Madder Lake - 12-Lb Toothbrush (1973)

[chimetrooper]

Way cooooooooooooooooool!!!!

[AussieAmazingRock]

Great Madderlake Music.

[permie11]

Comments aside ,oarsome, What would they sound like now?

[Kezza4000]

Madder Lake wrote this Burblerbearded.

[BurblerBearded]

Did these guys write this or did ZZ Top???

[rossprowd]

I remember going to a club in Melbourne when the bands where Australian Crawl, Mondo Rock, the Smith Family, Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons and I think the Sports all in the space of five nights. Only a cover charge on one night and that was for the Smith Family who had a following.

[Padata3000]

My dad passed his silver boots to me, and I will to my kids, and we will all meet up at the Mothership at the end of time jamming out to MADDER LAKE !

[1crankyvet]

Madder lake, AC/DC/ (the valentines)Johnny Farnham ,Zoot etc etc, all used to play at our local school St Peters in East bentleigh. All for free if u snuck in. Thanks for the Memories....An old East Bentleigh Rocker.

[shaneashsarah]

@1crankyvet Used to go St Peters to see them great times!! Also went to Brighton Town Hall to see Red House Roll Band. Ahhh the seventies good memories!!!!

[1crankyvet]

Madder lake, AC/DC/ (the valentines)Johnny Farnham ,Zoot etc etc, all used to play at our local school St Peters in East bentleigh. All for free if u snuck in. Thanks for the Memories....thanx.

[daremba]

Obviously the people here that are knocking Madder Lake never went to a live performance...these guys are still rocking 40 years on....

[norwaydenn]

What a time to be living in the black and white early seventies with GTK on the ABC Sunbury just around the corner Aunty Jack & protest songs flooding the airwaves on old tuners ,I just want to lay on Arkansas Grass .

[Holdncaulfield]

Type in Doug Parkinson, "Without you" for some 70's gravel.

[sandgropper6]

rickfan1964 i can and will say queen are not in my top 100 groups, they at there best were a pop group not a rock group..

[rickfan1964]

i've never heard of this band before, but to compare them with Queen is just wrong. the lead singer here reminds me a little of Joe Cocker, as far as mannerisms go. Queen had a totally different stage presence and the element of theatricality.

[rattlemuse100]

Nice little Rare Earth groove.

[NathanPickering]

I love 70's Australian rock

[tomf819]

I went to school with the son of the vocalist and the son of the drummer and saw them play together a few times and trust me when i say they are so much better live than in this recording. Even as OLD men.

[eddie100]

I was at the Myer Music Bowl, possibly '73, at the front. 15 years old and daring.

I'm sure I my face amoungst 100's was on that front page. Friends, Madder Lake and correct me if I'm wrong; the whole reason for being there-The Aztec's.

P.S. I love You.

[ElBucko1]

... elements of 'Sabbath and 'Tull .. commendable enough performance and vibe considering the time, cultural cringe and the live filming. All bands had beards and long hair around this time. There were up there with Ayers Rock and Tamam Shud

[ElBucko1]

... elements of 'Sabbath and 'Tull .. commendable enough performance and vibe considering the time, cultural cringe and the live filming. All bands had beards and long hair around this time.

[euqsabtnatillim]

They were times when people didnt bitch about looks and were into the music. Hello to the keyboard players brother Tim Mckinnon

[soulpatch29]

The drummer looks like he is beating the keyboard player on the head with his sticks.

[sandgropper6]

queen is a pop group not a rock group they should never have been at sunbury....madder lake played different hard music listen to the lp's......

[rickfan1964]

@sandgropper6 ???? they may have had some pop success, but to call them a pop group?? i don't think so. that's like saying Zeppelin was a pop group. and if you listen to Queens first few albums, you can hear some Zep influence.

[owenrful]

Not sure how you compare Madder Lake to Queen, especially seeing as how THIS clip was '72 and Queen didnt have a real hit til '75. Rock progressed sooooo fast back then (unlike today). It had a purity to it with absolute street cred....while remaining virginally pure (bands didnt have the equipment of today that produces sounds that are never replicable in concert).

Queen took what came before and built an entirely new platform on Freddys insightful vision...

[leneghp]

madder lake will be at the rock of ages 3 at the crown casino in october 29th, 2010, check them out and hear and see them sing 12lb toothbrush, goodbye lollipop etc see for yourself!!!

[mrhuxter]

Madder Lake supported the Rolling Stones at Kooyong about the time of this clip ,on stage before Chain went on . Three bands at their absolute height--the Stones were never better than that night all those years ago

[ocossa]

thank you

[dfeeeeeeee]

My favorite!!!!!

[captainpegs07]

bad ass

[dharmaseed]

Not a bad song, and a left-handed drummer! The lead singer kinda reminds me of Captain Beefheart, tho.

