This is the story of my
first band. It lasted for about 4 years. I have
headed this up under the name of its most memorable
incarnation, 21ST CENTURY LOVE BAND although it
changed names a few times as it evolved. So here we
go.........Once upon a time, as they say, Bob
Westbury (who fancied himself as a pop star/
vocalist), from Cabramatta in Sydney's outer
western suburbs, decided to form a beat group. In
keeping with his own level of experience, he put an
ad in a newspaper in 1966 that read something like
" Musicians wanted for band - no experience
necessary" (you get the picture!). And that was
what he got when myself, Terry Stacey (bass), and
Bill Turnbull (rhythm guitar) turned up for our
first rehearsal in Bob's parents backyard garage.
We were soon joined by an even less experienced
drummer John Clark, and lead guitarist Mick
Willens. A few rehearsals later we managed to
wangle a set on the Sunday night dance held at the
local Civic Hall on a Sunday night, just down the
street from where we practised - we only knew 6
songs (and only two or three properly) and
"borrowed" the amps and drums from another local
band, The Eastenders, who were on the "proper"
bill. This was the first time John had ever used a
full kit as he only owned a snare drum and hi-hat.
But with all our mates in the crowd we got a good
cheer which made us feel like pop stars. It's
surprising how the roar of the crowd can get you
in...I was addicted for life ! By then we had
decided to call ourselves - THE UNIQUE SET. Anyway
after trying to run, unsuccessfully our own weekly
dance at the local church hall, we got our first
paying gig - a wedding !! Now that may seem a good
place to start but when you have a bunch of guys
who want to be the next Rolling Stones or Easybeats
it presents some difficulties. The main one being
that for some strange reason the bride and groom
wanted a bridal waltz. As we had limited experience
and all of it aimed at being a British Beat group,
we didn't know how to play one (3/4 time... what's
that? gulp?). Fortunately Bill, who did have some
experience, did know and hurriedly showed us and so
we improvised on a "round the clock" (C-Am-F-G7)
instrumental progression for 10 minutes. That was
to be our first of only two weddings we did! From
then on we scored gigs at local football club
socials, parties and "auditions". The high peak was
getting a gig at a Saturday morning promotion in
the clothes section of a major department store in
the centre of Sydney. Bob managed to wow them by
rolling on the floor in Wild Thing and an extended
version of Bald Headed Woman, our
piece-de-resistance. Then came the purchase of a
van, which inevitably and quite soon after, blew
up! And that was followed in early 1967 by Bob
leaving us for what is usually described in the
media as " personal/musical reasons". So here we were without a
singer and no transport. Enter George Wright, who
we had met through his sister. In line with the new
vocalist we changed our name to THE FIFTH COMMAND.
In May 1967 the band got a residency two nights a
week for 3 months at the Royal George Hotel in
Sussex St in the city centre of Sydney. It was only
after we started our first gig there that we
discovered, to our dismay, that the basement room
we were working in was the exclusive haunt of the
Sydney chapter of the Hells Angel's motorcycle
group. There was only one door in and out and they
were between us and it. After faithfully promising
their leader during the first night that we would
learn a couple of Buddy Holly songs by next week
(or else), we managed to win them over. As time
went by we were able to turn them on to more
current music than they had appreciated originally
and they soon came to appreciate Gloria and other
R' n B stuff however. So much so that usually we'd
have to play Gloria two or three times a night.
