| MILESAGO
- Groups & Solo Artists |
|
Madder
Lake
Melbourne
1971-present
|
Andy Cowan (keyboards, vocals) 1973-75
Mick Fettes (vocals) 1971-75, 1978 ...
Ian Holding (bass) 1976-78
Jack Kreemers (drums) 1969-??
Tony Lake (vocals) 1976-78
Brendan Mason (guitar, vocals)
Kerry McKenna (bass, vocals)
John McKinnon (keyboards, vocals) 1970-73
Colin Setches (vocals) 1976-78
I'll put my cards on the table and declare up front that Madder
Lake is one of my favourite Australian groups, and that I really
believe that they have never received the recognition they deserve.
It's one of the great ironies of Australian rock that this outstanding
and innovative group, who excelled both live and on record, was
unable to extend its career overseas, even though their records
sold in impressive quantities in England and Europe -- and still
do. Their central importance to the early success of the fledgling
Mushroom record label has also been overlooked, and as lead singer
Mick Fettes recently observed: "there wouldn't have been
a Mushroom if it wasn't for us."
Madder Lake was one of the most original and distinctive of
the "new wave" of Australian groups that emerged around
1970. They were also an important and popular part of the of the
Melbourne music scene. It's unfortunate that they're only known
for their extant recordings -- their two excellent 1970s albums
and one "Best Of.." compilation -- because they are
prolific writers, and according to Mick they have are "literally
hundreds of songs" stockpiled,waiting to see the light of
day.
The original lineup-- McKenna, Kreemers, McKinnon, Mason and
Fettes -- all met in 1968, while studying at the Swinburne Institute
of Technology, Melbourne's renowned arts and media college. The
entry in Noel McGrath's 1978 rock encyclopedia says that Madder
Lake was their first band, but in fact all the members had been
through the usual round of teenage beat groups before meeting
at Swinburne. The band which became Madder Lake evolved from an
earlier student band, which included Kerry McKenna and Brendan
Mason, who had been playing together since their early teens.
By the time they began studying at Swinburne, Kerry and Brendan
already had their own established band, San Sebastian,
gigging regularly around the Melbourne area. They had even competed
in the Victorian heats of the Hoadleys Battle of the Sounds.
There were lineup changes during 1969, as new contacts from
Swinburne were brought into the group: McKinnon, Kreemers and
finally Mick Fettes. It was here that they also met David Drakopoulos
-- "Drak" -- who became their close friend, roadie and
cover designer.
Mick's first gig with San Sebastian was at a pub in the Victorian
seaside resort of Sorrento in 1969, which he remembers as being"really
traumatic ... they'd been working consistently and I just had
to sort of slot in". They built up a solid following
on the Melbourne pub, disco and dance circuit, which was then
still booming. The young band, all still in their late teens,
quickly found their feet musically, and at this stage they were
playing regularly, often two or three gigs per night, while studying
during the day. Although some of the early gigs were at 'straight'
venues -- Mick recalls one in Toorak where they were even expected
to put on a floor show! -- the experiences were all valuable.
Their early sets were drawn from a set-list of about 25-30
covers, but before long they were including original compositions,
which they had begun working up in late-night sessions in an old
dairy which stood next to Brendan Mason's family home:
It was just a natural thing. Brendan, the
guitarist, lived in Hawthorne at that time, with his folks, and
next to the house was an old solid brick dairy, with really thick
walls, and he'd lined it with egg cartons so it was really soundproof.
So we used to get in there and just go for it, into the wee small
hours, and try out anything we wanted. And that's how things
happened - and to a great degree that still happens; there's
no problem with the creative side.
- Mick Fettes
The introduction of original material was the turning point.
From there on, as they gained confidence as writers, the covers
were gradually phased out. This brought them to the point (around
the start of 1971) where Mick says people really started to take
notice. Bookings came in thick and fast, and Mick, for one, soon
found it impossible to keep up with his studies, so he dropped
out and concentrated on music. They found themselves performing
up to four gigs per day, and the formerly impoverished young students
were soon earning more from gigs than most average wage earners.
