SHANE ex-PLEAZERS Straight*RARE NEW ZEALAND ROCK* LP´71

	€		100
	$		116

NEW ZEALAND ORIGINAL LP from 1971 on HMV LABEL HSDM1018.

Rare Rock LP from ex-PLEAZERS Singer New Zealand Cult-Beat-Band.

Shane's first outing in New Zealand music was when he became a member of the Pleazers in 1966 as a replacement for Bob Cooper in their line-up. He stayed with them until they broke up in June 1967, by which time he already had ideas of his own about setting up a band he wanted to call the Shane Group. He set off to Wellington along with his friend from the Pleazers, Gus Fenwick, to recruit new musicians for his group. He couldn't find the right people at the time and decided to put his idea on hold for a short time when he was offered the job of becoming front man for Auckland band Jamestown Union.

Shane decided only to stay with them for a short while, leaving to have another attempt at forming the Shane Group. This time he got back together with Gus and took Arthur Young from Jamestown Union with him. He added Mike Wilson on guitar and Glen Absolum on drums, and with Gus on bass, his line-up was complete. They had a residency spot at the 1480 Village in Durham Lane in Auckland, but by 1968 Shane had decided to go it alone as a solo performer under the name Shane. The remnants of the Shane Group he left behind became the nucleus of the Apple by adding Bruce Sontgen as their vocalist.

Before going truly solo, Shane convinced Eldred Stebbing of Zodiac Records to record him with a Bee Gees song called "The Town Of Tuxley Toymaker", backed with "Breaking My Heart" in 1967. It received good airplay in Auckland, which helped it make the local charts, but nationally it didn't get a look in.

In 1968, TV Producer Kevin Moore was looking for a replacement singer for his TV show "C'mon", as current vocalist Mr Lee Grant was London bound. After Kevin's first series of auditions, Gene Pierson, an Australian singer based in Auckland was in the front running for the spot. After the audition, Gene invited Kevin Moore and Phil Warren to check out his live act. Not a smart move, as the backing group that night was the Shane Group. After the show, Kevin and Phil approached Shane and asked him to come along for an audition. Initially he didn't want to as he felt loyal to the other members of his group, but after thinking about it for a few days he went along and after his audition was offered the job.

With this success he now officially left the Shane Group. The new series of "C'mon" started in mid 1968 and immediately the NZBC started receiving enormous amounts of fan mail for Shane. Sure proof that television is the best exposure as a career-booster. Another regular "C'mon" performer at that time was Ray Columbus and he became Shane's manager and record producer. His first official solo single, on the Festival label, was "I'll Take You With Me"/"Mountain Of Love" and it sank without a trace. Undeterred, Ray chose a John Denver song as the next one, and put one of his own on the reverse. "Leaving On A Jet Plane"/"Something To Shout About". "Jet Plane" didn't quite make the national charts, but did very well in Auckland where it became a top 5 song.

Over the summer months, the "C'mon" team went on a series of national tours, and by the time the next series of "C'mon" screened in 1969, Shane had been offered a record contract with HMV, which he was happy to have. The record companies had a lot of power with their artists around that time. HMV selected Harry Nilsson's "Cuddly Toy" with "Go Ask Your Man" on the reverse, as his first single and Shane wasn't overly happy with the choice, as the Monkees version had been around for more than a year. Again it was a top 3 hit in Auckland, but never made the national charts.

They certainly hit the jackpot with their next pick. "Saint Paul" was an obscure Terry Knight song based on the "Paul McCartney is dead" rumours that were circulating at the time. "Saint Paul"/"Too Late For Years" was released in August and within three weeks it was at the number one spot on the national charts, a position it held for six weeks. Peter Dawkins was Shane's producer and as a result of this hit he got him back into the studio immediately to record enough tracks to release an album. The result was "Rainy Day Man" and it sold well for Shane.

Front laminated cover is fine on front, backside is flipbacked, has some writing and remainent of tape, otherwise fine.

Vinyl has scratches, was cleaned professionally, plays with crackling noises in between the tracks, during the songs mostly fine.

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