JOHN PAUL YOUNG
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John Paul Young (vocals)
backed by
The All-Stars (1975-1981):
Ray Arnott (drums) 1981
Kevin Borich (guitar, b/vcls) 1975
Eddie Chappell (drums) 1977-1979
Jacques De Jongh (guitar) 1978-1979
Johnny Dick (drums, percussion) 1975-77
Ray Goodwin (guitar) 1975-1976
Vince Meloney (guitar) 1981
Phil Manning (guitar) 1977
Dallas McDermott (bass) 1977-1978
Ian Miller (guitar) 1977-1979
Tony Mitchell (bass) 1979
Warren Morgan (keyboards, b/vcls) 1975, 1977- present
Peter Northcott (sax) 1981—
Ronnie Peel (bass, b/vcls) 1975-1979
Billy Rogers (sax) 1980-
Ian "Willie" Winter (guitar) 1975-1977
John Paul Young's All-Stars (1986-present):
Juan Gonzales (guitar, vocals) present
Warren Morgan (p,bv) 1986-present
Greg Patterson (g) 1986 —
Ronnie Peel (b,bv) 1986-present
Greg Plimmer (d) 1986-present
Michael Walker (g,k,bv) present
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History
John Paul “Squeak” Young was the most popular
and successful Australian male solo singer of the late Seventies. He is
also without question one of the finest male pop-rock vocalists this country
has ever produced. He is gifted with a dynamic, powerful, soulful and
gritty tenor voice, reminiscent of the great British R&B singer Chris
Farlowe, who was no doubt one of his early idols. Although most of the
peak period of his pop career (1975-79) falls outside the time limits
for MILESAGO, John nevertheless merits inclusion for several reasons —
his membegsubip of Sydney band Elm
Tree (1969- 71), his stint in the rock opera Jesus
Christ Superstar (1972-74), and his 1975 hit records -- the singles
"Yesterday's Hero" and "The Love Game" and his debut LP Hero.
Assisted by good looks and personality (and a natural ease in front of
the TV camera) John shot to pop stardom during his hugely successful five-year
stint as one of the leading protégés of legendary producer-composer
duo Harry Vanda and George Young, who came to fame in the 1960s in the
legendary Easybeats and who headed Australia's hugely successful '70s 'hit
factory', Albert Produtions.
Between 1975 and 1980 John was a genuine teen idol and one of the most
popular male performers in the country, with Sherbet's Daryl Braithwaite
and Skyhooks' Shirley Strahan his only serious rivals. But unlike
Skyhooks and Sherbet (who scored only one UK hit), John's records
were hugely success overseas. He became the first local solo performer
whose records consistently topped the charts in Europe, the USA and most
notably in South Africa, where his popularity was as great as it was back
home in Australia. This international success is often overlooked, but
he unquestionably blazed a trail for Australian music overseas and helped
to pave the way for later acts like Little River Band, Men At Work and
Air Supply.
His signature tune, Vanda & Young's "Love Is In The Air",
is now a international pop standard, and a search for the title with any
internet search engine will demonstrate how widely known and how popular
it is. Anthologized innumerable times, it is one of the best known and
best loved of all Australian popular songs, and its perennial appeal has
been boosted by its inclusion on the soundtrack of the hit film Strictly Ballroom
and by its use in the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony.
Despite his status as Australia's #1 70s pop idol, John has never
lost his easygoing, down-to-earth nature and he was never seduced by the
illusions (or the dangers) of pop stardom-Vanda & Young's
famous advice to him was “Never forget you're working class”.
John has often been portrayed as the laid-back “I'd rather
be fishing” bloke-next-door, and this is true in many respects,
but he was certainly not afraid to put in the hard yards when required,
and his track record-over 30 years in the business and sales of
more than four million records -- speaks for itself. During
the '70s he spent nearly two years as a cast member of a hit stage musical
and he worked like the proverbial Trojan during the five years of his
greatest success, constantly touring around Australia and overseas, making
innumerable TV appearances and recording a significant body of work.
