All language subtitles for ZADNAca

FAST SlNGlNG, AUDlENCE SCREAMS

The first Albert's-produced rock-and-roll
single,

by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, went to
number one.

lt was a cover version and now, Ted began
looking for original music.

Out at the migrant hostel,

that new sound Ted was searching for was
coming together.

George and Harry found other 16-year-old
urchins from Europe,

including the cheeky singer Stevie Wright.

Now all they needed was a drummer.

He put a note under my door.

lt said, ''You're from Liverpool, l believe
you play the drums.''

They played me the music that they were
used to.

l said, ''How about some of the stuff l was
listening to in Liverpool?''

And l brought all my records out, played
them, and George went, ''Yes!''

He loved the beat, George.

They called themselves The Easybeats
and, within months,

they were playing big gigs, like Surf City
in Kings Cross.

- Telephone for you.
- Thank you.
- Hello? That's our manager!
- Oh, yes...

They hired a real estate agent for a
manager in 1964.

Mike Vaughan had one priceless
connection...

We've just made ourselves a good deal.

..he knew Ted Albert.

The Easybeats were invited down to Radio
2UW Theatre

to audition for Mr Albert.

We were told to be on our best behaviour,

because this was a gentleman that was
coming to see us.

Not the sort of bloke that you swear in
front of, you know what l mean?

Well not, at least, the first meeting, you
know!

And, for us, it was like a proper
performance in front of Ted.

l mean, everything hung on it, as far as we
were concerned, you know.

lt was a meeting of two clans - for the
Youngs and the Alberts.

Ted was down on his hands and knees
tinkering with microphones

and just doing all sorts of things,

playing with the music, and George really
clocked that.

There was a special chemistry at work.

A band who could ignite the fire,

teamed with a producer who could fan the
flames.

Ted Albert was convinced popular music
sounded too soft

and he produced The Easybeats loud.

He said, ''l want to play you something.

''Can you tell me honestly what you think
about it?''

And this song came out, through these
huge speakers.

The whole office shook!

And he said, ''What do you think?''

l said, ''Ted...

''You and l both know that we've just
listened to an absolute

certain number one hit record.

And this big smile came out of his face.

And it was Sorry by The Easybeats.

..with a girl named Fleur

Then l just remembered

Had a date with her

Sorry, sorry

Sorry...

Sorry was the first Australian single
recorded with feedback,

before the Beatles or the Stones.

George Young and Harry Vanda

had hit on a raw R&B sound with The
Easybeats,

that would reach its zenith in AC/DC.

SONG ENDS, CHEERlNG

They had a very good sound, they had a
kind of unique singing,

between him and Harry, you know, and
Harry was probably doing

a bit like what l do, the same as Malcolm,
you know.

You know, George had that very hard
rhythm and, you know,

One!

Two!

lt set the standard of Albert's music.

lt was the soundtrack young Australia had
been waiting for.

Easyfever began.

We done a show in Perth.

We had 8,000 kids at the airport,

and it was like that no matter where we
want in Austria. Hotels!

You'd go into your hotel after a show and
you'd open a cupboard door

and six chicks'd fall out, and it was all of
that.

Stephen had... Someone posted herself to
Stephen in a box.

Yeah, she's so fine!

A magazine published where the Young
family lived,

causing a house invasion.

- SCREAMlNG
- Give you lovin' all the time!

For ten-year-old Angus,

it was his first encounter with
rock-and-roll stardom.

l just saw all these people.

l saw police, cos they kind of barricaded it
off.

And, er, l was trying to explain to a
policeman, l'm saying, you know,

''l live there. Can l get in my house?''

And the policeman says, ''Yeah, they're all
saying that, fella!''

MUSlC: Good Times by The Easybeats

The Easybeats were ready to take on the
world.

Ted agreed to back them.

Everybody shake

Everybody groove...

He scored them a contract with United
Artists

to record at the legendary Abbey Road
studios in London.

The boys had a ticket to ride.

They were poised on the edge of
greatness.

ln the pop business, particularly in the
'60s,

the Holy Grail was to make it in the
swinging London

and, of course, George being as he is, the
leader of the group,

and his incredible desire to always go
further,

that's where we're going to go.

The music revolution George Young

had been plucked from two years earlier
was still in full swing.

l mean, it must have been hard for them to
come into that

and to sort of suddenly be on the scene,

because we had grown up in the London
scene,

grown up very quickly.

You know, l could literally fall out of my
door

and go and see lke and Tina Turner.

l think l was sweated on by Tina Turner.

We were there in the capital of, you know,
the swinging '60s,

where all the big stars were, etc,

and we were competing with these people.

- GEORGE:
- 'We were expected to write a hit song.'

So, Harry and l, we locked ourselves in
this room

for three, four months, to write a hit song.

The sessions began with hotshot
producer Shel Talmy,

who had worked with The Kinks and The
Who.

George took his gear down and played all
the tapes

and the guy going only, ''Nah, nah. Have
you got anything else?''

So George said, ''l've got this little riff l'm
working on.''

