Added: 5 years ago
From: nzoz1975
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  • There's nothin' like a song about prostitutes that won't bring tear to your eye everytime! Good Times, slack arses...

  • Is it wrong to say that this guy is a little twit and that he is going to burn in the lake of Fire for all eternity forevever and ever, Amen. (or is it just me?) Your feedback on the subject is most welcome.

  • God damn, so many wordy comments. The only thing that didn't make this song good and I loved it from the time I first heard it and I always will, was the artist.

  • id much rather listen to this music from the 70's and 80's than the horseshit they play in this day and age which has no soul-no rythm and are one hit wanna be wonders which isnt worth the hair out the crack of a homeless mans arse....this music is what music is all about..soul and rythm

  • One of my favorite songs ever... Great head of hair too.

  • Rick Springfield is Aussie too... bet you all didn't know that! Ha ha

  • @nzoz1975 if I read this again, I will know this!

  • @HELPTHEPICKLEISALIVE You need to read a line twice for it to register...

  • @nzoz1975 Dammit!

  • been listening to this since I was roughly 6 and i'm only 18 now. I love this, I love good 70's and 80's and it's always a blast to hear the talent it took back then to get big. Music is one of things with no expiration date, I just wish everyone knew that.

  • Thanks nzoz. Born Melbs 1967 and heard this on radio all the time. Great memories. Cheers.

  • Absolutely one of my favourite Oz songs of all time, thanks nzoz.

  • Seeing Richard Clapton perform last night at Chatswood's newly opened Concert Hall was brilliant. I was priviliged to meet him before the show: he is so down to earth, funny, truly epitomising the Aussie larikin. The acoustics, his banter, voice, performance? Faultless! He came back for an encore to sing two of his classics "best years of our lives" to which might I add he signed that album of mine "those are the good old days" and of course "Girls on the Avenue" AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!!

  • This song was and is my favourite song of all time.Thanks nzoz1975!

  • Seeing a couple of blokes in the back of a car with big thick necks, not wearing seatbelts and having a cigy with the windows closed. Ahhhh this brings back the memories. Right about now we'd switch on the car radio to 3XY and organise the next shooting trip.

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  • Great song writer/l love it

  • This song was written when Richard and his band were renting a flat on The Avenue, Rose Bay, just where Old South Head meets Newcastle Street, where the Greek church is. The song was dedicated to those girls who lived in the same street and were all party animals, living life irreverently. Must've been great times.

  • @5150VanAlien I lived two streets away from the Avenue at this time.The Avenue was also an exit from the girls school (bus stop at the bottom) always thought the song was about them as the that particular school had a reputation...One of its nicknames was the Brothel on the Hill....

    As an aside...Daryl Braithwaite lived at the top of my street..Onslow St that is...Cheers

  • thank you so much for putting all these great songs up. i'm an aussie girl living in oklahoma usa and i'm sharing these with my best buddy - she's getting a real kick out of how good aussie music is!!!

  • ive never heard this, EVER in the 70's or heard of Richard. such a shame too, this style and sounds were far better than any of the 70's in the USA back then. back then there was so much junk recorded. Richard and this band should had been!!

  • @beyondalohas It was pretty hard for Australia to break into the American market back in the 70's and 80's. It is a shame because that was a golden era for Australian and New Zealand music. Especially the 80's, wow what a time! Wish i had been old enough to hit the pubs in the early part of that decade, to see the likes of Aussie Crawl, Midnight Oil Cold Chisel, Mondo Rock, Dragon etc, performing live. :-)

  • @TheGmgirl77 Yeah, 'Men at Work', Split Enz, Divinyls, Midnight Oil and AC/DC just all bombed in America! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • @eieiowens AC/DC were the only ones who really made it big.

  • @TheGmgirl77 INXS mate., so did Silverchair and Living End for a bit. The Vines were well on their way, they were recognised for a long time until Craig Nicholls trashed lettermens set, but i'm getting newer and newer. I don't know if you would Classify the Bee Gee's as Aussie, but they are obviously huge, and Little River Band got a pretty big following aswell.

  • @Evertonian01

    The length of Australian songs to reach # 1 in the US is nearly as long as Europe's. The Bee Gees were a major household name in Australia during the 60's. They were like the Osmonds in Australia ... youngsters entertaining the general public and growing right in front of their eyes. I don't think there's too much Australia can claim of them today.. but from 1960 til around about '68, it was only Australia that gave a shit... and their manager (Robert Stigwood) is Aussie.

