The Twilights

The Twilights
The Twilights c.1968. Top row: Peter Brideoake, Laurie Pryor. Bottom row: Clem "Paddy" McCartney, John Bywaters, Glenn Shorrock Terry Britten.
Background information
Origin	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Genres	Rock, beat pop
Discography	Discography
Years active	1964 (1964)–1969 (1969)
Labels	EMI/Columbia EMI/HMV
Spinoffs	Axiom Quartet
Spinoff of	The Hurricanes the Checkmates
Past members	Frank Barnard Peter Brideoake John Bywaters Clem "Paddy" McCartney Kevin Peek Glenn Shorrock Terry Britten Laurie Pryor Jeff Pretty

The Twilights were an Australian rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1964 by Peter Brideoake on rhythm guitar, John Bywaters on bass guitar, Clem "Paddy" McCartney and Glenn Shorrock both on lead vocals. They were joined by Terry Britten on lead guitar and Laurie Pryor on drums. Heavily influenced by the British Invasion, they became a significant Australian band during the 1960s. They were noted for their musicianship, on-stage humour and adoption of overseas sounds and trends. They were popular nationally in 1966 with their cover version of "Needle in a Haystack" (originally by the Velvelettes) topping the Go-Set singles chart. Also in that year, they won the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds competition and were awarded a trip to London.

The group's attempts to establish themselves in England were unsuccessful. They had a No. 3 hit in Australia with "What's Wrong with the Way I Live?", written by the Hollies members. The Twilights' sound was influenced by the psychedelic movement and when they returned to Australia in 1967 they had sporadic success. In 1968 the band filmed a pilot for a Monkees-style sitcom for Seven Network, which did not go forward. Following a decline in popularity and the departure of long-term manager Gary Spry, the Twilights disbanded early in 1969. Shorrock formed Axiom in 1969 and later fronted Little River Band from 1975. Terry Britten became an internationally successful songwriter, writing songs for Cliff Richard and Tina Turner.

History

1964–1965

The Twilights were formed as a beat pop group in Elizabeth, a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia in mid-1964. Its population, at that time, largely consisted of British immigrants and their descendents. Founding members were Frank Barnard on drums, Peter Brideoake on rhythm guitar, John Bywaters on bass guitar and Kevin Peek on lead guitar (all ex-the Hurricanes) as well as Clem "Paddy" McCartney on co-lead vocals and Glenn Shorrock on co-lead vocals (both ex-the Checkmates). According to James Cockington, their motivation was to become pop stars and so avoid being factory workers like their parents.

The beat pop group were influenced by the Beatles (which toured Australia in mid-year), the Hollies, the Who and the Small Faces and were informed of music trends by their relatives back in Britain. The Hurricanes had started as a Shadows-style instrumental act, but after the Beatles tour many Australian bands recruited lead singers. The Checkmates had been an a capella trio and when two of their vocalists merged with four of the Hurricanes they formed the six-piece, fully electric-and-vocal group, the Twilights. Peek soon left and was replaced on lead guitar by Terry Britten. They issued their debut single, "I'll Be Where You Are" / "I Don't Know Where the Wind Will Blow Me", on EMI's Columbia Records in June 1965. The former was written by Britten and Shorrock, while the latter was penned by Brideoake and Shorrock. It appeared in the top 100 of the Kent Music Report (non-contemporaneous back-calculated chart). Late in 1964 they were signed by manager Gary Spry.

The Twilights gained a reputation for dynamic live shows in Adelaide. Cockington observed that Adelaide created more musically adept bands – James Taylor Move and early Zoot – but Spry provided "overly-enthusiastic" management and touted his group as the "next big thing." Early in 1965 Barnard had left after Spry enforced a "no girlfriends on tour" policy – Barnard was married. Barnard was replaced on drums by Laurie Pryor (ex-John E. Broome & The Handels). Spry convinced the group to relocate to Melbourne in late 1965, where they took up a three-month residency at the Spry-owned discothèque, Pinocchio's. Their reputation spread grew; with Ed Nimmervoll noting their "ability to be human jukeboxes for the music of the day made them the sensations of Melbourne."

