GO!! RECORDS

Category: Australian independent label Location: Melbourne, NSW Date: 1964-1968 Distributor: Astor

History

Go!! Records is without doubt one of the most siginificant, interesting and collectible Australian labels of the 1960s, and as Brett Leslie pointed out in his Freedom Train article on the label, it was also one of only a handful that could claim to be truly "independent". It was a quintessential '60s label, as evidenced by its archetypal 'Mod' name and logo, and it featured music by some of the best of the new generation of Australian pop performers of the mid-1960s.

The label was established in 1964 by DYT Productions, who were also the producers of the top-rating 0-10 network pop show The Go!! Show, which premiered in mid-1964. The show was an immediate ratings winner and its initial run was extended to a full year after only seven weeks on air. It quickly became the most popular (and arguably the best) pop show of the period, and during its three-year run it featured many of the

DYT was headed by veteran musician Horrie Dargie (a renowned harmonica player), Arthur Young and Johnny Tillbrook. In 1964, they formed the Go!! label to promote the 'house' artists who appeared on the show, and new discoveries. Its records were maunfactured and distributed by Astor Records. 

In its brief three-year existence, Go!! released 54 singles, seven EPs and six LPs, although three of these were compilations of Go!! artists and one was a "Best Of" by MPD Ltd. Go!! was not limited to selecting bands only from Sydney or Melbourne, and their catalogue included bands such as Tony & The Shantels (from Shepparton in Victoria), The Chosen Few (originally from Nuriootpa in South Australia, and The Clique (from Perth). 

Go!! also played a role in the inaugural Hoadley's National Battle of the Sounds in 1966. All nine grand finalists were to be offered a contract with Go!! Records, (although as it transpired two bands were already signed to EMI) but this arrangement only occurred in 1966. 

In August 1967 Channel 0 Melbourne abruptly cancelled both The Go!! Show and its rival Kommotion and the loss of its major promotional outlet quickly led to teh demise of the Go!! label.

Discography

Singles

EPs

Albums

References / Links

Paul Conn
2000 Weeks: The First Thirty Years of Australian Rock (Moonlight Publications, 1992)

Terence J. Stacey
The Battle of The Sounds 1964 - 1972 (Moonlight Publications)

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