JOHN ROBINSON
Sydney-based John 'Robbo' Robinson has been one of Australia's most
renowned guitarists for more than thirty years, and he is also an
accomplished composer-arranger and a highly respected guitar
teacher.
John first came to prominence when he joined Sydney band The Dave Miller Set
in 1967. The group was formed in early 1967 by Christchurch-born
singer-songwriter Dave Miller. John joined a few months later and over
the next three years he emerged as one of Australia's original 'guitar
heroes', with the DMS becoming one of the first local bands to explore
the heavy-rock style pioneered by acts like Cream, Hendrix and Free.
John's work with the DMS inluded countless gigs up and down the east
coast of Australia and tours to New Zealand and Fiji, Pacific cruises
-- DMS were one of the first Australian pop bands to do this -- and
even a pioneering tour to Indonesia in 1969. John featured on the five
DMS Singles, "Why, Why Why", "Hope", "Get Together", the psychedelic
classic "Mr Guy Fawkes", and their final single, a cover of Chicago's
"Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?".
After the failure of the last single, which flopped because of the infamous 1970 Radio Ban, the Dave Miller Set split.
John soon put together a new group, the acclaimed Blackfeather, and secured a deal with Festival's new progressive
subsidiary Infinity. In April 1971 they released the classic Australian hard rock album At The Mountains Of Madness,
which was a Top Ten hit, and they had great success with the hit single
lifted from it, the perennial favourite "Seasons Of Change", which was
also successfully covered by Fraternity.
Unfortunately, the partnegsubip between Robinson and singer Neale
Johns broke up acrimoniously later in the year and it was then that
John discovered that the band's name was in fact owned by their
agent. Neale Johns formed a rival version of the band and John found
himself unable to use the name of the group he had formed.
John then joined Hunger, the house band at Jonathon's Disco, which eventualy led to
his next project, the acclaimed studio supergroup Duck. Under the direction of producer G.Wayne Thomas
they recorded a highly regarded album of rock and R&B covers entitled Laid. Released in mid-1972 and featuring Jon
English and Bobbi Marchini on lead vocals, with backing by John, renowned jazz pianist Bobby Gebert, percussionist Larry Duryea
(ex Tamam Shud), former Aztec Teddy Toi on bass and Steve Webb on drums; the LP is now a prized
collectors' item. A touring version of the group was put together, with former Wild Cherries frontman Danny Robinson replacing
English (who had by then joined the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar).
After the end of the Duck project, John reunited with Dave Miller
for a short-lived revival of the Dave Miller Set. In early 1973 John
began working in earnest to develop his arranging and composing skills,
which enabled him to get work with Festival producer Martin Erdman
arranging recordings for Sister Janet Mead, Barry Leef and Jeff St
John.
John then formed the progressive power trio Eclipse with Tony
Anderson on drums and Gary Evans on bass; John later augmented the
group with electric violin and Moog synthesiser. By the time Eclipse
folded, John had met the acclaimed Hungarian-born jazz-rock bassist
Jackie Orzacsky and they formed a trio with drummer Joe Tattersall.
With drummer they recorded the superb but little-known LP, Morning in Beramiada, which was released under Jackie's name.
Throughout this period John worked on tracks for a solo album
project which was finally released in 1974 by Festival under the title Pity For The Victim.
It featured an all-star lineup including some of the best singers of the period -- Bobbi Marchini, Alison MacCallum,
Barry Leef, Jeff St. John and Janice Slater -- with Patrick Bleakley, Benny Kaika
and Teddy Toi (bass), Julie Pearson and Bobby Gebert (keyboards), Steve Webb and Bruno Lawrence
(drums) and Larry Duryea (percussion). It is now a sought-after
collectors' item -- only about 1000 copies were pressed according to
John and it remains one of the great 'lost treasures' of Seventies Oz
music. Sadly, it shared the same fate as the Orzacsky LP -- without a
group to promote and perform them both albums sank without trace, which
is a real pity, as they are both top-notch efforts. Fortunately, John
has at last been able to remaster and re-release this classic album on
CD, remastered, with many bonus tracks, and it can be ordered online
from the CD BABY website.
With his finances and live work at an all-time low, John joined forces with singer-bassist-guitarist Paul Radcliffe (ex King Fox) in
a new six-piece band called Currents.
which featured Greg Taylor and Andy Ross on reeds, Radcliffe on bass,
Peter Itelly on drums, and John Levine on keys -- the first large
ensemble John had worked with since Duck. Through Jackie Orzacsky, John
had a brief but rather unhappy stint in Marcia
Hines' touring band, and continued working with Currents until they disbanded in 1976.
At this point, John decided to try his luck as a guitar teacher; not
surprisingly, he found himself in high demand and it has been the
mainstay of his work for ever since. His many students include some
very famous names, including Eric McCusker (Captain Matchbox, Mondo Rock) and
Murray Cook (The Wiggles).
