BSG 2002 Archives
Hey Everybody, Yeah--Don't You Feel That There's Something... Hey everybody, Where the three of us have left things is that we will be concentrating on recording a live DVD at a yet unannounced venue sometime in the first quarter of 2003. Because of the magnitude of this particular show, it will take all of three months to pull it together. While I’m back home in the States, Graeham has already begun organising orchestration charts to be written for the songs we wish to perform. We plan to put together about a 2 1/2-hour show with an acoustic set in the middle and inviting some very special guest artists from the rock world to participate. That’s about all I can tell you at this stage as I don’t want to "spoil the party", so to speak! In time, as things unfold, I will announce them here on my web site. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and I wish you all the very best for this new year! On to NSW Taree – November 26, 2002 After a long day of press and t.v. appearances, we drove to Taree in N.S.W. where we played the Manning Entertainment Centre. The Centre is an intimate little theatre, and the band played well considering we had just had a week off to concentrate on some recording back in Melbourne. It looked like the people of Taree were having a good time too unless they were fooling us but somehow I think they’d love to have us come back. Thanks to all the people who attended the first show of our N.S.W. run; we really had a ball playing for you! Newcastle – November 27, 2002 We drove from Taree down to Newcastle where we taped a daily t.v. show to promote the "Spirit of Christmas" CD. Birtles Shorrock Goble’s version of "O Holy Night" is on this particualr CD, and if you have the opportunity to get one, you'll hear our Birtles Shorrock Goble's first recording together in more than 20 years! The show that night was at Clubnova where we were met by a very enthusiastic audience. From the opening of "It’s A Long Way There" the crowd was right there with us and we had a particularly good night. I see that some of you who were there have already signed my guestbook. I appreciate you taking the time to do that!
The Enmore Theatre gig was a very memorable one as it was on my 54th birthday!! And what a night to remember! The people who attended this show openly displayed their enthusiasm for us wanting to do this. It was very encouraging to see some industry people attending. Glenn A. Baker was there, Mal Eastick (guitar player for Stars and Jimmy Barnes) was there, Lindsey Field (backing vocalist for John Farnham) was there, and an old friend of ours, Donnie Sutherland whom I had not seen for many, many years. It was great to see him there! Plus some folks from a couple of record labels were there to check out the band--so exciting!
Coffs Harbour – November 29, 2002 We flew to beautiful Coffs Harbour to play at the Ex Services Club this day. Once again we played to a very receptive crowd and one lone dancer towards the end of the show who could not entice the rest of the crowd to get up and join in--although we did spot some people dancing at the back of the room. After the show we had a "meet and greet" with some contest winners. One of them had an old Frieze album for me to sign. When Darryl Cotton and I had were in a duo for a year back in 1972 we recorded this particular album called "1972 B.C.". So let’s see, yes, that’s exactly 30 years ago this year. God, I’m old! Thanks to all the people who attended the show! Wollongong – November 30, 2002 We flew back to Sydney and drove down to Wollongong with little time to spare to even do a soundcheck. However, this was also a great show because of the people who attended. This is what makes it worth it for us, when we see the faces of people in the audience singing along to the words of the songs or applauding one of the brilliant musicians playing a solo behind us. I think for the first time ever I’ve noticed people applauding at the end of solos that the guys have taken and this has been very rewarding! We’ve worked hard at making the songs what they are in concert and so it’s uplifting to hear the audience applauding us. Great show, Wollongong!!
