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The savage heterosexuality of macho Australian glam rock band Rabbit
04.24.2018
11:31 am
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Australian glam band Rabbit. Former AC/DC vocalist Dave Evans is pictured in the center.
 

“If I was a parent and read this, I wouldn’t let my kids anywhere near this mob, numbnuts described them as frenetic, violently hedonistic and Dave himself was described as savagely heterosexual.”

—a rock critic describing Aussie glam band Rabbit and their vocalist, Dave Evans.

If you decide to dedicate your life to being up all night falling in love with rock & roll (like yours truly) you have to be all in. The good, the bad, and the glam. So let’s get right to it, shall we? Glam rockers unite as I bring you a brief history of the flashy rise and quick freefall of Newcastle, Australia’s unhearalded glam band Rabbit.

After relieving Rabbit’s second vocalist Greg Douglas of his short-lived duties, former AC/DC frontman Dave Evans assumed the responsibilities of leading the band. This venture did not go unnoticed as Evans’ brief stint with AC/DC was enough to entice CBS to sign the band thanks to his glammy stagecraft which he had cultivated during his time with the Young brothers. In 1975 Rabbit released their self-titled debut record. The album did alright, and a couple of singles even made it to the charts. This gave Rabbit some real teeth when it came to going toe-to-toe with other Aussie glam rock acts like Supernaut, John Stanley Cave (aka the glitter-bomb that was Sydney glam rocker William Shakespeare), and local heroes Hush and their flamboyant vocalist Keith Lamb. (To attest to the power of Lamb’s persona, he was rumored to have been a contender to fill Bon Scott’s place at the head of AC/DC following Scott’s passing. So there’s that.)

Rabbit would go on to put out a second popular record with CBS in 1976 called Too Much Rock ‘n’ Roll which they recorded at the “House of Hits,” or Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia. Its sister company, Albert Productions, was among the first few independent record labels in Australia and played an instrumental role in the rise of AC/DC. The studio was a joint venture of Harry Vanda and George Young (both of notable Australian band the Easybeats, and Young the elder brother of Malcolm and Angus) along with engineer Bruce Brown and they opened Albert Studio in 1973. Brown recorded numerous hits with the Bon Scott era of AC/DC, like “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “Jailbreak,” and what some refer to as AC/DC’s calling card, “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll).  Rabbit’s commercial success would put the band on the map, leading to appearances on music-oriented television shows like Countdown, and a twelve-week Australian promotional tour. Too Much Rock ‘n’ Roll would also be Rabbit’s gateway to markets like Japan and European locations such as Denmark and Belgium where their album sales were swift. Fans have mused nostalgically that Rabbit’s jams drew from bands like The Sweet, T.Rex, KISS, and of course AC/DC—which sounds about right.

As is often the case, the sudden rush of spandex and shirtless adrenalin would ultimately lead to the band’s implosion. Rabbit would disband during their brief tour in 1977
 

The album cover for ‘Too Much Rock ‘n’ Roll.’
 

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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04.24.2018
11:31 am
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Ultra-rare AC/DC promotional songbook full of sheet music, comics & photos from 1976
11.30.2016
12:20 pm
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The front cover of ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap & Other Dine-O-Mite Songs.’ An incredibly rare Australian promotional songbook that came inside of AC/DC’s 1976 record, ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.’
 
Also known as Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap & Other Dine-O-Mite Songs this incredibly rare piece of AC/DC ephemera was put out by the legendary Albert Productions—Australia’s very first indie record label that got its start back in 1964 under the guidance of music maverick Ted Albert. When the mid-70’s rolled around Albert Productions pretty much ruled the Australian music industry, thanks much in part to the wild success of the bad boys from Sydney. Here’s Angus Young on how the band’s relationship with Albert’s helped AC/DC thrive during their formative years from the 2010 book that details the history behind Albert’s House of Hits

When we first went out there, we were lucky enough to get a deal with Alberts’ even before we left Australia, so that was good for us. We didn’t have to go shopping ourselves, but what was good was that Ted [Albert]  advanced us a lot of the money so as we could get out there and tour and back-up the records. For him it was a long-term investment, but it paid in the end. It all helped.

According to the AC/DC Fan site, in Australia when you purchased the band’s 1976 release Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap it came along with a mailer that when sent to Albert and co. accompanied by three dollars, got you a copy of the book in the mail. It’s unclear how many of the books were made but when the do appear for sale online they sell for anywhere from $800 to a cool grand depending on the condition they are in. AC/DC put out other equally rare song-style books like The Rocka Souvenir Songbook and The Explosive Hits ‘76 Songbook around the same time but neither of them come even close to the wow-factor Dirty Deeds achieves.

I’ve included images from the book that include an amusing “AC/DC KWIZ” that I’m pretty sure is impossible to fail, an advice column called “Dear Aunt Haggis…” and a page for collecting the band’s autographs if you ever got close enough to them with a pen. The last layer of cool I will lay on you is the good news that back in 2014 a massive box set homaging Albert Productions was released called Good Times: Celebrating 50 Years Of Albert Productions. The set contains 102 different tracks from over the course fifty years from AC/DC and other notable Aussie bands like the Easybeats, long-running hard rockers Rose Tattoo and garageband favorites The Missing Links, just to name a few. Devil horns OUT!
 

The back cover of ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap & Other Dine-O-Mite Songs.’
 

Table of contents.
 

‘Dirty Deeds comic’ and autograph page.
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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11.30.2016
12:20 pm
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