1966

The Twilights competed in the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, winning the 1966 South Australian state final at Thebarton Town Hall over the Masters Apprentices. At Festival Hall, Melbourne in July 1966 the Twilights won the national final. They were awarded bonus points for sound, originality, presentation and audience reaction. A competition rule, which set maximum group membership at five, meant that McCartney sat out their winning performance – he returned for their encore. The competition's first prize was a trip to the United Kingdom – they embarked for London on 26 September 1966 via passenger liner Castel Felice.

The Twilights highest national chart success came with their cover version of the Velvelettes' "Needle in a Haystack" (August 1966). The group were still in London as it peaked at No. 1 on Go-Set's National Top 40 in October and displaced the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine". Their next single, "You Got Soul" (December), reached No. 24 nationally. They released a self-titled album in December 1966, produced by David Mackay, via EMI/Columbia. It included originals, some by Barry Gibb or by Hans Poulsen, as well as mod-rock cover renditions of concert favourites.

Once in London they adopted the latest Mod hairstyles, Carnaby Street clothes and grew moustaches, emulating trends set by the Beatles. They had high hopes of success, but were dismayed by the quality of British groups. Shorrock observed: "Our biggest shock was the high standard of so many groups who are not even known. It was hard for us to get jobs with good money." They played a week's residency at Liverpool's Cavern club to positive response. Due to their EMI contract, the group recorded at Abbey Road Studios, teaming with producer-engineer Norman Smith, who had worked with the Beatles, which were recording a single "Penny Lane" and allowed the Twilights to observe sessions. Nevertheless, their attempts to breakthrough in the UK were unsuccessful.

1967

Upon return to Australia in February 1967, the Twilights issued their version of the Hollies' "What's Wrong with the Way I Live?", which peaked at No. 3. It was written for the Twilights by the Hollies' members Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks and Graham Nash and had been recorded at Abbey Road. It exhibited a sophisticated sound with its banjo motif and tight block harmonies. Its B-side, "9.50", composed by Britten is a psychedelic rocker and was covered by Divinyls in the early 1980s.

A third track recorded at Abbey Road provided their next single "Young Girl" (May), which was a melancholy and evocative tune written by Pryor, and features Britten's use of a variable volume pedal. It peaked at No. 4. Britten embraced Eastern philosophy and introduced exotic instruments including use of a sitar on its B-side "Time and Motion Study Man", a social observation.

Their next single "Cathy Come Home" / "The Way They Play" (November 1967), also used the sitar. The A-side is inspired by the 1966 BBC-TV play of the same name. A promotional music clip was made. The single reached No. 4, but it was the last top 10 from the group. "Cathy Come Home" is the first of Britten's songs inspired by movies or TV shows, which he continued in his later career. The group performed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (June 1967) and the Small Faces' Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake (May 1968) "with exacting perfection," weeks before their respective official releases in Australia.

1968

This year began promisingly for the Twilights with the chart success of "Cathy Come Home" and this was consolidated by an invitation from the Seven Network to develop a weekly television sit-com series, showing the group at work and play, based on the success of The Monkees television series and the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night film.

Go-Set magazine documented the making of the pilot for the series, Once Upon A Twilight, with photos of the group on location around Melbourne with their co-stars, comedian Mary Hardy (playing the role of the band's secretary) and a youthful Ronnie Burns. However, the program's sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, withdrew its support later in the year and the project was cancelled, although it did inspire what was to become the Twilights' most notable recording achievement.

The music the group had intended for the soundtrack to the shelved series took on a life of its own. After long gestation period, interspersed with the band's most concentrated regime of live touring yet, they produced what many critics now regard as one of the best Australian pop albums of the era, Once Upon A Twilight.

The album set new standards in Australia for pop album production and packaging – it was one of the first Australian pop LPs to be released in both mono and stereo and was also issued in a lavish gatefold cover which included die-cut pop-up figures of the band members. The track listing included compositions by several band members – Peter Brideoake's plaintive cello and horn-embellished "Tomorrow Is Today" and Laurie Pryor's raucous comedy song "The Cocky Song" as well as several new Terry Britten songs. As main songwriter he provided lush settings for Shorrock, including the title track "Found To Be Thrown Away" and also "Paternosta Row" (which featured heavily processed lead vocals), plus delicate arrangements for Paddy McCartney's featured number, "Bessemae". Britten sang lead vocals and almost solo instrumentation on "Mr Nice" and "Devendra", the latter featuring an arrangement of Indian string and percussion reminiscent of George Harrison's "Within You, Without You". Throughout the LP, the group employed exotic instruments, brass sections, string quartets, wah-wah guitar, feedback, Keith Moon-styled drum patterns, reverse tape effects, stereo panning and electronically treated vocals.

