Fanny Adams was a briefly existing hard rock super group formed by ex-pat Australians and New Zealanders in mid-1970.[1] The quartet comprised Johnny Dick on drums (ex-Max Merritt and the Meteors, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Doug Parkinson in Focus), Vince Melouney on guitar (ex-Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Vince Maloney Sect, Bee Gees), Doug Parkinson on lead vocals and rhythm guitar (ex-Questions, In Focus) and Teddy Toi on bass guitar (ex-Max Merritt and the Meteors, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Little Sammy and the In People).[1][2] They relocated to Australia in December and broke up there after a few months. Their debut eponymous album appeared in June 1971, which Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described as "adventurous, heavy, progressive blues-rock... Melouney's crunching, multi-layered Jimmy Page-styled guitar riffs kept the whole thing together."[1]
Fanny Adams | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Hard rock, blues rock |
| Years active | 1970–1971 |
| Labels | MCA |
| Past members |
|
History edit
Fanny Adams' founder, Vince Melouney had left the Bee Gees in 1968 when in London, after three-and-a-half years as their guitarist.[1] He secured a solo album deal with MCA Records in mid-1970 and wished to form a group to play material similar to Led Zeppelin.[2] He contacted his former Aztec bandmate, Toi: the ex-pat New Zealander was in London doing session work.[2] Then he asked Dick and Parkinson to relocate from Melbourne; both had been members of Doug Parkinson in Focus, which had won the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds in 1969.[1][2] Fanny Adams recorded material for their eponymous debut album.[1][2] It was produced by Melouney with all the tracks co-written by the quartet.[1][2]
The group relocated to Australia in December 1970. Upon arrival Parkinson told national pop music newspaper, Go-Set, that "[we] will be the best band that ever trod this earth."[2] They performed at the Wallacia and Myponga Pop Festivals in January.[1][2] They issued Fanny Adams in June that year on MCA Records.[1] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt they had "cut an album of adventurous, heavy, progressive blues-rock. There were a couple of ponderous, over-long tracks (like the 10-minute 'In a Room'), but Melouney's crunching, multi-layered Jimmy Page-styled guitar riffs kept the whole thing together."[1] David Nichols opined that they "played heavy, bluesy, progressive rock, and its members were instantly filled with a sense of their own perfection."[3] The album had provided a single, "Got to Get a Message to You", earlier in that year.[2]
However Fanny Adams had disbanded ahead of the album due to "ill-advised boasts of their imminent success... internal dissent and high audience expectations". It had also followed a fire at a Sydney discotheque, Caesar's Palace, which destroyed the band's equipment.[1][3] According to McFarlane, "The story of Fanny Adams encapsulates one of the great disasters of Australian rock music. What sounded like a brilliant idea in theory turned out to be an ill-fated and short-lived affair for all concerned."[1] Parkinson left to form another line-up of In Focus in February 1971.[1] Parkinson is cited by Nichols regarding Fanny Adams: "we got into the studio and the truth came out. In my opinion [Melouney] just couldn't play. Personal hang-ups... It was all done for [Melouney]'s production company... There was no musical freedom. Bad vibes all the way along."[3] Melouney disputed Parkinson's assertions about his playing but felt the album was "really shithouse".[3]
Melouney was a member of a succession of groups during the 1970s: the Cleves, Rockwell T James and the Rhythm Aces, and John Paul Young's Allstars.[1][4][5] In July 1971 both Dick and Toi worked for Lobby Loyde and all three were members of a reformed Wild Cherries.[1] In March 2023 Gil Mathews of Aztec Music issued an eleven-track remastered version of Fanny Adams (with four bonus tracks) on CD.[4] By that time all the band's members, except Melouney, had died.[4]
Members edit
- Johnny Dick – drums, percussion (1970–71, died 2017)
- Vince Melouney – lead guitar, vocals (1970–71)
- Doug Parkinson – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1970–71, died 2021)
- Teddy Toi – bass guitar (1970–71)
Discography edit
Studio albums edit
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Fanny Adams |
|
Singles edit
| Year | Title | Albums |
|---|---|---|
| "Got to Get a Message to You" | 1971 | Fanny Adams |
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Fanny Adams'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kimball, Duncan (2002). "Fanny Adams". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Archived from the original on 23 June 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d Nichols, David (2016). "The Early to Mid Seventies: It's a Flash!". Dig: Australian Rock and Pop Music, 1960-85. Verse Chorus Press. pp. 205–7. ISBN 978-1-89124-161-1. Retrieved 18 December 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Cashmere, Paul (7 March 2023). "Gil Matthews Remasters a Lost Australian Classic Fanny Adams Featuring Doug Parkinson". Noise11.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Holmgren, Magnus. "Ronnie Peel/Rockwell T. James". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 8 March 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2024.