Classic Sydney band The Legendary Zarsoff Brothers are now entering the digital age in a big way. Their latest album, “Mixed Business”, is now available as a digital download. To celebrate they are giving away a free download of one of the songs from the album, “Mull Up”.

Izzy is furiously working on digitising their back catalogue and we will be able to get our hands on such classic albums such as “Rude Awakening” and “Bumsweat” very soon.

Get over to their site now and get your free song download or checkout the preview below.

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About

Zoot was a four piece pop/rock band formed in Adelaide, South Australia in 1965. They played many clubs and discos around Adelaide, gradually gathering a strong following. In 1968, they relocated to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and performed in several Australian cities. Two of the more notable members of Zoot were founder Beeb Birtles, who also founded the Little River Band in 1975 and Rick Springfield who, after moving to the United States in 1972, achieved international fame as a solo artist, songwriter and actor.
From Wikipedia.

Zoot with their classic version of The beatles song “Eleanor Rigby”

History

Zoot became one the most popular Australian bands of the second ‘pop wave’ of the late ‘Sixties when they and other acts like The Valentines, the Masters Apprentices, Russell Morris and The New Dream were scoring hits and causing riots. Like so many groups at the time, Zoot were drawn along by the rapid stylistic shifts of that uncertain period and they suffered under some ill-advised management decisions that led to them being tagged as a lightweight ‘bubblegum’ act — an undeserved reputation which overshadowed their fine musicianship and their genuine desire to be taken seriously. Ironically, they’re probably best remembered these days for the 1970 single that they hoped would scuttle their pop image for good — their classic heavy-metal version of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” — and also for the fact that Zoot was first successful outing for two future stars — solo performer and soapie heart-throb Rick Springfield, and Little River Band lynch pin Beeb Birtles.

Zoot was one of several significant Aussie bands that emerged from the fertile musical hothouse of Adelaide in the mid-1960s — the same scene that produced The Masters Apprentices and The Twilights. Zoot started out as one among scores of hopeful young beat groups who that formed in and around the migrant settlement suburbs around the South Australian capital of Adelaide. New satellite suburbs such as Elizabeth and Port Noarlunga were established in the 1950s to receive the huge influx of “New Australians”, and many of the young British kids who settled there with their families had actually seen the leading British beat groups in person before leaving for Australia.
From Milesago

Members

• Darryl Cotton – Vocals, Guitar 1965-71
• Beeb Birtles – Bass Guitar, Vocals 1965 -71
• Teddy Higgins – Drums 1967-68
• Rick Brewer -Drums 1968-71
• John D’Arcy – Guitar 1965-68
• Steve Stone – Guitar 1968
• Roger Hicks – Guitar 1968-69
• Rick Springfield Guitar, Vocals 1969-71

Recordings

• Just Zoot – 1969
• Zoot Out -1971
• Best of the Zoot Locker 1969-1971 – 1980

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About

Sydney based band covering Police and others.

L-R. Bruce Fraser, Mark Wells, Mark Johnson & Lisa Wright

History

Formed in 1987, Zenyatta was formed out of the remnants of Sydney covers band “Hekyll and Jekyll”, that exploded in a flourish of infighting.

Guitarist, Mark Johnson, tried to reassemble the band with a few calls to some ex Bleach Boys. Namely Bronte Wake and Mark Wells. This failed as Bronte was relocating to Coffs Harbour, the drummer broke his ankle in a fight, and the keyboard player didn’t like some of the new material that was coming in and so departed.

This left Wells and Johnson who had established a good friendship and working relationship through their time together in The Bleach Boys. They decided they would seek out a new drummer and try a 3 piece. Enter Bruce Fraser who was recently departed from Stormy Monday.

The three got together at Sound Level Studios in Ultimo and there was an instant musical chemistry. The only question now was what material they would do. Bruce had the idea to do a Police concept show. It was agreed on and the name for the band Zeyatta, came from the title of The Police’s third album, Zenyatta Mondatta.

The band was tight and punchy, but the show wasn’t being received well by audiences. The decision was taken to reassess rather than disband as the band sounded great as a unit. So the decision was made to include top 40 covers as well as maintaining a small Police presence. Joanne Forrester joined the ensemble to share lead vocal duties, and a sequencer was purchased to provide the keyboard parts rather than pay a fifth member.

The band enjoyed reasonable success at home and interstate, then folded after a couple of years when internal tensions started to develope.

Mark Wells would go on to join Bandanna soon afterwards. Mark Johnson decided to just take some time off to be with his family as the strains of life on the road were taking their toll at home. A few months later he too got the call to sign up for a tour of duty with Bandanna.

Members

• Mark Johnson – Guitar / vocals
• Mark Wells – Bass/ vocals
• Bruce Fraser – Drums
• Joanne Forrester – Lead vocals
• Lisa Wright – Lead vocals

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About

Entertaining Sydney band based around smutty cabaret-theatre comedy. Played a mix of r&b, blues and rock with some school boy type humour (ie nose picking, flatulence). Obviously light-hearted but the music was substantial.
from Who’s who of Australian Rock.

