The Gathering - Portobello Road (1968)

(John Marsh - Andrew Veal)
 Australia
#38 Melbourne

Single on Astor. The label’s writer credit to ‘Harsh’ is an error. Vocals by Col Perkins who also wrote the B-side, Get Ready For Me. 

Melbourne band The Gathering, formed in 1968, included members of Glenn & the Outlaws, joined by Hank Wallis from Ronnie Burns’s band The Flies. They had three singles on the Melbourne charts: Portobello Road (1968, #38), Lovely Loretta (1969, #22) and Rosetta (1972, #21).

The Gathering’s original line-up:
 • Col Perkins (lead vocal/guitar; website)
 • Cliff Newby (lead guitar/vocal)
 • John “Hank” Wallis (drums/vocal)
 • Barry Patterson (bass guitar)
There were some personnel changes but Perkins and Wallis remained throughout.

The Gathering had the original single by The Spectrum as a reference, thanks to Perkins’s brother who would ship him the latest singles from England. This wasn’t a slavish copy of the original’s wistful Toytown sound, though: the Aussies made it their own with stronger rhythm and lead vocals.

Hank Wallis and Col Perkins were later in country band Wallis And Matilda, best known for Clancy Of The Overflow (1980, #16 Sydney, #32 Melbourne, #24 Brisbane), from Banjo Patterson’s classic bush ballad.

British-born Sydney singer Trevor Gordon, part of UK duo The Marbles, was not – as some have supposed – in The Gathering: I was never part of a Melbourne band, The Gathering (Trevor Gordon, email, 2011).

Reference: Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara, Paul McHenry (compilers), Who’s Who of Australian Rock (2002 and earlier editions).

Further reading: 1. Lead singer and guitarist Col Perkins’s website has a career biography that includes the Gathering years, as well as a current gig guide. See also Wallis And Matilda’s website.

Thanks to Col Perkins for band history, and to Trevor Gordon and Peter Foldy for clarification. Thanks to Mike Robbins.