Friday on my Mind

Dear James,

In case anyone needs further evidence of all the other songs on Pin-Ups being rubbish, here's the original for Friday on my Mind by the Easybeats and here's Bowie's version. While we're here, here's the original Sorrow by the Merseys. Better!

The Easybeats were Australia's answer to The Monkees. What's that? Hang on...

The Easybeats were Australia's answer to The Beatles. You will of course notice ACDC's big brother George Young (he of the ironic dancing) and blond guitar-playing Dutchman Harry Vanda, who went on to form Flash and the Pan. You may not notice the guitar line that System of a Down borrowed for Kill Rock n Roll, set here for reasons known to its auteur to a Gorillaz video. SOAD might have heard the song via axe-god Gary Moore, essaying his version here and coming across as a Spinal Tap tribute.

Hey Saint Peter

Hey Saint James,
Ever heard of these people? Australian twosome Flash and the Pan (George Young and Harry Vanda) and 1983 one-hit wonders with "Waiting for a Train". George Young was the elder brother of the Angus and Malcolm Young, which may explain the penchant for playing the guitar while wearing shorts. Never a good look. Not even that nice boy in Vampire Weekend pulled it off at Leeds.

Young and Vanda played in the Easybeats, who had a big hit with "Friday on my Mind", which David Bowie covered on Pin-Ups. Another of there songs "Good Times" featured Steve Marriot on backing vocals and was later covered by INXS, featuring on The Lost Boys soundtrack. They wrote and produced John Paul Young's "Love is in the Air". They also wrote Meatloaf's "Running the Red Light". I'm scraping the barrel there, I know.

I like how this song combines the better elements of late 70's rock, namely The Motors' "Airport" and ELO. Is sounding like ELO a good thing? I'm no longer sure. They spoil the effect slightly with their attempts at comedy (the cork hat, the hitting the tall man with a hard hat, the skeleton producer) but at least no one dresses up as a schoolboy for the best part of 30 years.