns. We'll hear chart entries from The Loved Ones, The Twilights, The Cherokees and several more. The Loved Ones have two entries; one for their self-titled EP and another for Sad Dark Eyes. Bev Harrell debuts with “What Am I Doing Here with You”, which turned out to be her highest-charting 45. We'll hear again from Perth singer, Maggie Hammond with “Go Laddie”. And, a minor hit for Reg Lindsay that I have described as a piece of country whimsy (??). Enjoy the great Australian Music that was released in December 1966.
November of 1966 was a great month for Australian Music with the release of two 45s both of which would go on and reach #1: Normie Rowe's epic Ooh La La, and The Easybeats' anthem, Friday on My Mind are the two songs in question, both recorded in the UK. We'll also hear the 2nd 45 release from an artist then known as JA-AR who, as John Rowles, would go on to international stardom. Amongst others, we'll also hear chart entries from The Kravats, Russ Kruger, and Peter Nelson & The Castaways. Enjoy the Australian artist releases for November of ‘66!
Australian music legend Normie Rowe has opened up to Chris O'Keefe about his long career and his experiences in the military.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One FM presenter Josh Revens and Steve Dowers present 'Whatever Happened To?' This week's topic is the Australian singer Normie Rowe. This program originally aired on Monday the 16th of September, 2024. Contact the station on admin@fm985.com.au or (+613) 58313131 The ONE FM 98.5 Community Radio podcast page operates under the license of Goulburn Valley Community Radio Inc. (ONE FM) Number 1385226/1. PRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association Limited and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) that covers Simulcasting and Online content including podcasts with musical content, that we pay every year. This licence number is 1385226/1.
Australian music legend Normie Rowe joins John ahead of Anzac Day this week. Normie will be performing at the Anzac Day Tribute at Town Hall alongside a a star studded group of performers. You can watch the live stream here on Anzac Day. Listen to John Stanley Monday-Thursday from 8pm-12am on 2GB/4BCSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A special guest called in on 3AW Nights!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Here's who we have spoken to this year ... Ian Cover, Warwick Hadfield, Alyce Platt, Brian Cadd, Sam See, Toni Childs, Paul Bindig, Mike Rudd, Jean Stafford, Frankie J Holden, Greg Champion, Russell Morris, David Brookes, Brenden Mason, Mark Holden, Tamsin Lancaster, Harry Hook, Greg Evans, Misfit, Bob Bright, Eve Von Bibra, Greg Andrew, Michelle Leonard, Bradley McCaw, Normie Rowe, Ian Cover (again), Geoff Cox, Margaret McLaren, Dan Eddy, James Alexander Gibbs, Craig Willis, Jon Perry, Peter Holden, Anne Savage, Andrew Bews, Jane Crook, Brian Canham, Ross Wilson, Nigel Lappin, Russell Morris (again), Tommy Fleming, Warren Davies, Meg Deyell, Mark & Jo Caligiuri, Luke Outerbridge, Marianne Van Dorsler, Stuart Coupe, Richelle Cranston, David parkin & Ross Stevenson
Dylan is joined by Cam Walker from Friends of the Earth to look ahead to Australia's bushfire season, and the ‘shifting baseline syndrome' phenomenon discussed in his recent blog post.Journalist and author Rebekah Holt drops by to break down the New Zealand election results, and what to expect from the country's new government.Emmanuel Maiberg, co-founder and journalist at tech publication 404 Media, discusses Bandcamp's sale to songtradr and what the acquisition and ensuing layoffs mean for the music platform.Plus, Australian music legend Normie Rowe chats about his upbringing and connection to music in Melbourne ahead of his performance for A TRIPLE R TAKEOVER at Northcote Theatre, as part of The Eighty-Six festival.
In this episode, guest co-host, Grant Baensch and Neil chat with Australian music legend Normie Rowe and as part of the Regional Roundup segment, they visit Dodges Ferry in Tasmania and chat to Steve Bond.
One the most famous Vietnam veteran's who's career was cut short by the draft is Australian entertainment legend Normie Rowe. With Anzac Day coming up, Rev. Bill Crews chats to Normie about his involvement in the Vietnam War and latest projects. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Australian entertainers have performed for troops in war zones and peacekeeping operations since the Vietnam War. Their talent and celebrity have lifted spirits and brought a slice of home to service personnel abroad. In this podcast, hear first-hand the trials and tribulations of entertaining on the front line with host Merrick Watts in conversation with Tom Gleeson, Charlie Pickering, Little Pattie and Normie Rowe. This podcast was recorded live at the Shrine in November 2022 to mark the opening of Tours De Force: Entertainers on the Front Line. Listen to part one here. Content warning: This podcast is not suitable for children. It contains adult themes and occasional coarse language. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Shrine of Remembrance. Audio recording: McLean Sound Audio mastering: Kris Keogh Music: Explorations by Reveille Special thanks To all the comedians and performers for their time and generosity. For more information on the exhibition, click here. We embrace the diversity of our community and acknowledge the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we honour Australian Defence Force service and sacrifice. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present.
