They then met Laurie Arthur, a member of the Strangers, and the three formed a band after a jam session.
The Mixtures recorded a cover of Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" and—as a result of the 1970 radio ban, during which many Australian radio stations refused to play Australian and British music released by major labels—received much more airplay than had initially been expected for a group on a small record label.
They followed up with "The Pushbike Song" (produced by David Mackay), which went to #1 in Australia for two weeks, hit #2 in the UK Singles Chart,[1] and went to #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. after being released on Sire Records.
During this time bass player Chris Spooner died in a fishing accident at Trigg Beach.
Fred Wieland, whose tenure with the Mixtures led to an appearance in the United Kingdom TV programme Never Mind the Buzzcocks, died of lung cancer in December 2018 at the age of 75.