Category: Australian independent label
Date: 1969 - 1970
Location: Melbourne, Vic
Ownership: Peter Goodman
Distribution: Tempo(?)
| MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 | Record Labels |
REBEL RECORDS
| |
Category: Australian independent label Date: 1969 - 1970 Location: Melbourne, Vic Ownership: Peter Goodman Distribution: Tempo(?) |
History
Rebel Records operated for about two years (1969-70) and according to Chris Spencer it released eleven singles and one LP; so far Milesago has been able to identify seven of its single releases. Paul McHenry reports that the label was estasblished and run by Peter Goodman, manager of The Town Criers.
Rebel's inaugural single was by Melbourne band The Expression, and this 45 is now very rare. The A-side "Quicksand" is particularly notable because it was written by Doug Ford and Jim Keays of The Masters Apprentices. Although it didn't become a hit, it was evidently a strong release, and Vernon Joyson raves about it in his book Dreams, Fantasies & Nightmares:
"'Quicksand' ... was a wild psychedelic offering with screaming vocals and great acid guitar work. The flip was almost as heavy and notable for its pounding beat. This was one of the very best guitar-driven psychedelic singles ever issued by an Aussie band in the early seventies."
The Expression continued working around Melbourne until 1972, after which guitarist Peter Gregory joined The Ash with Criston Barker.
Rebel's fourth release is another interesting item; it was credited to The Meating, a one-off 'supergroup' of top Melbourne-based musos -- 'Sleepy' Greg Lawrie and John Capek from Carson, Matt Taylor, Tim Piper and Graham 'Yuk' Harrison from Genesis, and Trevor Courtney from Cam-Pact.
Another historically significant release on Rebel was the debut single by The Carson County Band. Their Rebel single was released before singer Broderick Smith joined the group, which soon became nationally known under its shortened name, Carson. Both The Ash and Carson went on to record for the Havoc label.
Rebel recording artist Gil Roberts released two singles on the label and his second 45 appears to have been the label's only chart success. It was a cover of the Cliff Richard oddity "Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha", an Australian Top 20 hit, which Gil presumably covered because Cliff's version (released on EMI) was a victim of the 1970 Radio Ban. His version co-charted with Cliff's, peaking at #19 in Go-Set in early January 1971 and charting for 13 weeks. Chris Spencer reports that Gil went on to become the A&R manager for the Rajon label.
According to Paul McHenry, Tony Lee was a Sydney-based club singer, but nothing else is known of him at this stage.
Discography
Singles
| Cat. # | Date | Artist | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DG-270/01 |
1969 | The Expression | "Quicksand" (Ford-Keays) "Remember the times" |
- |
| DG-270/02 | 1969 | Gil Roberts | "Lucky old sun" (Smith) "Pretty ballerina" (P. Quirk) |
- |
| DG-207/03 | 1970 | Abacus | "Lovely To See You" ? |
- |
| DG-270/04 | Aug. 1970 | The Meating | "Bad Luck Feeling" "Back Home" |
- |
| DG-207/05 | 1970 | Tony Lee | "Time" "I Cant Believe My Eyes" |
- |
| DG-270/06 | 1970 | Carson County Band | "On The Highway" "Resting Place" |
- |
| DG-270/07 | 1970 | Gil Roberts | "Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha" "Take Me Girl" |
Go-Set
#19, Jan. 1970 charted jointly w/ Cliff Richard version |
| DG-270/08 | - | - | - | - |
| DG-270/09 | - | - | - | - |
| DG-270/10 | - | - | - | - |
| DG-270/11 | - | - | - | - |
Album
-
References / Links
Thanks to Chris Spencer and Paul McHenry for additional information
Ross Laird
The Sixties:
Australian Rock & Pop Recordings 1964-1969
(Screensound Collection Guide)
http://www.nfsa.afc.gov.au/docs/collectionguide_thesixties1964-1969.pdf
Vernon Joyson
Dreams, Fantasies
& Nightmares: Australia (Borderline Books, 1999)