THE VAMPS

Background information
Origin / Australia
Genres / pop rock
Years active / 1965-1975
Associated acts / Peaches, Skyz The Limit
Website / vampsoz.blogspot.com
Past members / Margaret Britt, Kay Gazzard, Judy Owen, Wendy Walton, Janice Glading, Jan Little, Merlene Ryder, Elaine Nielson, Lisa Kay James, Denise Cooper, Terri Scott, Linda Cable, Marilyn Ockwell, Julie Hibberd, Carol Middlemiss, Val Falloon, Joy Carroll, Mary Kay Kuenzli, Diane Smith, Cheryl Petrak, Micky Petrak, Nancy Kuminkovski

The Vamps were the first Australian all-female rock group, formed in April 1965 by guitarist Margaret Britt.[1][2] Between 1965 and 1969 they toured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and the Pacific Islands. This included a 6 month tour of US bases in Vietnam during 1967-8. In 1969 the band left Australia for the United States, and toured there almost continuously until 1975. Upon returning to Australia they were renamed Peaches and worked in Australasia and the Pacific through to 1980. Founder of the band and lead guitarist Margaret Britt continues to perform with Skyz the Limit.[3]

Contents

  • 1 History
  • 2 Vietnam
  • 3 South East Asia and the Pacific
  • 4 United States
  • 5 Discography
  • 6 Peaches
  • 7 Margaret Britt
  • 8 References

History

In April 1965 Margaret Britt, following two years performing throughout Australia and New Zealand in male-led bands, decided to form an all-female rock group. This was at the time a novel idea, as it was only the previous year that recordings by the first all-girl band of the pop era - Goldie and the Gingerbreads - had appeared, followed shortly thereafter by The Pleasure Seekers, featuring a young Suzi Quatro. Britt initially put together a 4-piece band comprising herself, Kay Gazzard, Wendy Walton and Judy Owen. They performed a mix of instrumentals and contemporary pop and rock and roll songs. Their first gig was at Stomp City, AMOCO Centre, Orange in June 1965, where they drew a record crowd of 2030.[4] Following this a fifth member - Janice Glading (stage name Babs King) - was added on vocals.[5] The Vamps played the Millers Hotel circuit in Sydney and other venues through to the end of 1965. They also appeared on the Don Lane television show, performing Twist and Shout. At one point in late 1965 Richard Neville of OZ magazine fame was considering managing the band, but he left for London early in 1966. In February of that year Britt put together a new version of the Vamps, with Jan Little, Merlene Ryder, Elaine Neilson and Lisa Kay James. They toured extensively throughout eastern Australia, including the show circuit in Queensland. During September they were joined by Denise Cooper on vocals, following the departure of Neilson. Whilst performing in Brisbane the Vamps recorded two numbers for the IN television show on BTQ7, these being House of the Rising Sun and Hanky Panky.[6][7] Early in 1967 the Vamps were offered a tour of Vietnam and in February Britt put together a new line-up with Melbourne musicians Linda Cable, Terri Scott and Marilyn Ockwell.[8] This was short-lived and they only played a few gigs in Melbourne and Sydney. Britt replaced the three Victorians in July with Julie Hibberd, Carol Middlemiss, Val Falloon and Denise Cooper. Falloon had recently arrived from England where she had written and produced a single for Mike Hamilton issued on Decca Records.[9] The Vamps went on to tour Vietnam between October 1967 and March 1968, with stopovers in Noumea and Singapore on the way. Following their return to Australia in April 1968 Val Falloon left and was replaced by Joy Carroll. The band then performed in venues along the east coast before heading off on a Pacific Islands and South East Asian tour in September. They were away until February 1969, at which point they once again played in Sydney and Melbourne, before leaving for the United States in May of that year. The Vamps toured as an all-female 4-piece with various personnel through to March 1971 when Margaret Britt's husband Jon Kirk joined the band and it was renamed Jon and the Vamps, or Jon and the Australian Vamps. They only ever played in Australia again during a brief visit in 1972. Upon returning to the United States in June 1972 the band was expanded to an 8-piece and performed around the country and in Hawaii continuously until February 1975, with Margaret Britt the only non-American member. Upon returning to Australia in 1975 Britt's new band adopted the name Peaches.

Vietnam

In September 1967 The Vamps left Australia for a proposed 12 month tour of US military bases in Vietnam. Their Vietnam tour was at front line bases such as Landing Zone (LZ) Ross, Danang, where, during a performance on an open air stage in November 1967, the base was subject to a mortar attack by the Viet Cong, just 200 yards away. The band had to cut short their performance and were dragged into bunkers by the soldiers until they could be choppered out to safety. The Vamps performed at numerous bases in Vietnam for both American and Australian troops, often driving themselves to gigs in a kombi van, unescorted.[10] Whilst in Saigon Britt was subject to a roof-top sniper attack. In January 1968 the band was awarded a plaque by the US forces for their courage and performance on the front line.[11] During the Viet Cong Tet Offensive of late January 1968 there was fear in Australia as to the fate of the band, and a number of newspapers reported on the activities of consular authorities in locating the Vamps and reporting on their well-being.[12][13] Band members Carol Middlemiss, Denise Cooper and Julie Hibberd feature in Maria Wallis' 2003 documentary Entertaining Vietnam, which deals with some of the lesser known bands to entertain the troops, including the Vamps.[14][15] As Carol Middlemiss notes in the interview, "The audiences were fabulous... We'd finish with the anthem that everyone was playing - We gotta get out of this place."

