Volume I takes the reader from the beginnings of rock’n’roll in Australia to the end of the surf music era in 1963, just before The Beatles finally broke through in Australia and changed everything. It’s chronological in the sense that I look at artists and acts as they emerge on the local, national and – the few lucky ones – international stage, but within each “band/artist” chapter I look at similar artists and acts, some of them even directly connected to the main artist/act in a sort of “family trees” way, some just because their stories are worth preserving as more and more of their “lost” music is retrieved by fans and released on compilation CDs. I also follow their various careers as far as they went, whether it only produced a single or continues through until today – and you’d be surprised how many of them are still out there performing – and recording. The book is a mix of research and interviews with those participants I’ve been lucky enough to talk to over the years. It’s about the music – whatever the quality or otherwise (no personal judgements or evaluations) – and the musicians. It’s NOT an academic work, but I’ve tried to use academic rigour to get it as right as possible. Enjoy…
Source: Publisher's blurb
