Formed: 1970

Style: Progressive Rock

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Line Up: Doug Parkinson (Vocals & Rhythm Guitar), Vince Melouney (Guitar), Teddy Toi (Bass) & Johnny Dick (Drums)

 

Vince Melouney had spent three and a half years with the Bee Gees in the U.K. Having tired of the Bee Gees commercial pop sound, he put in a short stint with Ashton Garner and Dyke (of Resurrection Shuffle fame) before landing a solo record deal with MCA in mid 1970. Before he left Australia, Melouney had been a member of Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs. When he split from that band in 1965, he formed Vince and Tony's Two with another ex- Aztecs alumnus Tony Barber (with John Shields on bass and Jimmy Thompson on drums). Barber soon left. Retaining Shields and Thompson, Melouney recruited Billy Taylor on Guitar and formed the Vince Melouney Sect. The band became the resident house band for Melbourne television pop show Kommotion and issued a single on the Kommotion label 'She's A Yum Yum'/'No Good Without You'. (March 1966). Melouney soon travelled to the U.K. where he joined the Bee Gees in early 1967. In 1970 Melouney decided to form a hard rock band with which to record his album for MCA. His first recruit was New Zealander Teddy Toi, who was doing session work in London. 1970 was the heyday of progressive rock and the genre was starting to dominate the charts. Fanny Adams was an attempt at creating an antipodean hard rock supergroup. In 1970 Melouney invited Johnny Dick and Doug Parkinson to join him in the U.K. Doug Parkinson who conveyed considerable charisma with his imposing presence and gruff, raspy voice, had spent several years fronting the highly respected psychedelic rock outfit 'In Focus'. Dick was also a member of 'In Focus'. Fanny adams returned to Australia in December 1970, but simply fell apart within a month of arriving. The band performed at the Myponga Music Festival in late January and shortly after, a fire that broke out at Caesar's Palace discotheque in Sydney destroyed all the band's equipment and Parkinson left the group. MCA, unhappy with Parkinson's exit, prevented him from recording for two years. In the meantime Doug Parkinson formed a new version of 'In Focus'. Fanny adams cut an album of adventurous, heavy progressive blues rock. The album appeared after the bands split in June 1971.