The Dingoes
Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox musical artist The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band. They were initially active from 1973 to 1979, and reformed in 2009. Initially based in Melbourne, the band relocated to the United States from 1976.<ref name="McF">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Miles">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Howl">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The most stable line-up comprised John Bois on bass guitar, John Lee on drums, Broderick Smith on vocals and harmonica, Chris Stockley on guitar, and Kerryn Tolhurst on guitar.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="ARDb">Template:Cite web</ref> Mal Logan (who provided keyboards on the first LP) on keyboards joined after Stockley was hospitalised when shot in the stomach by Melbourne drug-dealer, Dennis Allen, who was attempting to gate crash a party.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="ARDb"/> The Dingoes' debut single, "Way Out West", was released in November 1973, and peaked in the top 40 of the Australian Kent Music Report singles chart.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Kent">Template:Cite book NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.</ref> Subsequent singles were "Boy on the Run", "Smooth Sailing", and "Into the Night", which did not reach the top 50.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Kent"/> They had three top 40 albums, The Dingoes in 1974, Five Times the Sun in 1977, and Orphans of the Storm in 1979.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Kent"/>
On 27 August 2009, The Dingoes were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame alongside Kev Carmody, Little Pattie, Mental As Anything, and John Paul Young.<ref name="HoF2009">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Cashmere">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Collins">Template:Cite news</ref> The Dingoes reformed in late 2009 and released a new album, Tracks in 2010 which was followed by a tour of Australia. A live album Live at Last came out after the tour, which prompted another tour – this time without Bois who could not get away from his day job.
Previous bands
Kerryn Tolhurst, lead guitarist, mandolin-player, and singer-songwriter founded Adderley Smith Blues Band in 1964 in Melbourne,<ref name="Brod">Template:Cite web</ref> which was one of Australia's first authentic blues bands.<ref name="McFASBB">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Lead vocalist and harmonica-player Broderick Smith joined in 1966, both Smith and Tolhurst were conscripted into the Army as part of National Service during the Vietnam War for two years from 1968 to 1970.<ref name="McFASBB"/> Smith was unable to continue with the band but Tolhurst was able to keep a line-up performing, including Joe Camilleri on saxophone in 1970. After National Service, Tolhurst formed Sundown, with singer-songwriter Keith Glass, as a country rock group, Smith briefly joined Sundown before going on to blues boogie band, Carson in 1971.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="McFASBB"/> After Sundown, Tolhurst joined singer-songwriter Greg Quill in his country rock group Country Radio during 1972–1973.<ref name="Miles"/> Quill and Tolhurst co-wrote their hit singles "Gypsy Queen" and "Wintersong".<ref name="APRA Gypsy">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="APRA Wintersong">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="McFCR">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Both Carson (with Smith) and Country Radio (before Tolhurst joined) had performed at the inaugural Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1972.<ref name="Miles"/> At the second festival in January 1973, Carson (with Smith) performed and recorded their set, including a track called "Dingo", which was released on their live album, On the Air in April.<ref name="McFCarson">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Country Radio (with Tolhurst) had also performed,<ref name="Miles"/><ref name="McFCR"/> and live tracks from both bands were included on the first ever Mushroom Records album, as a triple-LP, The Great Australian Rock Festival Sunbury 1973.<ref name="Sunbury73">Template:Cite web</ref> After the 1973 festival, both Smith and Tolhurst left their respective bands.<ref name="Miles"/> Tolhurst briefly joined Mississippi which later became Little River Band.<ref name="Miles"/> Smith, in March, played the role of "The Father" in the Australian production of the rock opera Tommy, which was staged in Sydney and Melbourne.<ref name="Tommy">Template:Cite web</ref>
Guitarist, Chris Stockley (ex-Roadrunners, Delta Set), formed psychedelic rock group Cam-Pact with Keith Glass in 1967, both had left by late 1969.<ref name="McFCam">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Stockley joined rock group Axiom, which had top ten hits with "Arkansas Grass" and "A Little Ray Of Sunshine",<ref name="Kent"/> before they disbanded in 1971.<ref name="McFAxiom">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> John Lee (ex-Sayla) had been drummer for Blackfeather from February to April 1973. John Strangio was bass guitarist for St James Infirmary and Middle Earth.
