Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs - Live at Sunbury

[AussieAmazingRock]

Yes, Did the 73 and 74 Sunbury.

Young Then.

Seems Like Another Life-So Long Ago.

Pleasant Music Memories and Partying Friends.

Hill, River and Music!!

[Treforlutionz58]

Serious flashback being the old bastard I am. I was there 39 years ago, and Bill and the boys were tops.A legend that lives on in so many fans.

[BuddyPrinceton]

BACK THEN DIDN'T EVERYBODY, THEY WERED PASSING THEM OUT AT CONCDRTS AND AT DR.S OFFICES, SOBER FOR OVER 21 YEARS NOW AND HAPPY ABOUT IT! GR8 HARMONIES IN THIS SON LIKE CSNY FROM MY NECK OF THE WOODS. ROCK ON, LIVE MUSIC IS BEST, STILL. PLAY EVERYDAY!

[mirekkrejci03]

there was a hell of a lot of good LSD at this festival.., this was a crazy time.., this set.., beers cans started to fall from the air

[jbharuch]

All knew, all new to me. Voice be wound tight; what'd y'all feed him? Feed him some more.... Y'all had it going on. I wonder, how and why did this this happen all 'round the world, then?

[RubyNealll]

That's my Dad at 1:08! He has this on DVD too.

[BuddyPrinceton]

I never saw this band but this was the concert scene, I was 16 in 69', I was raised on in Santa Barbara Ca. where we had the same acts as the fillmore and the LA venues ; like the three stops in calif for everyone. the light show was simular, by The Family DOG or something, with the overhad [projects and oil and food coloring. My freind karl Lendthart was one of those light show people. I met Steve Miller, and wqas playing piano, when i was 14, and I knew i would play music forever! doors!

[rabbitoh14]

@BuddyPrinceton you had to many drugs didnt you amte???..cmon ol son own up

[eddie100]

this not Sunbury.

[alanna26210]

The chick at 3'40 is a fairly good summary of this man's genius. Thank you Mr Thorpe, RIP.

[Spiderman20081]

I was there '74 & '75 best saturday nights & weekends of my life,BILLY ROCKED...RIP OOH POO PAH DOO!!!!!

[IROCON1]

Hi - I was there in '73 - was 5th in through the gate on the Friday morning - some guy - a bouncer with red hair let us in - suggested we not set up our tents in front if the stage? Billy is a legend - and I consider myself lucky to have been witness to one of the greatest performances in Rock n Roll history. Here's the thing - I'm 55 this year - if I'm looking up Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs vid's on You Tube - some 38 years later...then I guess that pretty much sums up my feelings - Cheers.

[mate601]

I was there. Working at Sebastian's at the time. Damn I miss him and his music.

[MrPiazzapizza]

I was at the first festival in 1972, won a free trip there from the Sydney Daily Mirror. The bus ride down was a trip, the hippies at the back and the dorks up front. Thorpie was awesome but there were a lot of great bands. One I remember was Highway, I wonder what ever happened to them?

[6365blondes]

r i p thorpie

[cathycastleton]

rip billy, what an amazing Australian....

[kateandannarose]

wow ive watched the history of sunbury. its not like that any more but gosh i wish it was

[yogi1707]

R.I.P Billy , I hope your Rockin the Wings off those Angels man.Sure do miss down ere mate.

[visioninteraction]

Billy Thorpe played at the Whitehorse Hotel in Nunawading Thursday nights!! Yay.. and QClub Dance in Kew..and of course Sunbury! Those were days of gold! awesome..love this one..

[grw4099]

The Whitehorse & QClub I didn't anyone would remember those places. How lucky were we with the talent that was around then, they didn't need computers to make them sound good!

[TheWalter1969]

My mum and my uncle knew Billy from the days he played at the White Horse Hotel

[kema36]

my father in law was in the origanal Azetec John Bluey Watson the bass guitarist ROCK ON RIP Billy

[MrKai70]

great stuff! back when LSD or green tobacco was a must for a good concert!

[sandy049]

That was when green and any other stuff was pure and good

[itchyundies]

Outstanding yeah R.I.P Thorpie you was a legend mate

after reading his autobiographies wow man what a great australian awesome dude who new how to have a good time , loved how he went back to his old school as 18 yr old in some $200000 dollar sports car and started doing donuts in the school grounds , while classes where in , i rekon thats priceless lol try getting away with that now

[nora6834]

Thanks for sharing. I was at the first 2 - memories - worked on the light tower the 2nd one - someone set fire to the hessian surrounding it - damned scary stuff! I like the first one the best - it was so hot but the creek was running and there was a beautiful deep waterhole to swim in. I still have a few black and white photos of us all there the first time round.