  • @nzoz1975 I wouldn't worry too much about Australia's profile in the US. There's so many Aussie musical acts that made it big over there, that it is ridiculous to regret the ones that made little impact. Air Supply, Little River Band, Helen Reddy, Olivia Newton John, Savage Garden, Natalie Imbrullia, INXS, Men At Work... but take a good look at how conventional and polished these acts are? AC/DC made it due to the Heavy Metal masses.

  • Richard Clapton had about six major record companies interested in signing him up. He was getting quite a bit of interest. However, the old devil back home (his Australian record company) had a contract that prevented him from making any deals with an American label. I think a few Aussie acts fell into this crap, at some level.

    I used to believe it was a conspiracy. America was ignoring Aussie bands! But that's not the case. Cold Chisel and Dragon had a chance, but messed it up.

  • @nzoz1975 Midnight Oil and Divinyls put the real work in and got some nice results. Models worked hard in the US, but only seemed to score a # 36 hit on the Billboard chart. Australian Crawl had a drug connection which scared the pussies at Geffen records (same label that sued Neil Young for not sounding like Neil Young). The Angels became disheartened (I guess). Mental As Anything didn't see the point. Mondo Rock lost interest. Point being, the opportunity is there and they had a chance.

  • @eieiowens In America

  • 2jj concerts. Richard Clapton was the act that made them sooo good.

  • Unfortunately the only versions around seem to be these edited ones.

  • This stuff is so heartbreakingly beautiful, I'm pretty much overcome with nostalgia when i look at Richard Clapton, H&C, Russell Morris. Have to add Jenny Morris, Hoodoo Guru's, (people l would watch at the Penrith Leagues).

  • I met RC at the Fusion Festival at Cowaramup, WA. I have waited my whole life to meet Richard. What a wonderful songwriter & all round amazing musician/Vocalist.

    He is one of Oz's most Under rated talents.When I met him, he was lovely, quiet yet friendly. He Autographed my Floating Floyd Rose Yamaha and cd covers. & He chatted with me. I have met many Icon's in my life, some humble & some NOT.. He was absolutely wonderful. I am so glad I met himand that my faith in his genius was well deserved

  • OMG nzoz....you are a champion!!!! I'm not getting any work done since I found your library of hits. I have loved this song since I was 8 years old (in 1975), and to finally be able to hear it on here is fan-freakin-tabulous. The video used does not take one single thing away from the song.

    Thank you, thank you thankyou so much for loading all the classic music from my generation. I'll be back again and again and again.

  • @hellagood1967 lol, no worries... i love this sort of feedback!!!

  • @hellagood1967 I remember loving this when i was 8 to ;P but that was in 2003

  • @hellagood1967 Can you say : "Dumbed Down"?

  • Aussie an Kiwi music is the best, yeah !

  • I love it when us old guys (40 plus lol) say the music today is crap as I am sure our parents were saying the same thing when we were younger and loving these songs!

  • paper giants <3

  • @RosieAlaska loved the song before, but haven't heard it in ages!!

  • The classiest popular music never to be recognised outside of Australia!!

    We are so lucky to have an incredible catalogue of music from the late 60s to now that most people outside of OZ have never heard, yet is genuinly Worldclass!!.

  • Great classic !!! Bring on all the clasics

  • Thanks man.This is such a beautiful song!

  • GENIUS

  • Nozz is the man F@#K you Molly Meldrum

  • Another classic that stands the test of time, I'm a better man and can thank my parents for me being a £10 pom and growing up with brilliant songs like this.

    Spectrum,Russell Morris, Zoot,Sherbet,JPY Jon English,all brilliant, its great watching and listening to them again. 

  • Another Great ROCKER!!!! *****5/5*****

  • I have always loved Richard Clapton, mainly because he never played on countdown..but what other artist would make a video clip of him and some other dude from the 70s eating a roast dinner....it is just great...his video producer was someone named Reg from an RSL...god bless you richard..

  • I LOVE THIS SONG!

  • 3 people slipped

  • Richard Clapton lives near me! I see him at the supermarket occasionally, it's really bizarre.

  • @Xarkoff - are you sure it's not Mick Molloy in sunglasses?

    Sorry, couldn't resist.

  • Love it! Love it! Takes me back to the 70s and reminds me how great the music really was.

  • nzoz is THE MAN....thanks for the memories dude!

  • @lilly2kool no worries! 

  • i swear iam gunna start a music fellowship and open a over 40s club/music hall of all these great song/artist that have given us so much enjoyment over the past 30 years i carnt stop going back to these old songs to relax and smile to . honetly it does put a smile on ya dial and thank you nzoz for your great taste in music cheers peter from echuca

  • @bushiepete no worries mate, and good luck with that music club!

