[Dialogue] Billy Thorpe

[frank bremner]

To colleagues who have been in Australia:

It probably won't make the US news services, except those in California.

It's now about 10.15 am in Adelaide on Wednesday morning.
At about 1.00 am in Sydney, Billy Thorpe died at the age of 60 from a heart 
attack.

It's like Bruce Springstein dying.  Billy was a wild rocker of the late 60s 
(Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs  and "Poison Ivy"), then went to California for 
20 years.  Then returned, reinvented with the same "giving to the audience" 
sound at the Sunbury Pop Festival (Billy Thorpe and the Sunbury Aztecs and 
"Most people I know think that I'm crazy".

He was one of the instigators of "A long way to the top" (after the AC/DC 
song) - a TV series then a tour, celebrating the founders of Australian 
rock'n'pop from the 50s onwards.  Did you know that Little Richard almost 
refused to go on stage after Johnny O'Keefe, J O'K was so good?

For those remember him, I'm sure Australian news services on the net etc 
will  have more information.

Best wishes

Frank Bremner

Amidst the wild rock were beautiful ballads - his version of "Over the 
rainbow" is an Aussie classic.