The Vibrants
Encyclopedia
The Vibrants were a mid 1960s Australian pop rock
group that emerged from Bobby James and the Vibrants in Adelaide
. They charted
with "Something About You Baby" and "My Prayer" as The Vibrants, after their lead singer left the band to form the Bobby James Syndicate. After little further success, they broke up in October 1968, when the group split into two bands, called The Graduate and The New Vibrants.
for EMI
's Columbia imprint, "Jezebel" / "Tossin' and Turnin'" in 1965. After a trip to Melbourne to play at Pinocchio's nightclub in early 1966, James left to form the Bobby James Syndicate. Ian McFarlane's article on the group also listed another James/Vibrants track "I've Learned" and a May 1965 single, "Furry Legs" / "Maybe Tomorrow" shared with Roger Dee and released on the W&G label.
Skewes got together a new lineup for the group. In April 1966, with Rick Kent (drums), John Perry (vocals), Mike Wade (guitar), Billy Pfeifer (bass) and the late John "Hoss" Hossen (saxophone) (all these members had previously been involved with other bands, apart from John Perry who had worked as a soloist), they were a popular act in their hometown. They frequently backed local and visiting solo artists, such as Bev Harrell and Johnny O'Keefe, before moving to Melbourne in July 1966.
Don La Roche became their new manager, and had them signed with EMI's Columbia label, at which point Mick Hamilton (ex-The Moods) replaced Idris Jones (The Jones Boys) who had temporary replaced Mike Wade on guitar. Their first single, "I've Got To Go" (September 1966) did not chart, but the follow-up, a cover
of The Four Tops' "Something About You, Baby" (January 1967) was a Top 10 hit in Australia. It has since become the track for which they are best known, and has been anthologised on several compilation album
s of Australian 1960s pop music. It was followed by "The Letter Song" which did not chart and, in September, by "My Prayer" / "Don't Let Your Left Hand Know", which was a major double-sided
hit in Melbourne (#5 and "My Prayer" also charted in other states). They appeared on several overseas show, including supporting Sérgio Mendes
in Melbourne in 1967.
John Perry was replaced as lead singer by Marc Leon (ex-Impulse), and Bill Pfeiffer left not long after, with the late Barry Rogers taking over on bass. Their next single, a cover of the Bee Gees
' "Terrible Way to Treat Your Baby" was released in late June 1968. It sold only moderately in Adelaide and Melbourne and did not chart.
In October 1968, a major split took place, with Leon, Hossen and Rogers leaving with their manager, La Roche, to form a new group called The Graduate. Skews, Hamilton and Kent formed The New Vibrants with Penny Parsons (vocals) and Bob Flynn (bass). They released two singles on the Air label including "I Can't Let Go Of Your Love", their biggest hit, which climbed to #55 in 1970, and "Give Me Just A Little More Time". In 1971 Ken Leroy (ex-John Rupert Group) replaced Flynn on bass, and Trevor Courtney (ex-Chants R&B, Cam-Pact) replaced the long serving Kent on drums. This final version of the band broke up in 1973.
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
group that emerged from Bobby James and the Vibrants 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...
. They charted
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
with "Something About You Baby" and "My Prayer" as The Vibrants, after their lead singer left the band to form the Bobby James Syndicate. After little further success, they broke up in October 1968, when the group split into two bands, called The Graduate and The New Vibrants.
Career
The band started out as the backing group for singer Bobby James, with the original instrumental lineup comprising Geoff Skewes (organ), Terry Osmond (guitar), Terry Radford (guitar), Brenton Hay (saxophone), Jeff Gurr (bass) and Rick Kent (drums). In this guise they recorded one singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's Columbia imprint, "Jezebel" / "Tossin' and Turnin'" in 1965. After a trip to Melbourne to play at Pinocchio's nightclub in early 1966, James left to form the Bobby James Syndicate. Ian McFarlane's article on the group also listed another James/Vibrants track "I've Learned" and a May 1965 single, "Furry Legs" / "Maybe Tomorrow" shared with Roger Dee and released on the W&G label.
Skewes got together a new lineup for the group. In April 1966, with Rick Kent (drums), John Perry (vocals), Mike Wade (guitar), Billy Pfeifer (bass) and the late John "Hoss" Hossen (saxophone) (all these members had previously been involved with other bands, apart from John Perry who had worked as a soloist), they were a popular act in their hometown. They frequently backed local and visiting solo artists, such as Bev Harrell and Johnny O'Keefe, before moving to Melbourne in July 1966.
Don La Roche became their new manager, and had them signed with EMI's Columbia label, at which point Mick Hamilton (ex-The Moods) replaced Idris Jones (The Jones Boys) who had temporary replaced Mike Wade on guitar. Their first single, "I've Got To Go" (September 1966) did not chart, but the follow-up, a 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 Four Tops' "Something About You, Baby" (January 1967) was a Top 10 hit in Australia. It has since become the track for which they are best known, and has been anthologised on several compilation album
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...
s of Australian 1960s pop music. It was followed by "The Letter Song" which did not chart and, in September, by "My Prayer" / "Don't Let Your Left Hand Know", which was a major double-sided
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...
hit in Melbourne (#5 and "My Prayer" also charted in other states). They appeared on several overseas show, including supporting Sérgio Mendes
Sergio Mendes
Sérgio Santos Mendes is a Brazilian musician. He has released over thirty-five albums, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk....
in Melbourne in 1967.
John Perry was replaced as lead singer by Marc Leon (ex-Impulse), and Bill Pfeiffer left not long after, with the late Barry Rogers taking over on bass. Their next single, a cover of the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
' "Terrible Way to Treat Your Baby" was released in late June 1968. It sold only moderately in Adelaide and Melbourne and did not chart.
In October 1968, a major split took place, with Leon, Hossen and Rogers leaving with their manager, La Roche, to form a new group called The Graduate. Skews, Hamilton and Kent formed The New Vibrants with Penny Parsons (vocals) and Bob Flynn (bass). They released two singles on the Air label including "I Can't Let Go Of Your Love", their biggest hit, which climbed to #55 in 1970, and "Give Me Just A Little More Time". In 1971 Ken Leroy (ex-John Rupert Group) replaced Flynn on bass, and Trevor Courtney (ex-Chants R&B, Cam-Pact) replaced the long serving Kent on drums. This final version of the band broke up in 1973.
External links
- [ The Vibrants - Biography] by Brendan Smith at Allmusic