[cousiwa09]

i have the aztecs live at sunbury double album on the havoc lable (NZ pressing) of which my copy is original and includes some loose photos that came with the album, and this fucken pop up/fold out tent, which has colourful characters doing colourful things, bongs, bunny rabbits, dogs, half naked women, guitars, stars, full moon..aka ...all the happenings of a typical camp festival of the time!!!

thanks for the upload, cheers mate!

[guntamada]

I went to Sunbury '72, '73 and '74.The Aztecs headlined and rocked the hill. I had my 13th birthday there in 1972, and arrived there 2 days before the first band played. It was Australia's Woodstock and it was a fantastic experierce. We ran out of money two days after we arrived, but some of the vendors gave us food he first Sunbury Pop Festival was the best,

[damo3805]

Thx Guntamada for your memories mate,

[gordana1957]

@guntamada me too baby, seems like a lifetime ago but i wagged school, I was 14 and had the best time of my life... glad you did too.... more to come yet!! fk I hope I getting a tad old but nah, can still handle the great music of this world... saw Nick Cave on Cockatoo Is last year omg there were people in wheelchairs and walking sticks... got some more living to do yet ... cheers to you and yours xox gordana

[AussieAmazingRock]

@guntamada Taint Too Young-13.

I was working and turning 16 & 17 at both concerts.

Agreed. Good Concert.

No under 15s. Deary.

[DonkeyManda432]

damn, wish id been born to see this, i only found it cos i looked up sunbury (i live here)

[democracyqld]

I was and it was great, King billy. one of the greatest entertainers ever

[dgombau]

First time I ever saw Thorpie live was on New Years Eve in The Cross, in the mid 60s I think. They were playing on an awning above the crowds. It felt great to be there.

[toecutterr6]

Left handed bassist is playing a right handed Fender P bass..upside down!

[loopiloo777]

Great to hear peoples memories of Sunbury. There were actually 4 of them 72, 73, 74 and 75. I only went to 74 and 75 as I was old enough by then. I live there and have all my life and most of us have fond memories of this great event. Billy rocked the place every year and it wouldn't have been Sunbury without him, RIP Billy.

[damo3805]

Nice words & memories mate. Cheers

[sux0rz]

lol, im just showing this to mum. she loves this and remembers it well.

[AussieAmazingRock]

@loopiloo777 Did 73, 74. Lived Down Highway.

R.I.P. Billy Thorpe. Essendon Tech Dances.

Blackfeather too.

[suxnitromax]

its good to hear that all yous had a great time, spewing i was born in 69 and hadnt been walking for long at that time thats y i didnt go hehe anyway me mate went there to the site around 2003 to drop off a car as hes a tow trucker and he reconds the site is as it was back then the dude that owns the land told him he wants to leave the site the way it was left he reconds theres old beer cans sticking out of the ground and just shit everywhere he reconds its the same just without the people

[adambell13]

he's got a bit of steve marriott about him

singer/guitarist and energetic frontman

both were rock animals

RIP

[damo3805]

Certainly were mate.

[eirrac54]

I dunno about this vid, if this is live at Sunbury it must be the 1973 one, there was no film crew at the first?!?! It wasn't as good when the cameras were on, I remember some dickhead getting on the stage and telling us to 'behave' because it was going to be on tv (get fucked :), that's probably why Billy doesn't look too happy (see my other comment) What I remember was a fucking awesome time though('72). but then again, what do they say "if you remember the 70's you weren't really there" :)~

[damo3805]

LOL, Great stuff Eirrac, mate I saw the original Sunbury Aztecs at the 2005 tsunami benefit in Melbourne, fucking great. The one and only time I saw them and like 33 years before they stole the show, I was pissed as a parrot, 5 bucks a stubby, expensive day (I met Ross Wilson too) I was 1 year old at the time of Sunbury 72' but I wish I was there. Thanks for your memories mate. RIP Billy, SUCK MORE PISS.

[damo3805]

I'm pretty sure that this is Sunbury 72 mate.

[iansail93]

There were only 2 Sunburys and I went to the 2nd. It was very hot and pissed most of the time. Billy was there,Mighty Mouse,etc and turds in the creek !!!!!!!!

[eirrac54]

Hehe, I went to both, there were turds in the creek then too... hey, those 'porta-loos'were dangerous, go there and you might slip in the 'pissy' mud and break your neck. I remember being 'pissed as' and missing a lot... Oh yeah, I remember Johnny O'keefe singing 7 rehearsed encores and being booed off, he finished with 'just a closer walk with thee' so we had to stop booing (you can't boo someone singing a hymn :)... ahhh, memories ;)~~~ oh, there was another one in '73 (apparently ?!?!)

