Bandstand Volume 6 (1963) and Volume 7(1964-65)

Australian music show Bandstand is back on DVD and let's have a look at Volume 6(1963) and Volume 7(1964-65). On Volume 6 which has 9 episodes from 1963 and it has performers like The Bee Gees, Col Joye, Judy Stone, The Delltones, Dave Bridge, Pat Carroll, The DeKroo Brothers, Pat Carroll, Laurel Lea, Lonnie Lee as well as overseas acts like Damita Jo, Al Martino, Chubby Checker, The Sundowners, Ethel Azama as well as having 2 special episodes the Moomba Festival Special at the Myer Music Bowl and a Country and Western Special. ON Volume 7 which has 8 episodes between 1964 and 1965 and it has artists like Merv Benton, Jimmy Little, Lucky Starr, The Delltones,Helen Reddy, Janice Slater, Lorrae Desmond,Jackie Weaver, Normie Rowe, Max Merritt and the Meteors, Marcie Jones, Bill and Boyd, Sandy Scott as well as overseas performers like Jimmie Rodgers, Paul and Paula as well as an episode dedicated to Col Joye and the Joy Boys. It is AWESOME, BRILLIANT and SUPERB as well as very entertaining and very enjoyable and the picture quality is excellent. It is great to see Bandstand back on DVD again as there has been more being out this year with Volume 5 as well as the Shadows/Cilla Black Specials as well as the Hollies/Hermans Hermits Specials and the Dusty Springfield Special which was just released last Wednesday. It is also great to see some of the 1964 episodes on DVD for the first time as there were none on last year's DVD's and it's great to see the footage of the acts who were very popular as well as starting out at that time. It is 42 years that Bandstand finished as well as being 56 years when it started and it is still fondly remembered by many Australians to this day. There will be more Bandstand next month as Volume 8(1966) and Volume 9(1967-68) will be released and let's hope for more Bandstand on DVD in the future as well as an huge thanks to both Channel 9 and Umbrella Entertainment for releasing it on DVD. These DVD's are a must for any Australian music fan who grew up watching this iconic show from 1958-72 as well as to those who were not born when it was on but has an interest in that era and I am giving this 5 stars which it's in the shops now so do yourself a favour and BUY IT.

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 3, 2014 at 2:42 PM

    I can't agree that these DVDs deserve 5 stars - nor that they are "Brilliant" and "Superb". They could be , but they are not. The trouble is that after 1964,- with the arrival of the Beatles - the Australian pop/rock scene was dominated by fantastic Australia groups (think Easybeats, Twilights, Loved Ones, Zoot, Axiom, Ray Brown, Billy Thorpeetc). These groups all appeared on Bandstand. But these new volumes for 1964-65, 1966 and 1967-68 (Nolumes 7, 8 and 9) continue to show fading stars like Col Joye, Sandy Scott, Luck Starr, Delltones etc. These artists were well and truly past their prime by this stage - and it is extremely disappointing that this series continues to concentrate on them and leaves out the artists that were actually making it to the tops of the charts in those years. We've had enough of the Bandstand "family" - how about actually showing some of the great Australian groups that actually appeared on the show during those years. For goodness sake how can the cover notes actually say that the DVD contains such "LEGENDARY" Australian performers like Robyn Alvarez and Lindy Lou. Who on earth were they - they certainly never made it to the charts and to describe such artists as "legendary" is nonsense. So if you are looking for clips of great Australian band and pop performers, then do yourself a favour and give these new DVDs a miss - you're not missing much - unless of course you just like watching Sandy Scott, Col Joye plus other inconsequntial artists etc as nauseum. This series has had some great DVD (like the Hollies, Stones, Hermans Hermits, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield etc). But these new DVDs are just plain boring. Surely great Australian groups from the 1960s deserve to get an airing in these programmes?

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  2. rockinlukeDecember 3, 2014 at 8:41 PM

    some of them like Ray Brown, Tony Worsley, Billy Thorpe, Normie Rowe, Merv Benton were on volume 3 last year(1965-66) and Merv,Billy, Normie, max Merritt and the Meteors, The Groop, Jeff St John were on volume 7,8 and 9

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  3. UnknownDecember 4, 2014 at 9:32 PM

    Yes I have that DVD. But that is all there is of this important facet of Australian pop history. As I've said, by 1964 - 1968, the likes of Col Joye, Sandy Scott, Little Pattie, Judy Stone etc were not part of the pop scene. They were cabaret acts that had long lost the ability to score hits on the pop charts. So why on earth is this series continuing to show them ad nauseum and ignore those who were actually making the charts and setting the direction of pop music. Who on earth wants to see people like Lindy Lou, Ann and Jim Murphy, and all the other cabaret no hit wonders? Bandstand had some great specials featuring the Easybeats (which I have from another source) , some great early Billy Thorpe and Ray Brown and the Whispers, yet this series is just concentrating on the mediocre Bandstand family and not showing these acts. Yes, the Bandstand family were great in 1960 - 1963 - and so having them on the 1960 - 1963 DVD is appropriate. But for heaven's sake, they were well and truly past their prime by 1965 - 1968 - so why are they still being featured almost exclusively on these later volumes - and yet the real hit makers are simply being ignored. For this reason these latest releases are a waste of time for anyone interested in rock and pop in Australia between 1964-1968. They deserve 1 star and no more.

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