[jessevella]

love that song

[windigo44]

I still can't convert fractions to decimals, by the way . . .

[windigo44]

Singer looks identical to my third form maths teacher.

No offence to either Mrs. Rechenberg or the singer.

[staffy58]

Its Danny from thePartridge Family on Speed !!!!!

[malawri67]

great band!But the singer is so so...IMHO

[dfeeeeeeee]

...so,so...original!!! :)

[eddie100]

No audio. Loss to the next generation and a 'scuse me while I kiss the sky; to you.

[zach0050]

i just forund the structure awkward.. didn't really flow well, but the riffs are awsume

[croesocymraeg]

I was living in broadway, chelsea, melbourne and an old boyfriend bought us tickets to see them in 1973.  Because I was coming back to Uk to live a friend threw me a surprise leaving party on the same night. I still wish I had missed the party and gone to see them!!!!!

[ronkrisin]

Love this tune! Great! If anyone has The lyrics To it, could Someone please PM Them to me? Thanks! Rock On, forever!

[Khultan]

What's with the volume?!? I

[anitashelby]

Great Song!!! Thank You sunsets & nzoz....Anita...

[TheStickmanRules]

@anitashelby Hi Anita, I was just watching this and saw your comment. I saw this band play live a few times and they even played at our high school dance in 1972.

[sunsets1972]

Great to remb songs like this.... * * * * * !  ( and now..."Golden miles" and "i remember when i was young" ) cheers

[tonto4848]

Great band !

Saw them a few times in the 70's and I can recommend both the albums " Stillpoint" and " Butterfly Farm" as good samples of Aussie rock in the 70's !

[listen203]

Went to see these guys at a place called "teasers" in melbourne in about '74?. The cops decided to raid the joint that night, the band was on the ground floor, the smokers on the top floor with the windows open & the roaches gettin flicked out down on the coppers, great night, great music, bitchin good lookin g/friend, the memories are sweet, wish we could all get into a time machine & do it all again!

[eydie57]

well somebody's been hittin' the wacky tabacky, huh?

[Sisound]

This sucks compared to Queen lol

[eellexa]

They are reforming to play live again and a cd will be released. Heard interview on radio this week.

[StalinsKnights]

Great video, and great detail with the Queen story too, it's legendry among Queen fans only 1 photo and little detail survives today. Shame no recording survives.

[Honeysucklebommie]

Hi fellow Aussies! Great band.

i saw them at Cowes Hotel Phillip Island (underage I snuck in) must have been 33 years ago at least; some skin head threw a glass at a speaker and one of the Madder lake roadies smacked his balls off. :-)

[craigrmills]

This band played at Coburg High School, on the school roof, i was a real cool skatey chick then lol

Loved 'em

[carpetcle]

Saw this band at Korrumburra festival with Skyhooks and Kush... Great Stuff !!!!

[dsbeaumont]

I must have been only person there who liked Queen having just arrived back from U,K and new who they were and their sound. Thought they were great. Think it was compare who stirred up crowd if i remember.And yes Freddie was right!!

[NanaMex]

He's still got it, too. Saw him do this on Rock Wiz's Bowl tribute. No hair, but he can still belt it out!

[jonbee7]

love this band, another classic aussie rock band!!

[navajopete]

remember 1973 sunbury and the lousy english 'courage beer sold there. i wonder is courage still available in u.k.

[clunkeer]

is that jack the drummer

[fettesgod]

Sure is!

[dildoid189]

na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na...

I remember this song, so long ago. sigh...

[Jellybeantiger]

Great.

Who wants Queen when you've got the real deal.

[telecasterluva666]

Great song from a hugely underestimated band, but as often seems to be the case, they didn't get the breaks they deserved. If the suits had gotten them overseas to show the rest of the world what us Aussies already knew, I think they would've been fuckin' huge. Yet another injustice!

[yutu34]

Yeah, Sunbury audience was more interested in rock/folk, Skyhooks and Queen were just too new/glam for the audience.

[MikeJohnstonguitar]

Gr8 band...saw Madder Lake in Melbourne in 1973...they sounded gr8 then and still sound awesome...very Aussie sounding and original sound...very fresh sounding band...when I saw them live I loved the wailing guitars, the keyboard Moog and the gruff voice of the vocalist...very underrated group...should have been far better known around the world.

[jakartacombatclub]

Memories of my misspent youth! Classic early 70s Oz rock;

[leneghp]

If anyone wants to see brenden mason and kerry mckenna from madder lake they will be at the fad gallery bar in chinatown on the 12/6/08 @8.30pm in melbourne, australia. They will be with neale johns their blackfeather bandmate.

[cazzzradio]

hey guys, glad i found ya, my names Caz, i'm in a rock blues band called the 88 cubes, we play stevie ray vorne, bobby ray, some stones ect. We would love to do a cover of your 12lb toothbrush song to add to our song list. Where can i find the original cords, lyrics to the song.