This week we farewell Lisa Marie Presley, Jeff Beck and Robbie Backman and salute two wonderful singers Dolly Parton and Normie Rowe under the banner LET'S REMEMBER. Dolly Parton is an American... LEARN MORE The post LET'S REMEMBER Dolly Parton and Normie Rowe appeared first on Yesterday Once More.
May 1966, the last month of Autumn, brings a load of 60s classics entering the charts, including Frank Sinatra's return to the top of the charts with Strangers in the Night. On the Australian artist side, Normie Rowe reaches the highest position with Pride & Joy/The Stones That I Throw (and who wrote that one?). We'll also hear debut chart success for Grantley Dee, Ray Hoff & The Offbeats (on Clarion) and The Loved Ones. Tony Barber rounds out the month with Wait By The Water (and who wrote that one?). Enjoy the music of May 1966!
A swag of high-charting Australian Music in February 1966: The mighty, The Throb, lead the way with Fortune Teller. Other big hits come from Normie Rowe, The Twilights, MPD LTD and The Groop. We'll hear debut 45s for Margie Bayes and The Sonomatics, and a return to the charts for Ernie Sigley and Merv Benton. Enjoy a great month of Australian Music!
Norman John Rowe AM (born 1 February 1947)[1] is an Australian singer and songwriter of pop music and an actor of theatre and soap opera for which he remains best known as Douglas Fletcher in 1980s serial Sons and Daughters. As a singer he was credited for his bright and edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence. Many of Rowe's most successful recordings were produced by Nat Kipner and later by Pat Aulton, house producers for the Sunshine Records label. Backed by his band, The Playboys, Rowe released a string of Australian pop hits on the label that kept him at the top of the Australian charts and made him the most popular solo performer of the mid-1960s. Rowe's double-sided hit the A-side, a reworking of the Doris Day hit "Que Sera Sera" /with b-side a cover of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates "Shakin' All Over" was one of the most successful Australian singles of the 1960s. Between 1965 and 1967 Rowe was Australia's most popular male star but his career was cut short when he was drafted for compulsory military service (called National Service in Australia) in late 1967. His subsequent tour of duty in Vietnam effectively ended his pop career. Unable to recapture the musical success he enjoyed at his peak in the 1960s, he carved out instead a career in theatre and television.
Heading into November of 1965 and, in a sad irony with the recent passing of Judith Durham, we'll hear The Seekers' No.1 hit, the poignant The Carnival Is Over. Normie Rowe takes the 2nd highest position with Tell Him I'm Not Home/Baby Call On Me. We'll hear from The Easybeats & The Cherokees, with national chart debuts from Sharon Black, Yvonne Barrett and Bobbie Thomas. And amongst all of that, three stalwarts have minor hits; Col Joye, Johnny Chester & Ernie Sigley. Enjoy November of 1965!
Girt by rock stars in this episode as Normie Rowe, Steve Kilbey and Mick Thomas join Brian and Kevin for a chat. It's colourful, enlightening and never predictable, that's for sure. All thanks to Murcotts Driving Excellence. Give a gift voucher this Fathers Day. Order online murcotts.edu.au or call 1300 555 576. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Battle of Long Tan on August 18, 1966, took place in a rubber plantation near in the Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, between the Viet Cong and People's Army of Vietnam units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force. 6PR Breakfast host Gareth Parker spoke to musician and Vietnam veteran Normie Rowe about how the war 60 years ago changed his life, as well as entertainer Denise Drysdale, who flew to Vietnam during the war to keep the spirit up of the Aussie troops. "I guess sliding doors - the upside is I've got mates that I don't think I would ever have had, people that I know I can trust my life to, but on the other hand I had a career that was starting to burgeon in the UK and internationally, and so I lost that. "So you know, upside and downside, but that's life." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Vietnam veteran and popular musician joined Tom Elliott in studio on Wednesday.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We have Australian pop music royalty on the Food Bytes podcast this week - the legendary Normie Rowe. We discuss everything from food, family and superstardom to national service … and how radio didn't want to know about Normie, when he returned from Vietnam. A South Australian delicacy (?) – the pie floater – takes centre stage in this week's Friday Food Poll -- Presented by Sarah Patterson & Kevin Hillier Broadcast each Sunday on the ACE Radio Network - https://aceradio.com.au/ Image credit - Nelly le Comte Photography Subscribe in iTunes!https://apple.co/2M43hOS Find us on Spotifyhttps://spoti.fi/2PPAoEB Prefer iHeart Radio?https://ihr.fm/2LqCbQ2 Follow us on Facebook...https://www.facebook.com/foodbyteswithsarahpatterson/ Twitter & Instagram - @sarahfoodbytes Post-production by Steve Visscher | Southern Skies Media for Howdy Partners Media | www.howdypartnersmedia.com.au/podcasts © 2022See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The tributes from legends of the Australian entertainment industry haven't stopped after the death of singer and icon Olivia Newton-John overnight. The 73-year-old singer died at a ranch in Southern California, with legendary Australian singer Normie Rowe telling Parker the iconic star of Grease was always smiling and never changed after her success in showbiz. "She had eyes like pools, you could almost dive into them," he told Parker.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September of 1965 brings us 15 Australian-artist songs that made the Top 100, highlighted by Normie Rowe and The Playboys #1 smash double-sider, Que Sera Sera/Shakin' All Over. Groups that made the national chart include; The Easybeats, The D-Coys and The Flies. The Bee Gees make their biggest chart impression to this point. And, of course, much much more! Enjoy the Australian music for September of 1965.