Formation and early years
The Dingoes with John Lee on drums, Broderick Smith on lead vocals and harmonica, Chris Stockley on lead guitar, John Strangio on bass guitar, and Kerryn Tolhurst on guitar and mandolin, were formed in Melbourne in April 1973.<ref name="McF"/> Strangio left in August and was replaced on bass guitar by John Bois, who had been a member of Melbourne '60s pop band New Dream and was later a member (with Tolhurst) of Country Radio.<ref name="McF"/> The Dingoes combined R&B, country and rock 'n' roll with songs that used Australian themes and imagery.<ref name="McF"/>
The Dingoes were an early signing to the fledgling Mushroom Records label, it issued their debut single "Way Out West" which was jointly credited to Lee, Bois, Smith, Stockley, and Tolhurst<ref name="APRA WayOut">Template:Cite web</ref> although Bois' book confirms that the song was written by Tolhurst alone.<ref>Bois, John, The Dingoes Lament, Melbourne Books, Melbourne, 2012</ref> A week before the single was released Stockley received a serious gunshot wound during an incident at a party in Melbourne that resulted in a two-month stay in hospital, initially described as an 'accidental shooting', according to music historian, Ian McFarlane's Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop, Stockley was shot by notorious drug dealer Dennis Allen, who was trying to gate crash the party.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> An eight-hour benefit concert was held for Stockley on 4 November 1973 at Leggett's Ballroom, Greville Street, Prahran. While recuperating, Stockley was replaced by keyboard player Mal Logan (ex Healing Force, Carson), who stayed on, after Stockley returned, until the end of 1974.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/>
Released in October 1973, "Way Out West" peaked into the top 40 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart,<ref name="Kent"/> and reached No. 26 in Melbourne,<ref name="Miles"/><ref name="Melb">Template:Cite book</ref> it became their signature tune.<ref name="Miles"/> The Dingoes appeared at the third Sunbury Pop Festival in 1974, held on the Australia Day long weekend, and their performance featured on Mushroom's Highlights of Sunbury '74, released later that year. The same month, they recorded their self-titled debut LP, The Dingoes, which was produced by John French.<ref name="McF"/> Logan contributed keyboards on several tracks, including "Goin' Down" and "Sydney Ladies". "Way Out West" was later covered by James Blundell and James Reyne (ex-Australian Crawl) in 1992, their version peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Singles Charts,<ref name="AusChartsJRJB">Template:Cite web</ref> Smith supplied harmonica for this version.
Lee left in May 1974 to join Ariel and was replaced on drums by Ray Arnott, (ex-Cam-Pact with Stockley, Spectrum, Mighty Kong).<ref name="McF"/><ref name="ARDb"/> The Dingoes was released in June 1974, along with a second single "Boy on the Run", co-written by Stockley and Smith,<ref name="APRA BoyRun">Template:Cite web</ref> which peaked at No. 24 in Melbourne<ref name="Melb"/> but did not break into the top 50 nationally.<ref name="Kent"/> The LP reached No. 24 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart in July,<ref name="Kent"/> it was the Federation of Australian Broadcasters' "Album of the Year" for 1974.<ref name="McF"/> A non-album single, "Smooth Sailing", written by Tolhurst,<ref name="APRA Smooth">Template:Cite web</ref> and backed with "Dingoes Lament" (an instrumental written by Bois), was released in October.<ref name="McF"/> During the year The Dingoes toured nationally with various artists including Bad Company, Leo Sayer, Bo Diddley, and Freddy Fender.<ref name="Miles"/>
North America
Early in 1975, after appearing at the fourth Sunbury Pop Festival, The Dingoes received a phone call from expatriate Australian roadie Billy McCartney, who had seen them when visiting from the United States, where he had established himself as a tour manager for Elvis Presley and Rod Stewart.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> Returning to the US, McCartney recommended the band to Peter Rudge, who was then tour manager for The Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and, after ten months negotiations, Rudge agreed to manage The Dingoes in the US.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/>
