Ayers Rock were an Australian rock band which formed in August 1973 whenRay Burton (guitar and vocals), Mark Kennedy (drums), and Duncan McGuire (bass), then members of Leo de Castro and Friends, left to form the eponymous trio of Burton, McGuire & Kennedy. They added a guitarist, Jimmy Doyle, changed their name to Ayers Rock and invited Col Loughnan (saxophones and flutes) to join. The group signed with independent label Mushroom Records in December 1973. Burton left the following March, and he was replaced by Chris Brown (guitar, vocals). With live appearances, coverage in print media and word of mouth, the group had a high national profile despite little radio airplay, and journalists praised their musicianship, music, and live energy.
The band's first album, Big Red Rock (November 1974), was recorded live in the studio before a small audience of friends and lovers. It received positive reviews and peaked at number 32 on the Australian Kent Music Report album chart. It featured mainstream rock and three longer, instrumental tracks which introduced progressive styles, including jazz fusion. Label owner Michael Gudinski promoted Ayers Rock in Los Angeles, and they signed with A&M Records, the first Mushroom Records artists to sign with an international label. The United States release of Big Red Rock in February 1975 was followed by a tour there, later that year. The band played to large crowds, supporting major international artists (including Bachman–Turner Overdrive) before 35,000 people – the first Australian band to perform in large US stadiums. Ayers Rock were named 1975 Musicians of the Year on RAMs "New Year's Honors List". Kennedy and McGuire left before their second album, Beyond (April 1976, recorded at the Record Plant in Los Angeles), was released. The album blended a number of music genres and had a positive critical reception, charting at number 50. The band toured the US again; Loughnan remained there, and Ayers Rock temporarily broke up in August 1976.
A year later, Doyle and Brown recruited members for a new lineup, including Andy Cowan (keyboards and vocals) and Hamish Stuart (drums). In 1980, they released their third album, Hotspell, on their own Red Rock Records label. This album had a soft-rock, funk style, with sophisticated arrangements and featured keyboards. It failed to chart, and the group permanently disbanded in 1981. Although Ayers Rock's first two albums were successful in Australia, none of their six singles charted. During their early years (from 1973 to 1976), the group were praised by local media for their music, stylistic diversity, use of technology, and the energy of their live performances. Ayers Rock received positive reviews in Billboard and Cashbox. Late-1990s music historians recognised the band's talent but considered their music over-indulgent at times, failing to bridge the gap between artistic and commercial success. Duncan Kimball of Milesago.com wrote "that they never really got the chance to reach their full potential." Kennedy and McGuire later joined Doug Parkinson’s Southern Star Band.
Australian music scene
Ayers Rock were formed in the Australian pop-music scene of the early 1970s, which included artists in a number of genres: mainstream pop (Zoot and Liv Maessen), blues rock (Chain), heavy rock (Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs), and boogie (Carson). Bands such as Blackfeather and Madder Lake combined mainstream and progressive rock. Most pop and rock listeners had never heard jazz fusion; when Ayers Rock incorporated the music into their sets, it was rarely performed by fellow Australian artists.
At that time, the Australian music media expressed frustration that few local musicians were successful overseas. Many artists (such as The Twilights, The Masters Apprentices, The Groop and Axiom) had gone to the United Kingdom with little commercial success, and music papers such as Go-Set regularly addressed the situation. The "third wave" of Australian rock, from 1970 to 1975, saw an increase in pub rock venues in the southern and eastern states.
History
1973: Formation
Ayers Rock formed in Melbourne in August 1973. Ray Burton, Mark Kennedy, and Duncan McGuire, members of Leo de Castro and Friends, left in June to form the eponymous trio of Burton McGuire & Kennedy. Burton had played guitar with the Dave Bridge Quartet, the Delltones and the Executives, and co-wrote "I Am Woman" (May 1972) in the United States with Australian singer Helen Reddy. McGuire, on bass, was a recording engineer, producer, and a member of Australian groups since the late 1950s (including the Phantoms, the Epics, the Questions – which later became Doug Parkinson in Focus; see Doug Parkinson – and King Harvest). Kennedy, on drums, had played in Spectrum, Doug Parkinson in Focus, King Harvest, and Leo de Castro and Friends.
Burton McGuire & Kennedy were joined in August 1973 by Jimmy Doyle on guitar. Doyle had worked for the Delltones and Dig Richards, was musical director for pianist Winifred Atwell on her Australian tours, and was a session player in Sydney on Neil Sedaka's 1969 album Workin' on a Groovy Thing. In September 1973 Burton McGuire & Kennedy changed their name to Ayers Rock, using the European name for the sandstone rock formation sacred to local indigenous Australians. The group were nicknamed "the Rock" by the Australian press. Since 1993 the sandstone monolith has been called by its Pitjantjatjaran name, Uluru.
Doyle had worked sporadically for several years with multi-instrumentalist and arranger Col Loughnan, who joined London-based blues-pop group Kala in late 1972. Doyle invited his former bandmate to join in October 1973. With Ayers Rock, Loughnan played saxophones, flute, and electric piano. He had begun his career as lead vocalist for the Crescents in 1958, joining the Delltones in 1962. Loughnan diversified into arranging and playing jazz tenor saxophone with the Daly-Wilson Big Band. By December 1973 Ayers Rock had signed with Mushroom Records, which released their first single – "Rock 'n Roll Fight (Going On)", one of the label's early records. Mushroom Records co-owner Michael Gudinski became their manager.