John was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 21 June, 1950. In 1966 his family
migrated to Australia and settled in Sydney. According to Noel McGrath
John's became interested in music at an early age and learned to
play the piano accordion. After leaving school, he took up an apprenticeship
as a sheet-metal worker, but by this time some of his friends were involved
in bands and he was drawn into the local music scene. Apparently his decision
to become a singer was largely a pragmatic one — he wanted to join
in with his mates' musical activities, but he opted for singing
mainly to avoid the expense of buying costly musical equipment! Fortunately
he proved to be a naturally gifted rock vocalist. His friends formed a
semi-pro band, Elm Tree, and John sang with them at night and on weekends
when they performed at local dances.
Elm Tree gained a moderate following around Sydney, and after being spotted
by producer Martin Erdman they cut one single for Erdman's Du Monde
label. Their cover of a song by UK band Marmalade, "Rainbow" (b/w
"Lonely Nights"), was released through Festival in November 1970,
but made no impression on the charts. In mid-1971 they entered the NSW
heats of the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds and got as far as the
Sydney finals, but they didn't make it through to the national final,
and so never managed to break out of the Sydney suburban dance circuit.
Elm Tree broke up at the end of 1971, but soon after this John auditioned
for Harry M. Millers famous production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim
Rice's rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar.
John won one of the show's major supporting roles, that of Annas, one of the high priests.
The show premiered in Sydney in mid-1972 and was a landmark in Australian
musical theatre, setting new standards of production. As well as established
theatrical performers, the cast featured leading pop-rock performers including
former Easybeat Stevie Wright. Besides
gaining critical acclaim and wowing audiences, Superstar was also significant
as the launch-pad for several major 1970s pop careers including John himself.
Stevie Wright's star turn as Simon Zealotes was a major step in
launching his solo career, just as it was for future Queen of Pop Marcia
Hines. Superstar was also the point of origin of another chart-topping
Australian act, Air Supply, whose original lineup was formed by
cast members Russell Hitchcock, Graham Russell and Chrissie Hammond (later
of Cheetah).
It was during his time in Superstar that John was allegedly "discovered"
by visiting English impresario Simon Napier-Bell, producer and manager
of many leading British acts including The Yardbirds, The Move, T-Rex/Marc
Bolan, Japan and Wham!). Napier-Bell came to Australia in 1973 to work
for Albert Productions, an arrangement which presumably came about through
meeting Harry Vanda and George Young, who were at the time still based
in London.
Writing of the visit in his second book of memoirs Black Vinyl, White
Powder, Napier-Bell makes only a cursory reference to his work in
Australia, although during this time he produced recordings for at least
three leading singers — JPY, Alison McCallum and Bobbi
Marchini. Napier-Bell's account predictably puffs up his supposed
part in the discovery of JPY — Alison rates only one-liner and Bobbi
isn't even mentioned, despite the fact that Napier-Bell worked extensively
with her in Australia and later in London. Napier-Bell claims to have
met John by chance, implying that he plucked the “unknown”
young singer from total obscurity, which was certainly not the case at
all. Napier-Bell was evidently not aware — or has since conveniently
forgotten — that John was already an experienced rock singer who
was at that very moment also a leading cast member of a major stage musical.
The association did bear fruit however. Napier-Bell produced John's
debut solo recording for Alberts, the single "Pasadena", was co-written
by Vanda & George Young and English actor David Hemming. "Pasadena"
was one of the genre of successful Aussie songs that name-checked famous
American locales — songs like The Easybeats' last hit "St
Louis" (which John later covered), Axiom's first hit "Arkansas
Grass" and Jon English's "Hollywood 7"). "Pasadena"
was a big hit in Sydney, reaching #10 on the local charts, but it made
little impression nationally. It was followed by "You Drive Me Crazy"
in February 1973 which failed to chart.
John stayed with Superstar for nearly two years. After leaving the show
in February 1974 he renewed his association with Alberts, signing with
them as a solo artist and releasing a third single "It's Only
Love" (presumably another Napier-Bell production) in March 1974 but
this too failed to chart. It would be another year before John scored
his breakthrough hit but in the meantime his career was taken up by Vanda
& Young, who had now returned from England. By 1975 they were hard
at work establishing Alberts as the most successful local pop-rock label
of the period.