On the back of last week’s episode where Aussie music legend Normie Rowe joined us with his bride-to-be, wellness spa chef, Sam Gowing, we are talking the process required to make OUTSTANDING decisions in life. Now it might seem obvious – or not – that this is a VERY important topic, given that the consequences Listen In The post 100NO 484: How To Make OUTSTANDING Decisions in Life appeared first on The Wellness Couch.
This could be the greatest love story we EVER tell on 100 Not Out. Two of our 100 Not Out Alumni, Australia's original King of Pop Normie Rowe … and the world's number one Spa Chef Sammy Gowing, have been an item for many years … And just a few weeks ago, at the ripe Listen In The post 100NO 483: Normie Rowe and Sam Gowing on Love, Positivity & Breaking Stereotypes appeared first on The Wellness Couch.
A final hour of 1960s hits including Jefferson Airplane, Ike & Tina Turner, Martha & The Vandellas, The Byrds, Mama Cass, Normie Rowe and Cream. The post #866- June 14, 2022 (Hour 3) appeared first on Caffé Latté.
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Part A of the 1st quarter of 1965 is another streamlined episode but not short on highlights. The Seekers hit No.1 with the Tom Springfield written and produced "I'll Never Find Another You". Ray Brown & The Whispers hit the ground running with the double-sider, 20 Miles/Devoted to You. We'll also hear a quite brilliant, organ-fuelled instrumental entry from The Playboys, before they link with Normie Rowe. And Brisbane band, The Pacifics, morph from a Surf to a Garage band with Bobby Dean as vocalist. Enjoy the music!
Simon Owens Show - Full show 15 Jan, 2022 s03e16 show 60 : Not Talking Football - Mark Allen : Showbiz with Sandy Kaye : Music hour with Gavin Wood (special guest Normie Rowe) : Troy Zantuck's TV Triva Hour (special guest Don "Norm the Kangaroo" Bridges) - Children's TV shows : Justin Coombes-Pearce's Top Five of Everything - Suspense Thriller Movies : Jamie Duncan's Glory Days : Judy Garland's Melbourne Concert - with callers who attended. (Note: Compilation Conversations with Bruce Samazan is up as a separate podcast) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Reminscing and reflecting on old times is always enjoyable bringing back memories made in the past. Star singer Normie Rowe dropped by for a chat with Mike Williams to reflect on the Australian music and entertainment industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians.Today we catch up with Order of Australia recipient Normie Rowe and talk about how he came to have his first guitar, how he went from King of Pop in 1967 and 1968 to the the war in Vietnam just a year later, and who he credits with his success as an actor on both screen and stage.Includes Songs:Shaking All OverQue Sera SeraBe-Bop-A-LulaIt's So EasyFeel Like Making Love Turn Up Your RadioWhat's Normie up to at the moment? Let's find out .....
Sunday 30 May: country star Warren H. Williams and music manager Laurie May on the importance of Aboriginal-owned label CAAMA. Plus Chris Latham's most ambitious work to date, with a focus on the plight of Vietnamese Boat People.
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This episode is part of our Anzac Day Special. We speak with the legendary singer Normie Rowe. Normie was conscripted into the Army and was sent to Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong - from Pop Star to Soldier - Normie talks about his experiences in the jungle and also about the struggles that Vietnam Veterans faced once they returned home to Australia.
Sophie Riggs started with acting and modelling, but she played her first lead role in a musical when she was 9. She was Molly in Annie the musical, but her favourite role was Mary Lenox in the Secret Garden when she was 11. She also enjoyed playing Young Cosette in Les Mis in 2004 alongside Normie Rowe. She has worked professionally with Windmill and the State Opera. She has also been very lucky to perform in LA Disneyland and New York. For her, acting is what she is passionate about and what she would like to pursue as a career, especially Film and TV. She is based in Australia. Find more of Sophie: LinkedIn: Soph Riggs YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb6T-LxppVJYdKfoIw9jhOg Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7633931 Instagram: @swirlystar Twitter: Sophie_Riggs21 Facebook: Sophie Nina Riggs/Sophie's Blogs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Created during a time of quarantine in the global Coronavirus pandemic, A Moment Of Your Time's mission is to provide a space for expression, collaboration, community and solidarity. In this time of isolation, we may have to be apart but let's create together. Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter Created by CurtCo Media Concept by Jenny Curtis Theme music by Chris Porter A CurtCo Media Production See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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This episode is on Normie Rowe and the Playboys and their number 1 smash hit It Ain’t Necessarily So. Our special guest is Australia’s original King of Pop himself, Normie Rowe.Thanks for Listening to Awesome Aussie SongsGuest Suggestions are more than welcomed.Hail, Hail, Australian Rock n Roll.
