Jeff St John
|
[Note: although some of these bands may have
continued with various line-ups,
the dates given below relate to Jeff’s tenure with them]
Jeff St John [lead vocals]
backed by:
Peter Anson [guitar]
David Bentley [organ]
Shane Duckham [harmonica]
John Helman [bass]
Don McCormack [drums]
Peter Anson [guitar]
Bob Bertles [tenor sax 67]
King Fisher [trumpet]
John Helman [bass]
Bruce Johnson [tenor sax, flute]
Don McCormack [drums 1967]
Dave Montgomery [drums 1966]
Ian Walsh [organ]
Derek Brooks [?, 68]
Ross East [guitar, vocals]
Virgil East [bass]
Allan English [sax, later]
Peter Figures [drums]
Lloyd Hardy [?, 68]
Murray Hill [sax, flute]
Keith Jenkins [trumpet]
Wayne ‘Groove’ Myers [organ]
John Phillips [?, 68]
Harry Brus [bass 70-72]
Ross East [guitar, vocals]
Peter Figures [drums]
Alan Ingram [bass, vocals 69-70]
Barry Kelly [keyboards, vocals]
Wendy Saddington [co-lead vocals 70-71]
Phil Wooding [guitar 69]
Tony Ansell [piano]
Ron Barry [guitar, vocals]
Peter Figures [drums]
B. J. [bass]
Neil Bamford [drums]
Tony Lyon [bass]
Russell Moran [guitar]
Any of us who might have forgotten, or perhaps had long neglected the supreme
vocal prowess of Jeff St John, were convincingly reminded of it when, on
October 18th 2000, the wheelchair-bound survivor of the 60s and 70s
OzRock took the main podium at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Paralympic
Games, dressed in a satin shirt depicting the Australian flag, and belted out
the National Anthem in his inimitable style. There were few dry eyes left in
the house – the show had barely begun – and not just because of the spectacle
itself, but here we were witnessing the return of one of Australia’s
finest-ever rock-soul-blues singers. As a result of this triumphant resurgence,
I’m sure quite a few of us old teary-eyed die-hards were compelled to scurry to
our record collections to reactivate some of the great St John gems!
Jeff St John was named Jeffrey Leo Newton when he was born in 1946, and
grew up in Sydney as the only child of his linesman dad Leo and his mum Carmel,
a secretary. Jeff was diagnosed at
birth with spina bifida, a disease that causes malformation of the spine and resultant
posture and walking difficulties. For much of his youth, Jeff walked with a
caliper on his right leg, and underwent numerous painful operations. But the
kind of tenacity to overcome this affliction that Jeff has maintained
throughout his life, first became evident in his formative years. As he told Who
Weekly magazine in October 2000:
That goal turned out to be music. And Jeff’s early ambitions were fully encouraged by his parents, whose house was constantly filled with all kinds of music. Jeff:
Aged just 8, Jeffrey Newton first performed
in public in a kids’ talent quest on Sydney’s radio 2GB. By age 15 he had secured a regular slot on
Channel Nine’s TV talent showcase, Opportunity Knocks. A couple of years afterwards, by this time
almost constantly supported by crutches because of his worsening condition,
Jeff joined forces with an established Sydney blues-rock outfit called The Syndicate who he met by chance at
the Sydney Musicians’ Club in early 1965. With members including guitarist
Peter Anson (from legendary Sydney garage-R&B monsters The Missing Links)
The Syndicate with Jeff on board soon evolved, via The Wild Oats, into The Id, with Jeff similarly adopting a
new moniker which has stuck with him ever since.
This powerhouse band commanded both Sydney (a
long-term residency at “Here” disco in North Sydney) and Melbourne (the famous
“Thumpin’ Tum” in the inner city) with its powerful, brass-augmented repertoire
– St John’s rich and soulful vocals the icing on the cake. Jeff St John & the Id’s already cemented
reputation as a tight, musicianly R&B band also earned them a well received
support gig on the 1967 Yardbirds, Roy Orbison and Walker Brothers package tour
of Australia.
