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Vince Melouney

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Vince Melouney
Melouney in 1967
Melouney in 1967
Background information
Birth nameVincent Melouney
Born (1945-08-18) 18 August 1945 (age 79)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
GenresRock, beat, psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop, hard rock, garage rock
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1963–present
LabelsPolydor, Atco, Kapp

Vincent Melouney (Maloney) (born 18 August 1945) is an Australian guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter best known as an official member of The Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group’s initial period of worldwide success.

Prior to joining Bee Gees in March 1967, he had formed the bands The Vibratones (1963), The Aztecs (1964, later joined by Billy Thorpe), Vince And Tony’s Two (1965, with Tony Barber) and The Vince Maloney Sect (1966.) In 1970, Vince put together the Australian “supergroup” Fanny Adams. He was also briefly a member of Tony Worsley and The Blue Jays (1965,) Ashton, Gardner and Dyke (1969) and The Cleves (1971.)

Career

The Bee Gees in 1967. Vince Melouney is in the centre.

Vince Melouney was born in Sydney on 18 August 1945 and attended Normanhurst Boys High School from 1958 to 1961.[1] [2] As Vince Maloney, he was a founding member of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, whose cover of the classic "Poison Ivy" famously kept The Beatles from the Number 1 spot on the Sydney music charts at the very moment that the Fab Four was making its first and only tour of Australia. Vince was the band’s lead guitarist from 1963 to 1965, playing on five Top Ten hits. This was followed by a short-lived duo with fellow Aztec Tony Barber, called Vince & Tony's Two. In 1966, he released two singles by The Vince Maloney Sect including the Garage Rock classic “No Good Without You” along with a solo single, "I Need Your Lovin' Tonight" and its B-side, "Mystery Train"; Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb sing backup vocals on both songs.[3] Vince also played guitar with The Beatles’ mentor Tony Sheridan and the Joe Meek-produced artists Heinz and Screaming Lord Sutch when they toured Australia in the ‘60s.

In late 1966, he relocated to London where (after the Gibbs arrived there in early 1967) he was invited to join the Bee Gees, becoming an official member and partner, along with Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb and Colin Petersen. As a member of The Bee Gees, Vince appeared on seven US Top 20 singles; "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "To Love Somebody," "Holiday," "Massachusetts," "Words," "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" and "I Started A Joke" plus four US Top 20 albums; "Bee Gees' First," "Horizontal," "Idea" and "Odessa." Tracks featuring Vince also appear on The Bee Gees' platinum album "Their Greatest Hits: The Record" and their gold albums "Best Of Bee Gees," "Number Ones" and "Ultimate Bee Gees."

Vince's television appearances with The Bee Gees include "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" in the US, "Top Of The Pops" in the UK and "Beat Club" in Germany.

The Bee Gees' songs involving Vince have been covered by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Nina Simone, Gram Parsons, Dusty Springfield, Blur, Noel Gallagher, Flaming Lips and many other legendary artists.

In June 1968, while he was a Bee Gee he wrote and sang lead on "Such a Shame" (the only song on a Bee Gees album that was not written by one of the Gibb brothers). The song was released on the UK version of the album Idea, but on the US version, it was replaced by "I've Gotta Get a Message to You".

Melouney prefers the Gibson Les Paul guitar and can be seen playing this model (and occasionally a Gibson SG or a Fender Telecaster) in numerous Bee Gees videos and live performances from 1967 and 1968.[4] Vince endorsed Vox Amplification beginning in 1963, using an AC30 at performances and on all recordings (including “Bee Gees’ First”) until late 1967 when he received an endorsement from Marshall Amplification (initially using a 100 watt Super Lead) and has mostly used Marshall amps ever since, with the occasional use of a Vox AC30 for shows and an AC10 for recording.

In November 1968, it was reported by the UK music magazine, NME, that Melouney's final concert with the Bee Gees would be on 1 December, following the end of their current German tour.[5] The original 5-piece Bee Gees broke up in 1969 with the Gibb brothers reforming as a trio in 1970.

149 individual mono, stereo and alternate tracks that Vince was involved with have been released by The Bee Gees so far (not counting unauthorized BBC and live recordings.)

In 1969, Vince produced the debut single “Maiden Voyage” by Ashton, Gardner and Dyke with George Harrison visiting a session at Apple Studios. The b-side, “See The Sun In My Eyes” is actually a Vince Melouney solo recording (originally recorded for Apple Records,) written, performed and produced by Vince and donated to Ashton, Gardner and Dyke. Due to restructuring at Apple, the single was released by Vince’s former label, Polydor Records.