Madder Lake certainly evolved a distinctive sound very early
on. According to Mick, the group's sound was very much in place
by 1971. And while influences can be identified --- English progressive
groups like King Crimson, Family, Traffic -- one listen to the
Stillpoint album should convince you that they were
very much their own band. They were as musically dynamic and accomplished
as any of the contemporary English groups, like early Genesis,
but with none of the latter's fey qualities. A focal point was
the energetic,bear-like presence and tough, bluesy voice of Mick
Fettes. It's become a convention to compare his singing to Joe
Cocker, but it's really only a surface similarity. If you listen
with open ears you quickly pretty realise that Mick was (and is)
very much his own singer. Another often overlooked feature of
the group was their strong harmony singing.
They were picked up by Consolidated Rock, the booking agency
co-owned by Michael Gundinski (who was also an old schoolmate
of Brendan Mason's). By this time Mick had dropped out of Swinburne
to concentrate on music, and these connections led to him landing
a day-job as the art director on Gudinksi's new rock magazine
Daily Planet, which he set up as a rival to Australia's
established music bible, Go-Set. According to Mick, this
was something of a baptism of fire -- the Daily Planet
office was just down the hall from Gudinksi's own office, and
Mick had a close-range introduction to Gudinksi's 'high-powered'
approach to business.
The band's common background in graphic arts provided the inspiration
for a change of name around 1971. The term 'madder lake' will
have childhood associations for many people -- it is of course
one of those evocative names given to pencil and paint colours.
(Madder itself is a rich blue dye, originally derived from the
root of the perennial herb madder, which is these days it is produced
synthetically).
Their first big break came in January 1972, when they were
placed as the opening act for the epcohal 1972 Sunbury concert.
Later in the year, they became one of the very first bands signed
to Michael Gudinski's fledgling Mushroom label, which had
grown out of his work with Consoldiated Rock. In November they
recorded their first single, the naggingly catchy Goodbye Lollipop
(b/w Bumper Bar Song). The effects of the 1970 radio
ban wre still being felt, and some local acts were still finding
it hard to gt airplay, but by the time the group returned from
touring early in the New Year, the single had been picked up by
Melbourne radio and had shot into the charts. It was a strong
chart performer, reaching #13 in Melbourne and #35 nationally
in February 1973, and it provided Mushroom with their first hit
single.
1973 was a peak year for Madder Lake. In January they played
at the second Sunbury festival, and Mick fondly recalls 'hanging
out' backstage with host Paul Hogan. In February with Goodbye
Lollipop in the charts, they supported The Rolling Stones
at their Melbourne concerts at the Kooyong Tennis Centre. In April
'73 Mushroom released their classic debut album, Stillpoint,
recorded at TCS Studios in January and March, produced by John
French. It was another breakthrough success for the band and provided
Mushroom with their first gold record. It reached #11 nationally
and #2 in Melbourne, where they had become one of the top live
draws.
By now the band's repertoire was finely honed, and two years
of solid gigging had turned them into a well-oiled performance
machine -- evidenced by the fact that the LP was cut in less than
two weeks! It's certainly one of the strongest and most original
albums of the period, and Ian McFarlane rightly calls it "
... an adventurous work, brimming with superbly arranged material,
appealing sounds and imaginative lyric themes". The album
is beautifully framed by Drak's wonderful cover illustration,
which complemented the music in much the same way as Roger Dean's
famous covers for Yes. The distinctive Madder Lake logo, designed
by Ian McCausland, completed the
package.
The album is still available as a lower-priced CD release from
Mushroom, and it's highly recommended for anyone with an interest
in the music of this period. On the down side, it's regrettable
that Drak's beautiful artwork has been so poorly reproduced for
the CD version. Also, Mick Fettes recently revealed that French
and the band were under pressure from Gudinski to save money and
work as quickly as possible, and that as a result they were never
entirely happy with the final sound!
Keyboard player John McKinnon left the group mid-way through
1973 ("musical differences"), and he was was replaced
by Andy Cowan, who was introduced to the band by future
Skyhook Bob Starkie (another former schoolmate of Brendan and
Kerry's). In August, Mushroom released a second single, 12lb
Toothbrush / Country Blues, which became an even bigger hit,
going Top 10 in Melbourne and #35 nationally. Simultaneously,
radio began picking up other tracks form the LP and at one stage,
according to Mick Fettes, there were four or five tracks on high
rotation on various Melbourne stations. This later proved to be
source of some regret, whenthe band realised that they coudl have
made much more of their success if other tracks had also been
released as singles.
