One of Australias ( and the worlds) greatest ever shining stars of this age has to be Billy Thorpe (this is the point in the article where everyone in the Southern hemisphere cheers wildly and almost everyone expecting apage on AC/DC from the Northern hemisphere says "Billy who..?") . Billy was quite simply one of the most prolific, talented and gifted vocalists and guitarists of his generation and era; and was quite literally the musical embodyment of everything original and exciting that happened in music throughout the 50's 60's 70's and beyond. He was a one man walking Woodstock, he was The Who (with a vocal range and volume that could make Roger Daltrey look like a choir boy -though Billy did choose not too when they shared the stage in 2000), he was the Beatles, he was Led Zepplin (though a slightly more original and butch version) and Deep Purple(and he was even a ten year old Elvis when first discovered singing in the back yard of his parents Brisbane shop by a TV rep). He was simply the epitomy of everything that was sought after by the music fans of Europe who would sit glued to their TV sets to watch the rock icons of the age emmerge on The Old Grey Whistle Test. If you are an Australian, then this is the part of the article that may prove a little embarassing as Billy was actualy born on 29th March 1946 in Manchester, England and emmigrated to Australia with his family aged 9 in 1955. But those formative years of his adolescence in Brisbane cleansed every trace of 'a whinging pomme' from his soul and he entered his manhood as a true Australian.
  Australias answer to the sixties beat movement was firmly met by Billy's first incarnation of 'Billy and the Aztecs ' in 1963 when he landed a regular spot in Sydneys 'Surf City' .It was from here that, over the next couple of years, Billy's exposure to Australian TV exploded into an almost instant 'Billymania' which on Australian soil, outdid the Beatles hysteria time and time again. Gigs were regularly interupted by hordes of screaming girls diving on stage to moleste the band - who as a credit to their 'professionalism' would attempt to play on as if nothing was happening (see for yourself in our first video taken from their own TV show 'Somethings Happening' in 66/67).Yet the Aztecs was a tale of three bands, the first one breaking up in 65 despite their domination of the Australian charts was replaced with new members for the 66 to 67 line up, which was just as potent and dominating as a musical force. When their TV contract for their own musical showcase 'Somethings Happening' came to an end, so too did the second installment of The Aztecs.

    Financialy, though certainly not musically, the late sixties were wilderness years for Billy Thorpe and apart from a few guest appearances with other 'Mod' or rock beat bands such as 'The running, jumping and standing still' Billy withdrew from the limelight but not the music. He may have been known as a vocalist and a hysterical scream inducing 'foot shuffler extoadinaire' but in his early teens he had actualy started out as a guitarist under the stage name of 'Little Rock Allen'. In 1968/9 former Purple Hearts guitarist Lobby Loyde began to encourage Billy to return to guitaring and a new Aztecs with a harder rock image and longer hair was concieved.But once this third incarnation of the Aztecs got underway and Billy had regained his confidence as a guitarist...Lobby Loyde suddenly dropped out of the line-up to leave Billy with no other option but to take on the role of the lead guitarist himself. As progressive and hard rock exploded into Australian culture the new Aztecs became

