The Flies - Doin’ The Mod (1965)

(Les Vandyke)
 Australia
#23 Melbourne

Second single, the first that charted by Melbourne band influenced by British Invasion insects, also notable for the involvement of Ronnie Burns, who later became a solo pop star. Go to Browse Artists: ‘B’ for some of his songs featured at this site.

Doin’ The Mod charted in June-July 1965 and was followed onto the Melbourne charts in September-October by Can’t You Feel, an original song by Ronnie Burns and John Thomas of The Flies (#26 Melbourne).

Further reading: Milesago’s history of The Flies and Ronnie Burns. For more Aussie insects, see Terry Stacey’s account of Sydney’s Cicadas at The Blog.

Where Are They Now? Themi Adams (Adamopoulo), the Flies’ bass player, is now an Orthodox priest working in Kenya. See the website of Paradise4Kids, an African children’s charity of which Fr Themi is a partner.

The Flies has been a surprisingly well-used band name over the years:
The Flies, Melbourne, 1964-65, Doin’ The Mod; The Flies, UK, c.1966-68, beat/psychedelic band; The Flies, USA, 1969, alias of gospel artist Larry Norman; The Flies, Sydney, 1984-1987, pop band; The Flies, Greensboro NC, 1978-79, punk band; The Flies, Massachusetts, 1980s, garage band; The Flies, 1990s, Washington State, punk band. See also The Flys, and these Flys… If you have a strong stomach, you could even go back to where it all starts.

Thanks to Terry Stacey for uncovering all these Flies.