In January 1974 Ayers Rock performed at the Sunbury Pop Festival and "Morning Magic" (written by Burton) appeared on the live album, Highlights of Sunbury '74 Part 2, released by Mushroom Records later that year. In March Burton returned to the US and was replaced on guitar and lead vocals by Chris Brown, formerly of Python Lee Jackson. Loughnan and Brown had played together in London as members of Kala. The band traced their origins to rock or pop bands from Sydney, except for Kennedy (who was from Melbourne).
1974–75: Big Red Rock
In 1974 Ayers Rock began recording their debut album, Big Red Rock, at Festival Records' 24-track studio in Sydney. They were dissatisfied with the sound, which failed to capture their music's "live" essence, and recorded it live-in-the-studio at Armstrong's in Melbourne that September. Kennedy told Margaret MacIntyre of Rolling Stone Australia, "Doing the album live was an experiment really and it seemed to work." Big Red Rock, released in November, peaked at number 32 on the Kent Music Report album chart. The album had "a more jazz-rock edge" and its single, "Lady Montego" (written by McGuire), was a new version of a song originally performed by Leo de Castro and Friends. According to Juke Magazine, "the single lifted to push the album, 'Lady Montego' ... received three weeks airplay and was then dumped." "Lady Montego" was Ayers Rock's most-aired single in Australia, and Kennedy said: "Without AM radio support you can't sell too well in this country." Juke called their songs "lyrically banal" but said the group compensated with "sheer talent", instrumentally and electronically.
A song from Ayers Rock's live set was a cover of "Boogie Woogie Waltz", written by Joe Zawinul of Weather Report for the US group's album Sweetnighter (April 1973). In November 1974 Loughnan temporarily stopped performing live due to back pain, and the band continued with four members. He returned after surgery, and contemporary photos and video show him playing sitting down during his convalescence.
Manager and label owner Gudinski visited the US in December 1974 to promote his recording artists, including Skyhooks, Daddy Cool, and Madder Lake, to major labels there. At that time only Ayers Rock were successful, with Gudinski signing them to A&M Records within days. He told Tony Wilson of The Sun, "Jerry Moss, the president of A&M Records USA, flipped when he heard it, so A&M will release it (Big Red Rock) world-wide." This was a surprise to the Australian media, since many other artists were more commercially successful locally than Ayers Rock. Skyhooks were Australia's most popular band; their first album (Living in the 70's, released in October 1974) sold 226,000 units, the best-selling album by a local artist in Australia to date. However, Living in the 70's was rejected by A&M and not released outside Australia. Ayers Rock were the first Mushroom Records artists to sign a recording contract with an international label. From the mid-1970s, and into the 1990s, Mushroom were successful with many other artists including Split Enz, Kylie Minogue, and Yothu Yindi, turning the label into Australia's largest independent record company.
In January 1975, the group performed at the fourth Sunbury Pop Festival, and Big Red Rock and "Lady Montego" were released in the US on 28 February. On 20 April, they performed at a benefit concert for Bangladesh at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with the La De Da's, Jim Keays, AC/DC, Phil Manning, Daddy Cool, Toulouse & Too Tight, the Dingoes, and the Moir Sisters.
From July to September, they promoted Big Red Rock in the US and Vancouver. The band played to an audience of 35,000 at a stadium concert in Seattle, supporting Bachman–Turner Overdrive, on 27 July and opened for Status Quo, the J. Geils Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Nils Lofgren. According to Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane, "Ayers Rock was the first Australian band to play to massive crowds on the USA touring circuit", years before fellow Australians the Little River Band, AC/DC, and Air Supply made their first US tours.
1975–76: Beyond
At the end of their US tour in September 1975, Ayers Rock recorded their second album, Beyond, at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. The album, produced by the group and John Stronach, received a $60,000 advance from A&M Records.
On 18 October, The Sun reported that McGuire had left the band. At a reception when Ayers Rock returned to Australia, he said: "The pressure of the tour was just too much. We were on the road all the time and I guess I wasn't as strong as the rest of the band. When we got into the studio I had the shakes. I mean I was playing the right notes, but not in the right places." To finish the album McGuire's friend Les Young played some of the bass guitar parts, and American Jeff Castleman played bass on "Catchanemu". Young also briefly played live with Ayers Rock in Australia, including an October 1975 show at the State Theatre in Sydney. McGuire returned to the group at the Dallas Brooks Hall on 21 October 1975, to warm applause.
In late November, Ayers Rock appeared at the final Reefer Cabaret event, at Ormond Hall in Prahran. The performance was recorded for a double album, A-Reefer-Derci (1976). In January 1976, Rock Australia Magazine named Ayers Rock Musicians of the Year for 1975 in their "New Year's Honours List". Kennedy left to join Marcia Hines backing band in February 1976, and they reportedly married late in the decade. In Ayers Rock, Kennedy was temporarily replaced by Doug Gallacher. In April 1976, Beyond was released in Australia and the US, making the Kent Music Report top 50. Two singles from the album were released: "Little Kings" (October 1975) and "Song for Darwin" (May 1976), but neither charted.