  One of their most famous concerts accured at Sidneys Moomba festival in 1972 and when over 250,000 fans turned up just to see the Aztecs play live at the Myer Music Bowl, city officials were thrown into a panic as the influx of fans swamped the city streets and police desperately tried to control what was an uncontrolable surge of traffic and music fans.The Sunbury festival (Australias own home grown and equaly groundbreaking iconic Woodstock) was no different in scope as a crowd magnet and as a life changing 'social event' and it was here in 1972 that they recorded their famous live album set for the 'Sunbury Live LP'...which included an original, longer version of Mamma along with the debut of one of their most famous 'trademark' songs of the age entitled 'Most people I know think that I'm crazy' - all filled with lead breaks that easily place Billy Thorpe in the top five of the worlds greatest guitarists of the age. The band continued to play Sudbury and all the major venues and festivals of the day and in 1973 they became the first Rock band to ever play live at the Sidney Opera House . They also remained unbeaten (possibly to this day) as 'the loudest rock band on earth' untill Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs eventualy disbanded in 1975.
  In 1976 he ventured back into the northern hemisphere, this time to the United States (he had previously and briefly ventured back to the UK a couple of times in the late sixties in those financial wilderness years and also toured there with the Aztecs in 72) where he continued on a solo recording career throughout the seventies and early eighties.Though he still enjoyed alot of success and continued to release many groundbreaking albums, his days in America never quite compared to those pioneering Sunbury days and apart from a joint venture with Mick Fleetwood in an equaly groundbreaking band called The Zoo( in 1990) he had 'officialy' ceased touring by 1986.
  Instead Billy now turned his hand toward writing and creating musical scores for studios and shows such as Star Trek (Next Generation), War Of The Worlds and even Columbo along with many other TV shows and companies including Universal and Walt Disney where he also acted as a consultant in cutting edge electronics...there is even a rumour that the main characters from Disneys Hannah Montana were actualy originaly modelled on and inspired by Billy and his daughters while he was working as a consultant to Disney in the late eighties to early nineties.Another (now world famous) childrens TV show said to be almost totaly inspired solely by Billy and the Aztecs' beat days was 'The Wiggles'...but perhaps the less said about that one the better!
  In the mid nineties Billy returned to live in his beloved Australia with his wife Lynne and two daughters, where he set pen to paper to write both of his autobiographies ( the second bearing the same name as his endearing, autobiographal yet seemingly 'gospelised' rock song, 'Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy'). He continued to write music and release solo work and even went on an acclaimed (and very aptly titled) 'Lock Up Your Mothers Tour' that helped rekindle the flame among many former and new fans throughout the continent. Unfortunately for us, it wasn't untill late in 2005 that we first even heard of Billy's awe inspiring talents (which was when we started to research in detail the true international 'founding fathers' of modern Rock and Pop)...and, like many who see and hear Billy for the first time, our jaws dropped in amazement and we wandered why on earth had he never been properly aknowledged by the music industry in the land of his birth (...maybe it just would have shattered too many illusions about the icons of British Rock). Late in 2006 we found out that he was preparing to write a new album and decided to look him up and hopefully arrange to do a series of interviews (some of which we had originaly intended to be 'live ' online), to our own and the entire Australian nations dismay Billy suddenly and sadly passed away following a heart attack on the 28th February 2007 aged only 60 years old.
  The entire nation went into mourning at his passing , fellow musicians and close friends from from his youth paid a musical tribute to him at his funeral which was broadcast to the nation in a day of mourning like no other in Australian history as an entire generation mourned the loss of one of their greatest musical heroes. He had just finished recording what was to be his final album, Tangiers... and we had only just got round to making contact.But before we flood another keyboard with tears again perhaps the best way to truly capture the heart and soul of Australias most loved musician is by listening to the man himself sum up his life and generation in a way that only he himself could . Our final video features Billy on one of his very last live appearances singing 'The Girls of Summer' recorded on his acoustic set in The Basement in

Sidney in December 2006 (this intimate concert is now available to purchase via Liberation records below). There are some brief scenes of nudity and one instance of Anglo Saxon phrasing so a parental advisory is added. Even though Billy was appointed a 'Member of the Order of Australia' for his services to Australian music, he (like many musical heroes) left behind a family forgotten by the worlds media, who have been left to struggle on with their loss..and as Billy was generous to a fault they've also been left to struggle with the ins and outs of unraveling his buisness venture's - so once you've wiped the tears from your eyes you could allways help them out by actualy buying his latest albums or an autobiography or two. We've provided two links, one to Billy's personal website and the other to Liberation Records. If any further links come to light that will directly support his family, they will also be included.