Tommy & The Dipsticks were a Sydney based Punk Rock band that started around 1977. The Dipsticks’ guitarists John Cowper & Peter Mullany from Johnny Dole & The Scabs were school mates so Peter was able to help the band with their first gig.

Tommy & The Dipsticks like Johnny Dole & The Scabs were one of the few Punk Rock bands at the time to play in an English style doing covers of Rolling Stones and Beatles songs plus a few originals thrown in for good measure.

When the doors to the legendary Grand Hotel – Broadway Sydney were opened for the first time on Friday 16th September 1977 a support band was needed and Peter suggested his mate’s band. It was agreed to give them a go and as it turned out they were a great match and they went on to support them many more times.

The bands for that opening night were Johnny Dole & The Scabs supported by Tommy & The Dipsticks for just $1.00 so in reality Tommy & The Dipsticks have the distinction of being the first band to play at the Grand Hotel.

After Johnny Dole & The Scabs disbanded, Johnny Dole & Peter Mullany joined forces with Tommy & The Dipsticks and the Crooked Hearts were born, early 1979.

Line-up: Tommy & The Dipsticks

• John Cowper – Guitar/Vocals
• Tommy Ebejer – Bass/Vocals
• Russell McRae – Drums/Vocals

Line-up: The Crooked Hearts

• Johnny Dole – Lead Vocals
• Peter Mullany – Guitar
• John Cowper – Guitar/Vocals
• Tommy Ebejer – Bass/Vocals
• Russell McRae – Drums/Vocals

That’s Right! were a Sydney based Rock band who formed when members of cover band Shanghai became unhappy with the direction the band was taking. Realizing they had a common interest in doing original songs and wanting to take it into a rockier feel they recruited a new guitarist and after a few rehearsals started gigging early 1992.

Unfortunately the bass player had to leave due to work commitments so another one was brought in but he too soon left. And to make matters worse around this time the lead singer was having second thoughts. Wanting to get back to his first love, Country music he left and returned to Victoria.

This all took place in the first 12 months so things weren’t looking too good until the 3rd line-up solidified the new sound and direction. Also, at this time the band became a 4 piece no longer having a front man. The band started to gig early 1993 at such venues as Clovelly RSL, Bexley North Hotel and Mick Maulins – Sans Souci to name just a few.

Demos were recorded at Hampton Coarse Studios – Kogarah and two of these were used for videos and can be viewed on You Tube.

Line-Up One (1992)

• Cameron Mason – Lead Vocals
• Noel Furnacello – Bass/Vocals
• Leigh Randal – Guitar/Vocals
• Jeff Stevenson – Guitar/Vocals
• Greg Morris – Drums/Vocals

Line-Up Two (1992)

• Cameron Mason – Lead Vocals
• Andy Judd – Bass
• Leigh Randal – Guitar/Vocals
• Jeff Stevenson – Guitar/Vocals
• Greg Morris – Drums/Vocals

Line-Up Three (1993 – 1994)

• Enzo Magistro – Bass
• Leigh Randal – Guitar/Vocals
• Jeff Stevenson – Guitar/Lead Vocals
• Greg Morris – Drums/Vocals

Where Are They Now?
Greg Morris and Enzo Magistro are now playing in Sydney cover band Mad Cow. http://www.madcowtheband.com.au/
Cameron Mason is now living in Victoria pursing a career in Country music. http://www.cameronmason.com.au/
Jeff Stevenson – unfortunately is no longer involved in the music business.
Leigh Randall, Andy Judd and Noel Furnacello – unknown.

After he’d finished playing with The 69ERS for the final time, Peter Knox bounced around the Sydney music scene for a while, filling in on bass and making guest appearances with various bands, until he became bass player and co-comedian with a club ‘show’ called Country Scratch (based around the Caswell family – featuring a young Allan Caswell, his brothers and his father). After that show came to an end, from it Peter Knox and Ian Willis joined The Kaye & Kyffin Band, which also featured Gavin Hodel on drums (along with Kaye Taylor on vocals and Phill Raymond on rhythm guitar and vocals). It’s possible that outfit did its last gig at the NSW Leagues Club (Sydney) on Friday, March 5, 1976 (though evidence is sketchy).

From there, Ian Willis, Gavin Hodel and Peter Knox decided to form a three-piece band. They experimented with names – doing their first two gigs as Briquewall (see table below) – then auditioning at The Clique Wine Bar in Surry Hills as I.C. Delite (see table also). By the time they took up a residency at The Clique, they had become Toons, much to the annoyance of the venue owner, who had distributed a whole bunch of flyers promoting I.C. Delite. This gig list represents most of the performance history of Toons, who ended as they had begun – using a number of different names.

Much like Peter Knox’s New Improved 69ERS had done at the end of their history, Toons began theirs with a series of residencies, and residencies were significant throughout their tenure. They got very close a number of times, but Toons never really sprouted wings.

Known gigs for Toons

(Editors note: This gig list is not yet complete but I’m getting them in as fast as I can!)

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About the Ted Mulry Gang

When the Ted Mulry gang formed in 1972, Mulry was already a well-known pop balladeer. After getting tired of being backed by different backing bands, in 1972 he switched from acoustic guitar to bass and formed his own band, “Ted Mulry Gang”, with guitarist Les Hall & drummer Herman Kovacs. The band signed a recording deal with Albert Records in 1974 and released their first album “Here We Are”. Guitarist Gary Dixon joined around this time to complete the foursome. With his own band behind him he adopted a more hard rockin’ style.

History

Their first major hit, and the biggest of their career was the 1975 single Jump In My Car which spent 5 weeks at number one on the Australian singles charts. Over the next few years they achieved a string of hit singles including a rocked up version of the old jazz song, Darktown Strutter’s Ball, Crazy, Jamaica Rum and My Little Girl. Many of TMG’s songs, including Jump In My Car, were co-written with guitarist Les Hall. By the early 1980s their chart success had ended but they remained popular performers on the Australian pub circuit throughout the decade.

In early 2001 Ted Mulry announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. A series of tribute concerts organised shortly before his death, Gimme Ted, brought together an assortment of Australian rock acts of his era to pay tribute to him. These included a reunion of his band Ted Mulry Gang with his brother Steve Mulry standing in for him as lead vocalist.
from Wikipedia

Members

• Ted Mulry(September 2, 1947 – September 1, 2001) – Vocals and Bass
• Gary Dixon – Guitar
• Les Hall – Guitar
• Herman Kovac – Drums
• Mark Tinson – Guitar

Recordings

• Here We Are – 1974
• Struttin’ – 1976
• Steppin’ Out – 1976
• Greatest Hits – 1977
• TMG – 1977
• Disturbing The Peace – 1978
• TMG Live – 1979
• Locked In – 1980
• Re-Union – 1989

Video

Other Resources

• Wikipedia – Ted Mulry Gang
• Nostalgia Central
• Answers.com
• Howlspace
• Pop Archives