The following months frustrated the band—with an expected summons from Rudge at any time, they were unable to commit to long-term tours or to recording—they lost valuable ground in Australia when they could have consolidated on the success of the LP and singles.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> Meanwhile, they provided two tracks, "Marijuana Hell" and the Percy Sledge cover "When a Man Loves a Woman" to the Various Artists live album Live at the Station which was released on Lamington Records in 1976.<ref name="McF"/> An American tour was finally arranged for mid-1976, by the time they arrived Rudge's attention was focused on Lynyrd Skynyrd.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> Just prior to leaving, Arnott quit the group by "mutual agreement" and Lee returned to the fold, meeting up with the band in North America. Arnott pursued a solo career and was later with Renée Geyer Band, Cold Chisel, and Jimmy Barnes.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="ARDb"/>
The Dingoes signed a two-album deal with US-based, A&M records, on recommendations from McCartney and Rudge, and undertook three months of rehearsals in Canada, then headed for the US, where they set up base in Mill Valley, Northern California, at the start of 1977.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> They recorded tracks for their A&M album, Five Times the Sun, in San Francisco during January and February, produced by Elliot Mazer (Janis Joplin, Neil Young) at His Masters Wheels recording studio, with session contributions from keyboardists Nicky Hopkins and Garth Hudson; it featured liner notes by author Emmett Grogan.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> Five Times the Sun, which peaked at No. 25 on the Australian albums chart in August,<ref name="Kent"/> included re-recorded versions of tracks from their first album.<ref name="McF"/> "Way Out West" and "Smooth Sailing", released in September, as a double A-single in Australia, did not peak into the top 50.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Kent"/> Soon after, band members were granted their prized green cards, allowing them to base themselves in US, in their two-year stay they toured 40 states by road.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> A serious blow to the band's future came on 20 October when several members of proposed tour mates, Lynyrd Skynyrd, were killed in a plane crash, a tragedy which destroyed the morale of The Dingoes' management team.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/>
Stockley left the band and returned to Australia in early 1978, initially he joined Greg Quill's new band Southern Cross, and later founded Stockley, See & Mason.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> He was replaced in The Dingoes by American session guitarist Andrew Jeffers-Hardin, the group had moved east and settled near Woodstock, in upstate New York.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> In mid-1978, they recorded a third album, Orphans of the Storm, at New York's famed The Hit Factory, and continued to tour around the US until late 1978, but their efforts to enter the US record charts were unrealised.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> Orphans of the Storm was released in February 1979, along with a final single, "Into the Night", but by this time Smith had returned to Australia and The Dingoes had split.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="Miles"/> They are touring with Joe Cocker in Australia for the 2011 "Day on the Green" concerts.
After The Dingoes
Template:Main Smith came back to Australia in late 1978 and fronted his own bands including Broderick Smith's Big Combo.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="ARDb"/><ref name="BrodLou">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ABCBS">Template:Cite web</ref> He branched out into TV acting with appearances in the Australian series Janus, Law of the Land, Snowy River: The McGregor Saga, Blue Heelers, and State Coroner.<ref name="BrodLou"/><ref name="ABCBS"/> He worked in an acoustic duo with musical partner Mick Ahearne and played harmonica with Backsliders, alternating with Ian Collard (Collard, Greens and Gravy) as a replacement for founding member Jim Conway.<ref name="BrodLou"/><ref name="ABCBS"/> and has continued to record and release solo albums. In 2013, Smith collaborated with the psychedelic band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, which his son Ambrose is a member of, on their album Eyes Like the Sky. The record is structured around a story that was written and narrated by Smith.