  • @bushiepete

    I am 23, born in 87 and grew up listening to my parents playing this kind of stuff when I was young and I love it! Amazon "every song tells a story" its a really good compilation, I just got the song list and am going from one vid to the next, up next is Layla =D

  • @bushiepete great work mate this was a magic era, hell i joined the army that year.great times and great music.

    Pity today isnt like it. The "music" that gets air play today is F****King crap

  • @bushiepete I think it's a great idea. A place that plays all the greats from the 70's. Aussie rock, classic California rock...and even some disco! Make areas where people can dance others where people can just sit and chill and listen to some great music over a cold drink or two! Make it a place where you have to provide photo ID to prove you are over 40 to get in!

    I'd fly home from the UK to be at your opening night....good luck with it.

  • @bushiepete There's a magazine designed for us old geezers in the UK

  • @bushiepete Pete, I grew up in Echuca, now live in the NT ... but come back most years for Christmas ... would love to visit such a club in my hometown! My 23yo son is a muso, he grew up with all this fantastic music, and values it now ... although heavy metal is his thing, he gets the huge influence on a whole generation! I have loved Richard Clapton since I was a kid in sunny Echuca! He just brings back soooo many memories ...

  • @bushiepete where the fuck is echuca?

  • @CartmanishRunescape Echuca is right next to Moama ...

  • @CartmanishRunescape ...It's a boarder town up on the Murray River that divided NSW from Vic:-)

  • @bushiepete I'll buy the first ticket and never leave. martin Riddells Creek

  • his real nme is Terrence Gong, father was asian

  • @hunkydaboyz Philippines, I believe.

  • Did not notice until today that this was shot in Adelaide , Parliament House & Festival Theatre, South Australia @ around 1:34 ...

  • Is Richard Clapton Australia's equivalent of Eric Clapton?

  • Wonder if Eric Clapton has heard of this guy?

  • dude where are you gettin all these vids? never mind just keep up the excellent work Im sold just subscribed.

  • @ironrasta1966 thank you :)

  • @abbb350, I meant that this is the band that toured to promote the album Goodbye Tiger. I saw them play many times. The players on Girls On The Avenue were an almost totally different band. Richard is kidding - the song is about prostitutes in the doorways of Kings Cross. I felt the same way he did when I first went to Sydney in 1965 - it seemed totally surreal.

  • @DoctorPepperOz cool

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  • Richard Himself has said that this song is about a group of girls who lived in a house near where he lived and he used to walk past their house. It was NOT about prostitutes.

  • There's no way this is a promo for Girls on the Avenue. Richard is years older and the band is the Goodbye Tiger band. The late Diane McLennan didn't sing with him until years after Girls on the Avenue came out... and the song is about street walkers!

  • @DoctorPepperOz ,goodbye tiger was the name of one of his albums, as far as i know his band was not called goodbye tiger

  • Clappo what a champion of aussie rok n roll this is one Classic Track and always will be live on Clappo

  • always thought this was al stewart (YEAR OF THE CAT ETC ) i now know better still love it

  • Yep a real classic. He has denied it but you can understand why a lot of people think this song is about "ladies of the night"

  • i saw him in Chatswood the other day, lol

  • augusta 75 swapped the old mans boat love it

  • Nice old shots of Adelaide Festival Theatre !

  • Anyone know who the guitar player is?

  • great song jukie thanks for the share xxxxbabs

  • Love the song, i also lived in rose bay for a year, Balfour Rd !

  • @Stoxx85 i lived in Edwardstown Adelaide in those days, the pussy was hot and the home grown was a good smoke and thisn song was a boomer

  • wicked song man yous rock

  • A fuckin' awesome song! Wicked guitaring and piano work. Always loved and never forgot this song. It takes me back to old '75 when things were simple and life was easy-happy times. Great Aussie song, there certainly is suburb music from "DownUnder"! From a Kiwi who loves Kiwi and Aussie Music.

  • God he looks like bloody Mick Molloy!! :)

  • pretty advanced recordimg techniques and a song that was way ahad of its time in many ways, esp in its 'commercial-ity'..

    but who cares, it brings back great memories for me and others...so thx for posting.

  • 5150VanAlien is right about the girls who lived in the house they were apparently all nursing students

  • 5150VanAlien is spot on with what the song is about and i heard Richard in an interview talking about the house and the girls i believe that they were nursing students who all lived together great song from an awesome aussie artist once again :)

  • It's always been assumed that this song was about call girls but he has denied that this was the case.