[eirrac54]

The bottom line is that I went to two of them and the memories of both have gotten mixed together :)~~ Apparently 'Queen' was at the second one, and I didn't even notice, Paul Hogan was there (why???) I remember him joking "eh, me and my mate Billy here are in a tent half way up the hill, it's come to our attention that some of you's is smoking that 'mari-jooanna', if you just leave it in the garbage bin outside our tent, we'll get rid of it, no worries"... fucking tool :)~

[iansail93]

OK,we came over on a bus from Adelaide with all our alcohol and when arriving our bags were checked by security. We then sent all our booze over the fence a long way from the security gate and got it inside tee hee !!!

The mens showers were only driping so me and the Geetster went to the ladies to have a shower.The Geepster went in nude and came out wearing a bikini - some girl would have been a bit upset. Heaps more to say and can do this later.

[eirrac54]

In '72 there was a petrol strike in NSW and it took us a couple of days to get enough fuel together to make the trip out of Sydney, then six of us piled into a mates panel van... hehe, we were on our way... woohoo... memories keep flooding back :), I feel I might be back soon to add more comment ;)~~~~

Hehe, the guy that owned the pub there on the road must have made an absolute fortune that weekend...

[iansail93]

We went to that Pub too and it was packed out.

Some of our grog was stolen from our tent but we got by somehow with a bit of grass.

[smacker57]

I woulda still swam underturd or put it in a mar's bar wrapper and left it on the bank.

[iansail93]

OK,but it was part of the occasion and we lived with that and still alive,I think.

[eirrac54]

Wow, I saw Billy at 'Sunbury'72 & 73... unbelievabe... I think it was the first time that an aussie audience just went crazy and actually danced (if that's what you could call it :)... it was insane, everyone was pissed, but there was no agro, just the best time had by all... yeah, thanks Billy, you are sorely missed... "suck more piss".

ps. funny that, that's what he chanted from the stage, but he was never known to get wasted.

[AUSSIETRADERS]

He was the king of the Australian music Industry ,know he a Legend and his music will live on

[sandy049]

1 of my wifes favorites stars

[chrisb1953]

I agree with the noise commenst.

Went to an Aztecs freebie concert at the UNSW Roundhouse in 1972. Great concert but they just about blew the roof off the goddam place. It was LOUD!

So sad to see him go before his time.

[latefor]

i remember thorpie playing in the inner city of Melbourne Russell Street I think early seventies but not sure he was loud and blew the place away

[damo3805]

Mate, Some of his best gigs were at smokey bars, pubs & clubs. Melbourne's scene at that time was at the centre of Australian music.

[torpedodropkick]

you spot on

[damo3805]

Thanks Torpedo, who do you barrack for mate?

[HammerNtack]

I was there,running around like some freak!! hahaha stoned as ten men

[damo3805]

Ha ha good stuff mate.

[campfiresinger]

well done damo

[damo3805]

Thanks mate. Enjoy.

[stupidumbastards]

thanks for posting this..soulfull voice and rythyms..

[damo3805]

No worries mate

[tinshedmusic]

its a shame the others didn,t get a crack at like ac/dc,dingoes were the first to have some success usa, that was kinda pre eagles and the west coast sound to come ,this country failed to get behind the movement of the early seventies,the true believers still staunch to the end,was at doncaster gig blackfeather ,lobby loyde and thorpie with guest rhythm section ,was a very loud aztec energy ballpower vibe oct 06 sadly within six months both were gone...rock in peace...

[damo3805]

Tragedy to lose these 2 Aussie legends & great mates so close together. We all knew Lobby wasn't long, but Billy's passing was right out of the blue and left us all stunned. Australian music of the Sunbury era was amongst the best ever put onto vinyl or played at festivals. Thanks for your comments mate!

[tinshedmusic]

aztecs,coloured balls,acdc,rose tattoo..take no prisoners...oz rocks finest...

[damo3805]

Amen to that, Brother. Correction - The world's finest.

[bertielis]

Ok fellas (and gals) I've searched everywhere for Billy singing Captain Straightman. Is it on Youtube or CD for that matter? TIA

[damo3805]

It's on Billy's "Lock up your mothers" CD set. I've seen it on Amazon for more thank $100 though.

[bertielis]

Thanks Damo. It's a great little rocker I've had in my head for years.

[damo3805]

No worries Bert, best of luck tracking it down mate.

[damo3805]

Glad you like it mate, Billy was a genuine top bloke. No Bullshit with him. Bon was a massive fan of the Aztecs and Lobby and often persisted Billy if he could get up and jam with the Aztecs. Billy finally gave in. Damn I wish I had footage of that.

[Heavypsychman]

If Billy is crazy I want to be the same way. He rocked the hell out of his Les Paul and Amps!

Thorpie was a down to earth dude till his death!

R.I.P

This was a hit single in Australia in the 70's

Love the wild ending! Classic Thorpie & the Aztecs

Ac&dc has cloned these guys and Lobby Loyd & Coloured balls without Ever giving them credit.