Three, four...

HE PLAYS THE OPENlNG RlFF TO Friday
On My Mind by The Easybeats

Just a riff, nothing else.

No lyrics, just the riff and he went, ''l like
that.

''Go away and finish it and bring it back
and let me hear it finished.''

George and Harry were struggling to nail it,

so they went to the pictures. The
pre-feature was a short

about an a cappella group called The
Swingle Singers.

Doo-doo, doo-ba-doo Doo-doo,
ba-doo-ba-doo-doo!

Doo-doo, doo-ba-doo Doo-doo,
ba-doo-ba-doo-doo!

Doo-doo, doo-doo! Doo-doo, doo-doo!

All this stuff! And George went, ''Wow!''
We went back

and that's where the ''doo-doos'' come
from. George had nailed it.

MUSlC: Friday On My Mind by The
Easybeats

# Monday morning feels so bad

- Everybody seems to nag me...
- 'Went back to see this guy'

And said, ''What do you think of this?''

He went, ''Beautiful. Let's record it.''

..even my old man looks good

Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo Doo-doo,
doo-doo, doo!

Wednesday just don't go

Thursday goes too slow

l've got Friday on my mind!

The killer guitar riff, the working class
lyrics

and a singer discharging a casual air of
rebellion

would become staples of the Albert sound.

- She looks fine tonight
- Doo-doo, doo, doo!

She is out of sight to me...

Friday On My Mind became a favourite
song

for young David Bowie and Bruce
Springsteen.

lt gave The Easybeats a round-the-world
ticket to fame.

..Gonna have fun in my city!

On the jukebox at Max's Kansas City in
New York,

Lou Reed played The Easybeats every
night.

She looks fine tonight...

lt just fell together like... like a dream, you
know.

That doesn't happen every day.

- Tonight
- l'll spend my bread

- Tonight
- l'll lose my head...

News of the band's success was music to
Ted Albert's ears.

He was already laying plans

for George's younger brothers Angus and
Malcolm.

When he visited the family home one day,

he heard something that caught his
attention.

My father would say, ''Ooh, the head of
their record company's coming.

''You'd better all behave,'' you know, so
you'd be very kind of quiet

and, you know, and Ted was quite a tall
man and we're all very small,

so we were all kind of looking at him like
this, you know.

And, er, he said, ''l heard some guitar
playing,'' and my father said,

''Aye, that's the two boys who'll be playing
away,'' you know, so...

And Ted said to my dad, ''lf they ever want
to do something,

''send them to me.''

Back in London,

The Easybeats set their minds to what
comes after Friday.

- JAMMlNG
- Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Listen.

Try and get... Try and get a more jangly
effect.

Very Heaven-ish. lt doesn't sound like
Heaven.

But as they struggled to find a new
popular sound,

the band lost its way.

Heaven

ls in your eyes

- The moment...
- HE LAUGHS

- HE DRONES:
- Not singing like that!

Try and make it... You know, try and make
it sound beautiful, you know.

'Their heart was in writing simple'

rock-and-roll R&B-based songs.

And the... the kind of classic mistake

that most bands make, er, is, as the rest of
the world changes,

you change your music. l mean, The
Beatles were obviously

becoming more complex and so,
everyone, l guess, thought,

''Well, maybe we should show that we can
do the same thing.''

MUSlC: Hello, How Are You by The
Easybeats

We gave them ''Hello, How Are You'' which
was, like, you know, was...

a soggy bloody ballad!

By this time, nobody knew who the
damned Easybeats were, you know!

And then, there was Jimi Hendrix, doing
his thing and all this,

so, you know, we were toast.

Hello! How are you?

The Easybeats disbanded as a new decade
began.

The '70s would be about the next
generation.

Harry made sure they would continue
what he and George had started,

handing down his beloved Gretsch
Firebird

to George's younger brother, Malcolm.

He was such a hot little player, so l
thought,

''Well, he deserves a good guitar,'' so here
it is.

Best investment l ever made!

What can l say?

lf l'd known it, l would've given him more
than one.

George and Harry kicked on in London,

trying their hand at being songwriters for
hire.

lt was the beginning of a legendary
songwriting producing partnership.

We were getting a lot of experience as
writers by being

the all-rounders that it did make us.

We got to a point where, you know,

''Oh, you want a jazz song? Sure. Here's
your jazz song.''

''Oh, you want a really gooey ballad? Sure,
here's...'' You know.

''Oh, you want a rock song?'' Bang! You
know.

We got really good at that.

They were sending the songs back to Ted
Albert,

who was matching them with singers and
bands.

Some men are groovy Some are a drag...

Perth band The Valentines

had a hit with Vanda & Young's My Old
Man's A Groovy Old Man.

..Hip, hip, hip, yeah!

My old man's a groovy old man...

Look closely and you may recognise

future AC/DC frontman Bon Scott on
backing vocals.

Aa-a-a-a-a-a-ah!

My old man's a groovy old man

Gets himself in a hell of a jam

My old man's a groovy old man Chooga,
chooga, chooga...