M4U-(JOHN J. FRANCIS-Play Mumma)OZ singer/songwriter-EP

	A$		51
	$		34

music4ewe Store

DESCRIPTION ITEM: VINYL - 45rpm - P/S- EP
ARTIST:JOHN J. FRANCIS
TITLE: Play Mumma
TRACKS:
SIDE 1:
Play, Mumma Sing me a Song /City Lights, Saturday Night 1959
SIDE 2:
Simple Ben / Embarrassing Situations
CAT #: WARNER BROS, EPW-262
COUNTRY: OZ
VINYL: (Grade at NEAR MINT+)
COVER: (Grade at EXCELLENT+)
COMMENT: jjfmusic.com/00_lngbio.htm

John J. Francis rose to national prominence in the vanguard of contemporary Australian singer/songwriters that came to the fore musically in the early 1970s. This group included other formidable talents like Richard Clapton, Glenn Cardier, Bernard Bolan, Graham Lowndes, Mike McClelland, Al Ward and Dan Johnson, Bob Hudson, Terry Hanagan, Doug Ashdown, Ross Ryan, Kevin Johnston, Trevor Knight, to name a but a few.

Between 1972 and 1974 he released four albums through Warner Bros, Rock n Roll Refugee, Breaks, Works and Thoughts , Open Fist and Wassa Matta. Although these albums sold in the multi-thousands they have since become collectors items and are extremely difficult to find. When they do turn up for sale they are quite expensive.

J. J. Francis started his musical career in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

For three years he was the lead singer in a popular local r'n'b band, The Sorrows. An indie single (Someday b/w I'm Lonely) was released by the band in 1964.

Following the break-up of The Sorrows he formed the short-lived, The John Francis Collexion. A single (I Talk to Trees b/w You Tell Me) was released by RCA in 1966.

In 1968 he joined the resident house band, ‘The Ghosts of Electricity’, playing 24/7 at The Cha-Cha Club in Surfers Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast. After eight months the club ownership changed hands and plans and he returned to Newcastle.

Played and sang in the house band in a late nightclub venue for a number of months before joining a new local band, ‘Magic’. Two singles, ‘I Want to Fly b/w Booked On A Drunk Charge’ and ‘Vintage Wine b/w The Carpenter’s Song’ were released by Phillips Polydor in 1970.

Moved to Sydney in 1970 and began work at Copperfield Sound Studio as head sound engineer/producer.

Met flautist Alan Luchetti around mid-1971. During the next three years John and Alan were to headline and/or share stage-billing with many of their talented contemporaries. Some of these artists included Jeannie Lewis, Margret Roadknight, Bernard Bolan, Glenn Cardier, Richard Clapton, John Currie, Declan Affley, Bob Hudson, Al Ward and Dan Johnson, Graham Lowndes and Mike McClelland.

‘Rock’n’Roll Refugee’ was released in 1972. The album was recorded "live" in two three-hour sessions at Copperfield studios and produced by ex-head of A&R at Pye records in England and CEO of MCA Australasia, Alan A. Freeman.

Around this time the song ‘Simple Ben’ was added to the soundtrack of the legendary surf movie ‘Morning of the Earth‘. It joined the film in becoming an Oz classic and is still remembered as a surfing anthem. The soundtrack to the film went gold, the first surf movie to ever achieve this feat.

The second album, ‘Breaks, Works and Thoughts’ was released in 1973. Noted record reviewer and Oz music historian Ed Nimmervol commented, ‘We all blinked when his first album came and went by but this time there is no denying the talent of this singer/songwriter.’ It is a remarkable album laced with great songs and unique sounds that simply defies categorization and is, without doubt, an unrecognised landmark in Australian music history. It was the most nominated album across a number of categories at the precursor to the ARIA awards, the 1973 Australasian Radio Awards. It eventually won the Song/Composer of the Year award for the hit single, ‘Play Mumma Play, (Sing me a Song)’.

‘Open Fist’ was released in early 1974 and showed yet another great set of songs, two outstanding instrumentals plus the fifteen and a half minute opus, ‘Despair’. Again, this album defies categorisation as the material covers such a wide range. The album received no airplay but garnered good critical reviews nationally and sold very well. It has since become perhaps the most sought after of the four J. J. Francis albums.

John J was approached to become the musical director for an ABC-TV series, ‘Sit Yourself Down, Take a Look Round’. Hosted by Marion Henderson, the artists and music styles covered everything from folk to jazz to blues. The program was a popular viewing success and a second series was commissioned. John J. had already made plans to go overseas and departed halfway through the second series. As his replacement he personally nominated Chris Neal who later went on to become a leading film and television soundtrack composer.