Bois, Lee, and Tolhurst, all remained in the US. Bois returned to study, gained a master's degree and became a high school biology teacher, living and working in Maryland, USA, and later moving to Florida, USA.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As an amateur expert on dinosaurs he contributed to the BBC TV series Walking with Dinosaurs. During his teaching years, he also wrote a creative memoir of his time in The Dingoes, entitled The Dingoes' Lament (named after his track on their debut album), which remained unpublished until 2012.<ref name="Miles"/><ref name="Lament">Template:Cite web</ref> He later had an article published in the Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
After The Dingoes, Lee joined a later lineup of cult Washington group Root Boy Slim & the Sex Change Band, and eventually settled in Washington DC, where he worked with local group Johnny Bombay & the Reactions, before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. During his time in the USA Lee worked with a wide variety of artists (including Steve Marriott) until his return to Australia in the late 1990s. Unfortunately, by this time, years of alcohol abuse had taken a heavy toll on his health and John died from liver failure in July 1999.<ref name="Miles"/> A posthumously-released CD compilation, Back 2 3 4, included The Dingoes' "So Long For So Little", a track recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York in the late 1970s, which had previously been included on The Dingoes Way Out West compilation (1992).
Tolhurst lived and worked in New York for many years, and continued his career as a songwriter, performer, and producer, both in Australia and in the US.<ref name="Miles"/> A slightly reworked version of his song "All Fired Up" became a major hit for Pat Benatar in 1988, making the Top 20 in the US and Canada, and reaching No. 2 in Australia,<ref name="AusCharts">Template:Cite web</ref> where it was No. 16 on the End of Year Singles Chart.<ref name="ARIAEoY1988">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1995, Tolhurst collaborated with Paul Kelly on his Deeper Water album, in NYC. He was co-producer and performer in the "Spirit Returns" album and concert, which featured the reformed Goanna, Ross Hannaford (ex-Daddy Cool), and Liam O'Maonlai (Hothouse Flowers) at the Melbourne Festival in 1998. He produced numerous albums in NY including 'Little Pieces ' and 'The Way I See It' for R& B legend Jimmy Norman. In 2006 he moved to Tucson, Arizona, and set up a studio where he recorded Shane Howard's 'Goanna Dreaming' and The Dingoes reunion album 'Tracks'. After touring with The Dingoes and producing their live album, 'Live at Last', Tolhurst returned to live in Australia in 2010 and continues to work as a producer and live performer.
Reformation
On 27 August 2009, The Dingoes were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame alongside Kev Carmody, Little Pattie, Mental As Anything, and John Paul Young.<ref name="HoF2009"/><ref name="Cashmere"/><ref name="Collins"/> They were inducted into the Hall of Fame by Richard Clapton and performed "Way Out West" and "Boy on the Run".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Melbourne drummer Ashley Davies (ex-Wild Pumpkins at Midnight) joined Bois, Smith, Stockley, and Tolhurst in the reformed group which recorded Tracks in late 2009 and early 2010. The new album was released on 6 August 2010, coinciding with an Australia tour,<ref name="Roberts">Template:Cite news</ref> it debuted at No. 14 on the ARIA Country Music Top 20 Chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2010, their debut album, The Dingoes (1974) was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.<ref name="ODonnell">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 2012 John Bois' memoir The Dingoes' Lament was published by Melbourne Books and at the end of December 2012 the group reformed (for possibly the last time) for a short series of concerts in Victoria. The lineup again comprised the four surviving original members, with Ashley Davies on drums, and the mini-tour included three sold-out shows at the Caravan Music Club in Oakleigh, Melbourne, where they were supported by Steve Hoy and Ross Hannaford.