By early 1974 Madder Lake were well and truly stuck on the
treadmill, gigging incessantly around the country. They were one
of the headline acts at Sunbury '74, where they actually followed
immediately after the hapless Queen, who were booed and
bottled offstage (" The crowd wanted us" reckons Mick!).They
made appearances on GTK when they were
in Sydney (which might have survived) and Mick says they even
appeared on an early edition of COUNTDOWN (which
presumably hasn't).
They found themselves in a"catch-22" situation --
their booking agency, Consolidated Rock, and their record company,
Mushroom, were effectively the same company and both were keen
to milk the cash cow while they could. Although Madder Lake themselves
would clearly have preferred to take time out to rest, write and
rehearse new material, Mushroom rushed them into the studio early
in the year and they cut their second album Butterfly Farm.
By the time the second album was completed, relations with
their label were at an all-time low. Mushroom's attitude veered
betwen hostility and indifference, and this added to the pressure
the band already felt in having to come with a suitable follow-up
to such a successful debut. Although the resulting LP is still
an excellent work, the group themselves admit that the spirit
which informed Stillpoint was fast disappearing
by the time its successor was cut.
The second LP, Butterfly Farm, was released in
April 1974; it sold very well (giving the band their second gold
album) and went to #18 in the album charts. Mushroom lifted two
singles from it: the first was Butterfly Farm / Back Seat Song
(April '74). Radio in Melbourne picked up one of the album tracks,
Booze Blues, and gave it a lot of airplay. Many fans thought
it was the new single, so Mushroom rush-released it in May, but
it was only a local hit in Melbourne and didn't chart nationally.
The next single, It's All In Your Head / Slack Alice (November)
was written specifically as with radio airplay in mind, but it
didn't make the charts.
At the end of the year the band split with Mushroom ("a
mutual thing", says Fettes) but around this time another
exciting break came their way when they met leading conductor
David Measham. The English-born musician was a regular
visitor to Australia, where he worked as a guest conductor with
ABC orchestras. He also had a finger on the popular pulse, and
was closely involved in the trend to combine rock music and classical
orchestration. By the time he met Madder Lake, he was well-known
worldwide through his collaboration with former Yes keyboardist
Rick Wakeman on his hugely successful 'symphonic rock'
concept album Journey To The Centre Of The Earth,
which Measham orchestrally arranged and conducted.
Measham was evidently on the lookout for an Aussie band to
collaborate on a similar musical project when he met Madder Lake
in Perth. During a long meeting at a Perth hotel, Measham proposed
the idea of a large-scale conceptual work for rock group and orchestra,
to be written by the band. Measham's proposal was that he would
orchestrate and conduct the work for the band, who would perform
with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and Mushroom (who
initially showed some interest) would record and release it. One
of the most exciting aspects was the subject -- rather than the
fantasy-adventure of Verne's book, the new project promised far
meatier subject matter. It was to be based on Aldous Huxley's
famous speculative novel Brave New World.
Madder Lake returned to Melbourne and leaped into the project,
drastically curtailing live gigs (and thus their income). Through
a friend, they were able to use an empty pub in the dockland area
of Port Melbourne as a regular base in which to write, arrange
and rehearse the new music. They made several tapes for the project,
including a full preliminary demo made on 4-track at the ABC studios
in Perth. It's not known if these ABC tapes have survived, but
the band at least do have a cassette copy (although the quality
is necessarily limited). Aruond 90 minutes of songs and linking
music was composed, a rough set of working lyrics had been written,
and according to Mick the project was more than ready to hand
over to Measham for the next stage, the orchestral arrangments
.
