# The Classic Rock of Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs- a band with a long history and many books written about them and written by Billy. Where to start................

Short story - *Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs wer**e an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-1960s. The group enjoyed success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early 1970s to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period. Thorpe died from a heart attack in Sydney on 28 February 2007**.

*
Early Days - The group broke through in mid-1964 with a massive nationwide hit, their cover of the Leiber and Stoller classic "Poison Ivy", which famously keptThe Beatles from the No. 1 spot on the Sydney charts at the very moment that the group was making its first and only tour of Australia-a feat which resulted in Thorpe being invited to meet the Fab Four at their hotel. Over the next twelve months the band reigned supreme as the most popular 'beat' group in Australia, scoring further hits with the songs "Mashed Potato", "Sick And Tired" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", until they were eclipsed by the emergence of The Easybeats in 1965.

Thorpe went solo in 1967 and for a brief time hosted his own TV show, _It's All Happening, but personal problems and a widely publicised bankruptcy brought this phase of his career to an end in 1968._

Salad Days Period - In 1969, Thorpe decided to try England, after being offered a recording deal by the Australian-born, London-based impresario Robert Stigwood, who had risen to become manager of The Bee Gees and Cream. While rehearsing a backing band in Melbourne that would form the basis for a new Aztecs, the guitarist unexpectedly dropped out, leaving Thorpe to assume lead guitar role at short notice. It marked another turning point in his career and from this point on Thorpe played lead guitar in The Aztecs as well as continuing as lead vocalist. His planned six-week stay in Melbourne soon stretched into months and eventually Thorpe decided to remain in Australia and re-launch his career.Thorpe himself openly acknowledges that this new 'heavy' version of the Aztecs owes much to 'guitar hero' Lobby Loyde. Lloyde already had a cult following due to his stints in two of the most original Australian bands of the 1960s, The Purple Hearts and Wild Cherries. While his stint in the new Aztecs was short (from December 1968 to January 1971), his musical influence proved crucial in steering Thorpe in a completely new direction, and he strongly encouraged Thorpe to keep playing guitar.
While by no means the first of Australia's outdoor rock festivals, Sunbury '72 has assumed the mantle of "Australia's Woodstock". It was held at the end of January 1972, over the Australia Day long weekend. The venue was a natural amphitheatre site on farmland near Sunbury, a rural town north of Melbourne, Victoria. The Aztecs shared billing with such other prominent acts as Spectrum/Murtceps, The La De Das, Max Merritt & the Meteors,SCRA, Pirana, Greg Quill's Country Radio and many others.
After the release of "Most People I Know" they released a follow-up single, "Believe It Just Like Me", which attacked local radio's preference for overseas material, but it failed to emulate the success of "Most People", which remains their best-known song.
The band repeated their festival success at Sunbury '73, and a record culled from this performance, _Summer Jam, was released later in the year. They enjoyed another triumph by selling out the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, in marked contrast to their abortive excursions to the UK earlier in the year. It is said that a major reason that their *Marquee Club* gigs in London failed was that British audiences could not tolerate the group's *punishing volume*.

_Before disbanding, the Aztecs recorded one more album for Atlantic, the provocatively titled _More **** Than Class, after which Thorpe embarked on a solo career. He released several more solo albums in Australia before re-locating to the United States and had a successful career doing Prog Sci Fi Rock in a bold departure from his Oz hard rock roots, then, he embarked on a series of business ventures, i__ncluding a successful toy company with his old bandmate Tony Barber and also teamed ip with Mick Fleetwood in Mick Zoo's having a minor US hit Shake the Cage, before the reforming of the original Fleetwood Mac put paid to the Zoo._After the Aztecs - In the late 1990s Billy Thorpe returned to Australia, where he was recognised as one of the elder statesmen of Australian music. In 1991 he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.In 1998 Australia Post issued a special edition set of twelve stamps celebrating the early years of Australian Rock 'n' Roll, A "Most People I Know" stamp was one of those in the set.

Billy Thorpe played his last gig at Westernport Hotel in San Remo, Victoria, on Sunday 25 February 2007. He died of a massive heart attack at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, in the early hours of Wednesday, 28 February 2007. Tributes flowed readily for this legend of Australian music.
Gil Matthews runs the re-issue label Aztec Music. Their first release was _Live at Sunbury_ by Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)




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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)




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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)




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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

A most excellent group. Thanks for bringing them (and him) to our attention.


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