The last project John was involved in ca. 1980 was an instrumental
combo called The Electric Guitar Orchestra. This included John Levine
from Currents, plus John Comino and Steve Robinson (no relation) who
specialised in double-neck twelve-string electric. The group performed
compositions by Robinson and Levine, including a Robinson arrangement
of part of 'The Firebird Suite' by Stravinsky and they did some special
2JJJ radio broadcasts. The band was recorded by Willie Rout of Wirra
Willa Studios as part of a grant John received from the Arts Council.
Since 1980 John has concentrated on his teaching with great success,
but he has also been working away constantly during his spare hours,
writing, arranging and recording original music. He has amassed a very
considerable body of work, sufficient to fill many CDs, and having
heard a good deal of it I can attest that relects the skill, quality
and inventiveness that we have come to expect from John. Happily, some
of this music is at last seeing the light of day, commercially, and
John has just released his first solo album in thirty years. (Read our review). HOT
is a superb collection of some of the best of John's compositions,
including the achingly beautiful instrumental "Amelia" and "Requiem:
SRV", a scorching guitar workout dedicated to one of John's favourite
players, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan.
John's latest CD, Funky Bunny Escapes! was released in 2006, along with the long-awaited re-release of Pity For The Victim. You can purchase them online and find contact details for John on the CD BABY website:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnrobinson
John's new album project An Olive in the Guinness will be released in 2008.
Discography
with The Dave Miller Set:
Singles
Oct. 1967
"Why Why Why" (P. Volk) / "Hard, Hard Year" (Ransford) (Spin EK 2064)
Apr. 1968
"Hope" (Buie-Adkins) / "Havin' a Party" (Cooke) (Spin EK 2277)
Oct. 1968
"Get Together" (Powers) / "A Bread & Butter Day" (D. Miller) (Spin EK 3160)
Jul. 1969
"Mr Guy Fawkes" (Cox) / "Someone Is Sure To" (Graham) (Spin EK 3160)
Nov. 1969
"Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Lamm) / "No Need To Cry" (D. Miller) (Spin EK 3571)
with Blackfeather:
May 1971
"Seasons Of Change" / "On The Day That I Die" (Infinity INK 4248)
EPs
1968
Hope (Spin EX 11530)
"Hope" / "Havin' A Party" // "Why Why Why" / "Hard Hard Year"
1969
Mr Guy Fawkes (Spin EX 11608)
"Mr Guy Fawkes" / "Someone Is Sure To" // "Get Together" / "A Bread & Butter Day"
Albums
with Blackfeather
Apr. 1971
At The Mountains of Madness (Infinity SINL934159 LP D34159 CD)
with Duck:
1972
Laid (Warner WS 2008)
Track Listing:
1. "Maybe I'm Amazed" (Paul McCartney)
2. "Southern Man" (Neil Young)
3. "Anyway That You Want Me" (Chip Taylor)
4. "Dog Breath" (Frank Zappa)
5. "Buried Alive In The Blues" (Nick Gravenites)
6. "Memo To Turner" (Jagger - Richard)
7. "The Man In Me" (Bob Dylan)
8. "How Long Before I'm Gone" (Zager-Schefrin)
9. "Ain't No Sunshine" (Bill Withers)
10. "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" (Cook-Greenway-Clark)
11. "Mother" (John Lennon)
12. "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up" (Bruister-Simmons)
13. "Do Right Woman" (Penn-Moman)
Bobbi Marchini (vocals)
Jon English (vocals)
John Robinson (guitar)
Larry Duryea (congas)
Bob Gebert (piano)
Danny Robinson (vocals)
Russel Smith (guitar)
Teddy Tol (bass)
Steve Webb (drums)
Produced By G. Wayne Thomas
Engineered by Roger Savage
Recorded at Armstrong's Studios, Melbourne
with Jackie Orzacksy, 1975:
Morning In Beramiada (Real Records)
"Morning In Beramiada"
"Thoughts of Home"
"White Raven"
"Friends of Mrs S."
"Tubarose"
Solo recordings:
1974
Pity For The Victim (Infinity L 35309) LP
1. "A God Called Free"
2. "Tell Me What You See"
3. "Prowler"
4. "Lovin' In A Taxi"
5. "Let The sun Touch The Earth"
6. "A.M. Mail To Mullagawudji"
7. "When Will I See You Again?"
8. "Pay Your Dues"
9. "Whirlpool"
10. "Finding A Way"
11. "A God Called Free"
12. "Tell Me What You See"
13. "Prowler"
14. "Lovin' In A Taxi"
15. "Let The Sun Touch The Earth"
16. "A.M. Mail To Mullagawudji"
17. "When Will I See You Again?"
18. "Pay Your Dues"
19. "Whirlpool"
20. "Finding A Way"
Available online from CD BABY
2004
HOT (Blackfeather Music) CD
Available online from CD BABY.
2004
Funky Bunny Escapes! (Blackfeather Music 634479420993) CD
Available online from CD BABY.
References / Links
Ian McFarlane
Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop
(Allen & Unwin, 1999)
MIdastouch - Aussie 60s-70s
http://www.tabulas.com/~midastouch/gallery.html
Bobbi Marchini website
http://www.bobbimarchini.co.uk/
Many thanks to John Robinson for additional information and all the great music.