Australia’s best ever and the only outfit to have scored commercially outside that continent, Little River Band was a class act. In the mould of country rock legends The Eagles, Little River Band was formed in 1975, Melbourne
. Borrowing the name from a road sign in Melbourne, it had in its ranks already famous musicians in the Australian circuit, Glenn Shorrock (lead vocals), Beeb Birtles (guitar), Graham Goble (guitar), Roger McLachlan (bass), Derck Pellici (drums) and Rick Formosa (guitar).
Debut album
They released their eponymous debut album in 1976, which contained the song “It’s a long way there”, that paved the way for an entry to the US music arena. Their second compilation After Hours had limited success.
Consequently, the band decided to leave out two members in the form of Rick Formosa and Roger McLachlan and infused fresh blood taking aboard David Briggs (guitar, vocals) and George McArdle (bass). The move paid off vis a vis Diamantina Co
cktail, an album which included the breakthrough hit “Help is on its way”. This album went gold in America (the first time an Australian troupe had achieved such a remarkable feat) and it explored hither to unknown territory in Australia
attaining the top spot in the charts.
Million copies
Little River Band kept up the tempo with their next collection Sleeper Catcher, selling over a million copies in the US alone and notched a number three hit with the single Reminiscing. Late 1979 saw the release o
f Little River Band’s first platinum selling album, aptly titled First under the Wire. Two singles from this anthology are worth a mention, Lonesome Loser and Lady. In 1980, Little River Band
brought forth a double live album called Backstage Pass and followed it up with its best selling effort to date Time Exposure.
The songs that made the mark from this set are “The Night Owl”, “Take it easy on me” and “Man on your mind”.
The constant shuttling between two continents brought the internal fissures, slowly but surely, out into the open. Shorrock and Briggs were the first casualties and numerous personnel changes ensued taking their toll on performances.
In 1990, Goble left and in the following year Little River Band formally bid adieu leaving its fans disheartened.
A. GEORGE ANTONY
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