Recording-wise, The Id with Jeff are probably
best remembered for their scorching, brass-laden smash single, Big Time Operator. The single made #7 in
Sydney and a respectable #12 in Melbourne in January 1967, and the recording
sessions at Festival in Sydney were even photographed for a special feature in Go-Set.
But that was not before releasing a
series of accomplished 45s which, while not necessarily setting the world on
fire, certainly established Jeff & the band’s credentials. The debut 1965 Jeff St John & The Id
single Lindy Lou / Somebody To Love, was a pleasant R&B number which gave
only a slight hint of the vocal prowess that Jeff would unleash on later
releases. It came out on the Spin label and was followed in early ’66 by
The Jerk / Take This Hurt Off Me. Further
Spin singles during the year mined the soul-blues vein the band had forged,
such as the Leadbelly chestnut Black
Girl.
Then came the hugely successful Zoot Money
number, Big Time Operator, and all
seemed set for a successful future for The Id. The outfit recorded a quite fine
album in March 1967, called Big Time Operators, (together with
an extremely rare EP of the same title, culled from the LP), and in April
issued a final single called You Got Me Hummin’
with its flip, Watch Out. The album essentially mirrored the Id’s
soul-tinged stage repertoire, but was not at all the strong seller that was
hoped for, on the back of the hit from which the album’s title is derived.
Then, suddenly and inexplicably, Jeff jumped ship, eschewing his past for a completely new configuration. The Id continued without Jeff, playing regularly at underground dances and events, including many organised by the lightshow/ underground film collective UBU. They also gained a dubious notoriety as the first significant Australian group to be busted for possession of cannabis, and UBU organised a benefit gig for them in 1968.
Jeff now put together an entirely new
band, Yama (a Hindi word meaning
“mere mortals”). Personnel was again drawn from other successful groups of the
time, with bassist Virgil East formerly from Python Lee Jackson and drummer Peter Figures, ex-Throb, along with Ross East on guitar,
who would continue to work with Jeff for some time thereafter. Yama folded
prematurely around May 1968 after issuing just one single for the Spin label,
an elaborately-produced, up-beat and surprisingly commercial tune written by St
John and Figures, called Nothing Comes
Easy.
Soon afterwards, St John underwent a series of complicated operations on his legs that unfortunately did not “take”, leaving him wheelchair-bound from then on. Undeterred, Jeff returned to live performance after a lengthy recuperation, and actually transformed his liability into his own trademark stage-prop, executing wheelies and pirouettes the length of the stage as he sang! Jeff recalls:
With crutches,
your hands are always full. The
wheelchair allowed me to move around onstage and be self-sufficient.
St John unveiled his new band, Copperwine (aka Jeff St John’s Copperwine), in early 1969 with a bunch of low-key dates in Perth, before returning to Sydney to almost immediately command a rabid following in that city’s fast-developing “head” scene. Around the time of Copperwine’s formation, guitarist Ross East was also invited to join the revised Masters Apprentices lineup by Jim Keays,, but he turned it down, opting to stay with Jeff. Aided by East and Peter Figures, plus Alan Ingram on bass and keyboardist Barry Kelly (from Marty Rhone’s Soul Agents), St John wowed punters at the “Pilgrimage For Pop” festival, one of Australia’s first major outdoor rock gatherings, at Ourimbah, NSW, in February 1970. The band’s dynamic repertoire mixed quality prog-flavoured group originals with commanding renditions of such diverse numbers as the tight n’ funky Sing A Simple Song (Sly & the Family Stone), the psychedelic soul of The Temptations’ Cloud Nine and Blind Faith’s lilting lament, Can’t Find My Way Home.
