Читать книгу Behind the Rock and Beyond - Leon Isackson - Страница 14

“I wanna love you each night,

Oh, let me say I might,

Love you each night and day”

— I Wanna Love You, Doug Richards

JON: Dig Richards & the R’Jays had become the first band to ever play live on Brian Henderson’s Bandstand and soon after in August, 1959, we started our own show, Teen Time at Channel 7, which was on at 5.30pm on Monday nights. We eventually ended up doing this show two nights a week for two years. It was our main source of income. The show was hosted by Keith Walshe, who dubbed me “the red headed terror”. The hostess was Carol Finlayson — a top sort! Teen Time was a great experience and features in greater detail later on.

We were still using the same old gear so Barry and I decided to update. Seeing as I was working at Nicholsons, I got a 10% discount so I bought a Hofner electric guitar with a very thin solid body that I later fitted with the first whammy bar in Australia. A whammy bar was a tremolo arm used for changing the pitch of the strings as you pulled it up and down. Barry bought a new Premier drum kit. Almost immediately after that I got the sack from Nicholsons. I think the lady, appropriately named Miss Wolfe, who was in charge of the record bar, didn’t like me. Maybe I was a smart-arse or something. Anyhow, I went to work in the hat department of Robert Reids, a wholesaler. God it was boring! Until I met a nice girl there called Patty. We had a bit of a fling; she came to a few shows and then disappeared.

The first place we used the new gear was at a dance at The Entrance. This was an important night for me. Finally I cracked it! I scored! Amazing Rumpo! We had a little after-show party back at the holiday flats where we were staying. This was the first of many after-show parties and we all got very pissed. Barry Lewis then put his fist through a door and the party started getting rough. I found this delightful young girl (I was only 16 myself!) who was a couple of years younger than me. Her name was Mellie and I took her into the flat next door. We stayed there all night and most of the next day. It was a wonderful experience and I never saw her again. This happens a lot — never seeing them again, that is. I don’t know what it was that made my luck change. Maybe it was the new guitar!

Also it was decided that a change of band personnel would not go astray so Barry and I went to a dance at the Lane Cove Town Hall where Deke Drew & the Rebel Rousers were playing. I think they called themselves that because it was the only song they knew! They must have played it ten times. It was a Duane Eddy hit. Anyway, we thought the guitarist would be good if he learned bass, which he agreed to do, and we pinched the piano player as well. The guitarist-cum-bass player was PETER BAKER and the pianist was JAY BOOGIE famous for his left hand ‘nunga-nunga’ boogie runs.

Peter made himself a copy of the American Fender bass and called it the “Off-Fender”. It must have been one of the first electric basses around. You see, at this time you could not get any American equipment in Australia. Now, with electric bass and piano, the band started to sound pretty good.

Our sax player, Peter Marris left us at this time. His girlfriend didn’t want him to play in a rock’n’roll band because — too much competition from female fans I suspect! Marris was later replaced by Laurie Goodfellow and what a good fellow he was.

We rehearsed in the little storeroom that belonged to the CBC Bank at North Sydney where Barry’s father was the manager. We learned a new song, an original, written by Dig’s younger brother Doug, called I Wanna Love You. Doug was a miniscule “nerd” at the time and no one realised the talent that this boy had. Dig signed a contract with the A&R (Artists & Repertoire) man of Festival Records, Mr. Ken Taylor, and with a simple little guitar riff, (Da Dah — Da Da Da Dum Splang!) which I discovered on the 12th fret, WE WERE ON OUR WAY!