The Easybeats

The Easybeats were an Australian rock band. They formed in Sydney in late 1964 and disbanded at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s, echoing The Beatles’ success in Britain, and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single “Friday on My Mind”.

The band’s line-up exemplified the influence of post-war migration on Australian society. All five founding members were from families who had migrated to Australia from Europe: lead singer Stevie Wright and drummer Gordon “Snowy” Fleet were from England; rhythm guitarist George Young was from Scotland; lead guitarist Harry Vanda and bassist Dick Diamonde were from the Netherlands. – Wikipedia

“To describe The Easybeats as “Australia’s Beatles” is not to damn them with faint praise. They were without question the best and most important Australian rock band of the 1960s, and their string of classic hit singles set the benchmarks for Australian popular music. They established a unique musical identity, and they became our first homegrown rock superstars, and for quality, inventiveness and originality their work is arguably unmatched by any other Australian band of the period. The Easybeats scored fifteen Top 40 Singles in Australia between 1965 and 1970, including three No.1 hits. Chief among their many achievements, the Easybeats hold the unique honour of being our first bona-fide rock group to have an major overseas hit record – the legendary “Friday On My Mind”. They were also one of the few major Australian bands of their day to perform and record original material almost exclusively. ” – Milesago

 

The EasyBeats from Australia. 1966
The EasyBeats from Australia. 1966
Program from the concert.
Program from the concert.

The Saville Theatre is a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s, finally being converted to a cinema in 1970.
Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles and himself a former drama student, leased the theatre in 1965, presenting both plays (including works by Arnold Wesker) and rock and roll shows. The venue became notorious for its Sunday night concerts, during one by Chuck Berry members of the audience stormed the stage and the police were called to clear the theatre.