December 20: "Little Stevie" Wright, lead singer for The Easybeats, "Friday on my Mind" is 65-years-old today.

The Easybeats were a rock and roll band from Australia. They formed in Sydney in late 1964 and split at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single "Friday on My Mind."  

 

Stephen Carlton "Stevie" Wright, who was born in Leeds, England, was called  Australia's first international pop star. Between 1964–1969 he was lead singer for Sydney-based rock and roll band The Easybeats, widely regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of 1960s.

 

In the early 1960s, Wright was lead vocalist for a band named The Outlaws and by 1964 had formed Chris Langdon & the Langdells. After one performance, Wright met The Netherlands-born, Hendricus Vandenburg (later Harry Vanda) and Dingeman van der Sluys (Dick Diamonde).The two of them  convinced Wright to form a band with Vandenburg's friend and fellow hostel resident Scottish-born George Young. Together with another Englishman, Gordon "Snowy" Fleet, they formed The Easybeats in mid-1964. Initial line-up of The Easybeats was Diamonde on bass guitar, Fleet on drums, Vanda on guitar, Wright on vocals and Young on guitar.

Wright was lead vocalist on their only international hit "Friday on My Mind," which peaked at #1 in Australia in 1966, #6 in the U.K., the Top 10 in, France, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands, and Top 20 in the U.S.

Continued below video and Amazon portals ...)

HIGHLY Recommended (Press album covers for direct links to Amazon):

Other hits for The Easybeats were co-written by Wright with bandmate George Young, including, "She's So Fine," "Wedding Ring," "Women (Make You Feel Alright)," "Come and See Her," "I'll Make You Happy," and "Sorry."

After The Easybeats disbanded in 1969, Wright fronted numerous groups including Stevie Wright Band and Stevie Wright & the Allstars; his solo career included the 1974 single, "Evie (Parts 1, 2 & 3),"  which peaked at #1 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart.

Stevie Wright went on to become a cast member of the original Australian stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar (1972–73) and then launched a successful but short-lived solo career

Wright's biography has been detailed in Sorry: The Wretched Tale of Little Stevie Wright by Jack Marx published in 1999, and Hard Road: The Life and Times of Stevie Wright by Glenn Goldsmith (2004). According to the biographies, Wright has had problems with alcohol and drug addictions. In 1976 he was hospitalized and undertook methadone treatment, and in the late 1970s he was treated Deep Sleep Therapy with a combination of drug-induced coma and electroshock.

The Easybeat's original lineup reunited for a warmly-received series of Australian concerts in 1986. In 2002, Wright performed as part of the all-star Long Way To The Top national concert tour.

On 14 July 2005, The Easybeats, with Stevie Wright as a member, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside Renée Geyer, Hunters & Collectors, Smoky Dawson, Split Enz and Normie Rowe.

####