Billy Thorpe is one of the true legends of Australian Rock n’ Roll. Ever the changing chameleon, Thorpie evolved from child star, to pop sensation, pop crooner and finally emerged as one of the countries wildest and inconquerable blues rockers.
William Richard Thorpe born 29 March 1946. Despite being born in Manchester England, Thorpie always considered Australia his “real” home. Thorpie’s parents emigrated to Australia in 1955 first arriving in Melbourne, and later settling in Brisbane Queensland.
A gifted child performer, he participated in amateur talent quests as a yodeler and sang at local dances.
Thorpie’s yodeling quality to his voice can be heard in some of his early recordings.
LITTLE ROCK ALLEN
Thorpie performed as a ten year old under the pseudonym “Little Rock Allen”. Six months later, he was discovered by a television producer who came across Thorpie singing and playing his guitar, this gave Thorpie a regular musical gig on Queensland television.
At 15 years he was touring locally with Reg Lindsay, and nationally with Johnny O’Keefe, Jerry Lee Lewis and Col Joye. By 17 years, he had all the experience of a musician twice his age, and decided to relocate to Sydney.
In early 1963, he auditions for singing work at the premier beat-music venue of the day “Surf City” in Kings Cross. His backing band for these auditions was Sydney instrumental group “The Aztecs”. The Aztecs had formed from the remnants of two popular Sydney surf-instrumental outfits, “The Vibratones” and ‘The Sierras”.
THE BIRTH OF THE AZTECS
Thorpie’s strong voice and charismatic stage presence impressed the Aztecs, who immediately offered him the job of lead singer. They quickly again the attention of entrepreneurs keen to spot “the next big thing” and the newly christened Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs rapidly became a popular drawcard on the Sydney music circuit.
The group was offered a recording arrangement with the small independent label “Linda Lee” and in the closing stages of the year, they recorded the tracks that became the first single.
By the time the Beatles hit out shores in June 1964, Billy and the Aztecs were already creating pandemonium at their own concerts throughout the country. Whilst in town, John Lennon summoned “this Billy Thorpe character” to a meeting at his hotel suite at the Sheraton in Kings Cross. Billy apparently impressed his hosts with his charismatic charm.
The group went from strength to strength, reinforcing their position with appearances on such television pop shows as Bandstand. It could have been argued that at this stage in their career, the only group to even come close to their popularity was Ray Brown and the Whispers, however the music scene was to undergo a colossal change with the emergence of a new breed of bands like “The Easybeats”, “The Twilights” and solo star performer “Normie Rowe”.
Towards the end of 1964, Thorpe signaled a change in music direction with his own version of the song made famous by Judy Garland, “Over the Rainbow” resulting in the group entering 1965 with its biggest hit of that time.
In 1965, they drew a record crowd of 63,000 as a headlining performance at Melbourne’s then titled Myer Music Bowl.
Then at the height of the group’s popularity, Thorpe ditched his original backing group in favour of an all new line-up. The precise reasons for this drastic change to this day remains unclear, but rumours have circulated that if was due to a long running financial despute with the groups manager John Harrigan.
The newly formed Aztecs mark II continued recording and touring throughout 1966. However during 1967 and 1968, Thorpe experienced two of the most frustrating years to date. He had become disenchanted with the direction is career was going, and wanted to explore more radical forms of music that were emerging out of the UK and US at that time, but he also had to contend with business problems and other personal upheavals at the time including a well publicized bankruptcy.
His only recording during these two years of Roy Orbison’s “Dream Baby” was largely ignored by radio and the music industry.
Realising that his cutesy, middle of the road image and musical approach had no place among the new generation of music now finding favour with fans, Billy began the process of re-invention breaking with the shackles of his earlier pop persona, and his re-emergence of the macho, bearded, long haired, rocker we have come to idolize.
In 1969, Billy was offered a recording deal in England with expat Australian entrepreneur Robert Stigwood, the then manager of the Bee Gees and Cream. So Billy moved to Melbourne in preparation for his move to England, however as it turned out, Billy didn’t take up the offer, rather chose to stay in Melbourne and build a new band and sound to keep up with the many exciting developments and influences in Melbourne’s progressively growing music scene.
With a new look and a new band, not all of the Aztecs gigs in those early days were well received. They encountered often still and brutal resistance the their new style. Punters turning up to concerts expected to see well groomed young men in suits, performing “Poison Ivy” and “Mashed Potato”, and sometimes acted quite aggressive when confronted with the aggressive blues and crushing volume of the new Aztecs.
One particularly nasty episode occurred when the Aztecs played in the country town of Queanbeyan, just north of Canberra in early 1970. A large fight erupted after the gig, and the band were forced to escape by car, but they were chased down the highway towards Canberra by a group of hooligans, who pursued them at speeds in excess of 100mph, firing shots after them! The Aztecs sought refuge in their hotel, but the local hoons stormed in, carrying the fight into the foyer. They demolished the hotel foyer and spilled out into the street, resulting in several members of the band being badly injured, as well as members of support group Fraternity including lead singer Bon Scott who had waded in to help. Next morning, the band was escorted out of town by police, and were warned, for their own safety, never to return.
Most people I know think that I’m crazy
In 1972 Thorpie had another huge hit with “Most People”. The group set about releasing a follow up, “Believe it just like me” however it failed to “emulate” against the success of “Most People”
By 1973, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were one of the biggest and most notorious bands in Australia. A year earlier they had headlined the three day rock festival, outdoor event in Sunbury, Victoria. For many years they often overfilled venues throughout the country.
