Here is Dennis James' musical history. I asked Dennis to write it himself and I would post it here as he would have more info than me. I tracked down some old adverts that coincide with his many bands. Enjoy
As soon as I saw and heard The Beatles at 14 years of age, that was IT, I wanted to be a drummer. A short time later in rolled the Stones and an immediate switch to guitar followed. It was 1964, my neighbour and first musical buddy was Bob Fortescue, with whom the initial ventures took place. It was not until April 1966 that a half reasonable line up happened….Lot 49, no gigs but did a demo at Radio 6PR. Now long lost, it contained “live” versions of “Louie Louie” and Pretty Things “Don’t Bring Me down”. We were still a very long way from providing any worry whatsoever to the local big boys like, The Times, Yeomen, Bon Scotts’ Spectors, Hi Five, Little Wheels, Andre De Moller, Maggie Hammond and the Tagg, Johnny and the Strangers, Mort and the MoBees and many more, most of whom secured locally charting singles.
Late winter 1966 saw my first working band, The Torments, which came third in that years battle of the bands held at the town hall. List consisted of Yardbirds, Small Faces, Troggs etc pop covers
The Torments ~ 1966
Richard Ibbitson ~ Bass
Phil Burn ~ Drums
Tony Bourne ~ Vocals
Dave Skewes ~ Organ
Dennis James ~ Guitar
Torments at Battle of Bands September 1966
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September ’66 saw the formation of Down Home Group which leant more toward R&B and Dylan influences. The band worked the local scene including Dorinas’ Discoteque and a booze ridden residency at the notorious Beach House in Cottesloe. Other regular acts at this venue were Stark Raving Mad and Beat’n Tracks with Perths’ original cool frontman, Ross Partington.
Down Home Group ~ 1966
Dennis James ~ Lead Guitar
Bob Dale ~ Rhythm Guitar
Chris Marris ~ Vocals
Al Kash ~ Drums
Colin Atkins ~ Bass
Down Home Group Late 1966. Al Kash, Bob Dale, Colin Atkins, Dennis James.
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Early 67 I had a short lived, all Dylan stuff, 3 piece….Obviously 5 Believers with Al Kash and Dave Skewes. May 1967, I entered the Cream/Hendrix era with Cats’ Squirrel. This was the first ever band to appear and remain resident at the the new and trendsetting venue, Wot The Hek.
Cat's Squirrel ~ 1967
Vocals: Gareth Lyon ~ Vocals
Dennis James ~ Lead Guitar
Don Sanders ~ Rhythm Guitar
Fabe Wooten ~ Drums
Peter Mann ~ Bass
Cats’ Squirrel at Wot The Hek 1967
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Mort and The Mobees ~ 1967
John Abbot ~ Vocals
Dennis James ~ Guitar
Gordon Parsons ~ Drums
Dave Pearson ~ Drums
MoBees at Wot The Hek 1967
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Current Bun ~ 1968
Terry Atterton ~ Vocals
Dennis James ~ Lead Guitar
Phil Pruitti ~ Lead Guitar
Al Kash ~ Drums
Colin Atkins ~ Bass
1968 began with the brief existence of Black Market followed closely by the formation of the influential Current Bun with singer Terry Atterton, nabbed from Dave Holes’ John Spence Set. Current Bun maintained residency at Wot The Hek with regular appearances at 6PRs’ Anzac House dance which always had a crowd into the many hundreds. It was around this time that young bands such as us fell foul of the booking agents (Quill Organisation) who were intent on pushing the old “cabaret’ boys who had previously dominated the gigs. Acts like The Statesmen, in their corny uniforms, failed to hold the attention of the kids but still earned 5 times the money of the ground breaking newer outfits. We called them the “fruit” bands…and still do!!!! Current Bun came third in Hoadleys’ Battle of Bands.
Early Current Bun 1968
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The Creations ~ 1969
Lou Peter ~ Lou Peter
Vic Seraphine ~ Bass
Fabe Wooten ~ Drums
Dennis James ~ Guitar
Mid 69 saw my first concious attempt at “commerciality” when I joined The Creations….but my input saw the band rocking with the best of them, a fall out with the agents, and culminating with a near riot at a local high school social when the head master ejected us from the stage for being too loud. The resultant students’ public outcry lead to our appearance on ABCs’ This Day Tonight, complete with interview and performance. Wish I had THAT vid!!!! This band recorded but never released several tracks at Clarion studios.
Creations 1969 ~ Fabe and Dennis
Dennis at the Colloseum 1969
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Great Pumpkin Mutiny ~ 1969
Pete Devlin ~ Vocals
Dennis James ~ Guitar
John Tucak ~ Bass
Al Kash ~ Drums
Later 1969….Cool blues/Dylan line up, did the wine bars and came second at Kings Park Battle of Bands to Steve Tallis’ and Peter Walkers’ My Grandfathers’ Blues.
Great Pumpkin Mutiny at the Gaslight Club 1969
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Down Home Group Mk2 ~ 1969
Vocals: Dave Lyon ~ Vocals
Dennis James ~ Lead Guitar
Tony Osbourne ~ Rhythm Guitar
Bob Fortescue ~ Bass
Dave Little ~ Drums
Dennis at Anzac House 1969
This line up recorded two tracks at 6PR, an original, “Eastern Jam” and Winwoods’ “I’m A Man”…..Blues rock outfit….did more drunken rehearsals than gigs but was ushering in a different era, leading to Bob and myself leaving for the east early in 1970. Bob was to go straight into Blackfeather along with Al Kash. I remained in Melbourne, forming Hammer which I brought back to Perth in mid 70. No local musos were involved and the band was almost totally devoid of success! Bakery had control of the Perth scene.
