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Sherbet (band)

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Sherbet were one of the most prominent and successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. Their biggest singles were "Summer Love" (1975) and "Howzat" (1976). The group was managed by Roger Davies untill they split in the early 1980s.

History

From 1970 until 1984 they scored 20 hit singles in their homeland (including two number one's) and platinum status albums. "Howzat" which was number one in 1976, also reached number six in the UK.

They were the first band to reach AUS $1M in record sales in Australia; pioneered the concept of massive regional tours; and turned its merchandising into a huge industry. In 1976, the book "Sherbet On Tour", by Christie Eliezer, sold 55,000 copies in its first week.

Sherbet were formed in Sydney in 1969 by guitarist Clive Shakespeare with members of his former band Downtown Roll Band. Initially they started out as a soul band doing Motown material. They released their first single "Crimson Ships" the following year. In 1971 they won Australia's prestigious national rock band contest Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds. In the same year they had their first hit with the Ted Mulry song "You're All Woman" and from then on they had a string of hits. They became the darlings of Australia's teenyboppers and did regular appearances on the top TV pop show Countdown. In 1976 they made the UK top 10 with their cricket inspired song "Howzat".

From 1978, the band spent several years attempting (without success) to make an impact in the United States. The last studio album from 1978 "Sherbet" was issued in the United States under the name Highway and titled "Highway 1". After making little headway in the US market the band broke up for a short period before reconvening with new wave sound as The Sherbs and releasing "The Skill" which made the US Top 100, "Defying Gravity" and the mini-album "Shaping Up". Harvey James left towards the end of 1982 to be replaced by Tony Leigh. They decided to call it a day in 1984, reverting back to the Sherbet moniker for a farewell tour and final single "Tonight Will Last Forever".

Following the group's break-up, lead singer Daryl Braithwaite went on to a successful solo career in Australia, and Garth Porter became a successful record producer.

Reunion

Sherbet have continued to come together to perform on occasion over the years. Their first reunion was for a New Years Eve Special for ABC-TV in 1999 (minus Alan Sandow, former Kevin Borich/Aussie Crawl drummer John Watson filling in) then again for the Ted Mulry Benefit Concert in March 2001 and then a benefit show for Wayne Jarvis in June 2003. Usually as a six piece line-up of Braithwaite, Sandow, Mitchell, Porter, James and Shakespeare, their most recent live appearance was at the May 2006 Australian TV Logie Awards, where they performed their biggest hit, "Howzat". This performance was to launch the Countdown Spectacular tour in which they will headline throughout Australia during Sept/Oct 2006.

2006 also sees the release of 2 newly recorded tracks featured on the "Sherbet - Super Hits" CD. "Red Dress" (Porter/Shakespeare/Braithwaite/Mitchell/James/Sandow) and "Hearts Are Insane" (Porter) both produced by Ted Howard.

Albums

As Sherbet

  • 1972 Time Change...A Natural Progression
  • 1973 On With The Show
  • 1974 Slipstream
  • 1975 In Concert
  • 1975 Greatest Hits 1970-75
  • 1975 Life...Is For Living
  • 1976 Howzat
  • 1976 The Sherbet Collection
  • 1977 Photoplay
  • 1977 Caught In The Act...Live
  • 1978 Sherbet (aka 11th Album)
  • 1979 Track Record
  • 1980 The Sherbet Phenomenon
  • 1984 The Hits 1969 - 1984
  • 1999 30th Anniversary Celebration Collection
  • 2001 The Great Sherbet
  • 2006 Super Hits

As Highway

  • 1978 Highway 1 (The Australian "Sherbet" album, remixed for US release)

As The Sherbs

  • 1980 The Skill
  • 1981 Defying Gravity
  • 1982 Shaping Up (Mini-LP)

Sherbet's Top 10 singles

  • 1971 "Can You Feel It Baby", "Free The People"
  • 1972 "You've Got The Gun", "You're All Woman"
  • 1973 "Cassandra"
  • 1974 "Slipstream", "Silvery Moon"
  • 1975 "Summer Love" (Aus #1), "Life Is... For Living", "Matter Of Time"
  • 1976 "Child's Play", "Howzat" (Aus #1, UK #6), "Rock Me Gently"
  • 1977 "Magazine Madonna"
  • 1978 "Another Night On The Road"

Band members

References

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