Laura Turner chats with the biggest male solo star of Australian pop music in the 1960’s – Normie Rowe. Normie Rowe and guests Bobby Bright and Marcie Jones are going to celebrate all things In The Beginning at Memo Music Hall on Nov 17th at 3pm. For more info or to book your tickets HERE To see videos of our guests head to the Tobin Brothers Funerals Facebook page. Great Australian Lives is produced, edited and engineered Jane Nield.
This week we shine a spotlight on the stunning Swan Valley, restaurant menus and reminisce with Australian music great/1960s teen idol Normie Rowe!
Normie Rowe & The Playboys - Que Sera, Sera The Beatles - Taste of Honey The Showmen - Our Love Will Grow Otis Redding and The Pinetoppers - Shout Bama Lama James Ray – St. James Infirmary The Hillsiders – Rain Is A Lonesome Thing Jesse Pearson - I Got A Feelin Im Falling Shirley Ellis – Such A Night The Mighty Hannibal - Motha Goose Breaks Loose The Technics - A Man's Confession Chuck Berry – I Do Really Love You Doris Day - Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)
In an episode first aired on August 6, 2019: DJ Andrew Sandoval spins an incredible selection of rare 1960's 45's by Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Sounds Bob Rogers, Alan Price, The Cherokees, Boo Boo And Bunky, Mike Furber And The Bowery Boys, The Poets, The Symbols, The Concinnators, Winston G., Hograth, Normie Rowe, Forever And Ever, The Changing Image, The Avengers, The Illusive Dream, The Arbors, The Cats, The Fool and The Tea Company. In part two, he turns the Sunshine spotlight onto The Staccatos and their offshoot, Five Man Electrical Band for some outstanding sides spanning 1965-1968.
In an episode first aired July 1, 2019: DJ Andrew Sandoval features music collected during his recent trips through Australia and New Zealand, including 45's by: The Ram Jam Big Band; Ronnie Burns; The Gathering; The Avengers; Normie Rowe; The Cherokees; Town Criers; M.P.D. Limited; Steve And The Board; Bobby & Laurie; The Twilights; Marty Rhone; Spice Of Life; The Easybeats; The Thin Men; The Bee Gees; Mike Furber; Johnny Young; Ray Brown And The Whispers; The Why Four. In the Sunshine artist spotlight, Sydney's The Allusions bring forth garagey jangles and quality pop recorded 1966-1968. Also, stay tuned for loads of rare Australian Coke jingles!
In an episode first aired on January 21, 2019: DJ Andrew Sandoval spins 45's by Sounds Incorporated; Lionel Bart; The Whether Bureau; Nazz; Noah's Ark; Tony Barber; Tony Jackson with The Vibrations; Herbie's People; Jon Jon Lewis; Gary And The Hornets; Spring Fever; Cathy Rich; The Sundae Train; Spice Of Life; The Paper Mind; The Parade; Normie Rowe; John Fred & His Playboy Band; Threshold Of Pleasure; Eric Burdon & The Animals, followed by a groovy hour of music and vintage interviews with the 5th Dimension!
We are extremely fortunate to have music royalty on 100 Not Out – a big shout out to Sam Gowing from Food Health Wealth for making this possible by falling in love with our guest (you may have heard Normie Rowe make an appearance on this episode of 100 Not Out! Normie Rowe AM was Listen In The post 100NO 268: Normie Rowe AM – The Original King Of Pop & 71 Not Out appeared first on The Wellness Couch.
