The Easybeats - Easy (1965)

It seemed that Models's break-up in November of '79 might have been permanent if it were not for the insistence of producers George Young and Harry Vanda that the band reform to record some demos. Young and Vanda started in the music industry fifteen years earlier as two of the founding members of The Easybeats, one of Australia's most successful rock groups on both the national and international scenes.

All of the members of The Easybeats migrated to Australia with their families in the early sixties. They met each other and formed the band in Villawood Migrant Hostel in 1964. Lead singer Stevie Wright immigrated from England as did drummer Gordon Henry "Snowy" Fleet. George Young on rhythm guitar immigrated from Scotland. Wright and Young would also act as the band's lead songwriting team during these early years. Lead guitarist Harry Vanda and bassist Dick Diamonde both immigrated from the Netherlands. Both were quiet members of the band as they spent those early years mastering English. Heavily influenced by British Invasion bands (in particular The Beatles), the group quickly became one of Sydney's most adored groups and earned themselves a production contract with Albert Productions and a recording contract with Parlophone.

They released their first single "For My Woman" in 1965 to middling success, and it took a move to Melbourne and a Beatles-like marketing campaign by the record label to get the band a substantial fanbase. Oh, and what a fanbase. 'Easyfever' in Australia rivaled even 'Beatlemania' and Rolling Stones fandom across the Pacific. Fans mobbed the band's gigs, rushed the stage, and swarmed the young stars whenever they were out in the open. They had very little personal moments to themselves and even that was micromanaged by handlers. Their second single acted as the band's coming out party as "She's So Fine", a song of pure rock and roll energy, rose to number one on the ARIA charts. Despite their mass popularity, the third single 'Wedding Ring' did not replicate previous successes as it only peaked at #13 on the charts. The end of 1965 saw the release of The Easybeats's first album Easy that performed well on the charts, but once again, not as well as the band would have liked. It was about this time the group decided that they had outgrown Australia and were looking for a more lucrative market for their sound.

Here is the discography surrounding The Easybeats's debut album:

For My Woman (1965 single)
She's So Fine (1965 single)
Mean Old Lovin' (1965 recordings)
Wedding Ring (1965 single)
Easy



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