To finish off the tour we played at The Basement in downtown Sydney. In the past The Basement was known as a jazz club but recently it has turned into the club from which to broadcast over the web because of their high tech facilities. It’s a small intimate club with a capacity of about 350 people. It’s a chance for the audience to see you up close and personal and that’s exactly what this gig was. It was the ultimate way to finish off our tour. You weren’t content with us giving you one encore, were you? No, you brought us back a second time. And what a time we had, I thought the band was ROCKING! It took me back to the days when we first started out as Little River Band and it was very cool to feel the audience that close to us again, being able to look into people’s faces, smile at them or have them call out certain songs. We recorded and filmed this gig for a future webcast or perhaps a live DVD somewhere down the road. Who knows what the future holds? All I know is that the three of us want to keep doing this because it has been a lot of fun! So a special thanks to all those involved in making The Basement gig what it was--including the audience, without whom all of this is impossible! Superb! Victoria Shepparton – November 12, 2002 We played at the East Bank Centre in Shepparton and I’d like to thank all of the people who attended the show. We had a ball playing for you as nervous as we were! It was our first gig but it turned out to be a very eventful evening. Just like the old days it was, complete with two women hanging around waiting for us to show our faces out the back. As it turned out, it was "Lyn", a ZOOT fan from all those years ago. Yes, Lyn showed up with a friend from work and some of her ZOOT memorabilia. The story is that Lyn apparently had ripped the arm of one of my pink ZOOT suits when we played a show in Preston in 1969 and there she was, pink sleeve in hand, ready for me to sign it. She came armed (no pun intended) with her ZOOT membership card. Yes, folks, Lyn was fan club member 484! Lots of photos and hugs were shared and I hope Lyn had as much fun as I did meeting her.
Bendigo – November 13, 2002 In Bendigo we played the Schweppes Centre. Thanks to the people working in the bistro who looked after us at dinner time. The show was great and we were starting to relax a lot more. With each show we play it gets better and better as we settle into the songs which is always the way when we go out on the road. I’d like to also thank the people of Bendigo who came out to support us. We had a blast playing for you all and hope that we will get back there sometime in the future. But that wasn’t the end of our eventful evening! On the way home, everybody was pretty relaxed, some of us dozing off when out of nowhere two kangaroos hopped in front of the van. The first one hopped out of the way but we collided with the second one. Not to worry, no one was hurt although we were pretty shaken up with the van damaged severely. Cracked windscreen and front left side all buckled in but still able to drive home. Quite an exciting night when I think back to it all! Frankston – November 14, 2002 Next we played the Frankston Arts Centre which is a great little theatre for the kind of show we play. At every one of the shows I see people singing along to the words of our songs and really getting into the performance. I’ve really enjoyed seeing this and can’t help but smile when I know fans of the band are enjoying it this much. We’ve been signing a few autographs after each show when fans have been showing up with our old albums. It’s gratifying to see that there is still so much interest in us after all these years. You’ve got to remember that it has been 18 – 20 years since we last did this and so we were a little hesitant as to how we would be received. It’s all been very positive so far! Thank you Frankston for coming out and digging the show the way you did! Luckily, the ride home was a quiet one. We didn't hit any roos! Geelong – November 15, 2002 Third gig was at Costa Hall in Geelong and now we’re starting to cook. I remember seeing many smiling faces of fans who were thrilled to hear us performing all of our old material as well as the new songs we have in the set. We’re playing about five new songs, some of which were recorded on CDs after I left the band so to me they are new. We’re playing "Parallel Lines" and "Soul Searchin’", both Glenn Shorrock songs from the Monsoon album and "Face In The Crowd", a song of Graeham’s which was recorded for No Reins and Monsoon. Then we’re performing "Photogenic" from my solo CD, Driven By Dreams and a new song of Graeham’s called, "Let It Rain". For us it’s really cool to be playing some new stuff although having the "younger" guys behind us does inject a certain freshness into the old hits. Our aim is to play only the songs we love to play and we’re working toward being able to play an acoustic set in the middle of the show where we’ll perform some of the more obscure album tracks. We all came off stage beaming with the performance at Costa Hall so thanks to all of the Geelong people who came along to see us play. We had a really great time with you that night! Melbourne – November 16,2002 This is where it all started for us back in early 1975 and it was so good to see the Crown Showroom filled to the max with friends, family and fans wanting to hear us sing together again. I appreciate so much the support y’all have given us during this first week of gigs in Victoria. We finished on a definite high at the Crown Showroom! Of course we had quite a few people come backstage to say how much they enjoyed the show and we've been blown away by the response. The thing I forget is that many of my personal friends have never even seen me perform on stage because I left the band back