The Twilights
In terms of style, musicianship and song writing ability (if
not success) Adelaide's favourite sons The Twilights were the
closest thing Australia had to overseas role models like The
Beatles, The Who etc.
While every young band in Australia in 1965 were struggling to
sound like The Beatles, The Twilights hardly even had to try. They
were able to copy their Liverpool idols with faultless,
note-for-note accuracy, and before the inevitable split came in
1969, The Twilights enjoyed significant chart success with eight
consecutive hit singles.
The Twilights grew out of Adelaide vocal quartet The
Checkmates, which comprised English-born Glenn Shorrock,
Irish-born Paddy McCartney, Mike Sykes and Billy Volraat. In 1964,
The Beatles broke in Australia and The Checkmates merged with
crack instrumental outfit The Hurricanes to become The Twilights.
By the end of 1965, The Twilights had become Adelaide's most
popular band. The singles I'll Be Where You Are and a version of
The Hollies' Come On Home charted in their hometown. At the
end of the year, manager Gary Spry took the band to Melbourne
where they swiftly became the 'in' band to see at hip
discotheque's like Pinnochios and Opus.
The band also drew enormous crowds on the suburban dance
circuit. Their third single If She Finds Out reached Number
13. They scored their first major Top Ten hits with Baby Let Me
Take You Home and Larry Williams' Bad Boy.
In July 1966, The Twilights took out first place in the
Hoadley's National Battle Of The Sounds final. Their prize was a
trip to the UK, and on 26 September the band left Australia on the
cruise ship Castel Felice.
In the meantime, the band had scored a smash hit with The
Velvelettes' Needle In A Haystack and in December 1966,
their debut self-titled album appeared as a strong collection of
mod-rock covers (including The Who's La-La-La-Lies and The
Rolling Stones' Satisfaction) and a handful of appealing
originals.
While in the UK, the band recorded three tracks at EMI's Abbey
Road studios with producer Norman "Hurricane" Smith: The
Hollies What's Wrong With The Way I Live? and two original
songs - 9.50 and Young Girl.
The band returned to Australia and entered the Top 5 with What's
Wrong With The Way I Live? and then saw out 1967 as the most
popular band in Australia with two more hit singles, Young Girl
and The Way They Play.
No doubt due to their UK sojourn, their repertoire and stage
show during 1967 had taken on a new dimension. The band played the
entire Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The
Small Faces Ogden's Nut Gone Flake albums on stage with
exacting precision and in 1968 they commenced work on a proposed
television series featuring the band in musical and comedy
situations - not unlike The Monkees.
They completed a pilot episode of the series (called Once
Upon A Twilight) but no sponsor was willing to invest money
and the project was unfortunately shelved. The bands singles began
to fare poorly and in January 1969 with their drummer refusing to
undertake another UK trip, the band parted company.
Glenn Shorrock went on to Axiom and eventually to huge success
with Little River Band and as a solo artist. Terry Britten
returned to the UK and became an in-demand session player, penning
a number of songs for Cliff Richard (including Devil Woman).
He also wrote two of Tina Turner's biggest hits, What's Love
Got To Do With It? and We Don't Need Another Hero.
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