“What we are about”, says Izzy, “is being the catalyst for a good time, with an irreverent approach to the whole idea of rock & roll as an industry. To the punters, we are just a bunch of looneys who happen to be able to play music, and who would be just as comfortable beside them at the bar. We have no intention of deconstructing that image, not even for [name removed because of possibility of legal action].”

Izzy admits the band’s onstage skullduggery may be part of the problem with bookers such as [name removed because of possibility of legal action] , though “They need to see that we’ve grown up a bit. Sure, we’ll never be Top 30 pinups, and we’ll always be mainly an adults-only product – but we still pull heads at rock venues, and the days of the infamous “Dance of the Flaming Arsehole” are in the past.”
from www.zarsoffbros.com

History

Three members of The Zarsoff Bros (Izzy, Bernie and Terry) were playing as The Robin Lee Sinclair Band in 1979, backing a singer (Robin Lee Sinclair)doing disco versions of every kind of song that moved. The band was very popular in the club circuit, but Izzy started to yearn for an outlet for his comedy material. The three future Zarsoffs started doing some low key gigs away from Robin Lee Sinclair, as The Likker Act. When Robin found out, he demanded exclusive loyalty. Izzy, Bernie and Terry got pissed at the Royal Sheaf Hotel in Double Bay one afternoon, and went to visit Robin. Izzy Told him where to stick his exclusive loyalty, and the 1979 version of The Zarsoff Bros was born.

After a few gigs, the boys decided they needed a fourth member. There was a Bluey who rehearsed a lot with the band and did maybe one gig, but he proved to be too serious a musician and wasn’t too fond of the bizarre onstage antics of the other members. He soon departed and the real Bluey Zarsoff joined, just before the band headed to Cairns for a six week stint at Caesars Palace. In fact, this Bluey only did one gig before Cairns, at The Bondi Tram, then feel headfirst into the mayhem.

This was the 1979 version of The Zarsoff Bros because, unknown to Izzy Foreal, there was a band with this name who recorded a single some time in the early 1970s. This band consisted of members from popular bands of the time, who got together to release a record under the name The Zarsoff Bros. This band never performed live as far as is known, and the whole thing was meant to be a one-off joke.

The Zarsoff name, of course, has been around as a joke for ages. Many of Izzy’s road crew members had Zarsoff names in previous bands. In fact, Dave Ovenden, drummer with The 69ERS when Izzy was known as Peter Knox and that band’s bass player, used to often call out over the microphone: A message for Mister Bluey Zarsoff, please refrain from leaving skid marks in the car park.

Anyway, it was the 1979 Zarsoff Bros who went on to carve themselves a reputation as a rude, crude, offensive, irreverent and extremely funny band throughout the 1980s. The 1979 line up came to an end when Izzy went to Tweed Heads to play bass with The Bullamakankas. After about eight months and one Bullamakankas album, he returned to Sydney and formed the next version of The Zarsoff Bros. This version featured Rocky on drums, Smokey on lead guitar, Izzy on bass and Bernie on keyboards. Bluey returned after a few months, and Rudi joined on saxophone not long after. This classic line up carved its way through the Sydney live scene for some time, creating the legend that still lives on in many drug addled minds.

Frontman and bassist Izzy Foreal put the band to sleep some time in the early 1990s. He was asked to put a lineup together for “The Boys Are Back In Town” tours towards the end of the 1990s, which he did using various combinations of past band members. The vibe was so good that the version of the band in the photo above decided to write an album of new material and continue the mayhem. So, The Legendary Zarsoff Bros were back on the road with a new second guitarist, recording a new album and touring to promote it. Stay tuned to this site for updates on live shows, album release dates and other Zarsoffian insanity.
from www.zarsoffbros.com

Members

• Izzy Foreal – Vocals and Bass
• Smokey Zarsoff – Guitar
• Shaggy Zarsoff – Guitar, Mandolin and Vocals
• Bologne Zarsoff – Drums
• Bernie Zarsoff – Keys
• Bluey Zarsoff – Guitar and Sax
• Rory Zarsoff – Guitar
• Lefty Zarsoff – Drums
• Rocky Zarsoff – Drums
• Rudi Zarsoff – Sax
• Terry Zarsoff

Recordings

• EP – Bumsweat and Other Popular Filth (Pirana Bros. label, 1981)
• EP – Nose Picking Boogie (Pirana Bros, 1981)
• Single – Handy Man/Workin’ It Out (Pirana Bros, 1983)
• Album – Rude Awakening – 1984
• Album – Mixed Business – 2007

Images

Other Resources

• Zarsoff Bros website
• Gibbos War Stories
• Frank Bennett – Biography

Known Gigs

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