South East Asia and the Pacific

Whilst en route to Vietnam, in September 1967 the Vamps performed in Noumea, French New Caledonia. Upon completion of their tour of US bases in April 1968 they returned home to Australia via Singapore. In September of that year they undertook a 6 month tour of Pacific islands and South East Asia which included gigs at Tahiti,[16] Noumea, Taiwan, Subic Bay in the Phillipines, Bangkok in Thailand[17] and Singapore. They returned to Australia in February 1969.

United States

The Vamps left Australia in May 1969 for a tour of the United States. The 4-piece initially comprised Margaret Britt, Carol Middlemiss, Julie Hibberd and Joy Carol. Middlemiss departed in September and was replaced by American Mary Kay Kuenzli. At the end of 1970 both Carroll and Kuenzli left and were replaced by the Petrak sister, Cheryl and Micky. They was part of the line-up when the Vamps performed at Tehachapi Prison, California in February 1971. Shortly thereafter the Petraks left and the band now became Jon and the Australian Vamps, comprising Margaret Britt, her husband Jon Kirk, Julie Hibberd and American Diane Smith. This 4-piece worked through to the end of 1971, joined at one stage by vocalist Nancy Kay. This band recorded a 4-track 7 inch EP in 1971. Following a brief visit to Australia in April 1972 both Smith and Hibberd left the Vamps. Upon returning to the States, Britt and Kirk put together an 8-piece band and performed around the country and at events such as the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500. They were based out of Green Bay Wisconsin, but had gigs in Las Vegas, Birmingham, Nashville, St. Petersburg, Lake Tahoe and Hawaii, to name a few.

Discography

In September 1971 Jon and the Australian Vamps recorded two 7" singles at Reflection Sound Studios, Charlotte, North Carolina for Jollie Ollie Productions, Kansas. The first single was Bobby McGee featuring Margaret Britt and Are You Ready featuring Jon Kirk. The second single comprised It's Too Late featuring Julie Spangler and Feeling Alright featuring Jon Kirk. Both were released in stereo by the Snyder Album Company.

Peaches

In 1975 Britt and her husband Jon Kirk returned to Australia and upon the recommendation of a local publicist the name Vamps was dropped and replaced with Peaches. This all-female, 4 piece Australian band toured between 1975-80 and had a number 1 hit in Tasmania with the single Substitute.[18]

Margaret Britt

Margaret Britt began playing the guitar professionally at hotels in her home town of Orange, New South Wales, in 1962. She purchased a white Gibson SG from Dave Bridge, a famous Australian guitarist of the early rock and roll era, and used it through her years with the Vamps prior to going to the United States.[19] During 1963-4 Britt was a member of a band which toured parts of Australia and New Zealand with the Showground Agency. Upon returning to Australia in 1965 Britt decided to form an all-female rock group and put the Vamps together. Britt played lead guitar, bass guitar, harmonica and organ with the Vamps through to its demise in 1975. She also played saxaphone whilst with the 8 piece Jon and the Australian Vamps between 1972-5. After playing with her all-female Peaches between 1975-80 Britt retired the band, though she continued to perform. She currently works with the band Skyz the Limit.

References

  1. Ian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop, Allen & Unwin, 1999.
  2. Wild Girls for hire, OZ magazine, Sydney, December 1965. Accessed 6 June 2014.
  3. Skyz the Limit (website). Accessed 6 June 2014.
  4. Janice Harris, When Orange was Stomp City, Central Western Mail, 9 June 2010. Accessed 6 June 2014.
  5. James Cockington, Mondo Weirdo: Australia During the Sixties, Mandarin Press, Port Melbourne, 1992.
  6. The Vamps on IN. TV Times, 28 September 1966.
  7. The Vamps on IN. TV Week, 15 October 1966.
  8. Ian D. Marks and Iain MacIntyre, Wild About You: The Sixties Beat Explosion in Australia and New Zealand, Verse Chorus Press, 2011.
  9. Mike Hamilton, The Time is Over / You Wont be Alone Anymore, 45Cat. Accessed 6 June 2014.
  10. Marc Leepson, Mara Wallis's Documentary On Show Folk In Vietnam, The VVA Veteran - The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, March / April 2003. Accessed 6 June 2014.
  11. Jacqueline Smith, The Vamps weren’t afraid of the Viet Cong. Australian Women’s Weekly, 5 June 1968.
  12. Vamps are safe in Saigon, Sun, Sydney, 5 February 1968.
  13. Australian Girls Safe. Canberra Times, 6 February 1968.
  14. Maria Wallis (dir.), Entertaining Vietnam, 2003, 53 minutes. Accessed 6 June 2014.
  15. Entertaining Vietnam (online). Accessed 6 June 2014.
  16. Un Orchestre de Femmes. Tahiti, Bonux, 15 October 1968.
  17. The Vamps at the Café de Paris. Bangkok World – News of the World and Community, Sunday 5 January 1969.
  18. Peaches, Substitute, Laser Records, 1978. Accessed 6 June 2014.
  19. Dave Bridge Quartet, Milesago (website). Accessed 6 June 2014.