This body of songs was captured in beautiful studio-recorded form on one of the more accomplished and musically adventurous long players of the time, Joint Effort, which met with considerable critical acclaim, if not outstanding sales reception, at least upon the album’s release. A similar disappointing fate befell the great single lifted from the album in February, Cloud Nine b/w Days To Come. An EP, Sing A Simple Song, which featured four selections from its parent album, also came out in May 1970.
Retrospective apprasial of Joint Effort reveals at least three truths: Still in print, the album has remained, along with Mushroom’s Toward The Blues by Chain, one of Festival Record’s most consistently strong and perennial sellers of OzRock back catalogue. Secondly, the album is now not only held up to be a finely-honed artefact of all that was musically going on with OzRock in general at this heady and fertile time; but also as a document of what a damn fine band Copperwine itself was – from the studio or from the stage, this group delivered. The sheer musicianship of the band, particularly that of East and Kelly (where are they now?) illustrated the embarrassment of riches of great players that were scattered among Australian groups at this time. Original band-composed collaborations on the LP include the whimsically reflective, acoustic guitar-led (with sitar embellishment) Fanciful Flights [a track on the excellent and essential Raven 2-CD compilation Golden Miles – Australian Progressive Rock, 1969-1974]. Other tunes on the debut album, like the jazz-tinged instrumental Any Orange Night and the ensemble piece You Don’t Have To Listen displayed Copperwine’s diversity, and with the opening track, a hectic reading of The Temptation’s Cloud Nine, showed off Jeff’s robust baritone stylings. That’s the third point demonstrated by this album: here was a band that, uniquely enough, balanced their obvious progressive tendencies with strong retro-psych and funk-soul leanings. What a potent combination that was for too short a time!
Another single, issued on Spin in November 1970, fared extremely well. The smoothly confident, organ-led cover of Rotary Connection’s Teach Me How To Fly (featuring a berserk guitar solo from East, and some very tasty bass/drums interplay) propelled the band to #12 in Melbourne and a very encouraging #3 Sydney chart placement. St John’s dazzling vocal performance on this record is probably the main reason why.
An “insane” (as Jeff puts it) schedule of touring, concentrated in the eastern states, sustained Copperwine throughout 1970-71. Noted soul-blues singer Wendy Saddington (formerly of James Taylor Move and Chain) joined as co-lead vocalist in May 1970 and made her recording debut with the band (without St John though) on the intriguingly laid-back, bluesy album Wendy Saddington and Copperwine Live, recorded at the Wallacia Rock Festival in January 1971. By this time, too, former Amazons and Dave Miller Set member Harry Brus had replaced Alan Ingram on bass. The remastered live album is listed as part of Festival Records’ extensive forthcoming CD re-issue schedule of Infinity label material, with bonus tracks. (Yes please!!)
Although Saddington had departed Copperwine by February 1971, the group continued to tour relentlessly, with Jeff at the helm. Another major event for the band in 1971 was its participation in the Hoadleys Battle of the Sounds. The group, with St John in ultimate form, put on a commanding show (yet finished third behind Fraternity and Sherbet), performing a stunning version of the Leon Russell-penned Hummingbird. With flipside Keep On Growing, this formed the next Copperwine single, a moderate charter but a fine 45 nevertheless. It was released in August on Festival’s new progressive subsidiary, Infinity.
By this time that old chestnut, “musical differences” had reared its ugly head, and in January 1972 St John, never known to be particularly easy to deal with, split from Copperwine; leaving that band, at the height of its popularity, to continue with ex-Chain and Larry’s Rebel Glyn Mason taking over lead vocal duties.