in 1983 and these are people who I met through my girls going to school with their children or whatever the situation may have been, so they have never seen that side of me. I mean they know that I was in Little River Band but to actually see me perform and hear me sing with Glenn and Graeham was a first time for many of them. I gather from the response after the show that they quite enjoyed it so I better stick with this for the next few years! Hey, thanks to all the people who came to see us at the Crown Showroom and I hope the word gets out that we are well and truly back and singing the songs made popular by you because you are the people who bought all those albums and CDs in the first place! We hope we can do it for you again sometime in the new year. Alejandro Vega and I joined Glenn Shorrock for a glass of wine at Jack’s Bar after the show where I met a couple of die-hard fans. So if you read this, Damian and Nick, it was great to meet you both! See you next time around. What’s Next? This coming week I’ll be doing some recording in Graeham’s studio. We’re laying down some demos of new songs to present to the major record labels here in Australia. Next Monday, November 25, we will be on the Kerri-Anne Kennerly Show before we start our run of shows in New South Wales. Stay tuned for more updates as these events unfold! 'Bye for now, Beeb. Rehearsals Hey everybody, We're in the midst of week two of our rehearsals. Our first week consisted of learning quite a few new songs whilst sorting out equipment hassles and choices. Graeham and I have opted for using Framus Amplifiers which sound incredible. However, because this is all new to me again, I need to decide which way to go with effects pedals and which guitar to use for each song! It's all coming together slowly but surely and we're sounding better with each day of rehearsal. With Dorian West we have the luxury of adding flugelhorn and trumpet for certain songs. For example in "Days On The Road", Dorian takes the second solo on trumpet where on the record it was a flute which has made the song sound so sophisticated and leaning towards being almost jazz. As you probably know, he plays the flugelhorn solo at the end of "Reminiscing" which is just like the record. As well as playing these instruments, Dorian on keyboards is a master for either matching recorded sounds from our records or coming up with very unique new sounds to add to the new songs in our repertoire. Dave Beck on drums has fitted in like a glove. I must say that personality wise, we all get along extremely well and it has been very enjoyable rehearsing the set so far. Dave plays very solidly, he's definitely a song guy as he is very observant of what is required. His "feel" for things is amazing and he and Jason play very well together. I should warn you though that Dave has a wicked sense of humor so be warned!! Jason Vorherr plays bass and joins us on certain vocal lines. The guy has learned every bass lick from every song that has been recorded and is playing them live in the set. Wow, I'm impressed to say the least. Jason is getting a great bass sound as well! Alejandro Vega plays percussion and I can't tell you what an addition to the music percussion is! It really makes a big difference and Alejandro plays it with such flair. So the rhythm section has been extended by the addition of percussion which all sounds so good together. Simon Hosford is on lead guitar and adds a very tasteful style. I'm green with envy of his guitar sound although he has helped me tremendously with improving mine. He and I play very well together on the dual guitar lines and Simon helps out on certain vocal lines as well. We now have the five part harmony of "Reminiscing" on the record covered for the live shows. Hear for yourself when you see the band in concert! I must say that this particular line up is the best band I've ever had the pleasure of playing with. The songs sound so fresh and it has been a lot of fun going back to the recorded versions and bringing them back to basics. I'll get more into the set once we have decided on what the final song list will be. See you on the road!! Beeb. The Farmhand Concert for Drought Relief On October 26, Birtles Shorrock Goble will be among many acts lending a hand at the Farmhand Concert for Drought Relief, to be held at the SuperDome at Olympic Park in Sydney. The concert begins at 7:30 PM, and will be broadcast LIVE on Nine Networks and webcast by the online radio station "The Basement" at www.thebasement.com.au. Live coverage begins at 7:15 p.m. Sydney local time. You can learn more about the Farmhand Foundation by visiting their official website: www.farmhand.org.au/. I hope everyone will lend a hand! The other acts in the lineup include:
After "Farm Hand", Birtles Shorrock Goble will rehearse for two weeks before embarking on a three week tour mainly on the east coast of Australia. Keep your eye on this page, as we'll be adding tour dates when they become available! The band will remain the same except for the drummer. John Watson wasn’t available this time and so we’re adding Dave Beck to the lineup. Welcome Dave!
Keep checking back for regular updates as the tour progresses. I’m feeling very positive about re-launching our career with this tour and the release of Little River Band’s "Definitive Collection" from EMI Australia. We are also in the completion stages of a retrospective DVD to be released very soon. But most of all I am looking forward to hearing our voices together again and playing some great music! Hope to see you at these shows! Not the End... A New BeginningI know that many fans of Little River Band will be disappointed to read that
Graeham Goble, Glenn Shorrock and I will no longer be allowed to call ourselves
the "Little River Band" from here on out.
