Blackfeather was a band that went through a number of distinct phases, starting out as a progressive/heavy rock band and ending up as more of a boogie/rock band. As you can see by the list of musicians below, they also went through a very large amount of lineup changes which probably prevented them from having the success they really deserved. As you can also see by the calibre of that member’s list that they were a band that attracted serious musicians.
Originally formed in 1970, the band contained three members of the very successful Dave Miller Set. Miller had decided to go solo so John Robinson, Leith Corbett and Mike McCormack teamed up with Neale Johns on vocals to form Blackfeather. Within their first year they had the first of many lineup changes when Al Kash joined on drums, and Bob Fortesque on bass. It was this lineup that was soon signed to Infinity Records and before 1970 had ended they were in the studio recording their first album, “At The Mountains Of Madness”.
On this album was a song that was to become not only a hit for two different bands, but also proved to be the catalyst for another major problem within the band. The song “Seasons of Change” was recorded using a couple of musicians from the band Fraternity, Bon Scott and keyboardist John Bissett. Bon had sung some backing vocals and had played recorder on the track. He loved the song and asked could he record it with Fraternity. A deal was eventually struck that allowed Fraternity to record it and release it as a single on the understanding that Blackfeather would not release their version in competition. Unfortunately, against the bands wishes, the record company reneged on the deal as soon as they saw how popular the song was. This caused a major rift between the band and the record company which eventually led to more lineup changes.
The band split at this point but it was soon discovered that Neale Johns had exclusive rights to the name Blackfeather. He formed what was known as the MKII version with Warren Ward on bass, Jim Penson on drums, Zac Zytnick on guitar and Paul Wylde on piano. After yet another lineup change they recorded the song “Boppin’ The Blues” which featured a much more boogie influenced sound. The song went to number one in October 1972 and was their biggest hit.
The band continued to change lineups but never really found the success that they had deserved. Eventually they disbanded in 1983 but apparently still perform an occasional show.
Members
- Neale Johns – Vocals
- Lindsay Wells – Guitar
- John Lee – Drums
- Bob Fortesque – Bass
- Alexander Kash – Drums
- Steve Murphy – Guitar
- John Robinson – Guitar
- Steve Webb – Drums
- Leith Corbet – bass
- Mike McCormeck – Drums
- Paul Wyld – Keyboards
- Warren Ward – Bass
- Terry Gascoigne – Drums
- Jim Penson – Drums
- Greg Sheehan – Drums
- Harry Brus – Bass
- Zack Zytnik – Guitar
- Trevor Young – Drums
- Bill Taylor – Guitar
- Tim Piper – Guitar
- Ian “Willy” Winter – Guitar
- Doug McDonald – Drums
- Ray Vandeby – Keyboards
- Ian Rilen – Bass
- Bill Ryland – Bass
- Wayne Smith – Guitar
- Stuart Fraser – Guitar
- Warwick Fraser – Drums
- Lee Brossman – Bass
- Ray Oliver – Guitar
- John Strangio – Bass
- Huk Treloar – Drums
- Rick Rankin – Guitar
- Jeff Rosenberg – Bass
- Phil Gordon – Drums
- Cleve Judge – Bass
- Andy Cowell – Keyboards
- John Tucak – Bass
- Derek Pellici – Drums
- Rex Bullen – Keyboards
- Phil Smith – Drums
More details on Blackfeather members at the Australian Music Database
Notable Recordings
- The Single Boppin’ The Blues B/W Find Somebody To Love was released in 1972 and got to number 1
- The Single Seasons Of Change B/W On The Day That I Die was released in 1971 and got to number 11
- The Album At The Mountains Of Madness was released in 1971 and got to number 14
- The Album Boppin’ The Blues was released in 1972 and got to number 39
- The Single Slippin’ And Slidin’ B/W Fly On My Nose was released in 1973 and got to number 85
More Blackfeather recordings here
Video’s
Gigs
- 29/01/72 – Sunbury Pop Festival Sunbury, VIC
- 24/12/73 – Teazer Melbourne, VIC
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