MELISSA
Sydney 1969-72
Richard Barrett
(guitars) 1969
Joe Creighton (bass, vocals) 1969-71
Robert Gunn (flute, vocals)
Wally Sparke (drums)
Ken Henley (bass) 1969
Glen Farley (keyboards) 1971
Chris Keystone (vocals) 1971
Glen Manion (piano) 1971
History
Melissa formed in Sydney in 1969 under the name Molten Hue.
The original lineup was Robert Gunn (flute, vocals), Rick Barrett
(guitar) Ken Frazier (bass) and Warren "Wal" Sparkes (drums), but
Irish-born bassist Joe Creighton (who had previously been a member of
UK band The A-Side) replaced Frazier not long after the band was
formed. Melissa started out playing a psychedelia and acid-rock, and
they were one of the first Australian bands to play rock in the style
of American West Coast acts like Jefferson Airplance, Country Joe
& The Fish or The Steve Miller Band.
Melissa's debut 45 "Mississippi Mamma" -- produced by Rory
Thomas from The Questions
-- was a pacy progressive blues-rock number, backed by a raucous cover
of Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing". The group's only album, Midnight
Trampoline was recorded over a period of nine months during
1971 and was eventually released in October on the independent Banner label.
Several tracks were composed by Creighton and/or Barnett, and there's
an interesting arrangement of the traditional song "Cuckoo". As Ian
McFarlane noted in Freedom Train, the group was
obviously heavily under the spell of Van Morrison's Astral
Weeks, and the LP features two Morrison covers, "Madame
George" and "Young Lovers Do". Unfortunately, the album sank without a
trace on release, but over the
years it has gained a reputation as one of the better Australian rock
Albums of the period and it became a sought-after collector's item.
Melissa had a strong following on the Sydney suburban dance
circuit and they performed with major acts like Tully
and Mecca at 'underground' happenings and concerts at venues like the
Paddington Town Hall and the Arts Factory in Darlinghurst. One of the
highlights of the group's brief career was a support slot in Sydney on
the Sydney leg of the first Australian tour by Elton John in October 1971.
By this time, however, internal
tensions that built up during the recording of the LP had brought about
to a split the band, with Creighton and Gunn being replaced by Chris
Keystone and Ken Hanley, plus a new keyboard player, Glen Farley.
Melissa continued to perform through 1972 but broke up at the end of
that year.
Fortunately, the Melissa recordings were among the precious
early-'70s OzRock relics selected for reissue by Vicious Sloth
Collectibles. The tracks from the Midnight Trampoline
LP, augmented by the two tracks from the single, were included on the
CD reissue
The most notable member of the group is of course Joe
Creighton, who has long been one of Australia's most respected and
sought-after bassist-vocalists. He has played with many notable
Australian acts including Billy T, Mark Gillespie, Pseudo Echo, The
Black Sorrows, Vanetta Fields, Ian Moss and The John Farnham Band and
The Revelators, he's toured with Tim Finn, and led his own Joe
Creighton Band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Joe's remarkable list
of session credits includes the Oz soundtrack, Jane
Conway, Pat Wilson, Australian Crawl, Hunters & Collectors,
Sharon O'Neill, the Wendy Matthews/Kate Ceberano duet album, Greg
Champion, Marc Hunter and Jenny Morris
Discography
Singles
March 1970 (Festival FK-3590)
"Mississippi Mama" (Zinser) / "Too Much Of Nothing" (Dylan)
Produced by Rory Thomas
Albums
Oct. 1971
Midnight Trampoline (Banner SBNL 934350)
LP
Re-released with bonus tracks by Vicous Sloth Collectibles (VSC-007) CD
Side 1:
1. "Matalla" (Creighton-Barrett)
2. "Getting Through" (Creighton)
3. "Young Lovers Do" (Morrison)
4. "Out in the Country"
(Williams-Nicholls)
Side 2:
5. "Cuckoo" (Trad., arr.
Creighton-Barrett)
6. "Jennifer In New York" (Barrett)
7. "Madame George" (Morrison)
Bonus tracks on CD:
8. "Mississippi Mama" (Zinser)*
9. "Too Much of Nothing" (Dylan)*
Richard Barrett (guitars)
Joe Creighton (bass, vocals)
Robert Gunn (flute, vocals)
Wally Sparke (drums, percussion)
Additional musicians:
"Martin" - vocal harmony
Peter Martin - 12-string guitar
Glen Farley - electric piano
Produced and engineered by Spencer Lee
Cover design and art by David Burke
References / Links
Ian McFarlane
Encyclopedia of
Australian Rock & Pop (Allen & Unwin, 1999)
Noel McGrath
Australian Encyclopedia
of Rock (Outback Press, 1978)
Vernon Joyson
Dreams, Fantasies
& Nightmares: Australia (Borderline Books, 2000)
Chris Spencer,
Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry
Who's Who Of Australian
Rock (Five Mile Press, 2002)