Normie Rowe
2013 has given Australian music icon, Russell Morris, an unexpected hit record some 44 years after his first national number one smash with pop-psychedelic smash, The Real Thing. I produced this music feature with Russell in 2014, although I first met him in about 1992 when I interviewed him in Hobart. He's smart, funny, brilliant and has always been just bloody fabulous and generous to me. Except for that time he rang my show to wish me a happy birthday and I thought he was JPY! Sorry, Russell! xxAustralian music industry icon Russell Morris joined Carol Duncan's program while doing a series of performances in Newcastle and surrounds. (Carol Duncan:Carol Duncan)"This album (Sharkmouth) was done out of a labour of love because I like roots and blues music and I'd always wanted to do a roots and blues album.""I chose Australian history because I've always loved any type of history. You'd think the two kisses of death for a gold album would be blues and Australian history, so it wasn't done with the intention, it was just done as a labour of love which has proved to be really enlightening.""Producer Mitch Cairns' foresight was out of desperation of staying alive. At that stage, Brian Cadd who I was working with, had decided that he was going overseas and he dropped the bomb on us that he might not be coming back.""At that stage Jim Keays was very sick and Mitch said, "You've gotta do something or we won't have any work!" And I said, "Well, I've got the blues album," and he said, "Well, FINISH IT!""It is a great thing (the success of Sharkmouth) and I have to thank particularly the ABC because they ABC embraced it from day one and just went 'bang', but the commercial stations just didn't want to know. The ABC just broke it right across the country.""If anyone was going to have a gold record this year you'd have put me at the bottom of the list.""I think what happens with a lot of my peers, a lot of people will see a new record and whether it's from Joe Camilleri, Daryl Braithwaite - they pre-judge it and don't listen to it.""I remember when we first started in Melbourne, Ian Meldrum said to me, "We'll go and see Stan Rofe at 3AW." Stan Rofe was a big star to me, he was on air and I'd heard him on the radio station and I said, "Well how are we going to do that?" and he said, "We'll just go up to the radio station!""So we went up to the radio station and walked in and Stan came down and had a cup of tea with us. Ian said, "We've got this, what do you think?" and Stan said, 'Love it, I'll play it.'And that's what it was like.""Well, Mitch and I spoke about it (initial expectations of Sharkmouth) and I said if we're lucky we might sell 5,000 copies, if we can get an independent release.""We'd have sold them at gigs to try and get our money back and if we had a small deal with a company and sold 5,000 or 8,000 we'd have made the money back." Gold status is in 2013 is 35,000 and Sharkmouth is now creeping up towards platinum - it's around 60,000 now and platinum is 70,000.""When I did the unplugged album with Liberation it sold around 8,000 so it's been a great experience for both of us.""We signed to an independent record company and they took it and then rang me up, the first time it went in to the charts at about number 89, then it jumped to 49 and I was over the moon. I rang Mitch and we celebrated, and then the next week it jumped 20 places again and it just kept going right up into the top 10."Russell has continued a great tradition started by The Beatles of being turned down by every record company in the country and then having a success."I tell you what is ironic, The Real Thing was turned down as well. EMI hated it, they thought it was the biggest load of rubbish they'd ever heard.""EMI didn't want to release it, they were only going to release it in Melbourne to try and make their money back because I had a following in Melbourne, so Ian Meldrum and I got in a car and drove to Sydney to go and see all the (radio) program managers because at that stage you could knock on the door of these commercial stations before they became corporate and say, "Can I speak to the program manager," "Here's the song, what do you think, our record company think it's a load of rubbish, would you play it?" 'Of course we'll play it, will you sign that?'"So we signed a petition that came out to really stick it to the record company. Radio and record companies at that stage weren't getting along very well. It was just prior to the record ban where radio wanted to stop paying royalties to radio for playing songs on the air."Russell Morris is thought of as having lots of pop hits and a pure voice but he dabbled in blues back in the 1970s when he used musicians from Chain on one of his albums."They were my favourite band. I always use Barry Harvey and Barry Sullivan always, on everything, and I'd always used Phil Manning, so strangely enough it's actually Phil Manning playing all those licks in 'Sweet, Sweet Love' and you'd think, 'Who's this syrupy guitar player?' and it's Phil Manning!""It's (blues) where I wanted to head but I was painted into a corner once I had a pop hit and the record company saying, 'You've got to produce another hit!' and it became a factory after a while. You get caught in it.""I actually wished Chain had been my band because it would have taken me on a whole other direction. I don't think Ian, Molly, would have been too happy although at that stage we'd sort of split.""He's still my best mate but we'd had a couple of professional disagreements. He saw me as Australia's Davey Jones from The Monkees or some such thing and I wanted to go in a different direction completely as a singer/songwriter so we differed on the way we were going and the record company was pressuring for another single, but I really would have loved to be with a band like Chain.""But your fate is your fate. Whatever happens, those doors open and close for a reason and maybe if I'd started it earlier then it wouldn't have worked.""I was happy doing The Real Thing, I quite liked psychedelia. I didn't like pop a lot but I remember Ian (Molly Meldrum) had done a number of songs with me and we'd done 'Only A Matter of Time' which I absolutely loathe, it was on the back of The Real Thing, and a couple of pop songs and I said to Ian, 'This is rubbish, we're not going in the direction I want to go,' I said, 'I'm not John Farnham, I'm not Ronnie Burns and I'm not Normie Rowe. I want to do something that