[leneghp]

Brenden and kerry can be seen on sunday at the corner hotel in richmond, victoria with blackfeather @7-10pm. Great sound had forgot about this classic group.

[gleegirloz]

Great to see Mick and the boys again!

[scrotsack69]

great 70 saustralian band

[Sayles4b]

ok, im not saying this to offend fans of this band....but here is my opinion on this group. They couldnt hold a light to Queen, even back then. Its hard to believe queen got boo'd for this...also this band looks awful image wise...like old men. The singer just makes some very stupid gestures....just my 2 cents

[nzozearly1970s]

Hmmmm... I don't disagree. Most Australian music I have an emotional attachment to and my blood boils if I hear my favourite band/artist being slagged off. However, this isn't much of my cup of tea, but a lot of people do like it and so I'll reserve my judgement on this band. They're just not in the same sentence as Queen. Queen were at the wrong place and at the wrong time when they did Sunbury '74. It was just too soon for them (still unknown). Even our beloved Skyhooks were booed!

[miwahni]

@nzozearly1970s

Interestingly enough, Queen don't even rate a mention on the album "Highlights of Sunbury '74" whereas both Madder Lake and Skyhooks do. Mind you, it's the 'hooks with Steve Hill as vocalist, before Graeme Strachan joined the band - but it's still the Hooks we know and love.

[MrDougcummins]

@nzozearly1970s Totally agree dude I was there

[blueycarlton]

Queen were too camp for the audience at the time.

Aussies were into rock, and at the top was Billy Thorpe.

Check out "Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Mamma live on GTK". Give you some idea where our head's were.

[shempone]

Agree with you....

Sunbury is not even 30min away from where I live...

Its just australia, the mentality is still there today.. Yobbo's...

[dfeeeeeeee]

@Sayles4b I like his gestures,I think he's the best!

[sgtticklesworth]

@Sayles4b I completely agree. I can understand why Queen were boo'd. They were boo'd because what do you think would've been more appealing to 200 drunk bogans

[MrDougcummins]

@Sayles4b your 2cents...you over rate your worth

[fettesgod]

my old man is the singer in this band its funny looking back in time he looks alot different now this band still kills when they get together

[turnaboutintruder]

Did you inherit his good looks ? hehe

[gumdroplou]

gumdroplou

was

here!!!

[littlredroo]

This is classic Australian rock. Brenden & Kerry are still playing in Melbourne with Neale Johns-Blackfeater. Both bands have MySpace sites.

[markslocum]

Fuuuuck! It's the sounds of my brother's bedroom!!! Great stuff!

[drprogensteinphp]

xu1997 - What do you mean "track down"? I've owned 'Big Red Rock' and their 2nd album, 'Beyond' on vinyl, both Aussie (Mushroom records) and Canadian pressings since they were first released! Haa Ha!

You should try and track down 'A-Reefer-Derci!' Great compilation LP. There's even some tracks by 'The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band' on the album! Those 'Sunbury' festival LP's are pretty good too.

Have you seen the youtube video of Ayers Rock 'Lady Montego'?

[Gemear]

Madder Lake rock, pure and simple. Great band!

[drprogensteinphp]

Great stuff! I'm probably one of the few Canadians that's ever heard of this great band! I still own their 'Still Point' album as well as 'Butterfly Farm' on vinyl!

I'm a huge fan of other Aussie bands like; Sebastian Hardie, Madder Lake, Buffalo, Ariel, or Masters apprentices, Friends etc. Thanks for the great video!

[xu1997]

Good on yer son !! We are very proud of our local talent and I must say i am amazed that somewhere out in the wide blue yonder there is a lone canadian who appreciates and understands our music .....amazing.

Track down "Ayers Rock- Big Red Rock" it was released in Canada under A&m records

[damo3805]

Incredible music, Madder Lake had that genuine Aussie fusion rock sound of the era, as was on show by various acts like Coloured Balls, Aztecs, Mackenzie Theory, Ayres Rock and many others at Sunbury.

[PAINTANK]

Cool video.

[brocomp]

Amazing! Am I the only Brit to have heard of this band? I have a copy of their Butterfly Farm album. I had it as a kid from an aunt who lives in Oz. The cover art frightened the life out of me at the time! Great album though.

[vinylman4533]

I saw Madder Lake at the Myer Music Bowl in 1982 at the Mushroom Evolution Concert, where they played this song!

[xu1997]

Good on yer son brilliant!!! this footage may have been lost forever. Unfortunately we live in a country that dosn't recognise music legends.Mick Fettes lives on!!!

[nzozearly1970s]

There are people out there who collect and make sure that this stuff never gets thrown out!

[philanthropic88]

What a blast, fantastic band I saw many times growing up in melbourne, stillpoint is one of the great aussie albums