Seeking what he saw as a more sympathetic vehicle for his singing and songwriting, Jeff formed a touring outfit, The Jeff St John Band, featuring favoured sticksman Figures, and the considerable keyboard talents of Tony Ansell. (Tony, who passed away in November 2000, was a renowned composer, teacher and session player with many well-known TV themes to his credit, and he was also a member of the all-star studio session band that played on Peter Dawkin’s concept LP Star Suite in 1974, and on Richard Clapton’s breakthrough single Girls On the Avenue in 1975). In October 1972, St John issued his first solo single, Yesterday’s Music. Jeff and band toured extensively during ’72, supporting artists as diverse as Gary Glitter, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. Capping an extraordinary year, which also saw the release of a Spin compilation album, The Best Of Jeff St John, Jeff was awarded the accolade of Most Outstanding Vocalist of the Year.
By mid-1973, St John, beset by personal upheavals, disillusionment and continuing health problems, decided to throw in the towel and head off to the UK. His farewell concert was a gala event staged at the Sydney Opera House, with the St John Band augmented by such friends as Vince Melouney, John A. Bird and Ace Follington. In May 1974, Infinity issued an album of the concert, Jeff St John Live, while Jeff was playing a handful of low-key gigs in London. He returned to Australia in August that year, to plan his next move.
This took the form of a new backing band, Red Cloud, which helped launch St John’s next solo recording foray, Mr Jones b/w Acapulco Lady, released in May 1975. Produced by Martin Erdman and arranged by ex-Blackfeather guitar-whizz, John Robinson, the single was a minor sales success. It was followed up in October by another 45 utilising the same production/arranging team, Blood Brother b/w Reach Out And Touch Me.
Red Cloud supported St John throughout a heavy touring schedule during 1975-76, and the singer continued to prosper in his career beyond. He was the first Oz artist to sign with US imprint Asylum (The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt) and released a clutch of impressive and well-selling singles for the label. A fresh (and typically thorough) Glen A. Baker compilation LP, Survivor 1965-1975 was released in late 1977.
Jeff continued to record and perform live through the late 70s – early 80s, producing some quality rock performances, but in 1983, at the age of 37, he announced his retirement. He made a memorable (for all the wrong reasons) farewell appearance on Donnie Sutherland’s late night chat show, After Dark, and it was clear that he was having problems at the time. Jeff’s speech and manner became increasingly strange during the program -- he delivered a rambling and sometimes incoherent speech, recited a bizarre poem called “The Electric Head” and generally freaked Donnie and the other guests out -- quite an achievement for a show as notorious as After Dark was for off-the-wall behaviour. In fact he was so odd that even seasoned party animal Marc Hunter was seen edging away from him to the other end of the After Dark couch!
Having survived the distinct ups and downs of such an illustrious, but at times tempestuous career, St John remains philosophical when he tells Who Weekly:
The madness, the speed at
which we lived…it’s amazing any of us survived. All I can put my survival down to is God had reasons for me to
hang around. Drug dependency – it was
an accepted part of what we did – isn’t
a place I’d suggest anyone go to. I
lost a bunch of friends because they got it wrong.
Fast forward to the present: during 1999, St John’s old friend, drummer Ace Follington (himself with an illustrious musical career behind him), coaxed Jeff up onstage at Clancy’s Fish Pub, Fremantle. The now Perth-based singer relished the chance to wield a mic again:
“I’d been divorced from singing for so long, I’d lost sight of the fun involved!”
That re-acquaintance with his muse led to a regular solo spot at Clancy’s, and a brand new, self-deprecatingly titled album, Will The Real Jeff St John Please Stand Up?, to be unleashed sometime in 2001. It won’t be a re-hash of St John’s old style though (“I’d feel was a parody of myself”). Rather, it will feature 30s and 40s swing standards given a rock treatment: “instead of having big brass section solos on ‘Misty’ and ‘Fascinatin’ Rhythm’, we’ve got over-driven and distorted guitar solos”, snickers Jeff. Promoter Michael Chugg, who invited St John to sing at the Paralympics, enthuses: “there’s an audience out there just going to love it. They’re great songs and his voice is so good”.
