BIG BEAT OF THE FIFTIES IS THE OFFICIAL CLUB MAGAZINE OF THE AUSTRALIAN Rock’n’Roll APPRECIATION SOCIETY PO BOX 21, WORLD TRADE CENTRE, MELBOURNE 3005 FEBRUARY 2002 Johnny O’Keefe, Pat Cupp, GreazeFest, That’ll be the Day at the Bay, Rock Around Aust, Heaps of reviews and lots, lots more Print Post Approved 84 Publication No. PP326342/0006 J.O’K: Life after Death by Brendan Hancock After a massive heart attack took the pink front cover echoed the current life of the king of Australian rock. style and colours that were the early Almost 23 years on, the Wild One 80s but also kept in the classic style legacy is still going strong and is still that was O’Keefe. As an added bonus rocking our socks off. the fans where also rewarded with an The following article is an open gate LP cover that featured a overview of my personal thoughts great collection of images of J.O’K and opinions. Keep in mind this is throughout his career. from a person who was born in 1978. The success of this album created Enjoy what you are about to read, the foundation for new material to Good old classic rock is not only follow. The first major product was enjoyed by the ‘oldies’, but a lot of us released exactly one year later. youngsters too. Don’t worry, this With the blessing of the O’Keefe won’t be another typical Johnny family, John Bryden-Brown wrote and O’Keefe Biography; instead I will take released J.O’K: The Official Johnny you on a personal journey on how the O’Keefe Story in 1982. At 184 pages magic and music of J.O’K has carried the book featured a basic version of on long after his death and is contin- the Johnny O’Keefe story but featured uing to grow. a great collection of J.O’K pictures They say when Buddy Holly, Rich and a simple but up to date Valens and the Big Bopper died in the discography. plane crash in Iowa in 1959 that it The book, like its featured was the day the music died. The loss discography, only scraped the surface of three young and gifted rockers of J.O’K’s story. it wasn’t hard to see shook the foundations of the early that this early biography was sugar rock establishment and left the music coated in order to make the O’Keefe’s world stunned. Although the loss of happy and to keep their support, so these three great American that the Bryden-Brown book could performers was felt by many loyal fans retain the treasured ”official” tag. It here in Australia, it could be said that would be another 20 years before fans the real feeling of emotional loss and were able to read a better alternative emptiness within the rock community version of the O’Keefe story, wouldn’t be felt until 6 October 1978, In true marketing style, Festival when our own king of Rock, Johnny Records released a Greatest Hits 2 LP O’Keefe died from a massive heart set to coincide with the release of the attack. biography. The album, also known as After J.O’K’s death and during the J.O’K: The OFFICIAL Johnny O’Keefe years of 1979–1980 there wasn’t Story with the same cover art as anything major released that featured featured on the book, was broken up J.O’K. The drought was broken in into the four parts ‘The Early Singles’, October 1981 when well-known ‘The Hits’, ‘Rock & Roll’ and ‘The Australian rock historian Glenn A. Ballads’. Once again like the early Baker teamed up with Festival Records festival offering, all of J.O’K’s well- to compile a double 10" LP set titled known hits were featured, with the Real Wild Child. This release not only exception of the classic SHOUT part started the ball rolling as being the 2. None the less, for any new fan at first major release after O’Keefe’s the time this was a great starting point death, it also rewarded fans with a for a potential J.O’K record collection. handful of rarities such as the original For the original Johnny O’Keefe version of Shake Baby Shake, Money fan the set featured songs not Honey, I’m Movin’ On, Rock Time, regularly available on previous album and Let’s Have A Party. The bright collections such as Whole Lotta 22 BIG BEAT OF THE FIFTIES Shakin’ Going On, Let’s Twist Again, skimmed the surface to the wild one’s Ready Teddy and You’ll Never Walk story, this provoked the makers to also Alone. take liberties with the story and the From the biography came a characters within for added dramatic documentary called the Wild One, effect. aired in 1983 and marked the 5th Leon Isackson, former Dig anniversary since J.O’K’s death and Richards and The Rjays and Rajahs was also given the Glenn A. Baker drummer said in my www.johnny- touch. Although a bit outdated by okeefe.net interview that although today’s standards, this 45 minute ”Terry (Serio who played J.O’K) was production featured some rare clips of pretty good as O’Keefe, but I thought Johnny O’Keefe in action as well as a that they played the mad part a bit collection of interviews with O’Keefe’s over the top. He (O’Keefe) was a family and friends. different sort of mad, not maniac After 1986 with the release of mad, good fun mad”. Leon also went SHOUT! The Mini Series, this on to say that ”They made O’Keefe documentary became a sought after look too stupid, when in fact he was commodity. As the new wave of as cunning as a shithouse rat and O’Keefe fans did their best to seek out most of the time he was sending whatever material was available, the people up. Some of the facts were a footage that was available in the bit out of whack like the car smash documentary was the proverbial was wrong. In the series they said he goldmine. Unfortunately, without was alone. We (The Mighty Guys) pirated copies, most fans would have actually did most of the music to wait until around 1995 when soundtrack and the Maori in the series Festival released this original made for was actually lip synching to my voice, television documentary on Sell- also the Lee Gordon portrayed in the Through Video Release for $29.95. series was nothing like the Lee With the release of the John Gordon I remember”. Bryden-Brown biography, the two The differences, mistakes, errors festival albums and the Glenn A. etc found within the mini series are Baker driven Wild One Television many. But from a cinematic point of documentary, recognition of what view screenplay writer Robert Caswell Johnny O’Keefe had done for obviously had to make some choices Australian Music and the when putting the story together. Once entertainment industry was finally again, like the Bryden Brown starting to be realised. Although it has biography the makers made sure they never been written, It can be said that kept the story running at a particular Robert Caswell borrowed a lot from level in order to get the blessing from this biography when he wrote his Thelma O’Keefe and the rest of the screenplay Shout The Story Of Johnny O’Keefe Family. O’Keefe which would become the We can knock how bad it was on Network Seven produced Mini series so many levels, but we also have to of the same name. look at how good it was in regards to 8 April 1986 should be regarded the major benefits this 1986 television as the date that re-invented the magic mini series has long since spawned. I of Johnny O’Keefe to a whole new personally didn’t know who Johnny generation of fans. For many people O’Keefe was until I heard the music Network Seven’s 2.2 Million dollar, 2 _ that was coming out of my parents hour mini series SHOUT! The Story Of lounge room when they were Johnny O’Keefe was to be their first watching it. I thought it was a experience to the music of Johnny gangster flick because of the zebra O’Keefe. For everyone else already skinned patterns on the video cover at accustomed, the mini series was the the time. Shout! the mini series can hook and solidified the wild one as an be said to indirectly get these new undisputed rock legend, although J.O’K fans like myself into the sounds regarded as a disappointment by of other early Australian rockers such many die-hard fans and close friends as Col Joye, Dig Richards, The of J.O’K. Delltones etc…And of course Terry The fact that the storyline like the Serio did do an amazing job, and wow Bryden-Brown biography only couldn’t he move! FEBRUARY 2002 23 Because of the new found fan The tribute to the 10th anniversary myself were still trying to collect base for Johnny O’Keefe, the new since J.O’K’s death was in the form of everything and anything that featured fans not content with Festival Records’ an 8 LP/CD box-set entitled J.O’K So J.O’K. and the only decent product 2LP mini series soundtrack and the Tough. Once again it took the available at the time was Festival’s book version of the original Caswell partnership of Glenn A.