In May 2023, Smith's website was updated to announce his death at age 75.<ref name="cashmere-noise-11-23">Template:Cite web</ref>
Members
Current members
- Kerryn Tolhurst – rhythm and lead guitars, mandolin, backing vocals (1973–1979, 2009–present)
- John Bois – bass, rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing and occasional lead vocals (1973–1979, 2009–present)
- Chris Stockley – lead guitar, backing vocals (1973–1978, 2009–present)
- Ashley Davies – drums (2009–present)
Former members
- Broderick Smith – lead vocals, harmonica (1973–1979, 2009–2023; his death)
- John Lee – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1973–1974, 1976–1979)
- John Strangio – bass guitar (1973)
- Mal Logan – keyboards (1973–1974)
- Ray Arnott – drums, backing vocals (1974–1976)
- Andrew Jeffers-Hardin – guitar (1978–1979)
- Timeline
<timeline> ImageSize = width:790 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:60 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:04/01/1973 till:{{#time:m/d/Y}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1974 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1974
Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album id:other value:gray(0.6) legend:Other_release id:bars value:gray(0.93)
LineData =
layer:back color:studio at:01/01/1974 at:07/01/1977 at:07/01/1979 at:09/01/2010
BarData =
bar:Smith text:"Broderick Smith" bar:Stockley text:"Chris Stockley" bar:Hardin text:"Andrew Jeffers-Hardin" bar:Tolhurst text:"Kerryn Tolhurst" bar:Logan text:"Mal Logan bar:Strangio text:"John Strangio" bar:Bois text:"John Bois" bar:Lee text:"John Lee" bar:Arnott text:"Ray Arnott" bar:Davies text:"Ashley Davies"
PlotData=
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Smith from:04/01/1973 till:01/01/1980 color:vocals bar:Smith from:04/01/2009 till:04/30/2023 color:vocals bar:Stockley from:04/01/1973 till:10/01/1973 color:lguitar bar:Stockley from:04/01/1974 till:01/01/1978 color:lguitar bar:Stockley from:04/01/2009 till:end color:lguitar bar:Hardin from:01/01/1978 till:01/01/1980 color:lguitar bar:Tolhurst from:04/01/1973 till:01/01/1980 color:rguitar bar:Tolhurst from:10/01/1973 till:04/01/1974 color:lguitar bar:Tolhurst from:04/01/2009 till:end color:rguitar bar:Logan from:10/01/1973 till:01/01/1975 color:keys bar:Strangio from:04/01/1973 till:08/01/1973 color:bass bar:Bois from:08/01/1973 till:01/01/1980 color:bass bar:Bois from:08/01/1973 till:01/01/1980 color:rguitar width:3 bar:Bois from:01/01/1975 till:01/01/1980 color:keys width:7 bar:Bois from:04/01/2009 till:end color:bass bar:Lee from:04/01/1973 till:05/01/1974 color:drums bar:Arnott from:05/01/1974 till:06/01/1976 color:drums bar:Lee from:06/01/1976 till:01/01/1980 color:drums bar:Davies from:01/01/2009 till:end color:drums
</timeline>
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| (AUS)<ref name="Kent"/> | ||
| The Dingoes | 24 | |
| Five Times the Sun |
|
25 |
| Orphans of the Storm |
|
32 |
| Tracks |
|
84 |
Live albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Live at Last |
|
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS <ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref> | |||
| Way Out West – The Best of The Dingoes |
|
— | |
| Five Times the Sun ... and Other Delicacies |
|
— | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||
Singles
Other appearances
| Year | Song contributed | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Percy Sledge cover) | Live at the Station<ref name="McF"/><ref group="nb" name="Station">Live at the Station (Lamington Records, LAM-332, 1976) by various artists, Wild Beaver Band, Myriad, Saltbush and The Dingoes, performed in the Lounge at the Station Hotel, Prahran over two nights in March 1976. It was re-issued by Missing Link Records (co-owned by Keith Glass) in 1981.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A multi-track recorder was used in the back of a truck parked outside the Lounge door in Greville Street Prahran, but the quality of tracks did not approach the live sound of the bands. Aztec Music label had originally listed it as a forthcoming CD release of The Dingoes at the Station Hotel in 1976, but it was delisted in 2008.</ref> |
| "Marijuana Hell" (live version) | Live at the Station<ref name="McF"/><ref group="nb" name="Station"/> |
Notes
<references group="nb" />
Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. The Dingoes were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Awards table |- | 2009 | The Dingoes | ARIA Hall of Fame | Template:Yes2 Template:End
References
External links
- [[[:Template:Allmusic]] The Dingoes] at AllMusic
- The Dingoes discography at MusicBrainz
- Template:Discogs artist
- The Dingoes at Milesago