THE FLYING CIRCUS-S/T-complex and very progressive live act-L6-LP

	A$		35
	$		23

ITEM: VINYL 12” LP 33 1/3rpm
ARTIST: THE FLYING CIRCUS
TITLE: The Flying Circus
COUNTRY PRINTED: OZ
CAT No: WRC, S-5291 [1973]
COVER: (Grade at EXCELLENT-) worn spine & 2.8 top seam wear (not split)
LABELS: (Grade at EXCELLENT+)
VINYL: (Grade at EXCELLENT+)
TRACKS:
A1 Hayride
A2 She Don't Care About Time
A3 The Last Train
A4 Scarborough Fair/Canticle
A5 Groovy Night
A6 I Think I'm Gonna Feel Better
A7 So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star
B1 La La
B2 Twilight Journey
B3 To Put Up With You
B4 You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
B5 "Hair" Medley

PERSONNEL:
Doug Rowe (lead guitar, vocals) 1968-75
Colin Walker (drums) 1968-75
Greg Grace (vocals, harmonica) 1968-69, 1971-74
Bob Hughes (bass, vocals) 1968
Red McKelvie (keyboards, lap steel, vocals) 1970
Sam See (keyboards, vocals) 1970-71, 1974-75
Warren Ward (bass, vocals) 1968-69
Terry Wilkins (bass, vocals) 1969-73
James Wynne (rhythm guitar, vocals) 1968-71
COMMENT: Milesago

The Flying Circus is one of the most misunderstood, overlooked and underrated Australian groups of the '64-75 period. They're mainly remembered these days for their two early "bubblegum" hits, which is unfortunate, as Greg Quill, leader of the acclaimed Country Radio, points out:

"Wrongly labelled a pop band because of their lightweight recordings, they were actually a complex and very progressive live act, the first link in Australia between pop and country rock."

In spite of their musical excellence, and a flying start with three hit records, they never really managed to gain a firm footing in Australia. They eventually found a more receptive audience after relocating to Canada, becoming one of the first Australian acts to establish themselves overseas. Many factors -- changes of musical style, frequent changes of lineup (Rowe and Walker being the only constants) and long periods overseas combined to restrict their chances of establishing a strong and lasting identity with the local media and the public.

But the overriding factor that worked against the group after their initial burst of pop success was that, like so many other local acts, they were poorly support by their label and after their first hits, virtually ignored by Australian commercial radio, which blatantly failed to get behind country rock and progressive music. It's ironic that, at the same time, the American music market was broadening significantly, thanks to FM broadcasting, college radio and the new album-oriented rock (AOR) programming formats. But Australian radio, which would remain trapped on the AM band until 1975, was becoming ever more conservative. Commercial AM stations had a stranglehold on the Australian pop market, and apart from one or two valiant ABC efforts like Room To Move, commercial radio was the only outlet for pop and rock music in this country.

The problem was compounded at the turn of the '70s, when many stations around the country adopted new programming regimes like those promoted by the Digamae consultancy, headed by former DJs Rod Muir and DJ Hans Torv. Narrowly focused, rigidly-controlled and hugely profitable, this model favoured a limited range of pop songs in a highly structured, high-rotation playlist, with programming choices largely taken out of the hands of DJs. This was a critical change, since many of the leading "personality" DJs -- like Sydney's Ward 'Pally' Austin and Melbourne's Stan 'The Man' Rofe -- had been free to select much of the material they played and these same DJs were often crucial in breaking and supporting local acts through the 1960s. Programming now came under the control of a collusive network of faceless cabal of programmers and record company A&R managers, for whom the ultimate obscenity was "uncommercial". Diversity and innovation were stifled, overseas pop fodder was favoured over innovative local music and many fine Australian bands -- including Flying Circus -- suffered as a result.

The Flying Circus was formed in August 1967 by New Zealand-born singer, songwriter and lead guitarist Doug Rowe. Before coming to Australia Doug had been a member of two NZ bands, The Saints, from Palmerston North (not to be confused with the better known Christchurch band of the same name) and Peter Nelson & The Castaways, which had also included bassist Reno Tehei (later of Compulsion and briefly a member of The La De Das) and future Twilight Laurie Pryor.

Doug had come to Australia with The Castaways but had quit the band not long after they arrived. The formation of The Flying Circus came about through Doug's work as a cadet journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald. He got know bassist Bob Hughes, another Herald journo, who clsSubHeadared his interest in country rock. Doug and Bob began jamming regularly at Wooloomooloo's Frisco Hotel and it was here that they met Jim Wynne. The final member was another friend of Bob's, Colin Walker. Colin had only just taken up drums but his brother Terry was already an establiclsSubHeaded musician who played with The Hi-Fives, The Times, The Strangers and Pastoral Symphony.

VINYL GRADING SYSTEM

MINT:
RECORD: New condition with no surface marks or loss of sound quality.
COVER: New condition with no surface marks, creases or wear.
NEAR MINT:
RECORD: Barely noticeable surface mark with no loss of sound quality.
COVER: Barely noticeable surface mark/ wear.
EXCELLENT:
RECORD: Some signs of being played with extremely little if no loss of sound quality.
COVER: Slight wear or creasing.
VERY GOOD:
RECORD: Obviously been played with noticeable surface marks & the occasional light scratches but exhibits no major loss of sound quality.
COVER: Noticeable wear on cover, seam or spine.
+(PLUS)/-(MINUS):
Slightly up or down in condition as appears in the comments above.
NOTE:
Gradings are done visually unless there appears to be a questionable surface mark on the vinyl, it is then put on the turntable to check. A comment describing the outcome will appear if this is the case.

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