They were loud, very loud. The crowd go the vibe that this was a band that didn’t give a toss about anything or anyone, they just wanted to get up and play really loud music.
Meanwhile the freshly built Sydney Opera House began live performances in 1973, with productions of Prokofiev’s opera “War and Peace”, and the Sydney Symphonic Orchestra performed Wagner. The Sydney theatre company staged Shakespeare’s Richard the II and the Australian Ballet performed “Sleeping Beauty”. Her Majesty the Queen officially opened the Sydney Opera House in October that year and all the good burghers and society types could look at this monument to high art and class.
So within this very cultured environment, how in the hell, did a band like the Aztecs get to play at the Opera House in November 1973?
Well the board at the Opera House thought that the Aztecs were a NOW READ THIS, a “String Quartet”. It’s fair to say that neither back in the 70’s or now for that matter, would you find any audience at a string quartet concert chanting out “suck more P—s”.
So what happed when the Opera House found out they had made a huge mistake?
Well it was too late. The PA was set up, the band was there, the crowd was outside. They just had to grin and bear it. The concert was recorded and released the next year titled “Steaming at the Opera House” with a cover illustration of Thorpie astride the white sails, wide mouthed and his gold top guitar piercing the Sydney sky.
The performance at the Sydney Opera House stands up as a true rock n roll epic. Sure the sound quality isn’t amazing, and there are a few missed note and harmonies here and there, but it still stands out as a testament to a bygone era.
Listening to this album really makes you miss the Classic Rock of old, where guitar gods ruled supreme and the only way to compete in the music industry was to have raw talent with nothing to hide behind. This might not appeal to fans of new age rock, like Green Day and Living End, but any fan of old school rock gods would have Thorpe and the Aztecs proudly displayed in their cd collection.
In 1974, the band disbanded. For Billy it was time to move on and the boys were going in different musical directions. Before disbanding, the Aztecs recorded one more album for Atlantic Records, titled “More Arse than Class”, after which Thorpe embarked on a solo career.
He released several more solo albums in Australia before deciding to broaden his horizons and move his family to Los Angeles, where among the many business ventures he’d started, he established a highly successful toy wholesaling business with old band mate Tony Barber.
LIFE AFTER THE AZTECS
Being shunned by the Australian music industry, Thorpie left Australia in 1976 to try his luck in Los Angeles. He produced a series of inventive, futuristic concept albums which sold remarkably well in the USA, but were completely overlooked locally.
Billy made a strong and sustained effort to break into the American music scene, returning occasionally to Australia for well received spot appearances often with a reunion of his old 70’s Aztec pals.
In the early 90’s Thorpie and his family returned to Oz for good. Billy continued to record and even found time to write two highly entertaining autobiographies.
In 1991, he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, one of the highest awards you can receive in Australian Music.
Then in 1998, Australia Post issued a special edition set of twelve stamps celebrating the early years of Australian Rock n Roll featuring Australian hit songs of the late 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s.
The song “Most People” was one of those in the set
IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP CONCERT 2002
In 2002 he was one of the driving forces behind the hugely successful TV and live concert series “It’s a long way to the top”. A celebration of 40 years of Australian Rock Music.
This extravaganza blazed its way around Australia as over two hundred thousand ecstatic fans revealed in the opportunity to relive the music that defined their generation. Thorpies talent and his power packed voice were virtually untouched by the passing of years as he performed energetically around the country until his untimely death at the age of 60.
BILLY’S MESSAGE FROM THE GRAVE
Some ten years later, some of Australia’s most iconic musicians returned to the stage in Brisbane for the 10th anniversary tour.
Among the acts were Marcia Hines, Glenn Shorrock, Brian Cadd, Little Pattie, Doug Parkinson, Ian Moss, and Jon Stevens who all proved their voices were just as strong now, as they were some 20 years ago.
While the night was a celebration of some of Australia’s greatest music hits, it was also a sadly reminder that the man the late Billy Thorpe, who was behind the creation of the original tour was missing.
However, Billy still managed to make an appearance as part of two moving tributes in which he was projected on stage as a hologram.
And if you weren’t crying after that, Doug Parkinson and Ian Moss then took to the stage to perform “Somewhere over the Rainbow”, a song Billy performed during the 2002 tour.
DEATH OF A LEGEND
Billy Thorpe played his last live gig at Westernport Hotel in San Remo, Victoria on Sunday 25 February, 2007.
Billy Thorpe passed away on the 28th February 2007, aged 60 from a massive heart attack. His family rushed him to St Vincents Hospital but he could not be revived. Tributes flowed in for this legend of Australian Rock.
Billy was still active with his live music career and was in the process of recording his long anticipated album “Tangier”.
The term “Icon” gets thrown around far too much these days but Billy Thorpe was a genuine rock icon. To be a successful musician spanning over 5 decades, both here and overseas, is a feat very few people achieve in their lifetime.
An artist greatly missed, fondly remembered, and a legend that lives on.
He is survived by his wife Lynne, and daughters Lauren and Rusty.
Tony Barber former band member, recalls how for three weeks, he and Thorpie worked tirelessly on a track that never say the light of day. Barber recalls how he locked heads with Thorpe over the song called “Sunshine Friends”.
Rest in Peace “Rock Legend” Billy Thorpe (AM)
