PHOTOS FROM RALPH GRAHAM

An email from Red McKelvie 

... 'Ralph Graham said to send these photos to whoever may want them. The band photos were all abt 1972/ 73 as I said we'd all love to catch up with Tony Borg I've tried but there's millions of Borg's out there BUT only one Tony he was in NZ from abt 1974........ and then I saw him again abt 1989 in Auckland and yes, they are great photos. ummmmm the photo that has Dave Turner, Tony Borg, Jim Crowley, Ian Young and Doug Smith, the band was called 'Fat' I played with them briefly late 1972 really enjoyed it 'cos there was a lot of reggae also NZ keyboard player Geith Pickford was in it and Larry Knight re the other band with the 'female' in front Ralph would know cheers Lynne haha I never knew you were at school with Sonja it's a small world cheers 4 now lynne .. Red '



Dave, Red and Di Horn @ Oxford Hotel

Ralph Graham, Doug Smith, Unknown, Ian Young, Jim Crowley

Dave Turner, Jim Crowley, Tony Borg, 

Allana Kereopa, 

Ralph Graham, Larry Knight

Allana is Sonya's sister! We  attended Darlinghurst Public School .. lynne 

Doug Smith, Ralph Graham, Unknown, Jim Crowley, Ian Young

Doug Smith, Jim Crowley, Ian Young, Ralph Graham

Just a note: Dave Turner, is a mate of mine from Hong Kong where we played in a band in 1971 and in later years he moved to Sydney so he was not actually a part of this scene. The photo was taken about 1972.

The Ball Pants

A small coffee shop in Brougham Lane at Kings Cross, tiny but full of character by virtue of the “clientele.” There was no stage as such and I think we sat on our amplifiers and made do. We had regular performers and all kinds of characters blew in and out. There was "Peter Pop Star", so called as he used to gyrate and gesticulate like a real pop star. These antics seemed totally out of place in a scene like that but it didn't seem to matter and we all loved Peter. There was Paul "Pig" Johnson with the wonderful blues voice and harp, a rough diamond and a good friend. Phill Kyffin, a regular guitarist singer who like me would share originals now and then and we later shared a flat. There was me of course (Ralph Graham). I was a "resident" player with my pride 'n joy, the Rickenbacker electric guitar with the Hair (the Musical) sticker, playing Beatles, blues and everything in between. Peter Knox was the other "resident" playing nifty bass and singing and we had a great old time together. Leonie (Prior?) was a strong singer with a great repertoire who performed around Sydney in later years as Leonora Jackson. Bob Dylan songs were a popular choice at the "Pants" but variety was the go and almost anything did. Many of the regular characters had a story to tell and interesting substances were sought and bought - an experimental market place and a stimulating meeting place for dropins and dropouts.

Peter Knox 'Izzy Foreal' 

Peter and I (guitar and bass) were part of the furniture at the Ball Pants coffee shop in Brougham Lane at Kings Cross. Peter sang and played good bass and was a humorous character on and off "stage." The pay for playing at the BP was $3.00 per night plus food, “help yourself." The only problem was that this was basically white bread and processed cheese and Peter pointed out that this was not good food and that I oughta read the labels. Chemicals, artificial colours and white bread devoid of nutrition. Hmm. I had never thought of this before. I was influenced by this good hearted health food vego and so without any nutritious tucker on offer I had to break into my three dollars for healthy food which included goats milk yoghurt at the local deli. One day, we were up at Whitty’s Wine Bar or somewhere at Taylor Square and we had to get an amplifier/speaker box down to the Ball Pants at the Cross – a mile or so? “Got no money for a taxi,” I said. Peter says “No worries. We’ll carry it.” I did a double take and off we went. Well that healthy tucker he ate showed its worth as while I struggled bravely, appealing for rests, Peter marched along as if on a Sunday walk!

Ralph has also provided me with 'a cuppla links' to his bands:-

Eureka

'Folk Rock/ Celtic/ Australiana/ Bush Music. I found this site most interesting with band history, recordings etc.'
Currency Lads

'is known to some as a Bush Band or for Australiana presentations. Others know Currency Lads as an Irish Band and in both cases the entertainment attitude, the musical content and the experience combine to make some magic that will make your day... and your night!'
Three Card Trick

' Sarah Dunn - Keyboards and Vocals, Ralph Graham - Guitar and Vocals, Ray Abela - Violin/Fiddle and Vocals. Three Card Trick uses professionally developed custom tracks for bass and drums delivering a tight and exciting sound and adds to the line-up where the job requires other professional players.'

 'What will they do to Taylor Square?'

... 'Dave, who has been living in the area for almost half a century and proudly keeping the area clean and tidy for 18 years, explains, the square and the surrounding streets have undergone tremendous changes ' ..."Back in the '60s and '70s, it used to be a really rough old area. You still get a bit of trouble late on a Saturday night, say, from people coming out of the pubs. But it's really improved. .. read more  '