Sherbet (band)
According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "alongside Skyhooks, Sherbet was the most successful Australian pop band of the 1970s.
With a run of 20 consecutive hit singles to its credit, and 17 albums that yielded ten platinum and 40 gold disc awards, Sherbet was the first domestic act to sell a million dollars' worth of records in Australia".
From 1970 until 1984 Sherbet scored 20 hit singles in Australia (including two number ones) and released ten platinum status albums.
[2][3] They were the first Australian band to reach $1 million in record sales in Australia,[1] and they pioneered the concept of massive regional tours.
By March Daryl Braithwaite (Bright Lights, House of Bricks, Samael Lilith) had joined, initially sharing lead vocals with Loughlin who left the band a few months later.
Braithwaite's former bandmate Bruce Worrall (Bright Lights, House of Bricks, Samael Lilith) took over from Rea on bass guitar.
[1][7] See had left in October to join The Flying Circus and was replaced by New Zealand-born Garth Porter (Samael Lilith, Toby Jugg) who provided Hammond organ and electric piano.
[8] They entered again in 1972 and won the national final, previous winners include The Twilights (1966) and The Groove (1968), which went on to achieve major commercial success.
[8] The band increased its profile with prestigious support slots on major tours by visiting international acts including Gary Glitter and The Jackson 5.
[1][7] Nevertheless, they released occasional covers throughout the 1970s, including Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", The Beatles' "Nowhere Man" and Free's "Wishing Well".
From 1972 to 1976, Sherbet's chief songwriting team of Porter and Shakespeare were responsible for co-writing the lion's share of the band's material, which combined British pop and American soul influences.
[10] The album's accompanying single "You've Got the Gun", written by Shakespeare, Porter and Braithwaite, was Sherbet's first self-penned A-side, and peaked at No.
[2] The band were the darlings of Australia's teenyboppers: for six years in a row they were voted 'Most Popular Australian Group' by readers of TV Week for their King of Pop Awards from 1973 to 1978.
[11][13] According to contemporary musician, Dave Warner, "[t]hey had a clean-cut boys-next door image; a big contrast to the bad boy, weirdo, heavy-riff persona favoured by their peers".
[1][6] Porter began to take an occasional lead vocal on Sherbet singles, including "Hollywood Dreaming" and "A Matter of Time".
Throughout this era, Sherbet toured Australia regularly and with remarkable thoroughness; they were one of the few bands to consistently commit to playing full-scale concerts in regional areas of the country.
In 1976, the release of the double A-sided single "Rock Me Gently/You've Got the Gun" saw the record company place full page ads in Billboard.
With US success proving elusive, the band's label RSO Records felt that the lightweight name Sherbet may have hurt their chances.
[2] The band's next single, "Beg, Steal or Borrow" missed the chart completely, and January 1979's "Angela" – from the soundtrack to the film Snapshot – reached the top 100 - but only just.
[23] During the concert, Mitchell also supplied bass guitar for Neale Johns' set (see Blackfeather) and then Stevie Wright's rendition of his solo hit "Evie".
[24] This version of the band had some minor success in America, but their almost complete lack of chart action in Australia was in stark contrast to their 1970s heyday.
[21] The Sherbs also appeared on the inaugural AOR-oriented Rock Tracks chart issued by Billboard in March 1981: "I Have the Skill" debuted at No. 45.
14 – the band's highest position on any US chart,[21] and The Sherbs also received airplay on US album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations with "No Turning Back".
However, none of the singles from The Skill reached the Australian Kent Music Report top 100,[2] a huge comedown for a band that had been major charting artists in Australia only two years earlier.
The Sherbs were now in a position where the US listening public were largely indifferent to their releases, and – despite their newer, more contemporary sound – the Australian audience had seemingly written them off as a relic of the 1970s.
James left The Sherbs at the end of 1982 to be replaced by Tony Leigh (Harry Young and Sabbath, Gillian Eastoe Band) on guitar.
[1] In late 1983, the group announced their decision to disband in 1984, they reverted to Sherbet and undertook a successful farewell tour of Australia and a final single, "Tonight Will Last Forever".
[1] Following the group's break-up, Braithwaite continued his solo career in Australia, and Porter and Shakespeare each became successful record producers.
[8] They performed "Howzat" and "Summer Love" without Sandow[8] – John Watson (ex-Kevin Borich Band, Australian Crawl) filled in on drums.
[29] At the May 2006 Logie Awards Sherbet reunited as a six-piece: Braithwaite, James, Mitchell, Porter, Sandow and Shakespeare, where they performed "Howzat".