  • @IanGorton It's about a couple of sheilas who lived on the same street as him years ago ...

  • I sing this every time I walk through Nana Soi 4 in Bangkok!

  • love the song

  • Note to wha165:

    As far as the vegemite 'spread thinly' bit..

    Not me, m8.. I do as *thick* of a double dollop (for want of a better metaphor..) on *ALL* my breads & such!

    Guess it's th' salty part I dig..tho' I *do* detect hints of smelt/prawn in said spread..At least I kinda fancied I did when 1st tasted the yummy goody back in 1989.. :-)

  • Brilliantly written song !

  • This is one Yank-American (who had a ladylove from Brisbane...she gave the "Into The Heat!" CD compilation to me for b'day) who sez that this is one of my ALL-TIME UBER-MEGA-ULTRA RAVE-FAVE songs **EVER!!**

    And, by the way, I also *LOVE* Kraft VEGEMITE on *my* Breakfast Toast, too!

    I'm *serious!*

    Thanx fer this jam, m8's..

  • Great to see you love both of our aussie icons.

    Clapton has an incredibly unique voice.

    Also, the key to Vegemite is only a very thin amount on toast.

    Nobody seems to tell most Yanks that!!!...lol

  • ...so that's the secret! Another Yank here who lived in Oz when this song was popular; one of my Aussie faves! I'll have to give the Vegemite (Marmite/Canadian-brand here) another "go" sometime!

  • sorry mate..marmite is different product...

  • Love this song too! several years ago, saw him live in near gymea?? well..so memorable piece! xxxxx

  • This is a great track that RC dedicated to a group of girls who lived in a unit at The Avenue, Rose Bay, off Old South Head Road and RC and his band mates were renting a unit in the Avenue and he sings of the exploits with those girls...

  • yeah pretty cool aye, i live on old south head road :P like pretty close to the avenue

  • Oh I forgot to say that he was awesome!!

  • I saw Clapto last night at "The State Theatre" my mate Shagman and myself pushed in back stage to see our living legend. Some fat old boilers who where waiting to see him rudley asked us if we had back stage passes, we said no. When I asked them about their back stage passes they said they had their back stage passes consisted of a pair of tits and a fanny but they couldn't get if. If they are the girls left on the Avenue I am glad I am a dag.

  • one of the best Aussie songs ever

  • Thanks Mate, from a guy of 47 now (2009), i gotta say your uploaded music just brinks the memory bank, back to th future - if that possoble. Ta, great stuff.

  • no worries mate ;)

  • @nzoz1975 good stuff mate, i was 14 when this came out, but my brother was 19 and used to hammer this on the 3in1 in the b/room we had to share, jeez, youve been busy, much appreciated.

  • @dwsnare Agree , one of the all time great songs ever released

    Cheers

  • i think i saw richard clapton today in pitt street sydney. i think its him with his trademark afro hair and sunnies

  • He's on Kerry-Ann this morning, dyed black hair and glasses, but still...fantastic!

  • I remember when this came out I thought an American sang it, I was wrapped to find out an Aussie sang it.....Great Song........

  • I love this song!

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  • Rich is a true artist...still remember this song as though it was yesterday. 5 stars.

  • a great song and video.....thanks missions for the share !!

  • Awesome!!! 5*s Thanks for sharing...Anita..

  • *******

  • One of the best songs ever ...from 75

  • One of the best Aussie songs ever...top 5 for sure.

  • Wow that clip was filmed in Adelaide. Festival Theatre, King William St. Richard was a class act.

  • The avenue ,Kings Cross.

  • such a clear sweet voice....great thumping baseline...beautiful licks on the guitar...just fabulous...thanks Richard.

  • Another Aussie classic!

    Just fuckin' great!

  • First time hearing cool song great vid..

  • Who care about his social habits...the man can play and sing which is a lot better than most of us. Appreciate him for what he is...good Ozzie talent. In fact, at the concert in Brissie last Friday he was better than the rest.

  • Agreed, it's not about hookers! It just goes to show you that an interpretation of a song is all about the place from where you view it. I always thought that Tony Joe Whites "even Trolls love rock 'n' roll" was about really ugly chicks...

  • Well the story I heard about this song is although Richard Clapton was writing about rich local girls who were "out of his league", the people who appreciated the song the most and thought it was written about them were the " working girls" ...

    ... apparently he had "working girls" coming up to him and thanking him for writing the song about them !