Alongside their work with AC/DC, John played a major part in the tremendous
success of Albert Productions and the Vanda & Young team. Harry &
George (with engineer Bruce Brown) produced all John's classic ‘70s
records and they wrote a large proportion of his material songs (including
all this hits), although John developed into a very competent writer himself,
in partnegsubip with his friend and colleague Warren Morgan, the respected
keyboard player and songwriter who had been a key member of Chain and
the ‘70s Aztecs. Like AC/DC, John was also given invaluable support
by the ABC's top-rating weekly pop show Countdown.
Armed with killer material, world-class production and national exposure, Vanda & Young
would dominate Australian pop during the late 70s, writing and/or producing
a seemingly endless string of hits for Albert's stable of acts including
JPY, Ted Mulry Gang, AC/DC, William Shakespeare, Rose Tattoo, Cheetah
and The Angels.
The breakthrough came in March 1975 when Alberts released John's
recording of Vanda & Young's "Yesterday's Hero",
a song about the fleeting nature of pop stardom which clearly drew on
Harry and George's own experiences as former teen idols. The record
shot into the national charts in April and gave John his first #1 hit,
staying at #1 on the Melbourne chart for six weeks before being knocked
off the top spot by Hush's Boney Maroney. It also sold strongly
in the USA and reached #42 on the Cashbox top one hundred.
As noted previously, one of the key factors in the success of "Yesterday's
Hero" was the film clip made to promote it, which enabled the song to be
given heavy exposure on Countdown,
which had just switched to its new one-hour Sunday evening format, following
the official start of colour TV broadcasting on March 1.
Alongside his mates in Sherbet, TMG and Hush, John is inextricably associated
with the exciting early years of the show. He became one of Countdown's
most popular performers and hosted the show of several occasions. John's
laconic, no-bull attitude led to some good-natured on-screen sparring
with gushy talent coordinator Ian “Molly” Meldrum, and many
fans will still remember the famous “argument” during which
John supposedly punched Molly. Of course, such rivalry made for great
publicity, but John is adamant that he “pulled” the punch
and that all concerned knew it was a joke. Nevertheless the incident has
since become accepted as fact.
According to Noel McGrath, some critics suggested at the time that John
should have gone to the States and promoted "Yesterday's Hero",
arguing that it would have made it an even bigger hit there. However,
John apparently felt it was too early to leave Australia and decided to
stay here and consolidate his career. "Yesterdays Hero" was successfully
covered by the Bay City Rollers the following year, although their version
is markedly inferior.
John's next single was the "The Love Game", backed by a cover
of The Easybeats' 1969 classic "St Louis". Released in August
1975, it was the first single to be issued under his altered stage name,
John Paul Young. Prior to this, John had performed simply as John Young,
but from this point on he adopted his full name, to avoid confusion with
Young Talent Time host and former pop star Johnny
Young. But to his thousands of fans he was known simply as "JPY"
or by his nickname "Squeak"
"The Love Game" became his second national Top 5 hit (#5 in September),
and peaked at #9 in Melbourne during October. In November ‘75 he
released his debut album, Hero, entirely written and produced by Vanda & Young.
After "Yesterday's Hero" became a hit, John made two national
tours during the year, one of which was a joint headliner with Sherbet.
In order to be able to tour regularly in support of the Singles and album,
John took over the backing band originally assembled for his label-mate
Stevie Wright -- the aptly-named All Stars. The group would go through
many lineup changes but several key members stayed with John for many
years. The various versions of The All Stars included a veritable “Who's
Who” of OzRock including Warren “Pig” Morgan
(ex Chain, Aztecs),
Johnny Dick (ex Max Merritt
& The Meteors, Doug Parkinson
In Focus), the late Ian “Willie” Winter (ex Carson,
Daddy Cool), Ronnie Peel
(ex Pleazers, Missing Links),
Ray Arnott (ex Spectrum,
Mighty Kong, Dingoes),
Vince Meloney (ex Aztecs,
Bee Gees, Fanny Adams), Kevin
Borich (ex La De Das), Phil
Manning (Chain) and Tony
Mitchell (ex Sherbet).
