The Party Boys
Ex-Mondo Rock member Paul Christie formed
Australian fun-time band The Party Boys in 1982
as an occasional "supergroup" consisting of some of
Australia's finest musicians. The concept was that Christie would
employ players (all of whom had other commitments) when the need
arose, and that the set they played would consist entirely of
cover versions.
By 1987, the band had released four live albums (and a 'Best
Of' collection), with Live At Several 21sts (1983)
making the national Top 10. The band finally entered the recording
studio in 1987 to put down a cover version of John Kongas' 1971
hit He's Gonna Step On You Again, which reached Number
One.
Lead vocalists for The Party Boys have included some of
Australia's best known performers; Australian
Crawl's James
Reyne (1982 - 1983), Richard Clapton (1983), Shirley Strachan from
Skyhooks (1983 - 1984), Dragon's Marc Hunter (1984 - 1985), Angry
Anderson (of Rose Tattoo) (1986) and John
'Swanee' Swan (1987).
A number of international guests appeared with the band over
the years, including Eric Burdon (The
Animals), Alan Lancaster (ex-Status
Quo), Joe Walsh (The
Eagles) and Graham Bonnet (ex-Rainbow).
In late 1989, Christie put together a new recording line-up:
Ross Wilson on vocals, Stuart Fraser on guitar (from Noiseworks),
Rick Mellick on keyboards, Dorian West on bass, Adrian Cannon on
drums, and Kevin Bennett and Alex Smith providing backing vocals.
Wilson's original vocals on their next single, a cover of
Manfred Mann's Doo Wah Diddy Diddy, couldn't be used
due to contractual reasons, and singer Vince Contarino, from
Adelaide cover band The Zep Boys, re-recorded the vocals. Released
in early 1990, it peaked at number 24.
A final Party Boys single, Billy
Preston's That's the Way
God Planned It, was released in September 1992. When the band
called it a day, Christie became a band manager.
|