In 1970, Vince signed a solo deal with Kapp/MCA Records and used this opportunity to form and produce the short-lived group, Fanny Adams, with Doug Parkinson on lead vocals, Teddy Toi on bass, and Johnny Dick on drums who recorded one eponymous album Fanny Adams.[6]

In the summer of 1976, he met up with former Bee Gees bandmate Barry Gibb and they wrote "Let It Ride" and "Morning Rain", but neither song was recorded.[7] Vince hopes to record these songs later in 2021.

He rejoined The Bee Gees for the "One Night Only" concert in Sydney, playing to an audience of 66,000 fans at Stadium Australia on 27 March 1999 and later reunited with Billy Thorpe and the original Aztecs for the extremely successful “Long Way To The Top” tour in 2002 and 2003. After finishing that tour, he completed his first solo album, released with the title Covers which had ten cover versions of songs, including "Poison Ivy”, “Come Together", and "Over The Rainbow”.[8]

Melouney's influence was the Band, through their album Music from Big Pink, as he explained: "I am influenced to the extent that I can see what they are doing and I respect that. I’ve let their ideas augment my ideas".[9]

In 2020, Vince released his version of his friends The Easybeats' song "Women (Make You Feel Alright)" which was produced by the legendary Shel Talmy whose credits include classic tracks by The Kinks, The Who, The Creation and others. “Women” features Vince on vocal and lead guitar, joined by Clem Burke of Blondie on drums, Jonathan Lea of The Jigsaw Seen on additional guitars, Alec Palao on bass and Paul Kopf on backing vocals. Alec and Paul are members of the San Francisco-based band Strangers In A Strange Land and also play in the current version of veteran Garage Rock band The Seeds.

Vince appears in the internationally successful 2020 documentary “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” in newly filmed interview segments and archival footage. This documentary was nominated for 6 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary Special.

Vince's latest release is a collaboration with Strangers In A Strange Land on the Bee Gees' 1967 rarity "Ring My Bell." Like "Women," Vince is joined on this track by Clem Burke of Blondie on drums and Jonathan Lea of The Jigsaw Seen on additional guitar and Mellotron. "Ring My Bell" was also produced by Shel Talmy.

In 2021, The Bee Gees’ track “Whisper Whisper” (including Vince) was included in the soundtrack of the Disney film “Cruella.”

Vince has written a foreword for the book “DECADES: The Bee Gees in the 1960s” by Andrew Mon Hughes, Grant Walters and Mark Crohan, which will be published by Sonicbond and available on October 28, 2021.

Melouney occasionally tours Europe performing a solo spot in the musical “Massachusetts” with former members of The Bee Gees’ backing band, drummer Dennis Bryon and keyboard player Blue Weaver.[10]

Vince has recently formed a touring band based in Los Angeles and is planning shows where he’ll perform The Bee Gees’ sixties hits and deep cuts, along with material by his previous bands The Aztecs and The Vince Maloney Sect.

Discography

With Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs

  • Blue Day / You Don't Love Me (Apr 1964)
  • Poison Ivy / Broken Things (Jun 1964)
  • Mashed Potato / Don't Cha Know (Aug 1964)
  • Sick And Tired / About Love (Oct 1964)
  • Over The Rainbow / That I Love (Dec 1964)

With the Bee Gees

References

  1. ^ Melinda Bilyeu; Hector Cook; Andrew Môn Hughes (2011). The Ultimate Biography Of Bee Gees: Tales Of The Brothers Gibb. Omnibus. p. 210. ISBN 9780857128942. Vincent Melouney was born on August 18, 1945, in Sydney, Australia.
  2. ^ Anne Marie. "BEE GEES IN CLOSE UP".
  3. ^ Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1966".
  4. ^ Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1968".
  5. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 190. CN 5585.
  6. ^ Discogs.com. "Fanny Adams: Fanny Adams".
  7. ^ Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1976".
  8. ^ "Covers by Vince Melouney on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  9. ^ "I've never been 100 percent a Bee Gee - Vince". spicksspecks-archiv.blogspot.com. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  10. ^ "CONCERT DATES 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  11. ^ Mike Masterson … tapes an interview with Vince Melouney. 12 August 1967. Retrieved 24 February 2011.

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