  • Real, Aussie music!! Full of talent not full

    of effects & shit! Apparently @ the moment

    Coldplay are the " big thing" ?? If they were around 20 years ago they would not

    have got out of the garage! I hate OVER-

    RATED bands & I fuk`n hate all this IDOL

    SHIT,record company marketing to the FUCKING EXTREME!! I`M disgusted !!!

  • This song gets my vote as the best Aussie single in history - if not the best single in history. Sheer class.

  • yeah baby yeah lol

  • That's sad. Shame if it's true...

  • i think cdaa's comment is bullshit. richard clapton has successfully made a living out of music which is not an aussie thing to be done in australia. as if he would vomit on stage, abuse children and his audience....

  • sure it wasn't you who was drunk

  • i actually thought about cdaa's comment whilst i was at work... it's quite ridiculous... so ridiculous, it's laughable.

  • Washed up ,Drunken has been thats a bit rough cant a man have a bad night.The Cab/Sav out there is deadly .You tried drinkin that shit? Richard is a gun!

  • Give the guy a friggin' break -he's been out there hard at it for like 40 years, putting out songs up there with the best this country's produced.

    I don't know if this alleged incident occurred -first I've heard -but, gee, how unusual for a rock n roll muso to get on the turps.. shock, horror..

    I'll buy Mr Richard Clapton a glass of his favorite poison any time.

  • me too...he's right up there with Doug Parkinson and Jimmy.

  • Too right, Butch.

  • CLASSIC!! omg what a year 1975 was and this song is so timeless. been a fav for 33yrs. surely wont be long before it appears again. captures a mystical feeling not many songs can match. hey our music industry is still good now though, but yes, its sad that the magic has sort of gone... the innocence of the era. and lets face it, no era has gone on forever.. 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's have all gone by the wayside. we are lucky. we experienced some of it.. well i feel lucky :) thanks nzoz

  • Totally agree JoeyRivers, music is just getting worse and worse and it's giving classics like this a bad name. Love the song

  • Pity that today we dont have Australian music of the caliber of these and other 70s and 80classics..

  • rock on what a classic

  • great song from a great australian 75 was a great year for aus rock

  • A classic. Good onyer Richard. Ya know, the recent John Farnham cover of this isn't too bad either - I think it was live at the Sydney Opera House.

    Features a lovely sounding piano. Another point, Richard sings, "dont you slay-up" ('slip'in the J. Farnham version).

  • how'd you get 'slay up'?

  • You cant just sing "slip".

    It ruin's the rythm of the song.

  • According to Richard, this song was about a bunch of girls that lived down the road ("The Avenue") from him at Rose Bay and not about working girls at the 'Cross.

    Sounds plausible but when you read the lyrics it sounds more like revisionism. He probably did write it about the girls living down the road from him at the time but also made the lyrics deliberately ambiguous with an eye on the Cross angle for marketing value.

  • Oooops 15th Aug 08!

  • I seen him at Souths Juniors Club, Kingsford, tnite 15-02-08. WOW, he had the Flu, but F**K CAN HE SING!!!!! YEEEEEHH

    He's still Rockin, with that Distinct VOICE, and Stage Style, Laughing, Joking, Swearing, all in Good Taste!!!

  • Saw him on Sat night 2.08.08 at DY-RSL, he's still got it, sensational show !

  • Richard Clapton's website richardclaptondotcom has pictures of him with very long bushy unstyled hair from 1970 until 1978. Up to 1968 and after 1980 he had shorter styled hair like in this clip. That dates this clip either 1969 or earlier which is impossible, or 1979 or later. There is no doubt that this ISN'T the 1975 promo video.

  • Richard Clapton and his Band.....and this tune....brings back memories from The Station Hotel, Prahran and the London Tavern in Hawthorn. Great nights.

  • Hear Hear bilsaintkilda! Richard Clapton should have been a superstar - Girls on the Avenue, Deep Water, Capricorn Dancer, etc.. all classics. Maybe Richard didn't have the right look or play the "big star" game. I suspect Richard would not have been comfortable with superstardom anyway.

  • I had the feeling this clip was filmed in Adelaide - that Performing Art Centre was still very much a "new" addition to the city in those days. Great video.

  • This guy would have to be the most under rated singer songwriter in the world ever. He should have been a world wide smash - especially when you consider some of those who have somehow achieved it.

  • @billsaintkilda

    I have to agree with you on that point. Richard is a brilliant artist, if he lost a few Kgs back in his hay-day and strutted his stuff a bit more, he would have knocked them dead... but alas, his music was mostly appreciated by a small following and not the world-wide audience like it should have been.

  • @billsaintkilda TOO TRUE! So much better than the over produced crap that is now the norm.