We'd always finish the night with We've Gotta Get
out of This Place (and we meant it!). By the end of
the 3 months we'd actually turned them on to
Hendrix's Purple Haze. It was a great gig for a
young band as it really made us learn to play
tight. We even did a couple of originals, Georges
ballad "Shadows in my hearts" and one from Mick and
a friend of his, a grungy piece called "Land of a
Thousand Nightmares". So this was how we spent the
so-called Summer of Love 1967 (although it was
actually Winter Down Under). A good mate of ours Albert
(Alfie) Payne who had been hanging around as our
photographer and gig-getter for a while suggested
he join the band on Organ. He couldn't play at
first but soon picked it up as he went! This added
a new dimension to our sound so we decided to scrap
most of our songs (which were out-of date anyway)
and do some more up to date stuff from artists like
Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, & Bob Dylan
(none of which was played on Aussie radio at that
time ). This also meant a change of name again to
something more hippie sounding, so we became
the.... 21ST CENTURY LOVE BAND. Gigs were hard to
get so we organised our own Friday night dance at a
local Hall at nearby Fairfield and had a friend
Stuart design us a fantastic Psychedelic poster
(just like the ones over in San Francisco we
imagined) which we stuck up all over the area (A
real work of art....It's a shame there's none still
in existence!). So began the most memorable part of
that time. We got right into the flashing lights
and smoke and doing long improvised solos
particularly in an original we called "Georges
Blues" which could go for up to _ to _ hour! This
usually featured a percussion solo and a long
guitar solo. The latter gave Mick a reputation for
some years as the local guitar hero. More gigs came
when we made the acquaintance of another band,
Grandmars Observers, who had started there own
Sunday night dance at Seven Hills about 10 miles
away. From then on we both regularly guested at
each others dances and even added the odd support
band as well. The only people who made any money
were the support bands. Any other money went as
costs (mainly on an ever increasing number of
bouncers)...but hey! ....that's Rock n' Roll. We
even became in demand for gigs on other nights at
the local dance studio. Biggest gig though was when
we got a spot at Sydney's top Tempest dance in the
inner city supporting top Australian pop singer
Ronnie Burns. This gave us our 15 seconds of fame
with a photo published in Australia's No 1 pop
magazine, Go-Set. A few months after this things
went downhill - Alfie decided to leave to marry
George's sister, Bill left to start up an MOR duo
and, after an attempt as a 4 piece Hendrix style
band, George left. So we got a girl vocalist, Jan
Simons, who Mick and I poached from another band
practicing up the road from my place. This line-up
lasted for a few months as we even got a real
manager who could actually get us the proper inner
city gigs we aspired to. However Jan left to go
solo and John left to go grape picking in South
Australia. Mick and I soldiered on for another
couple of years with my old school chum Paul Dixon
on drums with various line-ups, including for a
time, a dual vocalist line-up of Dave Gibbons &
Norma Payne (Alfie's sister), eventually becoming
PORT JACKSON in 1969, with Tommy Beaumont
(vocalist) and Steve Heard (keyboards). This band
actually did TV appearances, recorded and even was
signed to a record contract (although we never
released a record in the end). Then we Mick &
I joined WILDWOOD in 1970........ but that's
another story. Terry Stacey - August
2004 Personnel: Influences: Setlist
Sample: Fifth Command:
Gloria,Purple Haze, We Gotta Get Outa This
Place, I'm Crying, Hey Mama Keep Your Big
Mouth Shut, You Really Got Me, All Day
& All of The Night, I'm Not Your
Rolling Stone, Shapes of Things, Rack My
Mind Peggy Sue, That'll Be the Day,
Purple Haze 21st Century Love
Band: Early - Hold on I'm Coming, In the
Midnight Hour, Georges Blues, Purple Haze,
Foxy Lady, Sunshine of Your Love, Born in
Chicago, Maggies Farm. Green Onions, 99
and a 1/2 Won't do, Stuck Inside of Mobile
with the Memphis Blues Again, My Girl,
Round & Round, Maniac Depression, If I
Had A Ticket, Parchman Farm, Round &
Round. Later - Knock On Wood, Slow Blues
in A (original), 634-5789, I Feel Good,
Sookie Sookie Equipment:
Rehearsal
Space: Band
Vehicles: Fashion
Statement: Best
Gig: Gig
from
Hell!: Last
Gig: 21st Century Love Band -
16 Dec 1967 Ad for dance - Go-Set
Magazine
Information contributed by Terry Stacey staceytg@hotkey.net.au
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