TheHero LP reached #20 on its release in November 1975
and went on to earn a gold record. Following its release came the first
of many lineup changes in the All Stars, with Ray Goodwin (ex-Dragon)
replacing Kevin Borich, who departed to form his own group, Kevin Borich
Express. Goodwin remained only a short while, leaving at the start of
'76 to join Punkz (which became Cheek).
John's next single became his fourth hit and his third consecutive
Top Five hit within a year. The naggingly catchy "I Hate the Music"
was released in March 1976, reaching #3 nationally in April and earning
John his first gold single. It was accompanied by an ebullient film clip,
compiled from footage of an outdoor concert held beside the Sydney Harbour
Bridge, with John (in his now famous sailor suit) and the All Stars performing
on a barge moored in the harbour.
Later in the year he consolidated his success when Alberts released his
second album, J.P.Y. It reached #10 on the album chart and
like Hero it achieved platinum status with sales of over
70,000. The new album featured three John Paul Young-Warren Morgan co-compositions
-- "Wont Let This Feeling Go By", "Give It Time" and "The
Painting" -- that balanced out the predominant Vanda & Young
tunes.
As well as working with John, various members of The All Stars capitalised
on their new-found visibility by issuing solo records during 1976. Warren
Morgan teamed up with his old mate, Aztecs drummer Gil Matthews for the
single "Endless Winter Nights" / "Raw Love" (November), Johnny
Dick issued the single "The Warrior" / "She Was My Baby" (January)
and Ronnie Peel (under his Rockwell T. James moniker) issued two singles
"Come on Home (A Song for Anna)" / "Belinda" (May) and "Roxanne" / "Hey
Mama" (October).
In January 1977 Willie Winter left the All Stars to join Ross Wilson's
newly formed Mondo Rock, so Ronnie Peel switched to rhythm guitar; his
vacant bass spot was filled by Dallas McDermott and the departing Ray
Goodwin was replaced by the legendary Phil Manning.
John scored his fourth hit with "I Wanna Do It With You"; released
in February, it reached #8 nationally and #11 in Melbourne. With the new
lineup in place, John and the All Stars recorded their third album, Green,
which was released in March. This time the composing credits for the ten
track listing were more balanced, with four by Vanda & Young, five
co-written by John and Warren and one Warren Morgan solo effort. The next
single, "Here We Go" was released in April at the start of a three
month national tour, but surprisingly it failed to chart. Phil Manning
left the All Stars when the tour ended in June, and guitarist-producer
Ian Miller (ex-Chetarca, Wild Beaver Band) took over as lead guitarist.
But by this time John's records were beginning to generate strong
interest and major sales in several overseas markets. The keen-eared Vanda
& Young had experimented since the late ‘60s with writing songs
specifically tailored to current musical styles, and with the disco craze
at its height, it was not surprising that with its infectious Latin-tinged
disco beat, the overtly dance-oriented single "Standing in the Rain"
(lifted from the J.P.Y. album) caught on when released overseas
-indeed it went Top Ten in Germany, peaking at #6. To support it,
John made the first of several overseas visits, undertaking a promotional
tour of Germany and Holland in August. "Standing In The Rain" was
the first of several major international hits for John-it was
#1 in South Africa, and made the Top Ten in Germany and Holland, the Top
Forty in France and even made the lower reaches of the US Top 100.
South Africa proved to be the site of John's greatest overseas
success. "Yesterday's Hero", "Keep on Smilin' " (a
flop in Australia), "I Hate the Music" and "I Wanna Do It With
You" all made the South African Top Ten. Immediately after his return
from Europe in September, John & The All Stars embarked on a massively
successful South African tour that generated wild scenes of fan hysteria
previously unseen there. The band played 32 concerts to a total audience
of 70,000 people. It must have been a great feeling for John to know that
as they left the country in December, his song "The Painting" (the
flip side of "I Wanna Do It With You") was #1 on the South African
charts.