they wouldn't even contemplate thinking about doing. I want to go in that direction. Let's go psychedelia, let's go into something more band oriented than a pop single.'"Ian, to his credit, agreed and said, 'You're right, they're not different enough."Russell Morris actually had a whole album ready to go at one stage and decided it wasn't good enough and he wanted to re-record the whole thing."EMI had gotten a record producer and he'd gotten a head of steam up and away he went. I tend to go along with things and say to people, 'I don't know if this is the right thing ...' and they don't listen, they don't listen ... and all of a sudden they go, 'You know what? Scrap it.' And that's what happened. He went ahead and put strings and brass on everything and it just drove me insane. I said to him, 'I'm not releasing it."Russell Morris on recording The Real Thing."We used 8-track recording for The Real Thing. There was only two tracks for the effects, one for the vocals, everything just kinda got bounced down, I don't think we even slaved another machine to worry about generations. I think we did slave another machine for the effects.""I cannot take any credit for it. Ian Meldrum was the total architect, it was his concept from start to finish.""A lot of it was trial and error, experimentation, but giving Molly his dues he doesn't know what he wants in the studio but when he stumbles across it he knows instinctively that it's right. Everyone else will be nodding off at 3am and he'll have had some poor bloody guitar player out there playing the part over and over, 'No! Try it this way! Try something else! Make it sound like stars!' And that's what happens."In December 2011, Ian 'Molly' Meldrum had a serious fall while at home which for a while it seemed he wouldn't survive."He wasn't putting up Christmas lights. I was with him that day and I think that was a story that got fed around.""I was there that day, the reason he fell is because of him. We were doing a song for Jerry Ryan who was doing The Green Edge, the cycling team, and I was doing a duet with Vanessa Amorosi.""Ian had the master tapes and he said, 'Can you take these down to Sing Sing as you're going home?" So I left. "He was about to head to Thailand and he probably thought he'd catch some extra rays of sun. He's got a latter cemented into the side of his wall which goes up to a sun deck. He was climbing up there with his mobile phone, his cigarettes and trying to juggle those and lost his balance and fell.""He would have died except his gardener, Joe, happened to be there. It was real touch and go as to whether he was going to survive but he's great now.""It was funny. They (the hospital) said, 'Ian wants to see you in hospital. You cannot talk to him about mobile phones. If he asks for your mobile phone you cannot give it to him. If he asks for drinks you can't go and get him one. Do not talk to him about getting out of hospital.""It was horrifying. I thought I was going to get in there and expected to see Ian sitting in a wheelchair and drinking soup through a straw, but I got in there and there he is sitting with his baseball cap on and his tracksuit reading the paper!""I said, 'Ian, I expected you to be sitting here dribbling, everyone's given me such a hard time!' And he said, 'Oh they're all such pains in the ....' "And they'd said to me, 'You cannot stay any longer than 20 minutes and if he shows any aggravation you have to leave immediately.""My 20 minutes came up and I said I'd better go but he said, 'Don't be ridiculous!" "I ended up staying for two hours.""I was also off to Thailand and flew out the next day. I got to Thailand and I got an email from Amanda Pelman who is Brian Cadd's partner who's great friend of Ian's, and it says, 'What have you done? Where is Ian? You were the last person to see him and now he's disappeared?""After I left, Ian started to figure out how to get out of there because you can't get out of the ward without a special card and the nurses won't let you out.""He conjured this story and told told them, 'I've decided to do physio' which he'd been refusing to do, and they said, 'Oh that's great Ian, when do you want to start, Monday?""He said, 'I want to start now, if you want me to do physio I want to go over and have a look and do it now.'" So they took him.""They got a nurse to take him over and took him down the street and as they got to the street he turned one way and just kept walking.""They couldn't find him!"
2013 has given Australian music icon, Russell Morris, an unexpected hit record some 44 years after his first national number one smash with pop-psychedelic smash, The Real Thing. I produced this music feature with Russell in 2014, although I first met him in about 1992 when I interviewed him in Hobart. He's smart, funny, brilliant and has always been just bloody fabulous and generous to me. Except for that time he rang my show to wish me a happy birthday and I thought he was JPY! Sorry, Russell! xxAustralian music industry icon Russell Morris joined Carol Duncan's program while doing a series of performances in Newcastle and surrounds. (Carol Duncan:Carol Duncan)"This album (Sharkmouth) was done out of a labour of love because I like roots and blues music and I'd always wanted to do a roots and blues album.""I chose Australian history because I've always loved any type of history. You'd think the two kisses of death for a gold album would be blues and Australian history, so it wasn't done with the intention, it was just done as a labour of love which has proved to be really enlightening.""Producer Mitch Cairns' foresight was out of desperation of staying alive. At that stage, Brian Cadd who I was working with, had decided that he was going overseas and he dropped the bomb on us that he might not be coming back.""At that stage Jim Keays was very sick and Mitch said, "You've gotta do something or we won't have any work!" And I said, "Well, I've got the blues album," and he said, "Well, FINISH IT!""It is a great thing (the success of Sharkmouth) and I have to thank particularly the ABC because they ABC embraced it from day one and just went 'bang', but the commercial stations just didn't want to know. The ABC just broke it right across the country.""If anyone was going to have a gold record this year you'd have put me at the bottom of the list.""I think what happens with a lot of my peers, a lot of people will see a new record and whether it's from Joe Camilleri, Daryl