This is a look at Australian country music, from bush ballads and yodeling oldies to country-rock and outlaw twang, and even some more modern Top Forty artists. This includes artists from both Australian and New Zealand, though there's a separate Kiwi Country section which has a lot of overlap. There's a ton of twang Down Under, and I'm pretty sure I'm only scratching the surface, so I welcome any recommendations, additions or corrections.
This page covers the letter "F."
F Troop Groop "Country" (Nationwide Records, 1976-?) (LP)
(Produced by Graham Morphett)
Primarily a county/bluegrass covers band, possibly an Australian cheapie-label "soundalike" group, although not one with an anonymous lineup: The Groop included Theo Delleyman on lead vocals and bass guitar, Ken Hutchison (lead guitar), Jimmy Kirby (fiddle), Scotty Marshall (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), and George Saville (drums), a lineup that stayed the same on both their albums... These guys appear to have been big fans of the American TV comedy "F Troop," not only naming themselves after the show, but also somehow also procuring cavalry uniforms to pose in for their photo shoots... This seems to have been their debut album, with a set list that includes a lot of classic, Flatt & Scruggs-style bluegrass as well as some country tunes. There are also two originals: "Bring Another Bottle" and "Country Comfort"
F Troop Groop "Everybody's Makin' It Big But U.S." (Nationwide Records, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Mad Mal Ray)
This is kind of a nutty record, or at least a nutty-looking one. I mean, it just is. To start with, there's the album title's creative use of grammar, specifically the sic-worthy punctuation in "U.S." -- did they mean the United States wasn't making it big? Did they know something we don't know? Plus the whole cavalry thing. Anyway, this album features the same lineup as above, working their way through a mix of country oldies ("Honky Tonkin'," "I Know You're Married But I Love You Still") a few bluegrass/old timey tunes ("Bile Them Cabbage Down," "Windy And Warm") and some other stuff that may have been originals, such as the title track, "Everybody's Makin' It Big But Me." This was recorded at a studio in Adelaide, though sadly there's no indication of the year. As far as I know, though, these were their only two albums.
Bob Ferris "All Of My Life" (Self-Released, 20--?)
(Produced by Ralph Atkinson & Graham Hague)
The Flying Circus "The Flying Circus" (EMI Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Perjanik & David Woodley-Page)
Really more of a rock band, although initially they were considered part of the country-rock movement, and were particularly into the Byrds and their jangly sound, centering their sound on this album around a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar and covering several Byrds-y classics such as "I Think I'm Gonna Feel Better," "She Don't Care About Time," "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere." Flying Circus later became more identified with psychedelic and bubblegum rock, but seem legitimately twangy here... Lead singer/guitarist Doug Rowe contributes three originals on this album, "Groovy Night," "The Last Train," and "Twilight Journey." He later worked in the Grand Junction Country Band, and took part in the "Australia Too" charity supergroup which mimicked the "We Are The World" and "Farm Aid" fundraisers.
The Flying Circus "Prepared In Peace" (EMI Records, 1970) (LP)
The Flying Emus "Look Out Below" (Larrikin Records, 1985) (LP)
An inventive, rock-tinged bluegrass/Americana band from Gladesville, NSW with a repertoire that spanned Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Flatt & Scruggs and Slim Dusty. Most of the tunes on here were originals from the band, however, including quite a few written or co-written by guitarist John Kane. The full lineup included drummer Hanuman Dass, John Kane (guitar), Michael Kerin (fiddle), Ian Simpson (banjo and piano), Michael Vidale (bass), and lead vocals from Genevieve ("Genni") Kane, who also played guitar. The group previously put out a cassette-only album, Live At First Sight, and John Kane solo album, Take Your Pick, along with Genevieve Kane, some notable bluegrassers (Dan Crary, Chris Duffy and others) and a nascent lineup of Flying Emus.
Floreena Forbes "Floreena" (Ramac Records, 19--?) (cassette)
(Produced by M. Way)
A solo set from singer Floreena Forbes, who at the time was a member of the Australian country band Tumbleweed, though here she is backed by other musicians: mandolinist Art Campagna, Lazy Harry (banjo), Reg Lengrand (piano), Aub Walker (pedal steel), and unspecified studio musicians at Ramac Studio in Wangaratta, Victoria. The set is packed with covers of American country tunes, although there might have been one or two originals (no composer credits, unfortunately...) As far as I know this was her only only solo album, and may have been a cassette-only release. Probably an early/mid-1980s release.
Mike Fox "Country Boy's Memories" (Bunyip Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Bosco Bosanac)
I'm not entirely sure where honkytonk singer Mike Fox was from... He says he learned to love country music after listening to the Grand Ole Opry as a kid, so it's possible he was an American expat, though this was definitely an Australian record. The backing band included two members of a fabled early 'Sixties Aussie surf band called the Atlantics -- bandleader Bosco Bosanac (on bass, dobro and pedal steel) and piano plunker Theo Penglis -- along with fiddler Kornel Banks, bassist Robert Haanstra, and guitar picker Alistair McPherson who generate a large amount of deep twang as "The Tennessee Ramblers." Mike Fox's vocals may be a little off-putting at first, but he fits pretty squarely in the same slot as adenoidal oddballs such as Dick Feller or Don Bowman, and he can definitely grow on you. A nice set of unpretentious heartfelt twang from the way down under, with several originals credited to Mr. Fox: the title track, "Country Boy's Memories," "Diane, Stand By Me," "Double Seven 304," "I Only Hope (I'll Be Around To See)" and "No One Ever Cared About Marie." Apparently he eventually retired in the UK, so I have no idea what his whole story was about. I like the record, though!
Mike Fox "Sister Cities" (Bunyip Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Bosco Bosanac, Alec Duyser & Peter Hood)
Another set of true twang tunes, with a lot of overlap in the backing band from Fox's first album. This was recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, in Sydney (which I assume was Bruno Bosanac's own company) with Bosanac once again anchoring the sessions, along with Kornel Banks, Robert Haanstra, Alistair McPherson and Theo Penglis, as well as several "new" pickers: Chris Cairns, Bernie Hammarlund and Rainor Webb, and various and sundry others. Half the album's songs were written by Mike Fox, joined by several other tracks of Australian pedigree, as well as covers of Merle Haggard's "Swinging Doors" and James Taylor's "Bartender Blues." Sounds swell to me!