John's next Australian single, the Vanda & Young classic
"Where the Action Is", was released during his absence in September
1977. Although undeniably a great song that recalled the joyous party
spirit of Harry and George's classic hit "Friday On My Mind",
it remarkably it failed to chart nationally — according to Noel
McGrath it was hampered by a lack of radio airplay, although it did reach
#23 in Sydney. Nevertheless it remains one of John's best and best
remembered songs. In December, Alberts released the Xmas compilation All
The Best, and John and the All Stars rounded off another incredible
year with a rousing capital city tour, and by year's end the Green
album had earned John his third consecutive gold LP.
"Standing in the Rain" was released locally in January 1978 and
reached #13 nationally during March and #4 in Melbourne in May. By this
time the All Stars lineup had changed again, with Jacques De Jongh (ex-Redhouse,
Hush) replacing Dallas McDermott on bass. This was the line-up that recorded
John's fourth album Love is in the Air, which would
produce two more hit singles.
The album's title track became the most successful recording of
John's career. It peaked at #3 nationally in June 1978, was a massive
international hit and remains one of the most successful of all Australian
pop recordings. It reached #1 in South Africa and Bangkok, #2 in Norway,
Sweden and Holland, #3 in Germany, #5 in the UK and was Top 40 in the
USA, as well as selling strongly in France, Switzerland and Italy. To
promote it, John made extensive promotional tours of Europe, the UK, where
he appeared on Top of the Pops, and he also toured the USA.
Returning home, John followed up with another successful national tour
and more hits. "The Day that My Heart Caught Fire" cracked the national
top twenty, reaching #18 in September. Cynics might have suspected that
the Alberts hit factory were beginning to rely on formula-Vanda
& Young reputedly used the same rhythm loop on several songs including
"Standing In The Rain", "The Day that My Heart Caught Fire"
and "Love Is In The Air" and the arrangements are remarkably similar
— but the public didn't seem to care a bit. John capped his
most successful year by walking away with the TV Week “King of Pop”
award over three-time winner Daryl Braithwaite, although there was another
ominous sign that radio had heard enough of JPY with the chart failure
of the next single "Fool In Love" (December).
And indeed 1979 saw John's chart career wind down almost as rapidly
as it had taken off. He had enjoyed an incredible four-year run at the
top, but the music scene was moving on and like many of his contemporaries,
his time as a pop sensation was drawing to a close. By 1980 most of the
acts that had risen to the top with John were also running out of steam.
Sherbet were making their brave but ill-fated attempt to shake off the
teenybopper image and crack the American market; TMG and Hush had faded
into obscurity, Stevie Wright was lost in drug-addiction limbo. His erstwhile
Albert label-mates AC-DC were overseas, clawing their way to the top of
the UK rock scene, and Rose Tattoo and The Angels were establishing themselves
as the new hard-rock demigods of the pub scene.
Late in the year, another greatest hits album John Paul Young 1974-1979
came out on the budget Hammard label, and Alberts released the single
"Heaven Sent" (August 1979) and an new album of the same name (released
in November) but neither were successful. By this time The All Stars line-up
had changed again and now comprised Warren Morgan, Ian Miller, Tony Buchanan
(sax; ex-Thunderbirds, Cool Bananas, Johnny Rocco Band), Ray Arnott (drums;
ex-Company Caine, Spectrum, Mighty Kong, Dingoes) and, briefly, Tony Mitchell
from Sherbet, who split briefly
in 1979 after their abortive American venture.
There were more lineup changes in in January 1980. Tony rejoined Sherbet
when they regrouped as Sherbs, so he was replaced by multi-instrumentalist
Billy Rogers (from the last lineup of Dragon) and John Young (ex-Ayers
Rock) replaced Jaques De Jongh but by now the writing was on the wall
and John's sixteenth single," Hot For You Baby" (January 1980)
was to be his last for Alberts. After the end of his Alberts contract
the All Stars went their separate ways.