Braithwaite - they pre-judge it and don't listen to it.""I remember when we first started in Melbourne, Ian Meldrum said to me, "We'll go and see Stan Rofe at 3AW." Stan Rofe was a big star to me, he was on air and I'd heard him on the radio station and I said, "Well how are we going to do that?" and he said, "We'll just go up to the radio station!""So we went up to the radio station and walked in and Stan came down and had a cup of tea with us. Ian said, "We've got this, what do you think?" and Stan said, 'Love it, I'll play it.'And that's what it was like.""Well, Mitch and I spoke about it (initial expectations of Sharkmouth) and I said if we're lucky we might sell 5,000 copies, if we can get an independent release.""We'd have sold them at gigs to try and get our money back and if we had a small deal with a company and sold 5,000 or 8,000 we'd have made the money back." Gold status is in 2013 is 35,000 and Sharkmouth is now creeping up towards platinum - it's around 60,000 now and platinum is 70,000.""When I did the unplugged album with Liberation it sold around 8,000 so it's been a great experience for both of us.""We signed to an independent record company and they took it and then rang me up, the first time it went in to the charts at about number 89, then it jumped to 49 and I was over the moon. I rang Mitch and we celebrated, and then the next week it jumped 20 places again and it just kept going right up into the top 10."Russell has continued a great tradition started by The Beatles of being turned down by every record company in the country and then having a success."I tell you what is ironic, The Real Thing was turned down as well. EMI hated it, they thought it was the biggest load of rubbish they'd ever heard.""EMI didn't want to release it, they were only going to release it in Melbourne to try and make their money back because I had a following in Melbourne, so Ian Meldrum and I got in a car and drove to Sydney to go and see all the (radio) program managers because at that stage you could knock on the door of these commercial stations before they became corporate and say, "Can I speak to the program manager," "Here's the song, what do you think, our record company think it's a load of rubbish, would you play it?" 'Of course we'll play it, will you sign that?'"So we signed a petition that came out to really stick it to the record company. Radio and record companies at that stage weren't getting along very well. It was just prior to the record ban where radio wanted to stop paying royalties to radio for playing songs on the air."Russell Morris is thought of as having lots of pop hits and a pure voice but he dabbled in blues back in the 1970s when he used musicians from Chain on one of his albums."They were my favourite band. I always use Barry Harvey and Barry Sullivan always, on everything, and I'd always used Phil Manning, so strangely enough it's actually Phil Manning playing all those licks in 'Sweet, Sweet Love' and you'd think, 'Who's this syrupy guitar player?' and it's Phil Manning!""It's (blues) where I wanted to head but I was painted into a corner once I had a pop hit and the record company saying, 'You've got to produce another hit!' and it became a factory after a while. You get caught in it.""I actually wished Chain had been my band because it would have taken me on a whole other direction. I don't think Ian, Molly, would have been too happy although at that stage we'd sort of split.""He's still my best mate but we'd had a couple of professional disagreements. He saw me as Australia's Davey Jones from The Monkees or some such thing and I wanted to go in a different direction completely as a singer/songwriter so we differed on the way we were going and the record company was pressuring for another single, but I really would have loved to be with a band like Chain.""But your fate is your fate. Whatever happens, those doors open and close for a reason and maybe if I'd started it earlier then it wouldn't have worked.""I was happy doing The Real Thing, I quite liked psychedelia. I didn't like pop a lot but I remember Ian (Molly Meldrum) had done a number of songs with me and we'd done 'Only A Matter of Time' which I absolutely loathe, it was on the back of The Real Thing, and a couple of pop songs and I said to Ian, 'This is rubbish, we're not going in the direction I want to go,' I said, 'I'm not John Farnham, I'm not Ronnie Burns and I'm not Normie Rowe. I want to do something that they wouldn't even contemplate thinking about doing. I want to go in that direction. Let's go psychedelia, let's go into something more band oriented than a pop single.'"Ian, to his credit, agreed and said, 'You're right, they're not different enough."Russell Morris actually had a whole album ready to go at one stage and decided it wasn't good enough and he wanted to re-record the whole thing."EMI had gotten a record producer and he'd gotten a head of steam up and away he went. I tend to go along with things and say to people, 'I don't know if this is the right thing ...' and they don't listen, they don't listen ... and all of a sudden they go, 'You know what? Scrap it.' And that's what happened. He went ahead and put strings and brass on everything and it just drove me insane. I said to him, 'I'm not releasing it."Russell Morris on recording The Real Thing."We used 8-track recording for The Real Thing. There was only two tracks for the effects, one for the vocals, everything just kinda got bounced down, I don't think we even slaved another machine to worry about generations. I think we did slave another machine for the effects.""I cannot take any credit for it. Ian Meldrum was the total architect, it was his concept from start to finish.""A lot of it was trial and error, experimentation, but giving Molly his dues he doesn't know what he wants in the studio but when he stumbles across it he knows instinctively that it's right. Everyone else will be nodding off at 3am and he'll have had some poor bloody guitar player out there playing the part over and over, 'No! Try it this way! Try something else! Make it sound like stars!' And that's what happens."In December 2011, Ian 'Molly' Meldrum had a serious fall while at home which for a while it seemed he wouldn't survive."He wasn't putting up Christmas lights. I was with him that day and I think that was a story that got fed around.""I was there that day, the reason he fell is because of him. We were doing a song for Jerry Ryan who was