Once Upon A Twilight was initially pressed in mono only, as the stereo mix commissioned in America was delayed. An anecdote recorded by rock historian Glenn A. Baker says that Linda Ronstadt and her band, the Stone Poneys (including Anglophile songwriter Andrew Gold and future Eagle Glenn Frey), were recording in an adjacent studio and heard some of the mixing sessions. Impressed with the quality of the songs and performances, Ronstadt and her manager apparently lobbied to secure American release for the Twilights on Capitol Records.

Concurrent with the release of the album came the group's eleventh single, "Always", recorded during the same sessions. Both the LP and the single, however, fared poorly on the charts, signalling the beginning of a downturn in the group's fortunes.

Nevertheless, 1968 was the band's peak year as a performing unit. They remained one of the biggest drawcards on Melbourne's thriving dance and disco circuit. Popular venues such as Sebastian's, Bertie's, Pinnochios, Catcher, The Thumpin' Tum and Opus played host to some of the most polished stage shows by an Australian band yet witnessed. The group were the envy of local musicians due to the fact that they were one of the first bands in Australia to be equipped with the new British-made Marshall amplifiers (made famous by Jimi Hendrix) and the combination of their powerful stage sound, impeccable presentation and tight musicianship .

The Twilights' shows at the time also had a prominent comedy and slapstick element. Glenn Shorrock frequently adopted a comedic alter-ego, "Superdroop", dressing in a shabby super-hero jumpsuit (which can be seen in the "Cathy Come Home" film clip) and he was also notorious for terrorising audiences by leaping out from backstage dressed in a gorilla suit, sometimes swinging precariously on a trapeze over the crowd. Alongside their own material and selections of popular Motown and soul classics, the group also regularly performed cover versions of recent hits, such as Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love", Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy", Hendrix's "Purple Haze", the Small Faces' "Tin Soldier" and the Move's "Night of Fear".

The Twilights' next single, "Tell Me Goodbye" / "Comin' On Down" (August 1968), was recorded at Armstrong's Studios in Melbourne and proved to be their last collaboration with long-time producer David MacKay, but it was largely ignored by radio and the public and failed to chart.

By late 1968, however, internal frictions were growing—the group were disillusioned by the dwindling interest of their label and the consequent lack of chart success and were also growing tired of the constant and gruelling routine of live performance; at that time it was common for popular local acts to play multiple nightly appearances (often as many as five or more every night) at dances and discotheques. Their situation was further complicated by the loss of manager Spry, who had quit as manager in mid-1968 due to the band's insistence that he relinquish his other activities to concentrate on the Twilights—by this point Spry was concurrently running his discotheque, managing two other acts (The Groove and the female vocal group Marcie and the Cookies) as well as operating his AMBO booking agency.

November saw the release of their swansong record, this time produced by an expatriate New Zealander, Howard Gable, who had recently taken over as EMI's house producer from the departing Mackay who had taken up a position at EMI's London head office. "Sand in the Sandwiches" attempted to purvey a jaunty and frivolous "let's all head off for the beach" theme but failed to achieve its intention; even rock historian and self-confessed Twilights fan Glenn A. Baker later described it as "abysmal". By contrast, the b-side, "Lotus", showcased all the band's strengths, but again it gained little airplay and sales were negligible.

The final break came when preparations for a second trip to the UK were thwarted when Laurie Pryor refused to participate, leading to his resignation from the group. Disappointed and dejected with their recent lack of progress and perceived loss of popularity, the group decided then to disband, announcing a series of final live appearances in Sydney and Melbourne.