And of that triumphant Opening Ceremony appearance where the nation not only had the opportunity to celebrate its sporting heroes, but could also revisit and enjoy the vocal power of one its best-ever rock performers, Jeff St John humbly offers:
I love my
country. It’s allowed me to be crazy
for more years than I can remember. To
get up in
front of 110,000
people live, with a TV audience of four billion, was a big honour.
Teach us how to fly, Jeff!
~Paul
Culnane. January 2001.
Discography
Note:
this listing is so far woefully incomplete, lacking full tracklistings, release
dates, catalogue numbers, composer and production details. As ever, readers are invited to fill in the
gaps for us here at MILESAGO.
Singles
|
1/66 |
Lindy Lou / Somebody To Love |
[Festival/Spin
EK 1220] |
|
3/66 |
The Jerk / Take This Hurt Off Me |
[Festival/Spin] |
|
9/66 |
Black Girl / Eastern Dream |
[Festival/Spin] |
|
12/66 |
Big Time Operator / Sister’s Got A Boyfriend |
[Festival/Spin] |
|
4/67 |
You Got Me Hummin’ / Watch Out |
[Festival/Spin] |
|
10/67 |
Nothing Comes Easy / Everybody’s Gone |
[Festival/Spin
EK 2016] |
|
2/70 |
Cloud Nine / Days To Come |
[Festival/Spin
EK 3576] |
|
11/70 |
Teach Me How To Fly / Freedom Blues |
[Festival/Spin] |
|
8/71 |
Hummingbird / Keep On Growing |
[Festival/Infinity] |
|
10/72 |
Yesterday’s Music / In The
Window Of Your Love |
[Festival/Infinity] |
|
4/73 |
Yesterday’s Music / Lady Of
Ginger |
[A&M US release] |
|
5/75 |
Mr Jones/ Acapulco Lady |
[Festival/Infinity] |
|
10/75 |
Blood Brother / Reach Out
And Touch Me |
[Festival/Infinity] |
EPs
Big
Time Operator [Festival/Spin; Feb 1967]
You
Got Me Hummin’ [Festival/Spin; May 1967]
Sing
A Simple Song [Festival/Spin; May 1970]
Albums
|
Big Time Operators [Festival/Spin; March 1967] |
|
Joint
Effort [Festival/Spin; March 1970] |
|
Wendy
Saddington & Copperwine Live [Festival/Infinity;
Jan 1971] (without Jeff St
John) soon to be re-released on remastered CD |
|
The
Best Of Jeff St John [Festival/Spin; 1972] |
|
Jeff
St John Live [Festival/Infinity;
May 1974] |
|
Survivor
1965-1975 [Festival/Infinity;
1977] |
Also
recommended:
·
among quite a few compilations
featuring Jeff and his bands, the splendid 3-CD OzRock anthology that Glenn A.
Baker compiled for the Spin re-issue series, So You Wanna Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll
Star [Festival/Spin D89931, 1998], features lovingly remastered
recordings of the Id’s Lindy Lou,
Yama’s Nothing Comes Easy and
Copperwine’s Cloud Nine.
· another Baker comp introduces us to Fanciful Flights Of Mind, also from Copperwine’s solitary studio album. This can be found on the magnificent 2-CD set, Golden Miles – Australian Progressive Rock 1969-1974 [Raven RVCD 39].
· a live recording of Copperwine’s Hummingbird is included on the various artists’ compilation CD of Hoadley’s Battle Of The Sounds performances, Live, Loud And Sweaty!, put out by Canetoad Records [CTCD 010].
References and acknowledgements
· Glenn A. Baker – liner notes for So You Wanna Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star (Festival, 1998)
· Paul Culnane – personal archives and reminisces
· Penelope Green – article and interview in Who Weekly magazine, 27/11/00
· Ian McFarlane – Encyclodedia of Australian Rock & Pop (1999)
…as ever, thanx folx!
© 2001 ICE
Productions/MILESAGO. All rights reserved.