doing The Green Edge, the cycling team, and I was doing a duet with Vanessa Amorosi.""Ian had the master tapes and he said, 'Can you take these down to Sing Sing as you're going home?" So I left. "He was about to head to Thailand and he probably thought he'd catch some extra rays of sun. He's got a latter cemented into the side of his wall which goes up to a sun deck. He was climbing up there with his mobile phone, his cigarettes and trying to juggle those and lost his balance and fell.""He would have died except his gardener, Joe, happened to be there. It was real touch and go as to whether he was going to survive but he's great now.""It was funny. They (the hospital) said, 'Ian wants to see you in hospital. You cannot talk to him about mobile phones. If he asks for your mobile phone you cannot give it to him. If he asks for drinks you can't go and get him one. Do not talk to him about getting out of hospital.""It was horrifying. I thought I was going to get in there and expected to see Ian sitting in a wheelchair and drinking soup through a straw, but I got in there and there he is sitting with his baseball cap on and his tracksuit reading the paper!""I said, 'Ian, I expected you to be sitting here dribbling, everyone's given me such a hard time!' And he said, 'Oh they're all such pains in the ....' "And they'd said to me, 'You cannot stay any longer than 20 minutes and if he shows any aggravation you have to leave immediately.""My 20 minutes came up and I said I'd better go but he said, 'Don't be ridiculous!" "I ended up staying for two hours.""I was also off to Thailand and flew out the next day. I got to Thailand and I got an email from Amanda Pelman who is Brian Cadd's partner who's great friend of Ian's, and it says, 'What have you done? Where is Ian? You were the last person to see him and now he's disappeared?""After I left, Ian started to figure out how to get out of there because you can't get out of the ward without a special card and the nurses won't let you out.""He conjured this story and told told them, 'I've decided to do physio' which he'd been refusing to do, and they said, 'Oh that's great Ian, when do you want to start, Monday?""He said, 'I want to start now, if you want me to do physio I want to go over and have a look and do it now.'" So they took him.""They got a nurse to take him over and took him down the street and as they got to the street he turned one way and just kept walking.""They couldn't find him!"
Peter Newman's guest on Music of My Life is Australian music legend Normie Rowe
Normie Rowe: The number-one-with-a-bullet Australian pop star of the 60s, Order of Australia winner, and all around legend Normie Rowe spends his first ever podcast appearance being investigated. Have the honour of seeing Normie Rowe live near you by clicking here!
On a drizzly Melbourne Sunday we spoke to Melbourne Chef Nikki Reimer about the recent closure of her Richmond eatery Union Dining, and the rather unusual process of closing a restaurant and packing it all up after many years of service.Next up Samantha Gowing joined us from her abode in Northern NSW, and also happened to bring Australian music icon Normie Rowe along for the ride. We spoke about foods that make you feel good, and what Sam is looking forward to this Autumn.To finish the day's show we spoke to winemaker Duncan Buchanan live from the vineyards of Victoria. Vintage 2017 is shaping up OK for us Victorians (we've escaped the heat that so many other regions have experienced), despite the fact that yields are slightly lower than what we'd consider "normal".
As Australia reels in the shock revelations that our media and casino industry are run by men whose testosterone is more plentifiul than their brain cells, Balls Radio looks at other great fights in Australian history. How does Packer and Gyngell stack up against Normie Rowe and Won Casey?Meanwhile, in the US, Ben Affleck has been banned from playing Blackjack. The casino reckons he was too good at it. Richard Kazimer fills us in with the details on that, a bungled execution in Oklahoma and the disgraced owner of the LA Clipper NBA team.They’re too busy racing cheeses down the hillside in Britain for any high profile fisty-cuffs. John Dobbie takes us through some of the strange events that sprout around the UK as the weather warms up (a little).David Campbell flies the flag for New Zealand, raving about the Kiwi actors making it big on US TV this season.Brian Haverty hears that one TV channel is looking to launch a late night TV chat show. It works in the US why won’t it work here? Listen to the list of names being touting and you’ll understand why the format never seems to take off.And your Balls host Phil Dobbie rants on about the Commission of Audit – a more obvious attack on the disadvantaged it would be hard to find, although he applauds the one move for which Tony Abbott is being roundly condemned, his great big new debt tax. Why would anyone who claims to lean to the left be against a new tax aimed largely at the rich?
As Australia reels in the shock revelations that our media and casino industry are run by men whose testosterone is more plentifiul than their brain cells, Balls Radio looks at other great fights in Australian history. How does Packer and Gyngell stack up against Normie Rowe and Won Casey?Meanwhile, in the US, Ben Affleck has been banned from playing Blackjack. The casino reckons he was too good at it. Richard Kazimer fills us in with the details on that, a bungled execution in Oklahoma and the disgraced owner of the LA Clipper NBA team.They’re too busy racing cheeses down the hillside in Britain for any high profile fisty-cuffs. John Dobbie takes us through some of the strange events that sprout around the UK as the weather warms up (a little).David Campbell flies the flag for New Zealand, raving about the Kiwi actors making it big on US TV this season.Brian Haverty hears that one TV channel is looking to launch a late night TV chat show. It works in the US why won’t it work here? Listen to the list of names being touting and you’ll understand why the format never seems to take off.And your Balls host Phil Dobbie rants on about the Commission of Audit – a more obvious attack on the disadvantaged it would be hard to find, although he applauds the one move for which Tony Abbott is being roundly condemned, his great big new debt tax. Why would anyone who claims to lean to the left be against a new tax aimed largely at the rich?