The final John J. Francis album, ‘Wassa Matta’, was released in late 1974 after John had departed for overseas. This album again contained a strong mix of rock and acoustic tracks, received no airplay but still sold well.

John J returned to Australia in early 1976. Later that year, he started hosting the Saturday night midnight-to-dawn shift on radio station 2JJ. The program proved to be popular and was expanded to Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in 1977. At this time, for unknown reasons, John J withdrew from all performing with the exception of one-off performances on 2JJ’s popular ‘Live at the Radio’ series in ‘77 and ‘78.

In 1980 he returned to live performing with a new band, ‘Dogs in Custody, mk-II’ also known briefly as ‘Hard Cash’.

From all reports this was a very hard-hitting, uncompromising power band that both created new fans and alienated old ones. The band played a number of gigs around Sydney before folding. A rumour has persisted over the years that an album - or at least some tracks - were recorded by this band.

In late 1986 radio station 2JJJ-FM revised its weekend mid-dawn format by beginning simultaneous broadcasting with the ABC-TV television program, ‘Rage’. John J. left the station and disappeared from view. It has been recently learned that between then and now he has been involved in community radio and working with people with disabilities. He also returned to a long-time association with painting and has been creating digital art with some degree of success. He has continued to write and experiment with music but has never returned to performing and has remained outside the music scene.

VINYL GRADING SYSTEM

MINT:
RECORD: New condition with no surface marks or loss of sound quality.
LABEL: New condition with no surface marks or wear.
NEAR MINT:
RECORD: Barely noticeable surface mark with no loss of sound quality.
LABEL: Barely noticeable surface mark/ wear.
EXCELLENT:
RECORD: Some signs of being played with extremely little if no loss of sound quality.
LABEL: Slight wear.
VERY GOOD:
RECORD: Obviously been played with noticeable surface marks & the occasional light scratches but exhibits no major loss of sound quality.
LABEL: Noticeable wear. Slight writing/ stains.
GOOD:
RECORD: Very obviously been played with very noticeable surface marks & exhibits major loss of sound quality.
LABEL: Noticeable wear. Much writing/ stains.
FAIR:
RECORD: Still just playable & exhibits considerable surface noise.
LABEL: Major tears, wearing, writing & stains.
POOR:
RECORD: Will not play properly due to scratches etc.
LABEL: Very badly damaged.
+(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.

POSTAGE COSTS

WITHIN AUSTRALIA
(For 1 or 2) 7” EP/Singles = $3.95 AUD
(For 3 to 6) 7” EP/Singles = add $1.25 AUD to the cost above for each extra item

OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
SHIPPING is by AIRMAIL.
Shipping to USA, UK, Europe takes about 7-14 days.

(For 1 or 2) 7” EP/Singles
Asia/Pacific= $6.45 AUD
Rest of World= $8.45 AUD

(For 3 to 6) 7” EP/Singles
Add $2.75AUD to the cost above for each extra item

PAYMENT METHOD

WITHIN AUSTRALIA
Preferred method is Direct Bank Deposit
Paypal,
Money Order,
Personal Cheque in $AUD (waiting period 5 days till cleared)

OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
Preferred method is PayPal in $AUD.


INSURANCE

Insurance is optional but recommended and available at your request.
Items posted without insurance and LOST in the mail are at the buyers risk.

WITHIN AUSTRALIA
Registered post covers insurance up to $100.00 AUD.
If you require insurance above $100.00 AUD please email me and I will provide the latest Australia Post cost. This is because Australia Post change many of their fees every 6 months.

OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
If you require insurance please email me and I will provide the latest Australia Post cost. This is because Australia Post change many of their fees every 6 months.
Insurance is not available to all countries. USA & Canada are countries that do not allow insured items from Oz in “letter” size.

M4U GUARANTEE

I strive to provide an accurate grading to ensure a quality product.
But sometimes an error is made.
If you consider this is the case, then please contact me for the refund of your purchase.


FEEDBACK

When you get your item, please examine or test it.
If you are satisfied, then leave some positive feedback for me.
This lets me know you have got it and all is OK.
I will then leave positive feedback for you.
If you consider that you are not satisfied, then please contact me for the refund of your purchase.
If there is a problem, it can be resolved.

MY OTHER ITEMS

To view my other items, go to the top of this page and in the top right hand corner click “VIEW SELLER’S OTHER ITEMS” or alternatively, click on the “STORES” logo to view my EBAY STORE ITEMS.