1969: Breakup

After the shock announcement of the break-up in the 22 January Go-Set' issue, The Twilights gave their last NSW concert performance at The Trocadero in Sydney. They were a last-minute inclusion in the Ray-o-Vac Batteries Spectacular, which featured an all-star line-up including The Groove, Johnny Farnham, The Dave Miller Set, The La De Das, Heart'n'Soul, Respect, Clapham Junction and The Executives, with comperes Ward Austin and Dal Myles. Five thousand fans attended, with thousands more reportedly turned away. Their last Melbourne concert was at Bertie's Discotheque. AllMusic's Richie Unterberger observed, "[they] were not especially innovative, but played competent, harmony-driven British Invasion-styled rock, strongly recalling both the 'beat' and pseudo-psychedelic era Hollies."

Post break-up

Their two studio albums were briefly re-released ca 1969 on EMI's budget labels Music For Pleasure, but since that time none of their original recordings have been reissued by the label.

Interest in the band was considerably revived by a compilation of live recordings, Twilight Time, which was followed by the definitive 1989 Raven Records CD anthology The Way They Played, compiled and annotated by Glenn A. Baker. In 2006, Aztec Music released a remastered CD anthology of their rare 1968 masterpiece Once Upon A Twilight, comprising both the mono and stereo mixes of the original LP.

Glenn Shorrock briefly worked as a manager and agent for Brisbane teen-pop group The Avengers and the A.M.B.O. agency. In late 1969, following the split of their previous band The Groop, Brian Cadd and Don Mudie invited Shorrock to become the lead singer of a new 'supergroup', Axiom; they recorded two albums and scored several hit singles before splitting in 1971. He spent two years in the UK, releasing several solo singles on the MAM Records label, doing backup vocals in the Cliff Richard touring band, before joining the UK-based multinational group Esperanto, with whom he recorded two albums. On his return to Australia at the start of 1975 he teamed with ex-Mississippi members Beeb Birtles and Graeham Goble to form Little River Band. They became the first Australia rock act to achieve major chart and sales success in the United States scored phenomenal success in the US later in the 1970s, with Shorrock as its lead singer. After leaving LRB in early 1982, he retreated from performing for a time, compering the ABC-TV music series Rock Arena, before releasing a solo album Villain of the Peace, then teaming again with Cadd under the name Blazing Salads. A double-album anthology The First Twenty Years, which included tracks from most phases of Shorrock's recording career was issued out in 1985. In 2000, he participated in a large-scale presentation of Beatles songs at the Sydney Opera House in 1998 with a rock band and full orchestra under the baton of Sir George Martin.

Terry Britten became a freelance songwriter and producer, working for Australian acts including Zoot, The Avengers and Ronnie Burns. He released a solo single, "2,000 Weeks", before returning to England to develop a new four-piece band with fellow Australians Kevin Peek, Alan Tarney and Trevor Spencer (ex- James Taylor Move). This band, Quartet, released a single, "Now" on Decca before disbanding in late 1969 and recorded an album, Joseph which was never released. Britten then partnered with Brian Peacock (ex-Procession) in the group Homer, before concentrating on songwriting, sometimes in collaboration Tarney, Spencer and B. A. Robertson. He wrote several major hits for Cliff Richard, Tina Turner and Australian singer Christie Allen, as well as co-writing "Just Good Friends" with Graham Lyle of (Gallagher & Lyle) for Michael Jackson's Bad album. He went on to win a Grammy Award for Tina Turner's "We Don't Need Another Hero", the theme to the movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Britten continues to compose from his base in England but has returned to Australia on occasion for the various Twilights reunions.

Laurie Pryor became the drummer with Chain soon after leaving the Twilights, undertook various studio sessions and helped form the much-lauded early 1970s progressive rock band Healing Force with the late Charlie Tumahai. Pryor died in May 2010 after a long illness.

Peter Brideoake returned to Adelaide in 1969 and began studies in composition with Richard Meale at the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide. Following his graduation with a Bachelor of Music (Hons.) he began teaching harmony and modern composition techniques at the Elder Conservatorium, and he has been a lecturer there since 1975. As well as teaching in composition studies, he has introduced a course in Chinese music as the result of an interest in the music, theatre and language of China. A special interest in an ancient Chinese zither (Ch'in) meant that after several periods of study in China, he became a proficient performer on this instrument. In 1978 he was awarded the John Bishop Memorial Commission; other commissioned works have been composed for the Sydney String Quartet, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Seymour Group, the Victorian String Quartet and, more recently, by percussionist Ryszard Pusz.