In 1981, Young recorded an album of 1960s rock and pop favourites called
The Singer, again for the budget label Hammard and his
cover of The Stones/Chris Farlowe classic "Out of Time" came out
as a single in September 1981. Despite its budget price, the album featured
top-shelf session musos including guitarists Jimmy Doyle (ex-Ayers Rock),
and Stuart Fraser (ex-Feather), Rex Bullen (keyboards; ex-Bakery), Ralph
White (trumpet; ex-Fugitives), Les Young (bass; ex-Chessmen) and Russell
Dunlop (drums, percussion, synthesiser; ex-Levi Smiths Clefs, SCRA, Johnny
Rocco Band, Ayers Rock).
Later in the year John assembled a new All Stars with Vince Meloney (guitar;
ex- Aztecs, Bee Gees, Fanny Adams), Peter Northcote (sax, keyboards) and
Ray Arnott. He issued the single "Oh No No" (July 1982) on the Southern
Cross label but it was ignored.
In 1983 things took a more positive turn when John signed to the Australian
branch of German label I.C. Records. He flew to Germany with noted producer,
composer and keyboard player John Capek (ex-Carson)
to record a new album, with sessions at Horus Sound Studios, Hanover and
Union Studios, Munich, Los Angeles, AAV Studios Melbourne and Albert Studio
2 Sydney. The result was the excellent album One Foot In Front
(March 1984), which was renamed Soldier Of Fortune for the
European market. It produced four singles, "Soldier of Fortune" (September
1983), "War Games" (January 1984), "L.A. Sunset" (1984) and
"Call The Night" (1984).
The new album was a major step forward in style for John, featuring a
distinctly ‘adult-oriented' style and a “contemporary
electro-pop sound”. Most of the material had been co-written by
Capek and Canadian Marc Jordan, plus one Young/Morgan composition "Cryin'
Eyes". "Soldier of Fortune" returned JPY to the Australian Top
20 for the first time in five years when it reached #15 in December. The
song gained further prominence when it was picked as the theme song for
the 1984 Disabled Olympics held in New York, and it also went on to be
a hit in Germany. The single and album put Young back in the spotlight
for a while, but it proved to be his last hurrah as a chart performer
and apart from two more one-off singles, "Spain" (EMI, October 1986)
and "Don't Sing that Song" (CBS, June 1989), he essentially
retired from recording and performing, although he continued to work on
and off as a radio DJ.
In 1992, after nearly a decade away from the spotlight, John was welcomed
back by old fans and introduced to a whole new audience when "Love Is
In The Air" was chosen as the theme song to director Baz Luhrmann's
internationally acclaimed feature film Strictly
Ballroom. A “Ballroom Mix” of the song was issued as a
CD single on Albert/Sony in August 1992 and it stormed back into the charts,
peaking at #4 in October in Australia, as well as being reissued in the
UK.
Strictly Ballroom dramatically revived John's career and this
renewed success took him to Spain to appear on two of Spanish television's
major European networks, to Japan to perform for members of the Royal
Family, to Thailand and Fiji, and further, to perform at many subsequent
high profile events like the Sydney Olympic bid, the AFI Awards, the Australian
Music Awards and the Australian Grand Prix Ball.
In 1996 John to recorded a new album, Now, which included
a re-recorded version of "Love Is In The Air" plus old favourites
like The Young Rascals "Groovin' ", Fats Domino's "Ain't
that a Shame" and The Easybeats' "St Louis". Another track,
"Happy The Man", came out as a single in August. He returned to Germany
after an absence of 20 years, appearing on all the major TV programmes
& specials, which in turn led to a month-long tour there in 1998 backed
by The All Stars, with performances right across the country.
