Sunday 16 February 2020

Getting the Record Straight - The Bush Music Club Discography by Bob Bolton, 1983


Click on pictures for full-screen image

This Article originally appeared in Mulga Wire 39, October 1983, in the Singabout section
Correction June 2020 - these records were released -


16,000 miles from Home  FESTIVAL FX 10-459

Nine Miles from Gundagai FESTIVAL FX 100-464 Jamie Carlin queries whether these were issued. Tracks weren’t new work.







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Getting the record straight - The Bush Music Club, A preliminary discography


Some time ago I saw a discography of Australian Folk Music on record, prepared by a Victorian folklorist. The Bush Music Club was only credited with one record and the groups which had formed the Club did not appear at all. I guess that NSW records didn’t get across the southern border very often (they were probably confiscated at the Fruit Fly Gate) so I started looking into my own collection of records and literature to round the number out. 

 
The following list is what I came up with for the Bush Music Club, the Bushwhackers Band (the original original!) and the Rambleers (a band formed of a breakaway group from the Bushwhackers after they broke up in 1957, with Alex Hood, Harry Kay and Chris Kempster.) I’d be very surprised if I have every record listed and I would love to hear from anyone who can add to the list or provide additional information, such as record catalogue numbers (e.g. Festival numbers for those records I only have Calendar - Festival’s re-release label - numbers for)or release dates and other details.

BUSH MUSIC CLUB (Concert Party)Songs from the Shearing Sheds
FESTIVAL FL-7116; CALENDAR R66-433  Re’issued as BUSH BALLADS, FESTIVAL FL3I-336

Songs And Poems of Australia 

(With various other artists ) CALENDAR R66-577

Dinki! Di! We (do) love singing Fair Dinkum Aussie Songs
 

(THE BEST): 10th Anniversary Album (FESTIVAL FL31’526 (1964 ) (CALENDAR R66l96)
Title depends on which side of the jacket you read!
 
Poems in Music, Henry Lawson Poems set to music by the Bush Music Club  (1966?)
FESTIVAL: Mono; FL32—282; Stereo, SFL932-282 CALENDAR R66-587 (St)SR66-9,587

True Blue Songs of the Outback
(1974) FESTIVAL L4552314


(Repackaging of Songs From The Shearing Shed & Dinki Di! as double L.P.

20 Golden Hits
(1980) FESTIVAL L-25365


(Re-mastering of twenty tracks from earlier B.M.C. L.P.s)

The Bush Music Club
  7” 45 rpm FESTIVAL FX 10-163


16,000 miles from Home  FESTIVAL FX 10-459

Nine Miles from Gundagai FESTIVAL FX 100-464 Jamie Carlin queries whether these were issued. Tracks weren’t new work.
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The Bushwhackers (Founding group of the Bush Music Club)

The Bullockies' Ball & The Drovers' Dream
  WATTLE ‘78’ A 1


Travelling down the Castlereagh & Australia's on the Wallaby 
WATTLE ‘78’ A 2


The Old Bullock Dray & Nine Miles from Gundagai.
  WATTLE ‘78’ A 3


Botany Bay & Click Goes the Shears
WATTLE ‘78’ A
Black Velvet Band & The Hut that's Upside Down WATTLE ‘78’ A11

Australian Bush Songs
(1957 ) WATTLE Microgroove B I
Release on 7” Microgroove 331/3 rpm of tracks from above ‘78s
The Hut That’s Upside Down, Australia’s On The Wallaby, Click
Go The Shears, Black Velvet Band and Drover’s Dream.

Jamie Carlin “There is a bit of controversy about this disc. The content is a selection of material previously rejected by the Bushwhackers as unsuitable for publication.
(Not my observation: the tracks appear to be re-releases of previous LP tracks:
Bob Bolton)

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The Shearers' Band  (The Bushwhackers)

The Bushwhackers “re-formed” in 1959 with a slightly altered line-up, as a part of the Club’s larger Concert Party. It was this group which made “The Shearers’ Band” record but within a short time ceased to perform as the Bushwhackers.The Shearer's Band HARMONY
Waltzing Matilda, Nine Miles From Gundagai, Botany Bay, Click Go The Shears.
Issued by David Jones for “Wool Week”, 1959.

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The Rambleers
The Old Bark Hut 
WATTLE 78 rpm

Included Another Fall Of Rain, Maranoa Drovers, Dying Stockman, Lazy Harry’s, Euabalong Ball (?) and a mouthorgan solo by Harry Kay.


It is also worth mentioning the Cast record of the original (1953-1955) Sydney production of Reedy River ; DIAPHON (? [… c. 1955]). This included John Meredith, Cec Grivas and other members of the Bushwhackers. The record was later re-released by W & G Records.

I hope this information has helped get the record straight; I also hope it has sent you off to check your own records. If we get enough information, this might be a useful addition to our forthcoming Anecdotal History of the Bush Music Club.

Assistance received to date from Jamie Carlin has been invaluable.


BOB BOLTON

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