BigBeat Music is an independent Australian record label.
CDs featured are available for purchase via this site
VALE
Ian "Blocko" Bloxsom 1938 - 2019
As 2019 drew to a close we lost a true giant of Australian music - Ian Charles Bloxsom.
Known and loved by all simply as "Blocko" his distinguished career spanned over six decades.
A proud Queenslander, widely respected across genres as drummer and percussionist whose playing highlights on both the local and international stage included the Stan Walker Trio, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and fusion band Crossfire.
Leo De Castro is widely regarded as the one of the greatest Australasian singers, though he's rarely been recorded. BigBeat Music are proud to offer the following recordings for your listening pleasure.
Two rare gems from Leo have been released - Voodoo Soul, a mighty soul/R&B revue from October 1987 recorded live at The Basement and Long White Clouds - a live-in-the-studio album featuring the Dancehall Racketeers and the late, great Roger Janes and his band...
When Australian pop music was again starting to assert itself
at the tail end of the 1960's one name was prominent on the
lips of audiences and critics - a dynamic vocalist from
New Zealand, LEO DE CASTRO.
In Melbourne in 1970, he joined Jim Doyle, Mark
Kennedy, Duncan McGuire and Steve Yates to form KING
HARVEST. This band, made up of members of In Focus,
Rush and Spectrum, recorded two singles - "Wichita Lineman" and "Jumping Jack Flash"
Leo's next outfit was FRIENDS, which caused a sensation
when it opened the Regent Theatre in Melbourne at the
end of 1971. The Friends rhythm section of Kennedy
and McGuire was expanded with
Charlie Tumahai on vocals and timbales, Tim Martin on sax
and guitarist Phil Manning. With a fine blues-based
repertoire, punters were adamant - "music was fun again".
By the mid 70's THE JOHNNY ROCCO BAND were
attracting a lot of attention at the Polaris Room at The
Kingsgate Hotel in Kings Cross. This time Leo's voice was
complimented by Mark Punch (guitar), Mick Kenny (keyboards), Tony Buchanan (saxophone),
Sunil Da Silva (percussion), Russell Dunlop (drums) and Tim Partridge (bass).
De Castro recorded the original version of "Heading
in The Right Direction" before returning to New Zealand in
1980 to do session work. In the mid 80's his outfit BABYLON released a cult version of "Suspicious Minds". Leo later moved to Tasmania where he still resides.
THE GREATEST SOUL SINGER IN AUSTRALIA made his
long awaited comeback at the Basement in Sydney 26-28th October, 1987. The band Friends was an all-star affair.
JIMMY DOYLE (guitar), MARK PUNCH (guitar, voc)
DAVE MacRAE (piano), MARK KENNEDY (drums),
DAVID GREEN (bass), ANDY THOMPSON (sax),
JASON BRUER (sax), JASON McDERMID (trumpet).Green Onions,
I Take What I Want,
Mustang Sally,
Kansas City,
Mister Pitiful,
Papa's Got A Brand New Bag,
Fa Fa Fa,
Spanish Harlem,
Shake,
You Don't Know,
Let's Work Together,
Fooled Around And Fell In Love,
Hound Dog,
Limbo,
Lucille.
more...
Leo De Castro with The Dancehall Racketeers & The Roger Janes Band - Long White Clouds
LONG WHITE CLOUDS features De Castro in a studio showdown with the sublime Dancehall Racketeers and The Roger Janes Band in a surprising cameo. Recorded live in a studio setting in 1988 the album is a set of western swing and rock 'n' roll hits including Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Junior Parker, Lefty Frizzell, Little Richard and Willie Nelson classics, all with the freshness of a first take - band and vocal recorded all-up. Nearly twenty years in the making, it has been worth the wait.
Leo In full flight with King Harvest 1971 - Jumping Jack Flash
Eagerly anticipated re-release from The Roger Janes Band, this session dates back to the late '80s and features an outstanding lineup of swing, jazz and big band players in sparkling touch, eager to explore their most intimate side as musicians.The CD sleeve also showcases some of Roger's brilliantly mordant artwork.
Long live the memory of Roger Janes & Tom Baker. more...
Featuring:
ROGER JANES - Vocals/Trombone; TOM BAKER - Trumpet; IAN DATE - Guitar; DON HEAP - Bass; JOHN McCARTHY - Clarinet; MARTY MOONEY - Sax; GARY WALFORD - Piano; LYNN WALLIS - Drums
Take a trip into the ivory-tinkling, musical netherworld of journeyman singer/songwriter Peter Head. Featuring Head's original signature tunes and stirring covers of Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Ray Charles songs and more.more...