Reunions

Five of the original six members of the band reunited for a special Beatles tribute concert in Adelaide in 2000, and they reformed again for the hugely successful Long Way to the Top concert tour in 2002. The only member not present was Pryor, who could not participate due to illness.

On 28 March 2014, John Bywaters was the first inductee of the South Australian Music Hall of Fame. On 10 October 2014, Shorrock was also inducted, and McCartney, Brideoake and Britten followed in April 2015.

The surviving Twilights reunited for the all-star "Rock of Ages" concert promoted by Aztec Music at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda, Melbourne in 2011.

Personnel

Credits:

• Frank Barnard – drums (1964–65)
• Peter Brideoake – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1964–1969)
• John Bywaters – bass guitar (1964–1969)
• Clem "Paddy" McCartney – lead vocals (1964–1969)
• Kevin Peek – lead guitar (1964, died 2013)
• Glenn Shorrock – lead vocals (1964–1969)
• Terry Britten – lead guitar, vocals (1964–1969)
• Laurie Pryor – drums (1965–69)

Discography

Albums

• The Twilights (Columbia 33OSX-7779) (reissued as Music for Pleasure MFP-8129)
• Once Upon a Twilight (Columbia OSX-7870 mono, SECO 7870 stereo) 1968
• Best of The Twilights (HMV OELP-9777)
• Twilight Time – Raven RVLP-08
• The Twilights: The Way They Played (Raven CD RVCD-03) 1989

EPs

• Bad Boy (Columbia SEGO-70129) 1966
• Needle in a Haystack (Columbia SEGO-70139) 1967
• Always (Columbia SEGO-70161) 1968

Singles

• "I'll Be Where You Are" / "I Don't Know Where The Wind Will Blow Me" (June 1965) – Columbia (DO 4582) AUS KMR: No. 66
• "Come on Home" (October 1965) – Columbia (DO 4610) AUS KMR: No. 95
• "If She Finds Out" / "John Hardy" (February 1966) – Columbia (DO 4658) AUS KMR: No. 24
• "Baby Let Me Take You Home" (May 1966) – Columbia (DO 4685) AUS KMR: No. 75
• "Bad Boy" (June 1966) – Columbia (DO 4698)
• "Needle in a Haystack" (August 1966) – Columbia (DO 4717) AUS Go-Set: No. 1, AUS KMR: No. 2
• "You Got Soul" (December 1966) – Columbia (DO 4742) AUS Go-Set: No. 24, AUS KMR: No. 24
• "What's Wrong with the Way I Live" (February 1967) – Columbia (DO 4764) AUS Go-Set: No. 3, AUS KMR: No. 7
• "Young Girl" (May 1967) – Columbia (DO 4787) AUS Go-Set: No. 4, AUS KMR: No. 11
• "Bowling Brings out the Swinger in You" / "Bowling Brings out the Swinger in You" (instrumental version) – EMI Custom PRS 1736 (promotional single) 1967
• "Cathy Come Home" / "The Way They Play" (November 1967) Columbia (DO 5030) AUS Go-Set: No. 4, AUS KMR: No. 8
• "Always" (May 1968) – Columbia (DO 8361) AUS Go-Set: No. 40, AUS KMR: No. 36
• "Tell Me Goodbye" / "Comin' on Down" (August 1968) – Columbia (DO 8448) AUS KMR: No. 44
• "Sand in the Sandwiches" ( November 1968) – Columbia DO 8602)
• "2,000 Weeks" (Terry Britten solo) (1969) – Columbia (DO 8711)

Awards and nominations

Go-Set Pop Poll

The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper, Go-Set and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1966	themselves	Best Australian Group	2nd
1967	themselves	Top Australian Group	2nd
1968	themselves	Best Australian Group	1st

South Australian Music Awards

The South Australian Music Awards are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They commenced in 2012. The South Australian Music Hall of Fame celebrates the careers of successful music industry personalities.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2018	The Twilights	Hall of Fame	inductee

External links

• "The Twilights" at Nostalgia Central