Unfortunately, this was the point at which Brave New
World became one of the great "lost"
works of Australian rock. Mushroom's initial interesting in the
project rapidly cooled, Measham's concert commitments kept him
away and as it dragged out over months, the band saw the writing
on the wall, and it was eventually shelved. Because it was written
to be performed as single piece, the band only ever played it
live once in its entirety, although one favourite segment was
preformed at gigs as a stand-alone piece for a while
The combination of the Madder Lake's innovative music and the
Brave New World book leaves you wondering what might have
been. We hope that some of the Brave New World demos will
find a public release in the future, and it's also possible that,
with the advent of new computer technology, it might be possible
for the group to realise the work electronically in the future.
Stung by the failure of this ambitious project, the band limped
on through 1975, but the various forces acting on them were tearing
the formerly close-knit group apart. Lack of record company support,
financial pressure, the grind of five years' constant gigging,
internal stresses and the hazards of the rock'n'roll lifestyle
were all taking their toll. As Mick ruefully observes:
"... we just hit a brick wall at a million
miles an hour ... in those times you were just on a merrry-go-round,
and you just went on it in concentric circles until you reached
the centre, and then it spat you out It wasn't just us - it happened
to so many people ... ".
Things came to a head at the end of 1975. While on a trip to
Sydney, Mick Fettes, who was very much the voice and face of Madder
Lake, decided he had had enough, and one night before a gig at
the Bondi Lifesaver he quit the group.
Mick took a well-earned sabbatical and then teamed up with
an his old mate, musician & comedian Shane Bourne.
Mick and Shane knew each other from the Reefer
Cabaret, where Madder Lake had played many times, and where
Shane performed comedy spots between acts. After several months'
writing the pair formed a new group, Bandicoot, which also
included drummer Gary Young (Daddy
Cool). They recorded an album and single in 1976 for the Rainbird
label, and toured extensively.
Mick was repleaced in Madder Lake by Colin Setches who
had been in the original Australian stage production of Hair.
Andy Cowan also left in late '75 and the band played as a three
piece until John McKinnon rejoined in early 1976, but there were
more lineup changes to come. Kerry McKenna left for three months
to go to London, and he was temporarily replaced by Ian Holding
(ex-Sunshine, Sayla). When he returned, he rejoined on second
guitar and Tony Lake also came in, replacing Setches on
lead vocals. There was evidently a rapprochement of sorts with
Mushroom, and they released a new single I Get High / Rodney's
Birthday in July 1976, on which McKinnon sang lead vocals;
unfortuantely it didn't chart. According to Noel McGrath, another
single Love Light In Your Eyes was released before I
Get High (but there's no mention of this in either Who's
Who or Ian McFarlane's Encyclopedia).
Tony Lake left the group in May 1977, and by this time they
were rarely playing live. There is little information on what
happened over this year, but in May 1978 Mick Fettes rejoined
the group in, having quit Bandicoot sometime before. His return
coincided with the release of Mushroom's The Best Of Madder
Lake. The group still had a loyal following, it seems,
and the compilation sold well enough for Mushroom to consider
re-signing them. Plans were made for a new LP, but the reunion
didn't last and Mick again left the band in January 1979, heading
off for a year in Europe with his wife Vicky.
Although there have been some long "dry" spells,
it's important to note that Madder Lake have never actually split
up. When Mick returned from overseas, he renewed contact with
his old bandmates and they have since convened from time to time,
to write, record and play the occasional special gig. In the meantime
Brendan and Kerry formed Clawed Rains (aka Claude Rains)
which worked mainly in 1980-81, but also got together sporadically
into the late '80s. The group also included singer Neale Johns
(Blackfeather) and
drummer Trevor Young (Coloured Balls).
Michael Gudinski planned a large concert to celebrate Mushroom's
10th anniversary in 1982, and Madder Lake (who still had a place
in the heart or conscience of Mushroom) featured prominently in
those plans. Gudinski approached Mick to perform with them for
the Mushroom Evolution Concert, which was held over the Australia
Day Long weekend. Although he at first refused, Mick eventually
agreed -- reluctantly. Three tracks from their performance (Goodbye
Lollipop, Song for Little Ernest and 12lb Toothbrush)
ended up on the triple LP recording of the concert.