Returning to the stage for the first time since Superstar, John played
the role of record producer Gus Sharkey (aka Phil Spector) in the stage
production of the musical Leader of the Pack. In 1998 he sang on
a new version of I Hate The Music, backed by indie band Ratcat
and the single surfaced briefly on the charts as a spin-off from the Australian
movie Occasional
Coarse Language. The song "All Hell Broke Loose", which John
co-wrote with Angry Anderson and long time collaborator "Pig"
Morgan, was recorded and released by Rose Tattoo for their 1998 national
tour, and in 2000 John appeared in a quirky Kraft Foods TV commercial
which used "Yesterday's Hero".
After Strictly Ballroom the perennial "Love Is In The Air" took
on a life of its own-among many other appearances, it featured
in two major UK advertising campaigns in 1999 and its enduring appeal
was acknowledged in 2000 when John was chosen to perform the song during
the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Although his touring schedule is less hectic than in his ‘70s heyday,
John and The All Stars have proved extremely popular on the burgeoning
corporate events circuit, which now provides lucrative work for many Aussie
rockers. They have performed at events for General Motors Holden, Toyota,
Subaru, National Mutual, McDonalds, Digital Equipment Corporation, National
Panasonic, Dairy Farmers, AMP and IBM.
John has also had a long involvement in radio, working as an announcer
at New FM in Newcastle, Sydney's 2CH and a popular stint in the breakfast
slot on Curtin Radio 927 in Perth in 2000/2001. He also recorded a syndicated
program aptly named 'Yesterday's Heroes' which was broadcast
in the eastern states of Australia on the RG Network.
John's experience on Countdown stood him in good stead for TV work and
over the last few years he has appeared on many national programs including
the Coca Cola Summer Promotion, Channel 7's The Hard Yards, the
premiere of Channel 9's Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, Roy &
HG's Club Buggery, Channel 9's This is Your Life tributes
to Molly Meldrum & Jon English, Channel 10's Monday to Friday
show presenting the entertainment & music news segment and 7's Full
Frontal in which he appeared in a spoof on The Footy Show performing
"Simply the Tops", a take off of the Tina Turner football anthem.
He also “crossed the pond” to New Zealand where he performed
and competed in NZTV's Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Christmas Special.
He won the game, and the show gained the highest ratings of the year.
Away from his musical work, John is a longtime resident of Port Macquarie,
where he is active in the Landcare movement and is an outspoken community
activist on issues related to mining in the western Lake Macquarie area.
In March 2001 John came to the aid of an old friend in need and he played
a rousing and truly memorable set at the emotional Ted Mulry benefit concert
Gimme Ted, backed by his old mates from the All Stars including
Pig Morgan, Johnny Dick and Ronnie Peel. Most recently, John and the All
Stars proved again that the old magic has not faded when they delivered
one of the standout sets in the Long Way To The Top concert tour,
which played to sold-out houses around Australia in September-October
2002.
Discography
Singles
Mar. 1972
" Pasadena" / "Better Go Back to Bed" (Albert Productions AP-9765)
Produced by Simon Napier-Bell
Feb. 1973
" You Drive Me Crazy" / "For My Love" (Albert Productions AP-10134)
Produced by Simon Napier-Bell
Mar. 1974
" It's Only Love" / "Bad Trip" (Albert Productions AP-10423)
Produced by Simon Napier-Bell
Mar. 1975
" Yesterday's Hero" / "The Next Time" (Albert Productions AP-10688)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Aug. 1975
" The Love Game" / "St Louis" (Albert Productions AP-10907)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Mar. 1976
" I Hate the Music" / "My Name is Jack" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Oct. 1976
" Keep on Smilin'/ If I Could Live My Life Again" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Feb. 1977
"I Wanna Do It with You" / "The Painting" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Apr. 1977
"Here We Go" / "Shake That Thing "(Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Sep. 1977
" Where the Action Is" / "Down on My Knees" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Jan. 1978
"Standing in the Rain" / "Same Old Thing" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
June 1978
" Love is in the Air" / "Won't Let this Feeling Go By" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Sep. 1978
"The Day that My Heart Caught Fire" / "Lazy Days" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Dec. 1978
" Fool in Love" / "It's All Over" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Aug. 1979
" Heaven Sent" / "Don't You Walk that Way" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Jan 1980
" Hot for You Baby" / "I Don't Want to Lose You" (Albert Productions)
Produced by Vanda & Young
Sep. 1981
" Out of Time" / "Hold Me" (Hammard)
July 1982
" Oh No No" / "You Can Do Anything" (Southern Cross)
Sep. 1983
"Soldier of Fortune" / "Sirens" (I.C. Records)
Produced by John Capek
Jan. 1984
" War Games" / "Come on Down" (I.C.)