Photo Hammer clipping
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Superman ~ 1971
Ross Partington ~ Vocals
Dennis James ~ Guitar
John Tucak ~ Bass
Dave Little ~ Drums
I then returned to Melbourne until the Perth formation of Superman in early 1971 with singer Ross Partington, A bit of a “head” band, we recorded an original, “Keep Off the Grass” which received a period of rather high rotation airplay on 6KY, which by this time was the big rock station. As was the norm on the Perth scene in those days, the line up barely endured 3 months, a time frame which was to prove an eternity compared to what followed by the mid 70s! (The reason for the brief lives of the more creative bands in the later 60s and early 70s, in my opinion, is that music influences, trends and styles advanced and changed almost by the week, a wonderful period….)
Superman 1971 ~ John Tucak, Ross Partington, Dave Little, Dennis James.
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G Troop ~ 1971
Steve Tallis ~ Vocals/Guitar
Terry Atterton ~ Vocals
Reg Zar ~ Drums
Dennis James ~ Lead Guitar
Daryl Upson ~ Bass
Mid 1971….to counteract the intensity of the blues/rock domination, I formed G Troop, one of the earliest revisiting of the 60s that I know of! We concentrated on shorter 2/3 minute songs….extending ourselves a little more for a short residency at the USA Forces Club at NW Cape. A cool gig it was too!
Dennis James, Daryl Upson, Steve Tallis, Terry Atterton ~ 1971.
Next few months saw a few week-long outfits including Huckleberry as the pub scene took over from the suburban dances and grungy clubs. Top of the list and probably at the peak of my own “local guitar hero” status was the great Court Hotel, long before its current reputation, but, in retrospect, there were a few hints….no names to be mentioned.
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Train ~ 1972 (original lineup)
Dennis James ~ Guitar
Mick Glendinning ~ Bass/Vocals
Dave Little ~ Drums
1972 I formed a powerhouse 3 piece doing stuff like Mountain, Cactus et al. Played to packed house at the Court several times a week for a good year and a half. There were variations on the line up occasionally but I can recall vividly when 6KY held a “demo” contest to find a support for the Rolling Stones Perth gig in early 73. My band won the competition and during a gig on a Saturday afternoon at the Court I received a ‘phone call. The boss, George Daly ran up to me on stage to say that some guy from the Stones wanted to speak to me! The call went like this….
Cockney accent:“We are doing a rehearsal as this is our first gig on the tour but our amps are still in transit. We heard that you have English amps and could we borrow one for a day?”
Dennis: (After a brief thought) “How much money?”
Cockney accent: (in an aside) “ Hey Mick…he said ‘How much money?’ “
Mick: (in background) “Tell ‘im to get knotted!”
One of the worst blunders I EVER made….never knew which Mick it was either!
Anyway, suddenly we were informed by the Musos Union that we were not eligible to support the Stones. We were replaced by the “fruit” band, Natural Gas!
During the Court period several recording sessions at 6KY took place. One set of 4 songs still exists and is currently available on YouTube. Players on these are Terry Atterton, Myself, Dave Little and Bob Fortescue. Another session with Kent “Beast” Hughes seems to have vanished. This was also the era of our main rival, Fatty Lumpkin who had the decided advantage of securing agency backing, resulting in a successful local single and a vastly superior financial situation!
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Rudy and The Aardvarks ~ 1973
Wendy Bailey ~ Vocals
Rob Bailey ~ Bass
Dennis James ~ Guitar
Jeff Lally ~ Drums
Wayne Emery ~ Sax
During 1973 I also did a stint with Rudy and the Aardvarks, replacing emerging guitar man John Meyer.
Met a new life long friend Wayne Green late in 1973 and with him and Jeff Lally formed a couple of minor bands performing at the fading Court until I left for Sydney early in 74.
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Vambo ~ 1975
Tery Atterton ~ Vocals
Dennis James ~ Lead Guitar
Steve Britain ~ Lead Guitar
Some Melbourne guy ~ Bass
Dave Little ~ Drums
Mid 1975 and inspired almost entirely by The Alex Harvey Band, Vambo enjoyed a good deal of success most frequently at the Sandgroper, the new “IN” pub
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Rattlesnake ~ 1976
Wayne Green ~ Vocals
Dennis James ~ Lead Guitar
Zig Waltersdorf/Rob Bailey ~ Bass
Jeff Lally ~ Drums
Rattlesnake 1976, wild times at the Scarborough and Sandgroper. First band Rob Bailey played with after departing to join AC/DC. Green showing all the signs that would make him the most “ROCK AND ROLL” frontman EVER to come out of Perth! (In 2005, this very same line up of Rattlesnake reformed for some gigs. I remember being so amused at the 4 of us at Jeff Lallys’ place, rehearsing and all drinking cups of tea….what a difference 29 years makes….)
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Full Sail ~ 1977
ill fated, short lived, maniacal mob featuring brilliant drummer Robert Taylor and myself….nearly all instrumental.
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Everest ~ 1979
Jon Ryder ~ Bass
Dave Little ~ Drums
Dennis James ~ Lead Guitar
I was out of Perth for a few years until I returned in early 1979 to replace John Meyer in power trio Everest
Everest with Dennis at Raffles mid 1979.
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I must emphasise that, in the period I have covered from 64 to 79, I was involved in many more brief musical liaisons and many more musicians and characters than I can remember accurately at this time. Apologies to any who may read this that I have unintentionally omitted.
To anyone who may be interested, I am still doing it and results are at these links...