The band have since got together on occasion (with a new drummer,
Luke McKinnon, the son of their old keybord player John). According
to Ian McFarlane's Encyclopedia, they were recording an
new album in late 1996. Mick Fettes has confirmed us that there
is indeed 12-track Madder Lake album of all-new material "in
the can" but that it has been "on hold", pending
additional funds to complete production.
Being their first major success, it was fitting that Madder
Lake were featured at Mushroom's 25th anniversary concert in late
1997. In fact one could say that this and Madder Lake's first
Sunbury appearance were the bookends for the career of Mushroom
Records. The much-heralded gig featured most of Mushroom's biggest
acts, was televised nationally and recorded for release on CD
and video.
Sadly, events in the following months proved that this "celebration"
was in fact a 'pre-mortem' wake. In mid-1998, to the consternation
of many, Gudinski sold his controlling share in the Mushroom to
its other major shareholder, Festival Records, a subsidiary of
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
Festival, it seems, was keen to expand its presence in the
music industry and had its eyes on Mushroom's artist roster and
back-catalogue for some time. In the press, Gudinski asserted
that the sale was "not about the money" and went so
far as to claim that the sale was in fact a protest against the
Howard goverment's changes to to parallel importing regulations.
Few believed him. The deplorable result was that the only major
independent Australian recording company passed into the hands
of a American-owned multinational, and many former employees were
laid off in the wake of the sale as the new Festival Mushroom
Group "rationalised" its operation in the time-tested
Murdoch fashion. Goodbye Lollipop, indeed!
On the up side, the members of Madder Lake are still in regular
contact, and they recenetly held a reunion of all the original
members -- the first such meeting since the Seventies. They are
re-establishing a business identity for the group, and gradually
workng through their archives to assess and prepare old and new
material for possible future release. According to Mick there
is enough useable material for at least 3 CDs. We sincerely hope
that they can bring their plans to fruition and especially that
Madder Lake will be able to hit the stage again, as they are keen
to do. There are many fans who would dearly love to see then up
on stage again!
Both
Stillpoint and The Best of Madder Lake
are available on CD from Mushroom as lower priced albums. Butterfly
Farm is not currently available and I don't know whether
it was ever released on CD. If you can find it, the original Stillpoint
LP is worth having if only for the beautiful "Lord Of The
Rings" - inspired cover drawing.
| Singles |
|
2/73 Goodbye Lollipop / Bumper Bar
Song [Mushroom K 4986]
8/73 12 LB Toothbrush/Country Blues
[Mushroom K 5230]
4/74 Butterfly Farm / Back Seat Song
[Mushroom K 5453]
6/74 Booze Blues / One star, the
Moon [Mushroom K 5516]
11/74 It's All In Your Head / Slack
Alice [Mushroom K 5732]
7/76 I Get High / Rodney's Birthday
[Mushroom K 6425]
|
| Albums |
| 4/73 Still Point
[Mushroom MRL34915 (LP)] |
|
Salmon Song
On My Way to Heaven
Helper
Listen to the Morning Sunshine
Goodbye Lollipop
Song for Little Ernest
12lb Toothbrush
[all songs by Madder Lake]
|
| 4/74 Butterfly Farm
[Mushroom L35090] |
|
Back Seat Song
Slack Alice
Booze Blues
Butterfly Farm
Mother Ship
One Star & the Moon
Ride on Fast
Rodney's Birthday
[all songs by Madder Lake]
|
| ?/78 The Best of Madder Lake
[Mushroom L36585] |
|
12lb Toothbrush
Booze Blues
Butterfly Farm
Down the River
Goodbye Lollipop
Helper
I Get High*
It's all in Your Head
Listen to the Morning Sunshine
Mother Ship
Slack Alice
Song for Little Ernest
[all songs by Madder Lake except *Adderly-Hills-Nix]
|
|
- Mick Fettes - phone
interview, Feb/Apr 2000
- Ian McFarlane - Australian
Encyclopedia Of Rock & Pop (1999)
- Noel McGrath - Encyclopedia
Of Australian Rock (1978)
- Chris Spencer/Zbig
Nowara - Who's Who of Australian Rock & Roll (3rd
edition)
Mick Fettes - The MILESAGO Interview
Updated
13 December 1999