Produced by John Capek
1984
" L.A. Sunset" / "Cryin' Eyes" (I.C.)
Produced by John Capek
1984
"Call the Night" / "L.A. Sunset" (I.C.)
Produced by John Capek
Oct. 1986
"Spain" / "Money to Burn "(EMI)
June 1989
" Don't Sing that Song" / "Here We Go "(CBS)
with Ratcat
1998
" I Hate The Music" (Murmur MATTCD07)
Albums
1975
Hero (Albert)
"Yesterday's Hero"
"Bad Trip"
"Things To Do
"The Next Time"
"Birmingham
"St. Louis
"Pasadena" *
"Friends"
"Silver Shoes and Strawberry Wine"
"The Love Game"
Produced by Vanda & Young
All songs by Vanda-Young except "Pasadena" (Vanda-Young-Hemming)
1976
J.P.Y. (Albert Productions)
"Keep on Smilin' "
"Won't Let This Feeling Go By (Young-Morgan-Porter-Hall)
"The Painting" (Morgan-Young)
"Take the Money"
"Good, Good, Good"
"I Hate The Music"
"Standing in the Rain"
"If I Could Live My Life Again"
"Give It Time" (Morgan-Young)
"I Still Got You"
All other tracks by Vanda-Young
Produced by Vanda/Young.
Recorded at Alberts Studios, Sydney
1977
Green (Albert Productions)
"Gay Time Rock 'n' Roll" (Young-Morgan)
"Just Can't Go (J.P. Young-Morgan)
"Down on My Knees" (Young-Morgan)
"Shake That Thing"
"I Wanna Do It with You II"
"I Know You"
"The Same Old Thing" (Young-Morgan)
"Here We Go" (Morgan)
"Bring That Bottle of Wine over Here"
"One of These Times" (Young-Morgan)
All other tracks by Vanda-Young
Produced by Vanda/Young.
Recorded at Alberts Studios, Sydney
1977
All The Best (Albert Productions)
Greatest hits compilation
1978
Love Is In The Air (Alberts)
"The Day That My Heart Caught Fire"
"Fool In Love"
"Open Doors"
"Lost In Your Love"
"Red Hot Ragtime Band
"Lazy Days"
"Love Is in the Air"
"It's All Over"
"Lovin' In Your Soul"
Produced by Vanda & Young.
Recorded at Alberts Studios, Sydney
1979
John Paul Young 1974-1979 (Hammard)
Greatest hits compilation
1979
Heaven Sent (Albert)
"Heaven Sent"
"Don't You Walk That Way"
"I Don't Wanna Lose You"
"Love You So Bad It Hurts"
"Hot for You Baby"
"Can't Get You out of My System"
"I Ain't Ready for Love"
"Bad Side of the City"
Produced by Vanda & Young
1981
The Singer (Hammard)
1983
Soldier Of Fortune (I.C. Records)
References/Links
Ian McFarlane
Encyclopaedia of Australian Rock & Pop (Allen & Unwin, 1999)
Noel McGrath
Australian Encyclopedia of Rock (Outback Press, 1978)
Jonas Wårstad
John Paul Young - The Vanda/Young productions
http://www.algonet.se/~jonwar/john-paul-young.html
Not Just Another ‘70s Music Site
http://www.geocities.com/englshkid/jpy.htm
“Squeak takes to world stage”
http://15min.org/index.php?page=articles&ID=609
Commercial Breaks and Beats :: The UK TV Advert Music Database
http://www.commercialbreaksandbeats.co.uk/advanced_results.asp?advSearchString=John%20Paul%20Young&chArtist=yes