SIRRAH
SIRRAH was Brian Ralston's first band. The line up consisted of:
GEOFF BARLOW
Vocals
PETER SCOTT
Bass, backing vocals, recorder
GRAHAM DOUST
Drums and percussion, vocals
BRIAN RALSTON
Guitars and keyboards
The band came together largely as a result of the friendship between Graham and Brian and Graham and Peter. Graham had played drums for a number of years before the band started, even before Brian took up guitar, and they had always intended to form a band together. Graham and Peter were also friends attending Wollongong Teachers College together. One Friday afternoon a drunken 'jam session' was arranged by Graham with Peter and Brian. The guitars were played through a record player amp and a tape was made. In our drunken state it sounded great. Some time later we decided to set up a band.
At first vocals were shared by Graham and Brian's then girlfriend, but at the first gig (before we'd chosen the name) Graham feigned a sore throat and requested that Geoff, who was at the gig and had played with Graham in earlier bands, fill in for him. Brian's girlfriend only played the one gig and Geoff was installed as lead singer.
The band lasted from 1972 until about 1976. By that latter date Peter had decided to travel overseas and, although attempts were made to find replacements for him, the chemistry was not the same without him.
For a number of years we had a residency at the 'Tropicana Hotel' at Wilberforce, near Windsor in Sydney's west. Graham and Peter lived nearby the hotel and Brian and Geoff were provided with motel accommodation on weekends.
We made two trips to the recording studio and samples of the results appear below. I'll leave it to you to judge for yourself - just remember that these tracks were recorded in the early 70's.
MP3 SAMPLES OF SIRRAH
A couple of months ago I decided to post a couple of the Sirrah tracks at Mixposure. It was just a spur of the moment decision and intended as some historical light relief. I was amazed at the response the tracks got. So far I've only posted the tracks that I had written and they can be found at the following links:
YOUNG BLOND MADONNA
HOLD BACK
WET DREAMS OF A TATTOOED FORKLIFT DRIVER
I want to check with Graham and Geoff to make sure they've got no problem with posting the remaining tracks at Mixposure. In the meantime I've added some 60 second samples of the remaining tracks that can be heard by clicking the links below.
THE DICTATOR (1)
THE DICTATOR (2)
MOMENTUM CHANGES (1)
MOMENTUM CHANGES (2)
THE MIST WILL LIFT (1)
THE MIST WILL LIFT (2)
The versions of Young Blond Madonna, The Dictator and Momentum Changes on this page were recorded at Earth Media Studios, North Sydney in about late 1974 or early 1975. Previous recordings of these songs had been made at Atlantic Studios, Earlwood on 30 June, 1974 (we were obviously looking for a tax deduction). The Atlantic versions in my view are not as good and suffer from us trying to record too much in the one session. Wet Dreams of A Tattooed Fork Lift Driver, Hold Back and The Mist Will Lift were recorded in the Atlantic Sessions.
Credits for the songs are as follows:
Young Blond Madonna
words and music Brian Ralston
The Dictator
words and music Graham Doust
Momentum Changes
words Geoff Barlow, music Sirrah
The Mist Will Lift
words Geoff Barlow, music Brian Ralston
Hold Back
words and music Brian Ralston
Wet Dreams of a Tattooed Forklift Driver
words and music Brian Ralston (to my eternal shame)
A photo of Graham appears on the Pictures Page of this site. He must have been the photogenic one as attempts to find other photographs have to date proved unsuccessful.
At my recent big numbered birthday Graham and Geoff from Sirrah, and John Zographakis from Mid Life Crisis joined me for a jam. You can see pictures of the night at the Pictures Page.
Unfortunately, I don't know the present whereabouts of Peter Scott. Last I heard he was living around Byron Bay but I couldn't find him in the phonebook for the area. If anyone knows how to get in touch with him please let me know. I'd love to catch up with him.
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