Clapham Junction - Good Time Music (1969)

(Jeff Katz - Jerry Kasenetz - Richard Berardi)
 Australia

Single on du Monde by Sydney pop band, active 1968-1970, with historical connections to top Australian 70s band Sherbet.

Personnel at the time of this session appear to have been William Mahoney (vocals), Jim Willebrandt (vocals), Derek Lewis (guitar), Peter Noble (bass), and David Mills (drums). Mahoney and Willebrandt had joined to replace foundation members Dennis Laughlin (vocals), and Sam See (guitars & organ). Also in the band at some stage were John Foley (guitar) and Barbie Jones (organ).

The Who-influenced band original on the B-side, Emily On Sunday, has attained some longevity through being included on Peculiar Hole In The Sky: Pop-Psych From Down Under, a 2002 collection on Ace Records' Big Beat Label. In the liner notes, Alex Palao repeats a rumour that the band members were all British. Their name certainly sounds British, and they were associated with Sydney club The Union Jack. Bassist Peter Noble clarifies this by pointing out that he was "the only Aussie in an all-Brit band" (quoted at the History of Australian Music blog).

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After Clapham Junction, Dennis Laughlin and Sam See [Ruthven] became foundation members of Sherbet in 1969.

Laughlin was Sherbet's original lead singer, heard on their first single Crimson Ships, but left after a few months. Later he was in Toby Jugg. (Clapham Junction's John Foley, Jim Willebrandt and Bill Mahoney also passed through Toby Jugg, as did Garth Porter, later in Sherbet.)

Sam See left Sherbet in 1970, before its rise to stardom. He was in The Flying Circus and Greg Quill's band Southern Cross in the 70s and, as Milesago puts it, became a mainstay of the Australian music scene with a bulging CV.

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References, further reading: 1. Sherbet, Flying Circus and Greg Quill pages at Milesago. 2. Clapham Junction at Vinyoleum. 3. Clapham Junction at History of Australian Music blog. 4. Alex Palao, liner notes, Peculiar Hole In The Sky: Pop-Psych From Down Under, Big Beat Records, 2002. 5. Spencer, Nowara & McHenry, Who's Who of Australian Rock (5th Ed, 2002), various entries.