In the outcome of the Federal Court hearing on June 11 and 12, 2002, in Melbourne,
Australia, it was decided that the trademark belongs to Stephen Housden who has been
with the current band lineup since 1981.
The positive is that now we can concentrate on touring as Birtles Shorrock
Goble and still perform the hits we wrote, sang and recorded. We trust that our fans know who we are and will support us as we start out on this venture together.
During my first trip back to Australia, in a candid conversation with Glenn Shorrock, he shared that he always felt the day of us getting back together was inevitable. I must admit that I didn't think it would ever happen. However, the timing couldn’t be better as enough water has gone under the bridge to heal any wounds that may have lingered from the past. And now, knowing we can no longer continue as Little River Band, I see this as a new beginning and an opportunity for fans of the band to see and hear us perform. What I do know is that we find ourselves, once again, placed in a unique position. Because it has been 18 to 20 years since I worked with both Glenn and Graeham, among us we have a wealth of new material from which to choose. We are still working toward releasing a two part DVD, one of which will be made up of nostalgia footage and the other a live recording introducing some of our new songs. We plan to tour Australia early next year with the musicians who are currently with us. I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with each and everyone of these guys and can tell that we have the makings of what will be an incredible live band. I would like to personally thank Simon Hosford – lead guitar, Alejandro Vega – percussion, Jason Vorherr – bass guitar, John Watson – drums and Dorian West – keyboards, guitar and flugelhorn for their contribution to our music. 2002 APRA Awards
The lyrics of the song were very appropriate. Here's an excerpt: Visit Alex Lloyd's web site and check out his CD! A Blue Night
A Stone in His Shoe A niggle in his left foot was causing David Inglis no end of grief as his round at Huntingdale progressed. It had been much the same the previous week and it was time to get this annoyance sorted out. A podiatrist was the obvious solution. David had a small support put into his left shoe and the following Sunday it was as good as gold. It didn't last. A few weeks later it was nagging again and starting to set him off balance as he steadied himself to drive. At the age of 51 David had years of golf ahead of him and he wanted to get this little problem fixed before his five handicap started to slip. He saw doctors, loads of doctors, and they began to search for an answer. But the needle in the haystack that was David's body proved very hard to find. At last he ended up with a neurologist. A neurologist for a sore foot? - this is ridiculous. More tests, more time, more scans and finally at Cabrini Hospital a diagnosis was made: 'David, you have Motor Neurone Disease'. 'What's that?' Your reaction is probably similar. Just another unfashionable disease with a complicated name you know nothing about. Like a stone in your shoe you will only notice it if you happen to read about it or, God forbid, you know somebody who has it. And like a stone in your shoe it's easy to cast it out to join the legion of other diseases and causes vying for attention. Sorry, but Motor Neurone Disease won't go away. It desperately needs your help and support. A good starting point is to learn a little more about it so you can understand the pressing need for funds and action. The Motor Neurone Disease Association will remain a stone in your shoe, reminding you, informing you, cajoling you until some solutions are found to this most deadly of diseases. My hat goes off to David Inglis who has a form of Motor Neurone Disease. This man has worked tirelessly at organising "A Blue Night" at the Crown Palladium which was expected to raise a million dollars for research into this group of diseases. One form of Motor Neurone Disease is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, named after Lou Gehrig, a New York Yankee baseball player who died at age 37 in 1941. Other well known people who have or have died from Motor Neurone Disease are:
We remember all these people - their lives, their achievements and the enjoyment and stimulation they gave. We should also remember what they, their families and their careers went through in the last couple of years of their lives. I am personally asking you to donate whatever you can to the research for Motor Neurone Disease. Beeb Birtles - Saturday May 25, 2002 Update from Down Under February 11th, 2002--Donna and I flew to Melbourne, Australia for the reunion of the original guys in Little River Band. Graeham Goble picked us up from the airport and dropped us off at a friend’s place with whom we stayed the first month. We arrived on a Saturday, and I had Sunday off before I was thrown into rehearsals for the Grand Prix Ball show at the Crown Casino. Rehearsing is hard work but a process I love because that's where all the important decisions are made concerning the arrangements of the songs. Obviously I was a little timid at first, having to get used to playing through an amplifier again and