Bluestone - Wind And Rain (1973)

(Doug Flett - Guy Fletcher)
 Australia
Original version
#22 Sydney #22 Melbourne #13 Brisbane #26 Adelaide

Single on Bootleg, a successful independent subsidiary of the Fable label. It was produced by Brian Cadd who was Bootleg’s house producer, A&R man, and co-founder with Fable’s Ron Tudor.

Released April 1973 (45cat’s dating), on the charts from June.

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Bluestone was a popular Melbourne country rock band formed in 1972 by singer-guitarist-songwriter-producer Terry Dean who had already released two solo singles on Go!!, one of which, It’s You (1965), written by Bobby Bright, charted #16 Melbourne and #37 Brisbane. Later activity included recording for Fable and producing Cash Backman. Since the 80s he has been in Dean & Carruthers with Gary Carruthers, and he runs Terry Dean’s Guitars in Melbourne.

Other foundation members were John Creech (d, v), Ted Fry (b, v) and Mike Burke (g). John Creech had previously been in The Mixtures, and after Bluestone he had a distinguished drumming career, notably with Kylie Minogue. Gavan Anderson (v, g) and Nigel Thompson (v, b), both formerly in The New Dream, were in Bluestone from 1975 until the band broke up in 1984.

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The writers:

Lyricist Doug Flett, an Australian, had worked in Sydney as a TV cameraman and in advertising before moving to London. He was introduced to songwriting partner Guy Fletcher by Shadows drummer Tony Meehan. In the 70s he produced UFO1 (1970), first album by British heavy rock band UFO.

Guy Fletcher was originally a jazz trumpeter who took up pop songwriting and worked as a studio singer for producer Joe Meek. He also switched to keyboards, and in the 70s formed Rogue with two friends who had been in The Onyx, the band that had recorded the Fletcher & Flett song My Son John in 1968 (covered by NZ band The Rebels in 1969). As a singer he has also recorded albums in his own name. Multi-instrumentalist Guy Fletcher, known as keyboardist with Dire Straits, is a nephew.

Flett-Fletcher compositions include The Hollies’ I Can’t Tell the Bottom from the Top (1970, #7 UK, #82 USA); Is There Anyone Out There by Ray Charles (on Love & Peace, 1978); Frankie Valli’s Fallen Angel (1976, #36 USA, #11 UK); and Power to All Our Friends, Cliff Richard’s Eurovision Song Contest bid for 1973 (#4 UK).

The B-side of Johnny Farnham’s Rose Coloured Glasses (1968) was a Flett-Fletcher song, Scratchin’ Ma Head, a cover of a 1967 B-side by The Event.

Elvis Presley recorded the Flett-Fletcher songs Wonderful World (in Live A Little, Love Little,1968), The Fair’s Moving On (on From Memphis To Vegas, 1969) and Just Pretend (on That’s The Way It Is, 1970). Wonderful World had been written as a Eurovision possibility for Cliff Richard who released it on the 1968 EP Congratulations: Cliff Sings 6 Songs For Europe. 

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References, further reading: 1. Ian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop, (1999), p.68. 2. Milesago’s history of the Bootleg label. 3. History of Bluestone at Tara Hall Productions. 4. Dean & Carruthers. 5. Terry Dean’s Guitars. 6. Website of Doug Flett. 7. Website of Guy Fletcher.