Sydney, Australia (Top40 Charts/ Albert Music) - Albert
Music will celebrate the extraordinary musical legacy of The Easybeats, by releasing EasyFever: A Tribute to the Easybeats & Stevie Wright, a superb 2CD album in celebration of this ground-breaking group.
The band - Harry Vanda, George Young, Stevie Wright, Dick Diamonde and Gordon 'Snowy' Fleet - formed in Sydney in 1964 and almost immediately 'Easy Fever' took Australia by storm and was soon to captivate audiences overseas. Their meteoric rise to stardom was due to releasing hit single after hit single, including classics such as Friday On My Mind, Wedding Ring, She's So Fine and Good Times. Their success saw them consistently get mobbed at airports, chased down streets and tour internationally with the Rolling Stones.
A year in the making, EasyFever sees the 'who's who' of contemporary Australian music come together to pay tribute to our most popular and successful band of the 60's, and pay homage to the band who carved the stone in the Australian musical landscape. From Jimmy Barnes to Ben Lee, from The Veronicas to Grinspoon, The Living End to Old Man River, these artists have all recorded their unique interpretation of these enduring songs from The Easybeats and Stevie Wright's majestic musical career. As well as this disc of today's hottest local bands tipping their hats to The Easybeats, there is also a second disc of all the original tracks.
EasyFever also features a previously unreleased Stevie Wright song, Motherfigure... with a twist. Albert Music unearthed from their vaults a never before heard track, written by Vanda & Young, initially slated to be the first single from Stevie's never-released third solo album in the late 70's. Now 30 years later, it will see the light of day as an amazing duet with rock legend Jimmy Barnes.
The Easybeats drifted apart in 1969, however it was by no means the end of their musical careers - with Vanda and Young returning to Australia in 1973 to become house producers for the new Albert Productions record label. They wrote for and/or produced many chart topping acts including Stevie Wright, Rose Tattoo and the Angels. They also wrote and produced several major hits for John Paul Young, including Love Is In The Air, not to mention producing the first 6 albums for AC/DC.
And the accolades kept coming. In 1998 Australia Post issued a She's So Fine stamp, celebrating the early years of Australian Rock n Roll. In 2005 Friday On My Mind was voted by APRA as the most important Australian song written in the past 75 years. Vanda and Young are also the only songwriting team inducted into the Australian ARIA Hall of Fame.
And now in 2008, Australia's hottest and most respected artists pay tribute to The Easybeats and Stevie Wright, with electrifying interpretations of their timeless songs. Be sure to catch EasyFever!