freaking out because of totally having to re-learn my dual guitar parts. You may have already read some of that in the section on playing that very first gig! The show was received extremely well and from there on Birtles Shorrock Goble had many business decisions to make as to where to take this thing. Many changes took place during the nine-week stay in Melbourne, and it looks like we will be recording our DVD at the end of July, and possibly performing in several cities around Australia. Stay tuned for specific dates and venues. We plan to perform a two-hour set including all of our well known hits, plus five brand new songs! All in all, Graeham, Glenn and I, along with our manager, Glenn Wheatley, made a lot of progress during our first stint in Australia. It always takes a while for a business entity to come together and there were times when Donna and I felt like fish out of water because as you can imagine, everybody’s lives there continued as usual while we'd come all the way from the States. We made the most of our time, however, by looking up and visiting old friends and pursuing some of my music publishing interests. We treated our time there as an adventure and so far that is exactly what it has been. This is an exciting new phase! We arrived back in Nashville on April 17th to spring and already very warm weather! We’re back here for a little while to take care of some business and to attend our daughter Hannah’s graduation from the University of Georgia on May 11th, 2002! (We’re very proud of you, Hannie, and we wouldn’t miss this important occasion for anything!) Yes, we're busy with the mundane tasks of getting things straightened out around the house before we head back down under for almost three months as we experience Phase Two of our very exciting adventure! Keep watching this space for the next episode of Birtles Shorrock Goble! The First Show... First Impressions
I think it is fair to say that we have all been through a lot during that time but here we are, together again, giving it another shot! It’s so easy to take something for granted when you’re rolling along with it and being extremely successful and it has only been in the last year or so that I have thought there was something special in Little River Band’s sound. The fact that there are still so many fans out there, clamoring for more, says it all. From the moment I arrived back in Australia and started rehearsing, there was a buzz surrounding this whole thing. For me it was fun to strap on an electric guitar again and plug into an amplifier for the first time in 18 years. You see, I stopped performing live when I quit the band which may or may not have been a mistake but you have to live by the choices you make! Anyway, most of the parts I played came back to me although I struggled a little with some of the dual guitar lines. We had two weeks to put together a one hour show for our performance at the Grand Prix Ball at the Crown Casino in Melbourne on March 1st. For Graeham and I there were some natural pre-show nerves but the minute we hit the stage, they all disappeared. I told myself that I was going to have a good time no matter what! Well, it felt so good to be back up there that I couldn’t keep from smiling through the whole set. At first some people took to the dance floor but before we knew it, there was a sea of faces looking up at us, mouthing every word to every song we were playing. For old time's sake we had thrown in ‘Curiosity (killed the cat)’ and ‘Emma’, our first two Australian singles. The crowd loved both of these as they loved all of the other well known songs. For those of you who are interested, here is the running order of the show’s set list! Set: Encores: Because of George Harrison’s recent death, we decided to make our second encore number ‘My Sweet Lord’ as a tribute to him because of his love for Formula 1 racing. We brought on Vanetta Fields and the choir with whom she sang to join us on the choruses. It turned out to be a great night and for being thrown off the deep end, I think the band did very well. We had some very talented musicians backing us for this particular show: John Watson on drums, Jason Vorherr on bass, Simon Hosford on lead guitar, James Richmond on percussion and Stewart Wilkinson on keyboards. It was great playing with all these guys! So now we’re preparing rehearsals for the next lot of shows to come later this year, where we will be recording a DVD for release in the near future. Keep watching this space for more updates on Birtles Shorrock Goble! (Thanks to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation for use of the photo! Please visit the Australian Grand Prix website at www.grandprix.com.au.) Australian National Grand Prix Ball
Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock, and Graeham Goble perform together for the first time in more than 20 years at the Australian Grand Prix Ball, which is a highlight of the Australian social scene. The trio did an hour-long set consisting of some of their best known hits. The crowd was on its feet throughout the performance, dancing and singing every word to every song. |
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Over the years since I left
Alejandro Vega
Simon Hosford
Dave Beck