Taste
Not to be confused with the Rory Gallagher-fronted blues band of
the early 70s, this Melbourne (Australia) band was an archetypal
glam rock outfit that hedged its bets by catering to pop fans and
hard rock fans alike.
On the one hand they scored hit singles with commercial
glam-pop singles, appeared on Countdown and played
suburban dances to crowds of adoring teenage fans. On the other
hand the band filled out its albums with screaming hard rock songs
(in the vein of Queen), and enjoyed a strong following on the
Aussie pub rock circuit.
Taste began life as Cloud Nine, which Ken Murdoch and Michael
Gemini formed in 1970 while still at high school. Cloud Nine
issued a debut single on Warner Brothers, called Say Goodbye in
1973. Virgil Donati and Tony Faramond (vocals) joined in 1974 and
the band signed to RCA.
Cloud Nine issued the album We're Good Friends, So Rock On and
the singles Take My Hand and Summertime Blues (a
version of the Eddie Cochran song). In 1975, Amenta replaced
Faramond and the band became known as Taste. At the end of the
year the band signed to the Bootleg label.
Taste's debut album, Tickle Your Fancy (July 1976),
produced the singles Tickle Your Fancy and Degenerate
Fool, with the former reaching number 22 in Melbourne. Their
biggest hit came with Boys Will Be Boys, which peaked at
number 14 in Melbourne in January 1977.
The band's final single for Bootleg was A Little Romance which
reached number 24. At that point the band signed a new record deal
with Philips, who re-issued A Little Romance and then
released the Knights Of Love album. The album also
included Boys Will Be Boys and another single, Rebecca.
Musical stagnation eventually caused the band to break up in
late 1977, with Taste playing their last gigs as a three piece
(Ken Murdoch had already left to join Melbourne boogie band,
Texas).
Joey Amenta went on to play with Redhouse, Dear Enemy and The
Uncanny X-Men (amongst others).
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