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For those of you who know absolutely nothing about Beeb Birtles, throughout the following pages you will trace my life in music from the mid-60s until now. As a founding member of the Australian group, Little River Band, I enjoyed tremendous success while sharing my passion for music with the world. What makes certain bands great? It’s the combination of personalities who among them have that magic ‘something’ to create great music. We knew it the minute Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goble and I first sang together in London, England in late 1974. There is something magic about the way our voices blend together and Little River Band was the perfect vehicle for our songs. Remembering John Darcy... In July 2006, we lost John Darcy, guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of Zoot along with Darryl Cotton, Ted Higgins and me. The really interesting thing about John is that he was also in one of Graeham Goble's first bands, "Alison Gros," not long after Darryl Cotton and I had left Adelaide to make Melbourne our home. Graeham Goble and I actually grew up living half a mile from each other in the Adelaide suburbs but never met during that time. To read more about what John meant to me and my start in music, please visit my tribute page, "We Were Lads". My Musical Journey... My first band, Times Unlimited, was formed around 1966 in Adelaide, South Australia. This band eventually became Zoot, which turned professional in 1968 and took the Australian teen music scene by storm. In 1971 Darryl Cotton, the lead singer of ZOOT, and I formed a duo called Frieze. Then in 1972 Graeham Goble invited me to join Mississippi, which became the nucleus of what would become Little River Band. In 1975, we cut our self-titled debut LP, Little River Band and began our climb to the heights of the Australian music scene. With the North American release of Little River Band in April 1976, we began our first tour of England, Canada and the United States. Two hit singles, "It’s A Long Way There" and "I’ll Always Call Your Name" found their way up the American charts. In 1977 we released the album, Diamantina Cocktail, which earned us our first gold record in the United States. This album included "Help Is On Its Way", written by Glenn Shorrock and "Happy Anniversary", written by David Briggs and me. Our second world tour proved our status as an internationally acclaimed band with the distinction of scoring a top ten hit for five consecutive years with songs such as "Reminiscing", "Lady", "Lonesome Loser", and "Cool Change". On October 24th, 1983, I left the band due to musical differences and other reasons. My gut feeling was that the music was heading in the wrong direction. Glenn Shorrock, our original lead singer, was no longer with the band, and had been replaced by John Farnham. Glenn's last recording was the album Time Exposure, which produced our Top 20 hits, "The Night Owls", "Take It Easy On Me", and "Man On Your Mind". The follow up album, The Net, was my last recording with Little River Band. At the end of U.S. tour for The Net I wished them all well and left the band.
Goldmine Magazine Tells the Little River Band Story Goldmine Magazine's February 4, 2005 issue features the Little River Band as its cover story! The article, titled “Little River Band, Who Are They, Anyway?“ can be read in its entirety on the author's website. Visit Chuck Miller's Creative Writing Service, and read on!
On October 17, 2004, the "Classic Lineup" of Little River Band was honoured by the Australian Recording Industry Association by being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. It was wonderful to see all of my former band mates -- Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goble, George McArdle, David Briggs, and Derek Pellicci -- and to bring down the house one more time with our Number One Australian hit, "Help Is On Its Way". Click here to see my online scrapbook of our good times in Australia, including lots of behind-the-scenes photos! Birtles Shorrock Goble In February 2002, I traveled back to Australia to reunite with my former LRB bandmates, Graeham Goble and Glenn Shorrock. Over the years, opportunities to get back together have come and gone, but the time never seemed quite right. Finally, everything clicked, and since then we have toured Australia extensively, signed a recording contract with Universal Music, released "Full Circle", our first recording together in more than 20 years. The CD and DVD have since been certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Although things have been quiet lately, plans are underway to bring our distinctive vocal harmony sound to the rest of the world and to you, the fans. Be sure to check out the official Birtles Shorrock Goble website! The Definitive Collection
Driven By Dreams...
In early 2000 my first solo CD, Driven By Dreams, was released on the Sonic Sorbet label. Out of all the songs I've written since my departure from Little River Band, I chose those closest to my heart and more suited to my voice for this particular recording project. Many longtime fans of the band have commented on the maturity of the writing and recording of "Driven By Dreams", saying they can hear what my contribution to the band's music was. If you'd like to check it out, sound clips from my solo CD are available on my page at the Sonic Sorbet web site. My journey through the world of music has been an exciting one so far and I look forward to what lies ahead! Read on - I think you will enjoy following the story of my life. Be sure to check back from time to time for regular updates! With Best Wishes,
© 2007 by Beeb Birtles |
Quick Clicks!
Zoot -- "Think Pink!" Check out the 60s Teen Scene in Australia
Frieze -- "You want us to do WHAT?" Hey, it's a living!
Mississippi -- "In the beginning..."
Little River Band -- What a ride! Be sure to check out my fabulous online scrapbook; I've got tons of photos, memorabilia, and great stories to share!
Sonic Sorbet -- Here's what I've been up to lately, and check out my solo CD!
Birtles Shorrock Goble -- Glenn, Graeham and I are together once again! We've got big plans for 2005! Be sure to visit the Official Birtles Shorrock Goble website!
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Welcome!
Beeb's ARIA Awards Scrapbook!
Little River Band's Definitive Collection is a digitally remastered collection of all of the band's singles released in Australia. On this CD you will hear some songs that are not familiar to American fans. All the songs are in their full length versions as orginally recorded. EMI/Capitol are offering this collection to the band's die hard fans to commemorate the 30th anniversary of when LRB first formed back in 1975.
Track listing:
