| MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 | Groups & Solo Artists |
HOUSE OF BRICKS
Sydney, 1969
Garry Adams (guitar, vocals)
Doug Bligh (drums)
Daryl Braithwaite (vocals)
Bruce Worrall (bass)
History
Sydney band House of Bricks were one of dozens of bands playing around Sydney at the many dances, discotheques and concerts but they split sometime during 1969 when Adams and Bligh decided to form their own band, Galadriel, with the aim of playing original material.
House of Bricks made no commercial recordings, and the band's main significance these days is their role in the formation of '70s pop legends Sherbet. The only other notable fact is that they were beaten out for first place in the finals of the 1969 2SM/Pepsi Pop Poll by rival Sydney band The Clik, which was led by 14-year-old wiz-kid guitarist Mario Millo.
After House of Bricks split up Garry Adams and Doug Bligh formed the highly regarded prog-rock outfit Galadriel, while Bruce Worrall and Daryl Braithwaite moved on to Samael Lilith. Exactly when they joined and left that band is difficult to determine, but it's likely they were only members for a short time. Sherbet played their first concert in March 1969, and Worrall replaced founding member Doug Rae not long after the group's first gig in March 1969. Sherbet's original lead singer Dennis Laughlin left the band towards the end of the 1969 , and Worrall suggested his replacement -- his former House of Bricks bandmate Daryl Braithwaite. The rest, of course, is History.
Worrall quit (or was sacked from) Sherbet in early 1972 -- just prior to their commercial breakthrough -- and he was replaced (the same night) by Tony Mitchell. Worrall went on to a successful career as a session player -- he played on the best-selling Jesus Christ Superstar Australian cast soundtrack, the even more successful Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong LP and the hit Jon English album Hollywood Seven; in the 80s he was a member of the band Goldrush, which featured Tommy and Phil Emmanuel.
References / Links
McFarlane, Ian
Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop
(Allen & Unwin, 1999)
Spencer, Chris, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry
Who's Who of Australian Rock, 5th edition
(Five Mile Press, 2002)